<sod>  
 The malt is ground into a coarse [[powder]], known as '''grist''', which is mixed with heated [[water]] in a [[vat]] called a "mash tun" for a process known as "mashing". During this process, natural [[enzyme]]s within the malt break down much of the [[starch]] into [[sugar]]s which play a vital part in the [[fermentation]] process. Mashing usually takes 1 to 2 hours, and during this time various [[temperature]] rests activate different enzymes depending upon the type of malt being used, its modification level, and the desires of the [[brewmaster]].  The Mash Tun generally contains a slotted "false bottom" or other form of manifold which acts as a strainer allowing for the separation of the liquid from the grain.  
 
A mash rest at 104 °F or 40 °C activates [[glucanase]], which breaks down gummy beta-glucans in the mash, making the sugars flow out more freely later in the process.  A mash rest from 120°F to 130 °F (49°C to 55°C) activates various [[proteinase]]s, which break down proteins that might otherwise cause the beer to be hazy.  But care is of the essence since the head on beer is also composed primarily of proteins, so too aggressive a protein rest can result in a beer that cannot hold a head.  This rest is generally used only with undermodified (i.e. undermalted) malts which are decreasingly popular in [[Germany]] and the [[Czech Republic]], or non-malted grains such as [[corn]] and [[rice]], which are widely used in North American beers.  Finally, a mash rest temperature of 149 to 160 °F (65 to 71 °C) is used to convert the starches in the malt to sugar, which is then usable by the yeast later in the brewing process.  Doing the latter rest at the lower end of the range produces more low-order sugars which are more fermentable by the [[[yeast]].  This in turn creates a beer lower in body and higher in [[alcohol]].  While a rest closer to the higher end of the range creates more higher-order sugars, which are less fermentable by the yeast so a fuller-bodied beer is the result, with less alcohol.  
 
 After mashing the resulting [[liquid]] is strained from the grains in a process known as lautering. At this point it is known as '''wort'''.  The wort is moved into a large tank known as a "copper" or [[kettle]] where it is boiled with [[hops]] and sometimes other ingredients such as [[herbs]] or sugars.  The boiling process serves to terminate enzymatic processes, [[precipitation|precipitate]] proteins, [[isomerization|isomerize]] [[hop]] [[resin]]s, concentrate and [[sterilization|sterilize]] the wort.  Hops add flavour, [[odor|aroma]] and [[bitter|bitterness]] to the beer. At the end of the boil, the hopped wort settles to clarify it in a vessel called a "whirl-pool" and the clarified wort is then cooled. 
 
 <eod> <sod> 
 The malt is ground into a coarse [[powder]], known as '''grist''', which is mixed with heated [[water]] in a [[vat]] called a "mash tun" for a process known as "mashing". During this process, natural [[enzyme]]s within the malt break down much of the [[starch]] into [[sugar]]s which play a vital part in the [[fermentation]] process. Mashing usually takes 1 to 2 hours, and during this time various [[temperature]] rests activate different enzymes depending upon the type of malt being used, its modification level, and the desires of the [[brewmaster]].  The Mash Tun generally contains a slotted "false bottom" or other form of manifold which acts as a strainer allowing for the separation of the liquid from the grain.  
 
A mash rest at 104 °F or 40 °C activates [[glucanase]], which breaks down gummy beta-glucans in the mash, making the sugars flow out more freely later in the process.  A mash rest from 120°F to 130 °F (49°C to 55°C) activates various [[proteinase]]s, which break down proteins that might otherwise cause the beer to be hazy.  But care is of the essence since the head on beer is also composed primarily of proteins, so too aggressive a protein rest can result in a beer that cannot hold a head.  This rest is generally used only with undermodified (i.e. undermalted) malts which are decreasingly popular in [[Germany]] and the [[Czech Republic]], or non-malted grains such as [[corn]] and [[rice]], which are widely used in North American beers.  Finally, a mash rest temperature of 149 to 160 °F (65 to 71 °C) is used to convert the starches in the malt to sugar, which is then usable by the yeast later in the brewing process.  Doing the latter rest at the lower end of the range produces more low-order sugars which are more fermentable by the [[yeast]].  This in turn creates a beer lower in body and higher in [[alcohol]].  While a rest closer to the higher end of the range creates more higher-order sugars, which are less fermentable by the yeast so a fuller-bodied beer is the result, with less alcohol.  
 
 After mashing the resulting [[liquid]] is strained from the grains in a process known as lautering. At this point it is known as '''wort'''.  The wort is moved into a large tank known as a "copper" or [[kettle]] where it is boiled with [[hops]] and sometimes other ingredients such as [[herbs]] or sugars.  The boiling process serves to terminate enzymatic processes, [[precipitation|precipitate]] proteins, [[isomerization|isomerize]] [[hop]] [[resin]]s, concentrate and [[sterilization|sterilize]] the wort.  Hops add flavour, [[odor|aroma]] and [[bitter|bitterness]] to the beer. At the end of the boil, the hopped wort settles to clarify it in a vessel called a "whirl-pool" and the clarified wort is then cooled. 
 
 <eod>