All homebrew beers need to be fermented before serving. You might be tempted to drink them sooner, but unless your beer is very high in alcohol, it’s best to let it sit for at least a week or two.
The flavor will improve during aging, and you’ll be rewarded with a better-tasting drink the next time you crack open your bottle. Homebrew beers are the best way to invest in your satisfaction.
However, knowing if your beer has initiated the fermentation process is not always easy. You need to have test barrels or even a window to check the beer wort and ensure that everything runs smoothly there.
Let’s discuss the fermentation types for multiple beer types and what is the best way to know if your beer has been fermenting and for how long.
Fermentation Types: What Makes Beer Taste Different?
Brewers make beer using two different types of fermentation: top fermentation and bottom fermentation. The main difference between the two processes is where the yeast falls in the life cycle of the beer’s creation.
Top fermentation occurs in the top section of fermenting vessels known as “open” fermenters. This is the more traditional method, but it can allow for certain risks and requires a longer time for the yeast to mature.
Bottom fermentation takes place within a closed container called an “ensilage cellar,” which helps preserve both flavor and natural color. No matter what fermentation type you will choose, it is a lot better to know what beer type you will deal with.
For instance, Pale Ales and Stouts have different fermentation types and need other kinds of yeast. Bottom and top fermentation can also provide variable alcohol concentrations that may affect the taste and aromas of your beers.
Stages of Fermentation According to Beer Type
Fermentation is the process that causes beer to have the characteristics we love (or hate). It’s also what gives each beer style its unique character and strengthens the water in your brew.
In addition to helping you create better beer, this infographic shows you how fermentation works as well as which beer styles tend to use it. There are four stages of fermentation with regard to the type of beer being made.
These are the following: primary fermentation, secondary fermentation, conditioning, and carbonation. All of these stages are essential to get the best-fermented beer.
After the fermentation process completion, you need to pasteurize your beer and then bottle it in kegs or aluminum cans. The most serious part of fermentation remains the alcohol creation, so you need to be precise about the alcoholic concentration.
It may negatively affect your beer taste to have too much alcohol in your beer. If it comes close to 10%, it will be wine and not beer, so you better check it all the way to the fermentation ends.
Can You Measure the Alcohol Concentration During Fermentation?
The best way to measure the alcohol concentration during fermentation is by using a hydrometer. It is like a thermometer but for alcohol instead of temperature.
It will show you what the concentration is at any given time during fermentation and whether or not you need to add more sugar to promote more alcohol production.
This can be helpful in order to control your final alcohol after the fermentation process.
The alcohol concentration during fermentation is a major part of determining how much alcohol will eventually be present in your finished product.
Alcohol is produced during the conversion process when yeast breaks down sugar, so a measurement of alcohol concentration during fermentation will give you an idea of whether or not your fermentation came out well.
Why Looking Into the Beer Wort During Fermentation is Dangerous?
Looking into the beer wort during fermentation can be potentially dangerous, if not deadly. The reason is that beer wort contains airborne bacteria that can cause serious infections and health risks, especially if it gets in your eyes.
Lactic acid is a byproduct of fermentation produced when the yeast cells use sugar for energy and oxygen for metabolism. As fermentation continues, more sugars are available for the yeast to consume, leading to more lactic acid being generated as a waste product.
The beer wort fermentation pot is to be isolated for the first weeks after the beginning of the process. You should be thorough with that to ensure your integrity and health.
How Can You Be Sure Your Beer Gets Fermented?
It’s important to know that your beer has been properly fermented, so you know what the final result will taste like.
The way to ensure that is by using a hydrometer and raising the temperature of your fermentation, which will promote good yeast health and speed up the process.
By measuring your brew’s specific gravity and temperature and raising the temperature to 76 at the end of fermentation, you will have a great-tasting beer. There is no reason to compromise with anything other than the best possible beer you can have.
When the internal humidity reaches an optimal level, you will know that the fermentation process is over. It’s time you need to have your beer pasteurized and canned to drink at a later time!
What is it Like During the Completion of Beer Fermentation?
The completion of beer fermentation is a naturally occurring process that produces carbon dioxide gas (CO 2). When CO 2 is produced, it brings about several changes throughout the fermentation process.
These changes include fluctuations in the pH level, flavors and aromas, and yeast activity levels. You will need to have specific measuring capacities to know that the fermentation is over.
Chemists use some indicators, so it’s better to ask them before you open the beer barrel to get some of the fermented beer you always wanted.
Final Words
Beer is a sensitive product that you need to produce with care to have a higher quality. For that reason, fermentation would be the most important process, so be prepared for it and do the best you can to succeed.
