Please note that the descriptions below are simplified versions of what takes place at each step, and for ease, have been focused primarily on beer brewing and whisky making. Malting is the process where grain, usually barley, is soaked in water, germinated, and dried. Grain is used as the base for both beer and whisky. Although you can technically do your own malting at home, most home brewers will purchase pre-malted grain from a homebrew supply store. Milling is a fancy word for crushing the grain.
Many home brewers own a grain mill for crushing their grain at home, but most homebrew stores can also crush the grain for a small added charge. So although milling is part of the process in producing both beer and whisky, it is not a step that hobbyists must complete themselves. This step is generally only part of all-grain recipes.
Often, the home brewer or distiller will purchase malt extract, which is simply a ready-to-go alternative. Sparging is a fancy word for rinsing, and is done to separate the sugar from the solids, and also reduces the potential alcohol.
This step is again unique to home brewing, but may be done even if you are not using an all-grain recipe. Boiling is used to extract flavors from other ingredients, such as hops, remove proteins that cause chill haze, and a host of other reasons that do not apply to making whisky.
For simplicity, we are considering simply the mixing of ingredients as part of the fermentation step. Here is where we catch back up to the distilling process, and is the step where alcohol is actually created. Distillation is merely a method of separating compounds by boiling, and then condensing and collecting only those that we want, so we need to make the alcohol first. Distilled spirits are eventually bottled as well, but only after their flavor has been fully developed.
Spirits are distilled, while fermented beverages like beer are not. Fermented vs. Distilled Flavor In addition to the taste of the fermented grain, fermented beverages like beer derive much of their flavor from added ingredients, such as hops.
Other Fermented Beverages Although beer naturally comes to mind in any discussion about fermentation and alcohol and the process of brewing beer is most often linked to the process of distilling spirits, plenty of other fermented beverages have been enjoyed throughout history and across the globe. Wine relies on artistry in both the agricultural process choosing the right grape varieties, tending the vines over years or even generations, and choosing the ideal moment to harvest and also in the fermentation process.
Brandy is a distilled beverage made from wine. Hard cider. Typically made with apples, hard cider is produced through a process of crushing and fermenting fruit. Pears are also often used, and you can make nonalcoholic cider by crushing fruit without fermenting it. During Colonial days, hard cider was the most commonly enjoyed alcoholic beverage in the United States.
Calvados and applejack are distilled beverages made from apples and hard cider. This beverage is made through a fermentation process that brings together sweet tea and beneficial bacteria. Kombucha is a fizzy brew often touted for its health benefits, which include nurturing the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Kombucha makers often try to limit the alcohol content of their beverages to avoid restrictive regulations addressing where and how it can be sold.
A staple in Eastern Europe, kvass can be made with a variety of starters including rye bread and beets. Fermented honey is one of the oldest alcoholic brews in the world, and it was made in prehistory from China to India to the British Isles. As with so many other fermented beverages, contemporary artisan industries have sprung up that combine ancient and modern techniques to coax new levels of flavor from different varieties of honey.
Bottle fermentation is the process in which Champagne and some other forms of sparkling wine get there fizz. In short, a base wine is made and bottled, then a liqueur de tirage combination of sugar and yeast is added to the bottle to re-ignite a second fermentation. Since carbon dioxide is a byproduct of fermentation, this secondary fermentation allows for trapped CO2 to create the fizzy bubbles we all know and love in Champagne.
Carbonic maceration is a process in which fermentation takes place inside of whole not crushed grape berries. This happens by placing grape clusters in a closed container and replacing the oxygen with carbon dioxide. Enzymes within the grape are broken down and converted into alcohol, then the grapes are crushed and normal fermentation takes place.
These wines are often light-bodied, easy-drinking, and have tons of fruit-forwardness. Malolactic fermentation is the process in which bacteria rather than yeast converts malic acid into lactic acid. Malic acid tends to be tart and lip-puckering; this process converts these acids into lactic acids, which lead to softer, creamier, and smoother final wines.
Depending on the whisky, grains barley, rye, or something else are moistened and allowed to sprout. This germination process is called malting, and the point of it is to convert starch to sugar. The process is cut off by dry heating the grains. To do so, brewers create a mash by mixing the grains with hot water. Hard alcohol can be made from either the wine or beer method.
Bourbon , for example, is made from a grain mash, and eau de vie comes from fruit — but the process of strengthening the alcoholic content of spirits is what makes distilling different from other production methods. Distilling is that process, and it takes advantage of the different boiling points of water and alcohol.
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