The brewing process
There is a great deal of science behind brewing. It's not essential for homebrewers to have an intimate knowledge of all the chemical reactions that happen during the various stages of beer production. However, it does help to have an understanding of what happens as a beer takes shape, even if you are just brewing with a can of concentrate and a kilo of sugar (but hopefully after visiting our site you will at least stop using sugar!).
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Hops
Beer with no hops would be very sweet and fairly tasteless. It's the bitterness of the hops that balances the residual sweetness of the malt, and adds aroma and flavour.
Hops are the flower cone of Humulus lupulus, a vine related to cannabis. Only the female plant produces flower cones, which are light and the consistency of tissue paper.
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Partial mash brewing
A partial mash, also called a mini-mash, is a hybrid between kit or extract brewing, and full mash brewing. A can of concentrate or malt extract is used, and extra fermentable sugars are added by mashing grain to convert the starches to sugar. Hops are often added to supplement the hops in the can of concentrate. Of course, if unhopped extract is used then hops must be added.
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