The pursuit of hoppiness

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The pursuit of hoppiness

 Brewing beer at home is a lengthy process, but students say the improved taste and added satisfaction of making their own beer is worth the effort.

“It’s a nice, cheap way to get good beer,” junior Daniel Spiotta said.

“Nothing is better than making it,” sophomore Matt Duquette said. “Even though the one I made was flat, I still drank it.”

Spiotta and Duquette make their own beer using kits that include the brewing equipment, malted barley, a mix, and hops. Water and yeast are also used.

Spiotta began brewing beer this semester after receiving a kit from his father for Christmas. He has made one batch of beer and is waiting for the second batch to finish fermenting.

Spiotta enjoys making his own beer because it allows him to create his desired taste.

“I tend to like full-bodied beers,” he said. “It has to be clean and needs to be robust as far as flavor.”

Duquette began making beer at the end of spring semester 2011.

“I had heard of guys making their own cider,” he said. “So when I saw a kit my wife was like, ‘Yeah, do it!’”

At the request of his wife, Duquette’s raspberry beer will be finished in time for Easter. He added raspberry and honey to the beer mixture to imitate a beer he and his wife tasted earlier in the semester.

Chris Hamilton, assistant professor of chemistry, also enabled students to aid in brewing beer in Professor of Chemistry Lee Baron’s Chemistry of Cooking seminar.

The one-credit seminar discusses the chemistry that happens in the food-making process. Hamilton’s lecture and lab in brewing beer was only one part of the semester-long course.

For the final, all 32 students gathered for a dinner party at Baron’s house to taste the foods they had studied all semester. Hamilton bottled the beer the class created and made labels that said “Hillsdale Chemistry Pale Ale.”

Hamilton had helped his neighbor make beer for the past four years, but began making his own beer this year.

Duquette, Hamilton and Spiotta use the same brewing process. To buy a kit and brew beer at home, a person must be 21 years old, but aiding in brewing beer is legal underage, Hamilton said.

The first step in creating beer takes only an afternoon.

“Brewing is really simple. It’s like putting together a cake mix,”  Duquette said.

The first step is bringing three and a half gallons of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, malted barley is added.

“This activates enzymes that turn simple sugars into alcohol,” Hamilton said.

Depending upon the recipe, the hops are added at varying times. Soon after, the beer must be cooled by placing it in an ice bath.

“The beer must be cooled very fast, otherwise it will be locked into an unwanted flavor,” Spiotta said.

Once the beer is at a lower temperature, it is put into a primary fermenter. Spiotta uses a carboy — a large glass container used for brewing. At this point the mixture is called wort, which is unfermented beer, Hamilton said.

The yeast is then pitched or added to the wort. An airlock and stopper are placed on the carboy, stopping contaminated air from coming in. The stopper includes a bubbler filled with water that allows air from the mixture to release and remain sanitized.

The beer is then placed in the secondary fermenter for a few weeks, allowing the beer time to mature. Most of the alcohol is created in the first two to three days. Allowing the extra time allows the yeast to destroy chemicals that create an undesired taste in the beer, Hamilton said.

Finally, a little more yeast and sugar are added to the beer, which creates carbonation. The beer is then bottled and capped for another few weeks.

From this process, which takes anywhere from four weeks to three months depending on the type of beer desired, about 50 bottles of beer are created.

All three men encourage others to try their hand at brewing their own beer.

“I am excited to taste some of Daniel’s beer,” Duquette said.

Hamilton hopes that the Chemistry of Cooking will be taught every year. He also intends to teach an honors seminar about both the chemistry and history of beer brewing.

          eepperson@hillsdale.edu