The cracked grains are fed to the Mash tun which is filled with hot water. The sweetness comes from the enzymes, which occur naturally in the grain, converting the starches and complex sugars to simpler sugars that can be fermented by the yeast. In the kettle, hops are added to the wort and brought to a full rolling boil. Hops Hops are now the dominant flavoring agent for beer, although this is a fairly recent development. For thousands of years, other ingredients ranging from date juice in Egypt to herbs and spices in Europe were used to flavor fermented grain beverages.
Hops are a flower cluster that grows on vines.
They give beer its bitterness, much of its flavor, and its aromatic nose. Hops were first known to be cultivated in Bavaria. Popular varieties include Hallertau, Saaz, Kent Goldings, Cascade and Willamette. From the heat exchanger the wort is pumped to the Fermentation Vessels where the yeast is added. During the fermentation process the yeast converts the sugars in the wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide.