Wort With Hops Added
What Is Wort?
The simple answer is that wort (pronounced wert, kind of like dirt) is the unfermented liquid, that will turn into beer after the yeast are added.
How Do I Make Wort?
In extract brewing, wort is made by adding water and liquid or dry malt extract. Then the wort is brought to a boil for an hour to an hour and a half.
Then the wort is brought to a boil for two reasons. The first is to sanitize it to keep out those evil bacteria and germs that want to ruin our beer. The second is so that it can extract the optimal amount of aroma and flavor from the hops that are added to the wort.
At the beginning of the boil, hops are added at to balance out the sweetness of the wort and to give it a bitterness. In the last five to fifteen minutes, hops are added to provide more flavor and aroma.
Some extract recipes also call for adding certain grains for steeping, which is different from the grains that were made to make the malt extract. These grains are added for body (or texture) or flavor. Some recipes need seasoning from spices or even flavor from fruit.
Then after the wort is boiled, it’s cooled down to a temperature that the yeast can thrive in and turn your wort into delicious beer.
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If you’re new to homebrewing, and want to learn more, make sure you follow Passion For The Pint on Facebook or Twitter. If you’re looking to take it a step further, there’s an online course for homebrewing called the HomeBrew Academy. I’ll be reviewing it later this month.
