Technology and production of beer
In order to produce top-class beer, three main ingredients
are important – water, malt and hops. The beer is produced from our own
high-quality water, malts from the best varieties of Czech malting barley,
Czech hops grown in the Žatec region and our own brewer’s yeast.
1.
BREWHOUSE
The aim of the brewing process is to transfer substances
extracted from malt to a solution by means of enzymes. The wort is divided from
the insoluble parts of the malt grain. Then the wort is brewed with hops in
order to gain the required bitterness and then stabilised. The
process of beer production starts in the brewing room, where fermentable
saccharides and other substances are released from the malt mixed with water as
a result of enzymes. The brewing starts in the mash tun, where the malt is
mixed with water. In the copper enzymatic reactions occur, as a result of which
substances creating a so-called extract are released from starches and
proteins. The dissolved malt extract is then divided from the undissolved parts
of the grain. The filtered extract is brewed with hop products in the hopback.
The hop give the bitterness to the beer. This product is called wort.
2.
Fermentation room
In the fermentation room the main fermentation takes place
in open tanks at a temperature of about 7 degrees and the process is initiated
by brewer’s yeast, This process takes from seven to ten days and during this
period the saccharides change to alcohol and carbon dioxide. When the required
degree of fermentation is completed, the tank is cooled down, the yeast cells
settle down at the bottom of the tank and the young beer is put into individual
lagering tanks.
3.
LAGERING CELLAR
The beer matures in lagering tanks and is saturated with
carbon dioxide, which naturally creates yeast cells. Draught beers are
conditioned for 20 days; lagers take 40 days. The
beer matures there and becomes saturated with carbon dioxide in a natural way,
which gives rise to the flavour of the beer. The taste and aroma become milder
and the final bouquet of the beer is created. After maturation, the beer is
prepared for filtering.
4.
Filtration and stabilisation
During the filtration process the yeast cells are removed.
The filtration takes place on a diatomaceous filter. Diatomite is a naturally
occurring filter material which does not leave any trace in the beer.
After
filtration the beer then goes to service tanks and then to bottling plants.