CFPS Brewing Ingredients 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary role of malted barley in the brewing process?
- To provide fermentable sugars and contribute flavor and color (Correct answer)
- To add bitterness and preservative qualities to beer
- To clarify the finished beer by binding proteins
- To prevent microbial contamination during fermentation
Correct answer: To provide fermentable sugars and contribute flavor and color
Malted barley is the backbone of most beers, providing fermentable sugars from starch conversion, as well as flavor, color, and body contributions.
Question 2: Which hop compound is primarily responsible for bitterness in finished beer after isomerization during the boil?
- Beta acids
- Iso-alpha acids (Correct answer)
- Terpenes
- Polyphenols
Correct answer: Iso-alpha acids
Alpha acids in hops isomerize into iso-alpha acids during the boil, becoming water-soluble and responsible for the perceived bitterness in beer.
Question 3: What is the primary function of yeast in the brewing process?
- To add flavor complexity through melanoidin formation
- To clarify wort by flocculating proteins
- To ferment sugars, producing ethanol, CO2, and flavor compounds (Correct answer)
- To convert hop acids into soluble bitterness compounds
Correct answer: To ferment sugars, producing ethanol, CO2, and flavor compounds
Yeast consumes fermentable sugars and produces ethanol, carbon dioxide, and numerous flavor/aroma compounds that define each beer's character.
Question 4: Which water mineral is critical for accentuating hop bitterness and producing crisp, dry pale ales?
- Calcium carbonate (chalk)
- Magnesium chloride
- Calcium chloride
- Calcium sulfate (gypsum) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Calcium sulfate (gypsum)
High sulfate levels in water accentuate hop bitterness and dryness, which is why Burton-on-Trent's sulfate-rich water made it ideal for pale ales.
Question 5: What does crystal/caramel malt contribute to beer that distinguishes it from base malts?
- Unfermentable dextrins, sweetness, color, and body without significant enzyme activity (Correct answer)
- Higher levels of fermentable sugars for increased ABV
- Increased hop utilization and bitterness
- Lowering of wort pH for mash enzyme optimization
Correct answer: Unfermentable dextrins, sweetness, color, and body without significant enzyme activity
Crystal malts are kilned while wet, converting starches to unfermentable dextrins and caramel compounds that add sweetness, body, and amber-red color.
Question 6: What distinguishes 'dry hopping' from late kettle hop additions in terms of the flavor/aroma contribution?
- Dry hopping adds bitterness; kettle additions add only aroma
- Dry hopping adds intense fresh hop aroma and flavor with zero bitterness; kettle additions add some bitterness (Correct answer)
- Both methods provide identical aroma and bitterness contributions
- Dry hopping extracts hop oils that are lost during boiling
Correct answer: Dry hopping adds intense fresh hop aroma and flavor with zero bitterness; kettle additions add some bitterness
Dry hopping adds hops post-fermentation to cold beer, extracting volatile aromatic oils without isomerizing alpha acids, so bitterness is not increased.
CFPS Brewing Ingredients 1
What is the primary role of malted barley in the brewing process?