All You Ever Wanted To Know About Beer...
All About Beer
The clinking of beer-filled mugs, the foaming heads brimming out of them, the irresistible aura, and the bitter-yet-sweet taste are always a treat to your senses: a treat that lasts till you lose your senses!
We seldom think beyond the looks, smell and taste of this indisputably wonderful drink. It’s time we set out and explore more about this fantastic drink.
Did you know that beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world?
And, have you ever tried to figure out what beer is, how it’s made, what flavors and strengths it’s available in?
Read on to discover some astonishing facts about your favorite drink… The history
As per the scriptures of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Beer is supposed to be one of the oldest man-made alcoholic beverages, dating back to at least the 7th century BC. It is believed that beer was produced even before man invented the art of making bread!
The constituents
The basic constituents of beer are one or more fermentable Starch sources, Water, Yeast and Hops.
Water
Water is the predominant ingredient of beer. Water comprises various mineral salts which are believed to have a bearing on the nature of the beer produced. As the composition of these mineral salts varies with the water found in different geographic locations, each region is considered favorable for producing a certain type of beer.
Starch source
The starch source serves as a fermentable material and influences the character of the beer. Grains are a rich source of starch, and the malting process can be used to convert the starches in the grains into fermentable sugars; consequently, malted grain is the most commonly used starch source. The malting process involves the following steps:
1. Soaking the grain in water
2. Keeping the grain soaked till it germinates
3. Drying the partially germinated grain in a kiln
As the color of the malt decides the color of the beer produced, breweries adopt different roasting techniques to produce different colors of malt from the same grain. The darker the malt, darker will be the shade of the beer produced.
Although wheat, rice, oats, and rye, (sometimes, even corn and sorghum) are used as Starch sources, barley malt is the most preferred and the most commonly used Starch source because of the following reasons:
1. It has fibrous husk, which is important for Sparging.
2. It has a high concentration of amylase, an enzyme that converts starch into sugars.
Hops
Hop is a twining vine, which normally is a weak-stemmed plant, whose flowers are used as a preservative in beer production. In addition, these flowers add a tinge of aroma (aroma hops) and bitterness (bittering hops) which plays an important role in balancing the quality of sweetness of the malt. Different types of hops add different flavors and aromas.
Yeast
Yeast is a microorganism that facilitates fermentation by converting the sugars present in the wort to alcohol.
In the fermentation process, the proteins are first broken down into their constituent amino acids; subsequently, the yeast is the one, which breaks down the sugars into water, carbon dioxide, and Pyruvic acid. Pyruvic acid is later transformed into alcohol.
Brewing Beer
Beer is produced through a process called Brewing, which involves the following stages:
Mashing: Mashing refers to the process of varying the temperature of the water and starch-source mixture (known as mash) till the starches are converted into fermentable sugars. During Mashing, the temperature is varied in a phased manner, and during each phase, the enzymes (alpha and beta amylase) in the starch source produce compounds needed for fermentation. The number of phases required and the temperature variance depend on the starch source used.
Sparging: Sparging involves segregating and extracting the fermentable liquid (wort) from the mash. Sparging is carried out in a container with a porous barrier, so that the wort can pass through the barrier while the grains are held back.
Boiling: Boiling evaporates the water content in the wort and enhances the sugar concentration, enabling more efficient use of the starch sources in the beer. While boiling the wort, Hops are added for bitterness, flavor, and aroma. Boiling Hops for a long time only increases the bitterness of the beer but does not enhance the flavor.
Fermentation: Fermentation is the process of using yeast to convert the sugars in wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide. During the process, the boiled wort is cooled in a fermenter, treated with yeast, and allowed to ferment for a specific period; the fermentation period varies depending on the type of yeast used and strength of the beer. At the end of the fermentation process, the yeast and the fine particulate matter suspended in the wort precipitates, leaving behind clear beer. Sometimes, the fermentation process is carried out in two stages: primary and secondary. The secondary fermentation is adopted to achieve greater clarity or when the produced beer needs to be stored for a long duration before packaging.
Packaging: Packaging involves carbonating the beer and filling it into a keg, cask, can or bottle. The carbonation is achieved either by natural carbonation or by forcing carbon dioxide into the beer.
The Types
Beers are classified based on the following factors:
1. The type of yeast used to produce them.
2. Their style of which there are countless amouts (and growing).
Categorization based on the type of yeast used
A widely adopted method for classifying beers is based on the type of yeast used for fermentation. The beers produced using top-fermenting yeasts (which act fast) are called Ales; the beers produced using bottom-fermenting yeasts (which are slower and take a longer time to bring about fermentation) are called Lagers.
Ale
Ales are produced using top-fermenting yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae being the most common) and are fermented at higher temperatures. As fermenting at higher temperatures drastically reduces the fermentation period, Ales ferment more quickly than lagers, but leave behind residual sugars. Ales are generally fermented at temperatures between 15 and 24 °C (60 and 75 °F). At these temperatures, yeast produces esters and other fruit-flavored aromatic compounds; consequently, Ales have a fruity flavor.
Lager
Lagers are produced using bottom-fermenting yeasts (such as Saccharomyces pastorianus) and are fermented at lower temperatures, resulting in a prolonged fermentation. Bottom-fermenting yeast undergoes primary fermentation at 7-12 °C (45-55 °F). To achieve a greater clarity and smoothness, the beer is treated with a long secondary fermentation at 0-4 °C (32-40 °F). As the fermentation is carried out at lower temperatures, esters and other byproducts are inhibited, eliminating the fruity flavor. Moreover, the use of a bottom-fermenting yeast removes most of the sugars, leaving behind a clear, crispier beer.
Lambic
Unlike Ales and Lagers, the Lambic beer which is produced using wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be found in the Senne valley in Brussels, Belgium. The Lambic beers are distinctly different in their taste and aroma and carry a tinge of sourness.
Categorization based on the color
A beer is considered pale or dark based on its color, which can be varied by varying the color of the malt and adopting different roasting techniques and coloring agents.
Pale amber produced from pale malts is the most commonly brewed color. Although dark beers are also produced from pale malts, an appropriate proportion of darker malt is used to achieve the desired darkness. Coloring agents (such as caramel) are also widely used to darken beers.
Alcohol Content
The level of alcohol or the alcohol content of a beer depends primarily on the quantity of fermentable sugars in the wort and the type of yeast used to ferment the wort. However, brewers can tweak the standard alcohol content produced as a result of a typical fermentation process. While the alcohol content can be increased by adding additional fermentable sugars, it can be reduced by adding enzymes that convert complex carbohydrates to fermentable sugars.
The alcohol content in beer varies between less than 3% alcohol by volume (abv) to around 30% abv. While the pale lagers fall in the range of 4-6%, some beers have such a low alcohol content that they are served instead of soft drinks. With a 29% abv, the Hair of the Dog's Dave is considered to be the strongest beer ever.
The Brewing Industry
Before the Industrial Revolution, beer was mainly produced and consumed at a domestic level. The Industrial Revolution witnessed a surge in beer production which automatically transformed domestic brewing to large-scale industrial manufacturing. By the turn of the 19th century, brewing was a burgeoning industry by itself.
Today, with a myriad number of multinationals and small-time brewers in the fray, the brewing industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry spread across all continents in the world. With the number of consumers growing at a breakneck speed, this wonderful drink continues to cast its spell over people of all age groups and geographies. In fact, it is estimated that more than 133 billion liters (35 billion gallons) of beer are sold every year, which translates to a whopping $294.5 billion (£147.7 billion) for the brewers worldwide!
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