Da'an's best son-in-law

As the saying goes, a skilled woman cannot make a meal without rice. The reason why the Da'an Dynasty could not brew beer was not necessarily because there were no skilled craftsmen, but more because no one was willing to try cereals such as malt.

"Lian'er, go get me the pestle and get a few more."

Although Wei Yanran's small attic was not large, all the utensils were available. After a while, Lian'er came out with several stone pestles. "Uncle, this used to be a pestle for grinding medicine for young ladies, is it okay?"

Taking two palm-sized pestles from Lian'er's hand, Ye Chen waved them gently, compared them in the jar, and nodded with satisfaction.

"It's him"

"Are you planning to make wine?" After working for a long time, Xiao Xing finally understood Ye Chen's true intention.

Seeing Ye Chen nodding, Xiao Xing spoke anxiously and persuaded: "Uncle, someone in Xiao Xing's hometown has tried this kind of thing, and the result is difficult to eat and very jerky."

Ye Chen put down the pestle in his hand and listened with great interest to Xiao Xing's description of the man's process of making wine from malt.

He originally thought that the reason why Daan didn't have this kind of beer was that no one wanted to try it. It seemed that there was still someone who was the first to try it. It didn't work, probably because of the method...

When he was at Jin Wanfa's winery, Ye Chen observed the brewing process of the masters. If it was brewing grain wine, the ratio of water and materials was very suitable, but if it was brewing beer, the heat was still a little off.

Ye Chen took out an earthen jar filled with malt, took the pestle and carefully ground it in it. Seeing his behavior, the three women beside him opened their eyes wide and observed, for fear of missing some details.

After "Okay" for a long time, the malt in the earthen pot had been gradually crushed by Ye Chen and turned into powder.

Putting down the earthen jar in his hand, Ye Chen held up the malt jar that had been ground into powder to demonstrate to the three curious girls, "This process is probably like this. When you twist it, pay attention to the strength of your hands and don't break the jar."

The pestle on the side was given to Wei Yanran and the other three. They each chose an earthen pot without any ink, picked up the pestle in their hands, and started working.

"My uncle just took care of it and gave the rest to us. What a thief." Hearing Lian'er's dissatisfied muttering, Wei Yanran gently turned the stone pestle with her beautiful hands and patted Lian'er's little head.

"Work hard and don't talk nonsense." Lian'er stuck out her tongue, stopped mumbling, and continued busy with the work at hand.

Seeing the serious expressions of the three of them, Ye Chen laughed softly. The third lady of the Wei family, Wei Yanran, took the little maid with a stone pestle to grind the malt herself. If other people in the Wei family saw this scene, they would have to put their chins up. Shocked.

The three of them were busy here. Ye Chen glanced around and saw the wooden barrel next to the courtyard door.

To melt the malt powder and turn it into a syrup containing koji, you need to boil hot water.

Wei Yanran had his own well in his small courtyard. Ye Chen walked to the courtyard door and picked up a bucket. He walked straight to the well and filled a bucket full of well water.

The water boiling place was in the kitchen where Lian'er and Xiao Xing were usually busy. Carrying a bucket of well water slowly, Ye Chen opened the door of the small kitchen. The wooden bucket for bathing was still placed on the stove.

"Lian'er, this girl forgot to take it again." Ye Chen shook his head helplessly, took down the barrel, took out some dry firewood from the firewood pile on the side, and used the firewood to start it.

A raging flame instantly burned under the stove.

"Uncle, the lady asked if we could help!" Lian'er's voice rang outside the door. Ye Chen shook his head slightly and shouted, "No need Lian'er, just go grind the malt."

In the past, it would have been difficult to carry a bucket of cold water with his physical fitness, but he has not fallen behind in recent exercises, and his body is now much stronger than before.

The firewood was burning under the stove. After a while, the well water in the barrel began to boil, and bursts of white smoke appeared in the kitchen.

Guessing that the fire was almost done, Ye Chen picked up the rag and carefully lifted the barrel off the stove.

The ratio of malt slurry to water is very particular. The best water to material ratio is one to four, which means that five kilograms of maltose requires twenty liters of water to melt.

Due to the limitations of the tools, Ye Chen was unable to get an accurate value, but when he was in Germany, he heard from the old fritters at the breweries that it would be fine as long as it did not exceed one to three.

Easily carrying the still boiling well water out of the house, Wei Yanran and the others were carefully placing the ground malt on the steps. Seeing Ye Chen coming out, Wei Yanran gently wiped the fine beads of sweat on her forehead. smile

"If you don't come out, Lian'er will want to eat these malts of yours."

Ye Chen shrugged helplessly at Lian'er who was gritting his teeth. He slowly raised the wooden bucket in his hand to the center of the courtyard and began to dry it. It was an autumn afternoon and the temperature was low. It was difficult to control the temperature of the water. .

The optimal temperature for saccharification is [-] to [-] degrees. If the temperature is too high, the taste of the wine will be too thick, otherwise it will be too clear.

After a while, Ye Chen stretched out his hand and touched the temperature of the outer edge of the barrel, and got a general idea.

"Madam, are there any thinner silk products in the house?"

Wei Yanran was startled, then nodded and said: "Yes, the silk and satin shop bought a few pieces of fine yarn from Southern Xinjiang a few days ago, and I asked Xiao Xing to bring them back."

Xiao Xing went to the house and brought gauze. Ye Chen took it and put it in the sun for observation.

Yes, this was exactly the yarn he wanted.

The malt powder ground now is still too rough and needs to be screened with this fine yarn.

"Lian'er, when you two come to sift malt, just use the gauze in my hand."

After handing over the screening method to the two of them hand by hand, Ye Chen turned around and picked up the wooden bucket that was already at a suitable temperature, ready to pour water at any time.

With the tacit cooperation of Lian'er and Xiao Xing, a bottle of malt in an earthen jar was quickly screened down to extremely fine particles.

Ye Chen lifted up the wooden bucket, slowly poured the still scalding hot water into the earthen pot, and stirred it gently with the pestle in his hand. Suddenly, a fresh aroma unique to malt spread out in the courtyard.

"Uncle, what is this? Why does it smell so good?" Lian'er sniffed her nose gently and inhaled the fragrance intoxicatedly.

Wei Yanran on the side also observed the syrup stirring in Ye Chen's hand with curiosity in her eyes. Different from the mellow aroma of other wines, this aroma tastes fresher.

Stirring the syrup in his hand, Ye Chen explained: "This is the aroma of maltose. It can only be stimulated by adding hot water to make syrup."

After that, Ye Chen took out the yeast cubes he brought out from the kitchen and threw them into the steaming earthen pot with a "plop". Maltose syrup plus yeast fermentation can truly become beer.

Although the beer made using this method has a strong taste and is not as flavorful as modern beer, the conditions are limited, and Ye Chen can only do this now.

If time permits, he would like to study for a few days to maximize the taste of beer. Now he has to send something to the prefect. The situation is urgent, so naturally he can't take care of so much.

After closing the lid, Ye Chen breathed out a sigh of relief. It only needed to be fermented in the earthen jar for one night, and Da'an Dynasty's first beer was about to be released!

"Don't just watch, Lian'er, continue sifting."

"Uncle, can't we take a break? We've been working all afternoon."

"This wine is ready for you to taste. Quickly sift it."

The sun was gradually setting on the horizon, and several people in the small courtyard were still busy working on Ye Chen's beer plan in an orderly manner.