   #copyright

Beer

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Drink

   A selection of bottled beers
   Enlarge
   A selection of bottled beers
   A selection of cask beers
   Enlarge
   A selection of cask beers

   Beer is one of the world's oldest alcoholic beverages, possibly brewed
   for the first time over 10,000 years ago, according to renowned beer
   writer Michael Jackson. It is a fermented beverage most often made from
   malted barley, hops, yeast and water, and is carbonated in almost all
   cases. By altering the production method (changes in time and
   temperature, for example) or the ingredients, a staggeringly wide
   variety of different types of beer can be produced. Much like fine
   wines, many beers can also be aged and evolve into beverages that defy
   the common definitions of beer.

History

   Beer is one of the oldest human-produced beverages, possibly dating
   back to at least the 7th millennium BC (perhaps prior even to bread),
   and recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
   Earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500-3100 BC.
   As almost any substance containing carbohydrates, namely sugar or
   starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like
   beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout
   the world.

   In Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Levant, large-scale production of beer
   was common. In Europe, beer was being produced by or for monasteries as
   early as the 7th century. By the 14th and 15th centuries, beer had
   achieved great popularity, at least in part because health epidemics
   made drinking beer safer than drinking water. However it was not until
   the 17th century, according to Michael Jackson, that beer took on the
   styles and flavours that we might recognise in the beers of today.

   Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of
   several multinational companies, and many thousands of smaller
   producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries.

Brewing

   Though the process of brewing beer is complex and varies considerably,
   the basic stages that are consistent are outlined below. There may be
   additional filtration steps between stages.
   Enlarge
    1. Mashing: The first phase of brewing, in which the malted grains are
       crushed and soaked in warm water in order to create a malt extract.
       The mash is held at constant temperature long enough for enzymes to
       convert starches into fermentable sugars, usually about 45 to 90
       minutes, depending on mash temperature (high temperatures =
       faster). The temperature is typically held at either a single
       temperature (single step) or a series of temperatures depending on
       the enzymes one wants to focus on. Typically with modern
       fully-modified malts, a single-stage infusion is all that is
       required. For most mashes, a temperature between 65-67°C
       (150-154°F) is typical, with higher temperatures yielding fuller
       bodied beers, and lower temperatures yielding more fermentable and
       lighter bodied beers. Multi-temperature mashes are used for
       acid-buffering reactions and protein rests for head-retention for
       some types of malts.
    2. Sparging: Water is filtered through the mash to dissolve the
       sugars. The darker, sugar-heavy liquid is called the wort.
       Typically the rinse water (sparge) is held between 76-82°C
       (170-180°F) to (1) keep sugars and gums from setting up and (2)
       above 82°C (180°F), tannin extraction could be a problem.
    3. Boiling: The wort is boiled along with any remaining ingredients
       (excluding yeast), to remove excess water and kill any
       microorganisms. The main function of boiling is to set proteins and
       such similar to cooking bread. The hops (whole, pelleted, or
       extract) are added at some stage during the boil. Bittering hops
       are added during the entire boil (1 hour +), flavoring are added
       between about 5 - 20 minutes, and aroma hops are added at 5 minutes
       or less.
    4. Fermentation: The yeast is added (or "pitched") and the beer is
       left to ferment. After primary fermentation, the beer may be
       allowed a second fermentation, which allows further settling of
       yeast and other particulate matter ("trub") which may have been
       introduced earlier in the process. Some brewers may skip the
       secondary fermentation and simply filter off the yeast.
    5. Packaging: At this point, the beer contains alcohol, but not much
       carbon dioxide. The brewer has a few options to increase carbon
       dioxide levels. The most common approach by large-scale brewers is
       force carbonation, via the direct addition of CO[2] gas to the keg
       or bottle. Smaller-scale or more classically-minded brewers will
       add extra ("priming") sugar (usually about 5 oz corn sugar per 5
       gal) or a small amount of newly fermenting wort ("kräusen") to the
       final vessel, resulting in a short refermentation known as "cask-"
       or "bottle conditioning". This can be done by "bulk priming" or
       "bottle priming" methods. Bulk priming is the process of addiing
       the additional sugar to the entirety of the beer. Bottle priming is
       adding it to each bottle individually.

   After brewing, the beer is usually a finished product. At this point
   the beer is kegged, casked, bottled, or canned.

   Unfiltered beers may be stored for further fermentation in conditioning
   tanks, casks or bottles to allow smoothing of harsh alcohol notes,
   integration of heavy hop flavours, and/or the introduction of oxidised
   notes such as wine or sherry flavours. Some beer enthusiasts consider a
   long conditioning period attractive for various strong beers such as
   Barley wines. There are some beer cafes in Europe, such as Kulminator
   in Antwerp, which stock beers aged ten years or more. Aged beers such
   as Bass Kings Ale from 1902, Courage Imperial Russian Stout and Thomas
   Hardys Ale are particularly valued.

Ingredients

   Malted barley before roasting
   Enlarge
   Malted barley before roasting

   The basic ingredients of beer are water, a fermentable starch source,
   such as malted barley, and yeast. It is common for a flavouring to be
   added, the most popular being hops. A mixture of starch sources may be
   used, with the secondary starch source, such as corn, rice and sugar,
   often being termed an adjunct, especially when used as a lower cost
   substitute for malted barley.

Water

   Beer is composed mainly of water, which when heated is known as brewing
   liquor. The characteristics of the water have an influence on the
   character of the beer. Although the effect of, and interactions
   between, various dissolved minerals in brewing water is complex, as a
   general rule, hard water is more suited to dark beer such as stout,
   while very soft water is more suited for brewing pale ale and pale
   lager.

Hops

   Hops have commonly been used as a bittering agent in beer for over a
   thousand years, the earliest evidence of cultivation for this purpose
   dates back to the seventeenth century (according to Judith M. Bennett).
   Hops contain several characteristics very favourable to beer: (a) hops
   contribute a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt, (b)
   hops also contribute aromas which range from flowery to citrus to
   herbal, (c) hops have an antibiotic effect that favours the activity of
   brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms and (d) the use of
   hops aids in " head retention", the length of time that a foamy head
   created by the beer's carbonation agent will last. The bitterness of
   commercially-brewed beers is measured on the International Bitterness
   Units scale. While hop plants are grown by farmers all around the world
   in many different varieties, there is no major commercial use for hops
   other than in beer.

Yeast

   A microorganism that is responsible for fermentation. A specific strain
   of yeast is chosen depending on the type of beer being produced, the
   two main strains being ale yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and lager
   yeast ( Saccharomyces uvarum), with some other variations available,
   such as Brettanomyces and Torulaspora delbrueckii. Yeast will
   metabolise the sugars extracted from the grains, and produce alcohol
   and carbon dioxide as a result. Before yeast's functions were
   understood, fermentations were conducted naturally using wild or
   airborne yeasts; although a few styles such as lambics still rely on
   this ancient method, most modern fermentations are conducted using pure
   yeast cultures.

Clarifying agent

   Some brewers add one or more clarifying agents to beer that are not
   required to be published as ingredients. Common examples of these
   include Isinglass finings, obtained from swimbladders of fish; kappa
   carrageenan, derived from seaweed; Irish moss, a type of red alga;
   polyclar (artificial), and gelatin.

Styles

   A great many different types, or styles, of beer are brewed across the
   globe. The traditional European brewing nations - the United Kingdom,
   Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, The Netherlands
   and Austria - all have their own beer styles. These form the basis of
   the vast majority of beer brewed around the world. In some countries -
   notably the USA, Canada and Australia - brewers have adapted European
   styles to such an extent that they have effectively created their own
   indigenous types.

   The greatest diversity of flavours and types of beer can be found in
   Belgium, as demonstrated by its trappist, lambic and other beer styles.
   Germany too has a history of regional beer types, however, over time,
   some of these beers have disappeared.

   In tasting a beer for the first time, you might begin by asking: do I
   like this beer and why? Rather than concerning yourself with the beer's
   style, you might consider some of the physical attributes of the beer:
   aroma, appearance, mouthfeel (does it feel thin, creamy, syrupy in your
   mouth?), taste (sour, sweet, bitter, etc.) and the lack or presence of
   discernible alcohol. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers -- it's
   all a matter of taste.

   Categorising by yeast

   A common method of categorising beer is by the behaviour of the yeast
   used in the fermentation process. In this method of categorising, those
   beers which use a fast acting yeast which leaves behind residual sugars
   are termed ales, while those beers which use a slower and longer acting
   yeast which removes most of the sugars leaving a clean and dry beer are
   termed lagers.

Ale

   Cask ales
   Enlarge
   Cask ales

   A modern ale is commonly defined by the strain of yeast used and the
   fermenting temperature.

   Ales are normally brewed with top-fermenting yeasts, though a number of
   British brewers, including Fullers and Weltons, use ale yeast strains
   that have less pronounced top-fermentation characteristics. The
   important distinction for ales is that they are fermented at higher
   temperatures and thus ferment more quickly than lagers.

   Ale is typically fermented at temperatures between 15 and 24 °C (60 and
   75 °F). At these temperatures, yeast produces significant amounts of
   esters and other secondary flavour and aroma products, and the result
   is often a beer with slightly "fruity" compounds resembling but not
   limited to apple, pear, pineapple, banana, plum, or prune. Typical ales
   have a sweeter, fuller body than lagers.

   Differences between some ales and lagers can be difficult to
   categorise. Steam beer, Kölsch, Alt and some modern British Golden
   Summer Beers use elements of both lager and ale production. Baltic
   Porter and Bière de Garde may be produced by either lager or ale
   methods or a combination of both. However, lager production is
   perceived to produce cleaner tasting, dryer and lighter beer than ale.

Lager

   A stein of lager
   Enlarge
   A stein of lager

   Lager is the English name for bottom-fermenting beers of Central
   European origin. They are the most commonly-consumed beer in the world.
   The name comes from the German lagern ("to store"). Lager yeast is a
   bottom-fermenting yeast, and typically undergoes primary fermentation
   at 7-12 °C (45-55 °F) (the "fermentation phase"), and then is given a
   long secondary fermentation at 0-4 °C (32-40 °F) (the "lagering
   phase"). During the secondary stage, the lager clears and mellows. The
   cooler conditions also inhibit the natural production of esters and
   other byproducts, resulting in a "crisper" tasting beer.

   Modern methods of producing lager were pioneered by Gabriel Sedlmayr
   the Younger, who perfected dark brown lagers at the Spaten Brewery in
   Bavaria, and Anton Dreher, who began brewing a lager, probably of
   amber-red colour, in Vienna in 1840–1841. With modern improved yeast
   strains, most lager breweries use only short periods of cold storage,
   typically 1–3 weeks.

   The lagering phase is not restricted to lager beers. In Germany, all
   beers are stored at low temperatures before consumption; in the British
   tradition, the practice of Cold Conditioning is similar in nature.

Lambic beers: spontaneous fermentation

   Lambic beers use wild yeasts, rather than cultivated ones. Many of
   these are not related to brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces), and may have
   significant differences in aroma and sourness.

Pale and dark beer

   The most common colour is a pale amber produced from using pale malts.
   Pale lager is a term used for beers made from malt dried with coke.
   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. In terms of volume,
   most of today's beer is based on the pale lager brewed in 1842 in the
   town of Plzeň, in the Czech Republic. The modern Pilsner lager is light
   in colour and high in carbonation, with a strong hop flavour and an
   alcohol by volume content of around 5%. The Pilsner Urquell and
   Heineken brands of beer are typical examples of pale lager, as are the
   American brands Budweiser, Coors, and Miller.

   Dark beers are usually brewed from a pale malt or pils malt base with a
   small proportion of darker malt added to achieve the desired shade.
   Other colourants - such as caramel - are also widely used to darken
   beers. Very dark beers, such as stout, use dark or patent malts. These
   have been roasted longer.

Serving

Draught and keg

   Draught beer keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels
   Enlarge
   Draught beer keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels

   Draught beer from a pressurized keg is the most common dispense method
   in bars around the world. A metal keg is pressurized with carbon
   dioxide (CO[2]) gas which drives the beer to the dispensing tap or
   faucet. Some beers, notably stouts, such as Guinness and "Smooth"
   bitters, such as Boddingtons, may be served with a nitrogen/carbon
   dioxide mixture. Nitrogen produces fine bubbles, resulting in a dense
   head and a creamy mouthfeel.

   In the 1980s Guinness introduced the beer widget, a nitrogen
   pressurized ball inside a can which creates a foamy head. The words
   "draft" and "draught" are often used as marketing terms to describe
   canned or bottled beers containing a beer widget.

Cask ales

   Schlenkerla Rauchbier direct from the cask
   Enlarge
   Schlenkerla Rauchbier direct from the cask

   Cask ales are unfiltered and unpasteurised. Typically, when a cask
   arrives in a pub, it is placed horizontally on a stillage and allowed
   to cool to cellar temperature (typically around 13°C / 55.4°F), before
   being tapped and vented — a tap is driven through a (usually rubber)
   bung at the bottom of one end, and a hard spile or other implement is
   used to open a hole in the side of the cask, which is now uppermost.
   The act of stillaging and then venting a beer in this manner typically
   disturbs all the sediment, so it must be left for a suitable period to
   "drop" (clear) again, as well as to fully condition — this period can
   anywhere from several hours to several days. At this point the beer is
   ready to sell, either being pulled through a beer line with a hand
   pump, or simply being "gravity-fed" directly into the glass.

Bottles

   Most beers are filtered before bottling. See Filtered beer. But some
   are bottle conditioned.

   Bottle conditioned beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised. It is
   usually recommended that the beer is poured slowly, leaving any yeast
   sediment at the bottom of the bottle. However, some drinkers prefer to
   pour in the yeast, and this practice is customary with wheat beers.
   Typically when serving a hefeweizen 90% of the contents is poured and
   the remainder swirled to suspend the sediment before pouring it into
   the glass.

Cans

   A lot of beer is sold in beer cans, though there is considerable
   variation in the proportion between different countries. In Sweden 60%
   of beer is sold in cans, in Denmark none at all. People either drink
   from the can or pour the beer into a glass. Cans are commonly
   associated with cheap, mass-produced American beer such as Budwieser
   and Miller. Imported and micro-brewed beers are usually purchased in
   beer bottles.

Serving temperature

   The temperature of a beer has an influence on a drinker's experience.
   Colder temperatures allow fully attenuated beers such as pale lagers to
   be enjoyed for their crispness; while warmer temperatures allow the
   more rounded flavours of an ale or a stout to be perceived. Beer writer
   Michael Jackson proposes a five-level scale for serving temperatures:
   well chilled (7°C/45°F) for "light" beers (American and Australian
   lagers), chilled (8°C/47°F) for Berliner Weisse, lightly chilled
   (9C/48F) for European lagers, all dark lagers, altbier and German wheat
   beers, cellar temperature (13°C/55°F) for regular British ale, stout
   and most Belgian specialities and room temperature (15.5°C/60°F) for
   strong dark ales (especially trappist) and barley wine.

Culture

   Gambrinus - king of beer
   Enlarge
   Gambrinus - king of beer

Social context

   Various social traditions and activities are associated with beer
   drinking, such as playing cards, darts or other pub games; attending
   beer festivals, or visiting a series of different pubs in one evening;
   rating beer; joining an organisation such as CAMRA; or brewing beer at
   home. Various drinking games, such as beer pong, and Quarters are also
   very popular.

International consumption

   Beer is considered to be a social lubricant in many societies. Beer is
   consumed in countries all over the world. There are breweries in Middle
   Eastern countries such as Iraq and Syria as well as African countries
   (see African beer) and remote countries such as Mongolia. Sales of beer
   are four times as much as wine, the second most popular alcoholic
   beverage.

Vessels

   Beer is drunk from a variety of vessels, such as a glass, a beer stein,
   a mug, a pewter tankard or even a beer bottle or can. Many drinkers
   consider that the type of vessel influences their enjoyment of the
   beer. In Europe, many breweries produce glassware intended only for
   their own beers. Most drinkers expect their beer to be served in a
   glass, preferably the glass chosen by the brewery.

   The pouring process has an influence on a beer's presentation.

   The rate of flow from the tap or other serving vessel, tilt of the
   glass, and position of the pour (in the centre or down the side) into
   the glass all influence the end result, such as the size and longevity
   of the head, lacing (the pattern left by the head as it moves down the
   glass as the beer is drunk), and turbulence of the beer and its release
   of carbonation.

   Unfiltered bottled beers may be served with the addition of the
   remaining yeast at the bottom of the bottle to add both flavour and
   colour.

Rating

   Rating beer is a recent craze that combines the enjoyment of beer
   drinking with the hobby of collecting. People drink beer and then
   record their scores and comments on various internet websites. This is
   a worldwide activity and people in the USA will swap bottles of beer
   with people living in New Zealand and Russia. People's scores may be
   tallied together to create lists of the most popular beers in each
   country as well as the most highly rated beers in the world.

Health effects

   Beer contains alcohol which has a number of health risks and benefits.
   However, beer includes a wide variety of other agents that are
   currently undergoing scientific evaluation.

   Brewer's yeast is known to be a rich source of nutrients; therefore, as
   expected, beer can contain significant amounts of nutrients, including
   magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, and B vitamins. In
   fact, beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread" . Typically, the
   darker the brew, the more nutrient dense, with some sources maintaining
   that filtered beer loses much of its nutrition ,.

   A 2005 Japanese study found that non-alcoholic beer may possess strong
   anti-cancer properties. Another study found nonalcoholic beer to mirror
   the cardiovascular benefits associated with moderate consumption of
   alcoholic beverages.

   It is considered that over-eating and lack of muscle tone is the main
   cause of a beer belly, rather than beer consumption. A recent study,
   however, found a link between binge drinking and a beer belly. But with
   most overconsumption it is more a problem of improper exercise and
   overconsumption of carbohydrates than the product itself .

   There is strong evidence that prolonged consumption of alcohol,
   especially in high volumes, can not only lead to liver damage but
   leaves the organ vulnerable to cancer cells.

Strength

   The alcohol content of beers varies by local custom. British ales
   average around 4% abv, while Belgian beers tend to average 8% abv. The
   strength of the typical global pale lager is 5% abv.

   Typical brewing yeast cannot reproduce (and therefore cannot produce
   alcohol) above 12% abv. However, in the 1980s the Swiss brewery
   Hürlimann developed a yeast strain which could get as high as 14% for
   their Samichlaus beer.

   Some brewers use champagne yeasts to artificially increase the alcohol
   content of their beers. Samuel Adams reached 20% abv with Millennium
   and then surpassed that amount to 25.6% abv with Utopias. The strongest
   beer sold in Britain was Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, a 21% abv
   stout which was available from UK Safeways in 2003. In Japan in 2005,
   the Hakusekikan Beer Restaurant sold an eisbock, strengthened through
   freezing, believed to be 28% abv. The beer that is considered to be the
   strongest yet made is Hair of the Dog's Dave - a 29% abv barley wine
   made in 1994.

Related beverages

          See Category:Fermented beverages

   There are a number of related beverages such as kvass, sahti and
   pulque.
     * Africa: Hundreds of local drinks made from millet, sorghum, and
       other available starch crops.
     * Andes, South America: Chicha, an Andean beverage made from
       germinated maize.
     * Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and Sikkim: Chhaang, a popular semi-fermented
       rice/millet drink in the eastern Himalaya.
     * China: Jiǔ refers to all alcoholic drinks, most of which are
       distilled liquors (báijiǔ), but there are traditional grain-based
       relatives of beer such as sulima, made by the Mosuo people, and
       lijiang yinjiu, made by the Nakhi people, both in the Lijiang
       region of Yunnan.
     * Finland: Sahti, a traditional Finnish beer.
     * Indonesia: Brem, a Balinese fermented rice wine.
     * Japan: Sake, a rice-based fermented drink.
     * Korea: Soju
     * Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia: Kumis (in Kyrgyz called kymyz),
       is the fermented mare's milk drink popular in many parts of Central
       Asia and Mongolia. It is very easy to obtain as it is sold in any
       market and at small stands on the side of the highway in rural
       areas as a source of income for the local nomads.
     * Kyrgyzstan: Bozo is a low alcohol, somewhat porridgey drink made
       from millet. The Kyrgyz are also fans of kymyz (see kumis).
     * Mexico: Pulque, an indigenous beer made from the fermented sap of
       the agave plant.
     * Russia/Ukraine: Kvass, a fermented nonalcoholic or mildly alcoholic
       beverage.
     * Bouza: An ancient Egyptian beer made from bread which is still made
       in Sudan.
     * Some Celtic peoples of the European Iron Age drank, according to
       some classical sources, a type of beer known as korma.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
