Beer
Beer is a commercial alcoholic drink. The process of brewing beer involves several reactions that were not fully understood until the microscope was invented. Different types of beer differ depending on how it is processed, the types of hops that were used, or even the temperature of the room where the beer was fermented. Brewers have been researching how to get the best flavor for years.
Manufacturing process
Beer contains ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol, grain alcohol, or alcohol. Alcohol is made when yeast cells ferment carbohydrates in grain crops or sugar crops to ethyl alcohol, or when ethylene is hydrated.[1]
Beer typically uses malted grain crops. The process starts by binding the malted crops to water (H2O). This process makes malted sugar, which will be boiled again with hops for seasoning.[2] Hops are a kind of flower that contains a bitter flavored oil. This flavor is used to counter the sweet flavor that comes from the grain crops. By using different types of hops, the bitterness of the beer differs. Adding hops at different points of the brewing process and leaving the hops in the boiling water for different amounts of time are other ways to adjust the bitterness.[3] After the boiling process, the solution has to be cooled down. After it cools, yeast is added for fermenting purposes. During the fermenting process, the yeast converts the sugar into to CO2 and ethyl alcohol.[2]
Types of beer
There are many types or styles of beer, which vary depending on the region. The two most known brewing styles are Ale brewing style and Lager brewing style.[4]
Ale brewing styles
Ale brewing involves top fermentation yeasts and can be traced back to more than than 5000 years ago.
Belgium has many types of beer; there are Abbey Beers, Belgian Browns, Golden, Lambics, Red Beers, Saisons, Trappist Beers and White (Wit) Bier. All of those beers are processed in top fermented yeasts, but the process of making them is slightly different. Depending on how much the beer is fermented and how many times it is processed, the taste, texture, and alcohol percentage changes. For example, Golden beer has a fruit flavor with an alcohol content of 4-5%. In contrast, Saisons beer has 5-7 % of alcohol with no fruity flavor, but rather a bitter flavor.
Germany also has many different types of beer, such as Alt Bier, Beliner Weisse, Dunkel-weizens, Hefe-weizen and Bocks. For example, Hefe-weizen is named after the literal meaning for each words. The word 'Hefe' means unfiltered or with yeast. It is unfiltered, and sometimes called 'Weissbiers' or white beer because of its light color.
England has different beer types, such as Barley Wine, Bitters English, Ordinary bitter, Special bitter, ESB (Extra Special Bitter), English Browns, India Pale Ale (IPA), Pale Ales, Porters, Oatmeal Stouts, Sweet Stouts, Strong Ales. IPA beer has a history that involves India. When the British colonized India, they sent beers for the troops, but the taste of the beer changed during its transport from England to India. Brewers then added more hops and alcohol for preserving purposes. Nowadays, people like this flavor, but they say it is nothing like the IPAs that were originally made in England.
Lagers
Lager beers can be traced back several hundred years. It was first created in an accident by fermenting the beer at a cooler temperature. It has a bitter flavor compared to others because fermenting in a cooler temperature limits fermentation.
Some types of lagers found in Germany are Bock, Dortmunder, German Helles, and Munich-style Dunkels. Bock has a bitter flavor taste with a slightly higher amount of alcohol in it (usually more than 6.25%). There are two types of Bock; Helles Bock and Traditional Bock. Helles Bock has a light flavor with a less hop flavor in it. Traditional Bock is almost the same as Helles Bock except it is darker in color and has less hops flavor.[5]
The Czech Republic is known for Czech Pilsners. They originated in the town of Pilsner. It has nearly 5% alcohol.[5]
Video
Process of how beer is brewed in an all grain process.
References
- ↑ Ethyl alcohol Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. Last updated 13 November 2014. Author Unknown.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Introduction How to brew. Web. Accessed 18 January 2015. John Palmer.
- ↑ Beer Guide: What are hops? The Kitchenn. Web. Accessed 18 January 2015. Author Unknown
- ↑ The Differences between Ales and Lagers Dummies. Web. Accessed 27 January 2015. Marty Nachel and Steve Ettlinger.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Beer Glossary. Bend Brewfest. Web. Accessed 27 January 2015. Author Unknown.
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