Brewing Ingredients and Process Flashcards
6 cards from real CFPS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Brewing Ingredients and Process flashcards as text
What is the purpose of a 'whirlpool' after the boil?
Answer: Creating a vortex that concentrates trub and hop matter into a cone at the center so clear wort can be drawn off the side
The whirlpool uses centrifugal force to concentrate solid particles into a compact cone in the center of the kettle floor, allowing brewer to drain clarified wort from the side without picking up trub.
Adjuncts like corn (maize) and rice are used in American lagers primarily to:
Answer: Produce a lighter-bodied, crisp beer and reduce production costs
Corn and rice are starchy adjuncts that dilute the malt protein and beta-glucan content, producing a lighter body, cleaner flavor, and lower cost compared to all-malt formulations.
What is the Lovibond (°L) scale used to measure?
Answer: The color of malts and beer using a standardized light comparison method
The Lovibond scale measures the color of grain and beer by comparing a sample against colored glass discs, with lower numbers indicating lighter colors and higher numbers indicating darker roasted malts.
What is 'autolysis' and how does it affect beer flavor?
Answer: The self-digestion of dead yeast cells releasing meaty, sulfury, or rubbery off-flavors
When yeast cells die and lyse, their cellular contents spill into the beer, producing sulfury, meaty, or rubbery compounds — a major reason why beers should be removed from yeast sediment in time.
What does 'original gravity' (OG) measure?
Answer: The density of wort before fermentation, indicating the amount of dissolved fermentable sugars
Original gravity (measured with a hydrometer or refractometer before pitching yeast) reflects the sugar density of unfermented wort, which predicts the potential alcohol content and body of the finished beer.
Which enzyme is responsible for breaking down proteins in the mash during a protein rest?
Answer: Protease (endoprotease)
Proteases hydrolyze proteins in the mash, with a rest at 113–131°F degrading larger proteins into smaller peptides and free amino acids that improve yeast nutrition and head retention.