This wonderful libation has been quenching the masses for centuries and yet most of us admit to knowing very little about the brewing process. Well if a visit to a brewery is not in your near future this article will at least get your on your way to knowing more about one of the worlds favorite alcoholic beverages.

There are two main families of Beer: Ales and Lagers.

Ales are top fermented and require much less conditioning time than lager. Ales are generally brewed at higher temperatures (between 15 - 24C or 60 - 75F) at these temperatures the yeast will produce a significant amount of esters and aromatic flavors in the ale. This will tend to give Ales “fruity” or floral compounds. Ales tend to be slightly sweeter than Lagers. Some Styles of Ales include but are not limited to, Stout, Barley Wine, Best Bitter and Albier.

Lagers are Bottom fermented and require much more conditioning time than Ales. Lagers are the most commonly consumed of the two families. Lager undergoes a primary fermentation at 7 - 12C or 45 - 55F then it will undergo a secondary phase or the “lagering” phase at 0 - 4 C or 30 - 40 F. This secondary fermentation will clarify and mellow the brew. The cooler temperatures will inhibit some the byproducts associated with brewing to give lagers a crisper taste than Ales. Some familiar styles of Lager are Pilsners and Bock.

Of course to start the brewing process we need to have a few vital ingredients:

Hops

Hops are derived from the cone of the Humulus Lupulus plant. Hops were originally added to beer as a preservative. It is now mainly used for its bitterness and aroma. The bitterness of the hops will generally balance the sweetness of the malt. The bitterness of commercially brewed hops is measured on the international bitterness unit scale and other than beer production, there is very little in the way of commercial uses for Hops themselves.

Barley

Barley is a cultivated cereal and is major food and animal feed crop. It is heartier than wheat and will thrive in cold temperatures. It was used by the ancient Egyptians for bread and of course beer. The Barley that is used for today’s beer production is malted barley. A process where the cereal grains are forced to germinate and are then quickly dried before the plant develops. This malting process allows the enzymes to convert the cereal grains starches to sugars, most notably of course in Barley.

Water

Water is the primary ingredient to beer and when heated becomes known as the brewing liquid. Different water from different regions will affect the beers taste due to mineralization. Hard water is generally used for production of darker beers such as Stouts and Ales while soft water is better suited for Light beer production such as pilsners or lagers.

Yeast

Yeast is a microorganism responsible for fermentation. It interacts with the Starches and sugars of Malt barley to create alcohol and carbon dioxide. Before 1876 and Louis Pasteur’s discovery of the single yeast cell, the fermentation process with yeast was a natural occurrence, hence the localized flavors of different regions being affected by the different naturally born yeasts. Now that Science has controlled the formation of yeast it can be broken into 2 main strains. Ale yeast (top Fermenting) or Lager Yeast (bottom Fermenting)

Brewing 101

Brewing beer has become a scientific process of late with several variations, filtering characteristics and flavorings but the process itself is a simple five step constant of Mashing, Sparging, Boiling, Fermentation and Packaging.

Mashing is the first process in brewing. The barley grains are crushed and soaked in warm water creating a malt extract. This extract is kept at a constant temperature to allow the enzymes to convert the starches of the grain into sugars.

Sparging is where water is filtered through the mash to dissolve the sugars inside. The result is a dark, sugar heavy liquid called Wort.

During the boiling process, the wort is boiled along with other ingredients, excluding yeast, to kill any microorganisms and release excess water from the brew. Hops are added at some point in this process.

Fermentation then takes place. The Yeast, either Ale or Lager yeast is added to the mix and the beer is then allowed to settle. This is called the primary fermentation process. There can be a second fermentation process but many breweries may simply filter off the yeast at this point.

Packaging the beer is the next step. Beer at this point will have alcohol but very little in the way of Carbon Dioxide. Many large scale breweries will infuse CO2 into the beer through the keg or bottling process. Smaller breweries or craft breweries may add residual sugars or small amounts of yeast to the bottles or kegs to produce a natural carbonization process. This is called Cask or Bottle fermented beer. No matter what process the brewery takes, all beer eventually ends up in steel kegs, bottles, cans and sometimes casks.

Although you now know the beer brewing process inside-out, the proper packaging of this libation has created much debate over whether beer is fresher when bottled or left in a keg.

The answer: A KEG.

The keg captures beer directly from the brewery and is kept refrigerated during transportation to your local pub!

Bottles on the other hand are transported by unrefrigerated trucks and left on shelves where the beer is exposed to enough light that will inevitably have an affect on taste!

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Have you ever thought how many of our senses cooperate when we decide to consume a cooling bottle of beer? Well, just consider that we touch the cold bottle from the fridge or over the bar counter, we listen to the carbon dioxide that is released while the beer’s foam develops, we see the amber color of the beer poured into our glass, we smell the aromatic substances that come from the snatch block and of course we taste the distinct bitter beer taste that is associated with the contained acids and wooden taste of tannins.

Enjoying a beer over a hot summer day watching our favorite sports game and cooking barbeque is one of the traditions Americans have become famous worldwide for. Blond or dark, beer is drunk cool or hot, depending on the liking, the traditions and a country’s culture. Beer fanatics know well that the secret in drinking and enjoying the genuine beer taste at its best is to consume it fresh; that way the beer’s aromatic substances are not yet destroyed and its carbon dioxide has not yet escaped.

Out of all the alcohol drinks, beer contains the smallest percentage of alcohol and like all alcoholic beverages, when consumed in logical portions, can increase the levels of good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. For over thirty years, scientists have researched the effects associated with balanced beer consumption for the human cardiovascular system. The research outcomes have shown that a logical alcohol consumption (one bottle of beer or one small glass of wine) during a meal can obstruct the development of plaque inside the human arteries.

Since beer contains six times more potassium than sodium it can be consumed better when combined with salty foods, so as to balance the potassium ions existing in the human body. Moreover, a tip so as to protect your body against ethanol, which is the alcohol existing in any alcoholic beverage, you should eat an oily type of food and thus decrease the chances of getting drunk with a few zips out of your beer glass. This oily coat that covers the inside of your stomach helps your body delay the absorption the alcohol you consume.

Finally, do not disregard the beer’s yeast. Containing important nutritional substances, like a great variety of type B vitamins, the yeast of the beer provides the human organism with many necessary ingredients helping the body maintain the desired balance of the sugar levels existing in the blood. Additionally, since the glucose that the human body does not need immediately is stored in the special body storage rooms, known as fat cells, chromium, the trace element found in the yeast of beer, can reduce the production of additional fat cells and help you maintain your figure. Now that you know why you should drink beer without feeling guilty, enjoy it with good friends and always remember to drink responsibly!

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Who doesn’t love an ice cold beer on a sunny day or after a hard days work? Many of us do but what is it that makes beer so great? Well, we could spend years talking about the virtues of beer and trying to categorize them all, but instead why not focus on the conception of beer and learn its quenching history!
Beer is possibly the oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage on the planet today. Records of beer can be traced back to 5000 BC in the ancient writings of the Egyptians and Mesopotamians.

It’s basic mix of carbohydrates and water made it a simple beverage to create and became a staple, along with bread, in the diet of medieval times. It was sometimes a thick and floral concoction with often poisonous flavorings that was a far cry from what we now drink today.
During the middle ages, brewing beer shifted from homemakers and became more a tool of the artisan. Pubs, Monasteries and Monks in particular, began brewing beer for the masses. Hops were added to induce some bitterness to the sweet brew making it more identifiable to your palate today.

In 1516 the brewing guilds of Bavaria pushed for beer purity laws making it illegal to brew beer with anything but barley, hops and water. (This of course predated yeast) it was shortly after this in 1553 that Beck’s brewing of Belgium began producing beer commercially for the masses.

With the discovery of the new world so did the progression of beer brewing. Many breweries started the process of mass production but with differing results, regional flavors and taste. Many prominent men of the day brewed beer, sometimes hiring brew master’s from the old world to come and work their craft. Beer brewing hadn’t changed much until 1876, when Louis Pasteur was able to isolate a single yeast cell in a controlled lab environment thus changing beer brewing forever. The true secret to fermentation was discovered and was now repeatable. Controlled mass production and consistency were now available to the joy of beer drinkers everywhere.

Since then beer has been manufactured by several large multinational corporations around the world but still retains its artisan roots with regional craft breweries and small “micro breweries” producing outstanding product with a great regional feel and flavor. With the introduction of the metal keg in 1964, it was now possible for completely hygienic and sterilized product to be shipped worldwide thus evoking the term “Import or Domestic” on Tap and giving us the modern brew we love and enjoy today.

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