Beer

What is Beer?

It is an alcoholic beverage produced by the scarification (weakening, opening, or otherwise altering the coat of a seed) of starch and fermentation of the resulting sugar which is often derived from malted cereal grains (commonly malted barley and malted wheat). Most beer is also flavored with hops ( flowers, or cones, of a plant called Humulus lupulus), Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavor’s and act as a natural preservative and stabilizing agent, though other flavorings can also be used instead of Hops such as herbs or fruit which is known as “Ale’. . Beer is brewed from cereal grains — most commonly from malted barley, though wheat, maize (corn), and rice are also used. The preparation of beer is called brewing.

The oldest and third most widely consumed and popular drink in the world, after water and tea. During the brewing process, fermentation of the starch sugars in the word produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. Beer is made from four basic ingredients: Barley, water, hops, and yeast. The basic idea is to extract the sugars from grains (usual barley) with the help of yeast which turns it into alcohol and CO2, creating beer

Step – 1, The brewing process starts with grains, usually barley (although sometimes wheat, rye, or other such things.) The grains are harvested and processed through a process of heating, drying out, and cracking. The main goal of malting is to isolate the enzymes needed for brewing so that it’s ready for the next step.

Step – 2, The grains then go through a process known as mashing, in which they are steeped in hot, but not boiling, water for about an hour, sort of like making tea. This activates enzymes in the grains that cause them to break down and release their sugars. Once this is all done you drain the water from the mash which is now full of sugar from the grains. This sticky, sweet liquid is called wort. It’s basically a beer starter or unmade beer, sort of like how the dough is unmade bread.

Step – 3, the wort is boiled for about an hour while hops and other spices are added several times. Once the hour-long boil is over the wort is cooled, strained, and filtered.

Step – 4, it’s then put in a fermenting vessel, and yeast is added to it. At this point the brewing is complete and the fermentation begins. The beer is stored for a couple of weeks at room temperature (in the case of ales) or many weeks at cold temperatures (in the case of lagers) while the yeast works its fermentation magic. Basically, the yeast eats up all that sugar in the wort and spits out CO2 and alcohol as waste products. You have now got alcoholic beer, however, it is still flat and carbonated.

Step – 5, The flat beer is bottled, at which time it is either artificially carbonated like a soda, or if it’s going to be ‘bottle conditioned’ it’s allowed to naturally carbonate via yeast.. After allowing it to age for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months you drink the beer and it’s delicious!

What is Cider?

Cider is more like beer than wine and of course alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. The juice of any variety of apples can be used to make cider, but cider apples are best. The addition of sugar before a second fermentation increases the ethanol content of the resulting beverage. Cider alcohol content varies, English ciders has 1.2% ABV to 8.5% or more and 3.5% to 12% in continental ciders. Countries have their own law like in UK law, it must contain at least 35% apple juice (fresh or from concentrate), although “real cider” must be at least 90% fresh apple juice. In the US, there is a 50% minimum. In France, cider must be made solely from apples

What is Perry?

Perry is made of pear and it is similar to Cider. In more recent years, commercial Perry has also been referred to as “pear cider”. Perry pears are higher in tannin and acid than eating or cooking pears and are generally smaller.

What is Ale?

Ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied, and fruity taste. You can say a drink brewed without hops. Ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the sweetness of the malt and act as a preservative. Ale was originally bittered with gruit, a mixture of herbs or spices boiled in the wort before fermentation. Later, hops replaced gruit as the bittering agent.

Verities of ale

1. Brown ales tend to be lightly hopped, and fairly mildly flavored, often with a nutty taste. In the south of England, they are dark brown, around 3-3.5% alcohol, and quite sweet; in the north they are red-brown, 4.5-5%, and drier
2. The pale ale was a term used for beers made from malt dried with coke [citation needed]. Coke had been first used for roasting malt in 1642, but it wasn’t until around 1703 that the term pale ale was first used. India Pale Ale (IPA) in the nineteenth century, beers from the Bow Brewery in England were exported to India, among them a pale ale which benefited exceptionally from the duration of the voyage and was highly regarded among its consumers in India. These beers would normally spoil during transportation. To avoid spoilage, extra hops were added as a natural preservative. This beer was the first of a style of export ale that became known as India Pale Ale or IPA. It was appreciated in India for its light and refreshing character, considering the hot climate of that country.
3. Golden ale Developed in hope of winning the younger people away from drinking lager in favor of cask ales, it is quite similar to pale ale yet there are some notable differences—it is paler, brewed with lager or low-temperature ale malts and it is served at colder temperatures. The strength of golden ales varies from 3.5% to 5.3%.
4. Scotch ales while the full range of ales is produced in Scotland, the term Scotch ale is used internationally to denote a malty, strong ale, amber-to-dark red in color. The malt may be slightly caramelized to impart toffee notes; generally, Scottish beers tend to be rather sweeter, darker, and less hoppy than English ones. The classic styles are Light, Heavy, and Export
5. Mild ale originally meant un-aged ale, the opposite of old ale. It can be any strength or color, although most are dark brown and low in strength, typically between 3 and 3.5%.
6. Burton ale is a strong, dark, somewhat sweet ale sometimes used as a stock ale for blending with younger beers
7. Old ale was strong beer traditionally kept for about a year, gaining sharp, acetic flavors as it did so. The term is now applied to medium-strong dark beers, some of which are treated to resemble the traditional old ales. In Australia, the term is used even less discriminately and is a general name for any dark beer.
8. Belgian ales are high in alcoholic content but relatively light in the body due to the substitution of part of the grist for sucrose, which provides an alcohol boost without adding fermentable material to the finished product. This process is often said to make beer more digestible.

What is Draught Beer?

Draught beer, also spelled draft, is a beer served from a cask (a large container like a barrel, made of wood, metal, or plastic) or keg (a small barrel, especially one of less than 10 gallons)  rather than from a bottle or can. Draught beer served from a pressurized keg is also known as keg beer. Cask beer should be stored and served at a cellar temperature of 12 °C (54 °F). Once a cask is opened, it should be consumed within three days. Keg beer is given additional cooling just prior to being served either by flash coolers or a remote cooler in the cellar. This chills the beer down to temperatures between 3 and 8 °C (37 and 46 °F).

What is Lager Beer?

Lager beer (The German word “Lager” means storeroom or warehouse) is a type of beer that originates from the part of the Austrian Empire that is now known as the Czech Republic. It is conditioned at low temperatures, while brewery. It may be pale, golden, amber, or dark.

Supported by Prof. Bhavik Vakaria