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Guided
Visit : The brewing process
Mashing
The method used by the Brasserie des Géants is
the so-called “infusion method”. A mash tun
from the 1890s serves for this operation The vessel is
made of cast iron, insulated by wooden cladding to maintain
a constant temperature whatever the surrounding temperature
level. The tun is equipped with agitators permitting the
continual mixing of the thick “porridge”. The
base of the vessel is covered with perforated plates, which
once the mashing is over will allow the recovery of the
sugary juice from the malt grains. |
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The crushed malt is mixed with hot water in the mash tun and forms a thick porridge.
By means of progressive additions of hot water (90 °C), increasing levels
of temperature are attained which permit the activation of different groups
of enzymes. These enzymes will transform the starch contained in the malt grains
into sugars. |
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Boiling
The boiling vessel is made of copper and dates from 1930.
The sugary wort is heated in the copper by means of an external
heat exchanger. In this way the wort is sterilised. Also the
hops which will give aroma to the wort, are added.
After this stage it is vital not to contaminate the wort,
which is a perfect place for bacteria to grow. All the subsequent
stages take place in closed vessels or sterilised machines.
Settling
A stainless steel settling tank allows the elimination
of solids which have formed during the boiling. These are
colloidal particles, rich in lipids.
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Cooling
After boiling it is necessary to cool the wort to a temperature
of 20°C. The cooling is achieved with a plate heat exchanger
or paraflo. The hot wort passes between stainless steel plates
which are cooled by cold water flowing in the opposite direction.
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Fermentation The
Brasserie des Géants has three cylindro-conical
fermenters in stainless steel each with a capacity of
41 hectolitres. When the wort has cooled, the yeast is
added. The yeast starts to multiply, then after 8 hours
it begins to transform the fermentable sugars into alcohol
and CO2. After 5 days the fermentation is complete and
a range of flavours have been produced.
La garde The
next stage is known as “la garde” - to refer
to it as lagering would give a wrong impression. The
beer is cooled in the cylindro-conical fermenters by
means of their double skin, down to 1°C. This temperature
reduction causes the yeasts present in the beer to sink
to the bottom.
Our beers are non-filtered and non-pasteurised.
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Bottling
After 1 month, it is time for bottling. The beer is transferred
into the settling tank where sugar and yeast, necessary for
re-fermentation, are added. The beer is racked into the bottles,
which are capped and labelled.
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Re-fermentation
in bottle
The bottles are placed in the hot room (25°C) for15
days to allow refermentation in bottle. The refermentation
develops CO2 in the beer thus giving a sparkle to our beers
in a natural manner.
A period of least three months is now necessary for our
beers to condition before they are marketed.
In order to guarantee impeccable quality a number of different
quality control tests are carried out during the production
process by the Master Brewer and by an independent laboratory.
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