Brewing the Perfect Pint - Brewing the perfect beer requires the brewer to use art, craft and science, along with a balance of natural ingredients and processes.

Whether brewers embrace modern technology or use more traditional methods. And whether the brewery is large or small, old or new, the brewing process remains largely the same.

The Process
Firstly, malted barley is lightly crushed into a coarse powder called grist.

At this stage other cereals - including flaked maize, unmalted barley and wheat - can be introduced to give a characteristic flavour, colour or appearance.

The grist is then transferred to a large vessel called a Mash Tun, where it is mashed with hot water in a process similar to making a cup of tea.

The natural sugars in the malt dissolve in the water, (called 'Liquor' by brewers), and eventually a sweet, brown liquid is run off - this is known as Wort.

The 'Wort' is then boiled with hops in a large vessel or 'Copper'.

Then comes the most critical stage of all in fermentation. The hopped ‘wort’ is cooled and run into fermentation vessels, yeast is added which begins to convert the natural sugars into alcohol, carbon dioxide and a range of subtle flavours.

When the yeast has done its job the surface settles into a thick, creamy crust that protects the brew from the air.

Perfecting
Before a beer leaves the brewery it must be conditioned. The conditioning process differs according to which form the beer is to leave the brewery.

For cask-conditioned beers (real ales), the beer goes directly into the cask, bottle or barrel. More hops might be added to the cask to give the beer more aroma - a process called 'dry hopping'. Finings are then added which bind the materials responsible for clouding, bringing them to the bottom as sediment and clarifying the beer.

The yeast in the beer is still active and will undergo a second fermentation in the cask, normally in the cellar of a pub. Cask-conditioned beer is a delicate product and is vulnerable to attack from all kinds of contamination. But fortunately in most Scottish pubs, the beer doesn't hang around that long.

Other beers are brought to condition in the brewery. Some are fined and filtered, others are pasteurised to guard against deterioration caused by microbes. These beers reach the consumer in casks, kegs, bottles or cans.

Lagers need a longer period of conditioning in the brewery at lower temperatures. The word 'lager' comes from the German word ‘lagern’ - to store at a cold temperature.

The combination of excellent method and inspiration have been just two of the reasons why Scottish beer is among the finest in the world.