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Appreciate Beer
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Step 1:
Understand the basic ingredients
Hundreds of years ago the Germans must have been pretty upset with the quality of some of their brews, because they felt compelled to establish the German Purity Law. The law essentially said that their beer could be made of four things: barley, hops, yeast and water. These four items each bring something a little different to the table when we speak about beer.
Barley is a cereal grain, and the most fundamental ingredient. It must undergo malting before it can be used to make beer. Barley introduces color, sweet flavor, body, a good head and the natural sugars needed for fermentation.
Hops are the pinecone-like flowers of a cannabis-family plant. Hops have many varieties, and they're usually so delicate that they're hand-picked. When boiled, they release a sticky substance called lupulin that provides the bitterness to counterbalance the barley's sweetness, adds flavor, provides aroma and helps preserve beer.
Yeast: This single-cell organism of the fungus family is responsible for the fermentation process. It happily takes in sweet liquids and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. Some yeast works best in warmer temperatures (65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) and rises to the top of the batch--it's used to make ales. Other yeast favors colder temperatures (38 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit) and sinks to the bottom of the batch--it's used to make lagers. Ales and lagers are discussed a little further on.
Water makes up 95% of the finished beer, and surprisingly isn't always the pure spring water most commercials would have you believe. It's often chemically manipulated by adding calcium carbonate, magnesium, gypsum and other minerals.
Many beers have other ingredients besides these basic four. Hopefully, the additions are made to create a specific characteristic. For instance, fruit-flavored beers may get some syrup added to them. Summertime beers are often brewed with high amounts of wheat, which gives them a light, crisp taste. Wintertime beers might contain various spices to warm up those cold, lonely nights.
Some beers, though, use cheap additives to reduce the cost of brewing the beer. The largest American brewers are known for using unmalted cereal grains like corn and rice in their brews. They claim this produces a lighter-style that Americans like, and the cost reductions are just an unexpected bonus for them. Hmmm . . .
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