You’ve already taken the Beer 101 and 102 classes, and we thought it was time to refine your beer knowledge a level further.

Consider this your upgrade to the higher echelons of brew lovers.  Ready? Not really steady? Perfect! Let’s go!

What is wort?
Consider this the basis for brewing. It’s a sweet liquid that is created by immersing malted barley into water, the residue of which is then boiled  with hops. After this, the yeast is added and the process of fermentation takes place.
Remember, you must always be thorough with your basics!

What’s so noble about hops?
Yeah, it’s true. Elitist notions exist in the world of brewing as well. And there’s much debate about it too.

The term ‘noble hops’ is generally used to refer to a select variety of European hops—Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Spalter, Tettnang and Saaz. Pfftt! How very European. These four are ranked together mainly because they share similar flavours and lower levels of bittering acids.

We think all beer ingredients deserve noble status though, but that’s just us.

We think all beer ingredients deserve noble status though, but that’s just us.

Does ‘Lautering’ have anything to do with Taylor Lautner?
Hell, no. This is when the extracts acquired while mashing the grain are separated. There’s a special vessel for it and everything, designed to aid the process of separation.

It’s a two-stage process that requires love, effort and dedication. And it definitely makes for a much better love story than Twilight.

Mashing though, has something to do with potato, right?
Wrong. Although, steak and mashed potato with some locally brewed beer make for a great combination. But we digress.

Mashing essentially is the process of mixing malted grain with water, and heating this mixture to a certain temperature so that the enzymes in the malt break down the starch in the grain, into sugars.

Whirlpool, Whirlpool.
( If you grew up in India in the 90s, there’s a good chance you sang those two words in your head.)

Once the boiling is done, the resulting wort (yes, we’ll wait while you scroll up and remind yourself what that is) is set into a whirlpool. This forces the more dense solids into the center of the whirlpool tank.
Sometimes, smaller breweries use brewkettles as a substitute for the whirlpool. Another alternative are hop filters, which are lesser in cost and easier to maintain.

…given the subject, we figured a practical class would be far more effective.

Well, that’s it for today, kids. We could go on and on, but given the subject, we figured a practical class would be far more effective.

So, if you’re passionate about beer and brewing and everything in between, register for the Toit Brewery Tours now.
If you’re not interested in brewing and just want to drink beer brewed by others, then simply head to Toit.

Speaking of head, did you know that the technical term for the white froth at the top of your beer glass is ’head’?
Ok, that’s all. We’ll stop now.