Sounds of malt being poured into a mash tun and mixed with water. The recording was made in the Ursa Maior brewery in Uherce Mineralne (Poland).
Ground malt is poured into a mash tun and then mixed with water. A multiphase process of mashing is initiated then. Different enzymes activate at different temperatures. The key phase of the process is the saccharification – when starch (a polysaccharide) is broken into monosaccharides that can be fermented by yeast.
When ready, mash is pumped into the lauter tun. The solid fraction – spent grains which are waste – is stopped by the sieve, whereas the liquid fraction – wort – is drained from the bottom of the tun. The wort is continually pumped into the copper.
Ursa Maior jest is a microbrewery, where the beer is produced according to the brewery’s original recipes. The entire production process lasts about a month, the beer is unpasteurized and unfiltered.
Sound recording: Monika Widzicka
Photographer: Ewelina Jędrychowska