Beer is the most ancient alcoholic beverage created by man. It is estimated that beer first appeared in Mesopotamia around 4,000 years BC. Over time, beer started reaching Europe, bringing changes in cultures and the lives of people.
Water + Malt + Hops: the recipe invented by European brewers of the Middle Ages remains the base of beer brewing, even if some variations exist today.
The raw ingredients used to make Hinano beers are imported from Europe: the malt comes from France and Australia, the hops from Germany, Czech Republic and United States.
First, malt is removed from the silos and crushed in a malt mill to break up the grains.
The ground malt is then mixed with water in the “mash tun” located in the brewing room.
This mixture is heated progressively at a temperature close to 176°F.
This step enables the conversion of malt starch and proteins into soluble substances in the water. The resulting product – the wort – is then filtered to be transferred across to the wort boiler.
Hops are added at this point, to extract their bittering and aroma compounds.
After being boiled for around 2 hours, the mixture is pumped into large vessels, where it will be cooled down to the temperature required for fermentation.
Once cooled, the wort is brought into fermentation tanks. Yeast is added immediately to convert the sugars from the malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
At the end of the fermentation phase, the beer is carefully filtered and ready for conditioning.
During packaging, the beer is poured into bottles, cans or kegs with the help of machinery.
This step is followed by the pasteurization process: the beer is heated up then quickly cooled down, to give it a longer shelf life.
The beer making process usually remains the same, however some parameters can vary to obtain different types of beers.
This is the case for the Hinano Ambrée and the Hinano Gold: the use of roasted malt gives them their respective color. The hops variety used and fermentation times can also determine the characteristics of a beer.
