German Brewing between 1850 and 1900: Fermentation and Beer

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This second article about German Brewing in the later half of the 19th century covers the fermentation process and select beer styles as outlined in "Chemie fuer Laien" (1860). The first article (German Brewing between 1850 and 1900 : Malting and Wort Production) covered the brewing process from steeping the malt to cooling the wort.

Fermentation

The production of a good beer depends very much on the chemical process which we call fermentation. As a result the brewer has to give it his utmost attention. If it runs badly the beer will be bad even if all other processes ran well and were controlled with care. But if it runs well it is possible to compensate for small mistakes made up to this point. Except if the wort got sour because in this case the 2nd fermentation already happened before the 1st one started.

The beer fermentation is divided into two groups: top fermentation and bottom fermentation. Both types convert the sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid. But in beer this conversion should not be run until completion because one would like to have not only alcohol but also substance in the beer. The alcohol makes the beer invigorating, the carbonic acid gives it the refreshing taste, the unconverted sugar makes it nutritious and the hops give it the spice.