England is a beer brewing country. Is the second beer producer of the world with 45 millions of beer hectoliters per year. And the sixth world beer

consumer. But one thing is loving and drinking beer and other knowing how it is made.

Alex Brandom-Davies, brewer from The Leeds Brewery Company, a place which still produces beer in the traditional way, explains the whole process.

The first thing to be known is the ingredients (in this case): 99 % of water, British malted barley, hops and Yorkshire yeast. Water is mixed with the barley in the mash tun during one hour. ‘It converts the cereals’ straches into sugars’ explains Alex.

•

A non-alcoholic and non-bitter liquid is obtained from this first step. The mash goes to the kettle . Here is boiled with the hops. ‘This is the most important and interesting part of the process; because the flavour and bitterness of the beer are determined at this point’: says the 28-year-old brewer.

• 6th world beer consumer

The blend is transferred to the third tank; the heat exchanger, where it will be cooled by adding a cold water tube to the tank. This last part before fermentation is the key to make possible the yeast growing and the alcoholisation. The yeast can’t grow in high temperatures.

‘After the cooling, yeast is added to the mash in the fermentation room. The fermentation process begins and later it will become alcoholic’ explains brewer Alex Brandom-Davis . It remains in the tanks between 3 and 5 days. This is the last step of beer production.

‘We check beer’s density everyday. By measuring we find out how alcoholic and how strong it is’: says the Leeds brewer. The more it sinks, the more the density is reduced. At the beginning is very dense. The goal is obtaining a thin mash.

‘The yeast is removed from the tank and put in the fridge for the next brew. It is reusable, we could say that it can be used infinite times’ explains Alex. The mash is conducted to other tank, covered with a cooling jacket, that will stop the fermentation.

After fermentation, the beer is moved to the conditioning tank in a cold room. ‘Here takes place a second fermentation in the casks’ says the brewer. A large part of their production is kept in casks rather than carbonated bottles. Beer is conditioned during several weeks, depending on the type.

‘To improve the beer’s clarity we add finnings. To remove the remaining yeast and obtain the final product: clear, traditional and quality Leeds’ beer’ explains the brewer.

30%....