it will be mixed with later as the
             water will extract sugars from the malt. The malt will now be mixed with
             warm water in the mash tun. This vessel holds the grain and water
             mixture for a period of time. Two important things will take place in this
             step. One is to break down proteins to the more soluble and usable amino
             acids, providing food for the yeast and foam for a nice head on the beer.
             The second thing is to break down the starch to simple sugars so yeast
             can convert them to alcohol and carbon dioxide. (Porter)
             Mash filtration consists of filtering the converted mash by gravity or
             pressure in a lauter tub or mash filter to separate the insoluble matter in
             the malt from the soluble sugars and nitrogen compounds. The sugar liquid
             recovered is called wort, pronounced wert, or sweet wort. Boiling the
             wort is best but is also the most expensive method, Microbreweries
             generally use this method. The sweet wort is boiled and treated with hops
             in the brew kettle in a planned schedule, usually somewhere between 30
             and 90 minutes. The boiling has many effects: all bacteria are killed, it
             produces color and flavor compounds, the so-called browning compounds,
             from the malt and sugars. Boiling the wort extracts bitter and aromatic
             flavor compounds from the hops, and volatilizes most of the harsh
             hydrocarbons. It sterilizes the wort and stops all enzyme action. (Porter)
             The boiled wort is strained to remove the hops and then transferred to a
             holding tank called the hot wort tank. The insoluble matter, called trub, is
             centrifugal separated in the whirl pool tank. The wort is now passed
             through a heat excha...