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Beer is any . It is produced by the Fermentation of Sugar s derived from Starch -based material — the most common being Malted Barley ; however, Wheat , Corn and Rice are also widely used, usually in conjunction with the barley. Less widely used starch sources include Millet , Sorghum and Cassava root in Africa, Potato in Brazil, and Agave in Mexico , among others. The starch source is Steeped in Water , along with certain Enzymes , to produce a sugary Wort Malting Process which is then flavoured with Herbs , Fruit or most commonly Hops . Yeast is then used to cause Fermentation , which produces alcohol and other waste products from Anaerobic Respiration of the sugars. Beer uses many varying ingredients, production methods and traditions. The type of yeast and production method may be used to classify beer into Ale , Lager and Spontaneously Fermented Beers . Some beer writers and organizations differentiate and categorize beers by various factors into Beer Style s. Alcoholic beverages fermented from non starch sources such as grape juice ( Wine ) or honey ( Mead ), and Distilled beverages are not classified as beer. HISTORY See Also: History of beer Beer is one of the oldest beverages, possibly dating back to the 6th millennium , namely Sugar or Starch , can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world. Beer produced before the s and Thermometer s changed brewing because they allowed the brewer more control of the brewing process and greater knowledge of the results. THE BREWING INDUSTRY Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of several Multinational Companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from Brewpub s to Regional Breweries . More than 133 billion liters (35 billion gallons) are sold per year — producing total global revenues of $294.5 billion (£147.7 billion) in 2006.http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/53577/beer_global_industry_guide.htm The average American consumes 20 gallons of beer a year. The industry is dominated by a few international players.http://biz.yahoo.com/p/bevalcmktd.html The acquisition of Miller Brewing by South African Breweries to form SABMiller made it the second-largest brewing company in 2002. The leading trade association for the brewing and pub industry in the United Kingdom is the British Beer & Pub Association . Representing 98% of UK brewing by volume and the ownership of around two-thirds of the nations pubs it has over 80 regional, national and international companies in membership. BREWING See Also: Brewing Beer is made by Brewing . The essential stages of brewing are Mashing , Sparging , boiling, fermentation, and packaging. Most of these stages can be accomplished in several different ways, but the purpose of each stage is the same regardless of the method used to achieve it. Mashing manipulates the temperature of a mixture of water and a starch source (known as mash) in order to convert starches to fermentable sugars. The mash goes through one or more stages of being raised to a desired temperature and left at the temperature for a period of time. During each of these stages, Enzymes (alpha and beta amylase primarily break down the long dextrins that are present in the mash into simpler fermentable sugars such as glucose) in the starch source produce compounds needed for fermentation and further mashing, including the fermentable sugars. The number of stages required in mashing depends on the starch source used to produce the beer. Most malted barley used today requires only a single stage. Sparging (a.k.a. Lautering ) extracts the fermentable liquid, known as Wort , from the mash. During sparging the mash is in a vessel known as a Lauter-tun , which has a porous barrier through which wort but not grain can pass. The brewer allows the wort to flow past the porous barrier and collects the wort. The brewer also adds water to the lauter-tun and lets it flow through the mash and collects it as well. This rinses fermentable liquid from the grain in the mash and allows the brewer to gather as much of the fermentable liquid from the mash as possible. The leftover grain is not usually further used in making the beer. However in some places second or even third mashes would be performed with the not quite spent grains. Each run would produce a weaker wort and thus a weaker beer. Boiling Sterilizes the wort and increases the concentration of sugar in the wort. The wort collected from sparging is put in a kettle and boiled, usually for about one hour. During boiling, water in the wort evaporates, but the sugars and other components of the wort remain; this allows more efficient use of the starch sources in the beer. Hops are added during boiling in order to extract bitterness, flavour and aroma from them. Hops may be added at more than one point during the boil. As hops are boiled longer, they contribute more bitterness but less hop flavour and aroma to the beer. Fermentation uses yeast to turn the sugars in wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide. During fermentation, the wort becomes beer. Once the boiled wort is cooled and in a fermenter, yeast is propagated in the wort and it is left to ferment, which requires a week to months depending on the type of yeast and strength of the beer. In addition to producing alcohol, fine particulate matter suspended in the wort settles during fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the yeast also settles, leaving the beer clear. Fermentation is sometimes carried out in two stages, primary and secondary. Once most of the alcohol has been produced during primary fermentation, the beer is transferred to a new vessel and allowed a period of secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation is used when the beer requires long storage before packaging or greater clarity. Packaging, the fifth and final stage of the brewing process, prepares the beer for distribution and consumption. During packaging, beer is put into the vessel from which it will be served — a keg, cask, can or bottle. Beer is carbonated in its package, either by forcing Carbon Dioxide into the beer or by "natural carbonation." Naturally carbonated beers have a small amount of sugar added to them during packaging. This causes a short period of fermentation which produces carbon dioxide. INGREDIENTS See Also: Malt Barley The basic ingredients of beer are Water ; a fermentable starch source, such as Malt ed 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 mostly of water, and water used to make beer nearly always comes from a local source. The mineral components of water are important to beer because minerals in the water influence the character of beer made from it. Different regions have water with different mineral components. As a result, different regions are better suited to making certain types of beer. For example, Dublin has Hard Water well-suited to making stout, such as Guinness , and Pilzen has soft water well-suited to making Pale Lager , such as Pilsner Urquell .http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/aug04/resources.html As a result, it is argued that the mineral components of water have an influence on the character of regional beers.http://www.agiweb.org/geotimes/aug04/resources.html Starch source The starch source in a beer provides the fermentable material in a beer and is a key determinant of the character of the beer. The most common starch source used in beer is malted grain. Grain is malted by soaking it in water, allowing it to begin Germination , and then drying the partially germinated grain in a kiln. Malting grain produces enzymes that convert starches in the grain into fermentable sugars. Different roasting times and temperatures are used to produce different colours of malt from the same grain. Darker malts will produce darker beers. Nearly all beer includes barley malt as the majority of the starch. This is because of its fibrous husk, which is important in the sparging stage of brewing, and high concentration of Amylase , a Digestive Enzyme which facilitates conversion of starch into sugars. Other malted and unmalted grains (including Wheat , Rice , Oat s, and Rye , and less frequently, corn and Sorghum ) may be used. Hops See Also: Hops The flower of the Hop Vine is used as a flavouring and preservative agent in nearly all beer made today. The flowers themselves are often called "hops". Hops were used in beer by Jews in Babylon A Short History of Hops around 400 BCE, and by monastery breweries, such as Corvey in Westphalia, Germany, from 822 CE,Martyn Cornell, Beer: The Story of the Pint, page 62.Richard W. Unger, Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, page 54. though the date normally given for widespread cultivation of hops for use in beer is the thirteenth century.Martyn Cornell, Beer: The Story of the Pint, page 63.Richard W. Unger, Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, page 55. . Beer is the sole major commercial use of hops. In the past, other plants have been used for similar purposes; for instance, '' Glechoma Hederacea ''. Combinations of various aromatic herbs, berries, and even ingredients like Wormwood would be combined into a mixture known as Gruit and used as hops are now used. Yeast See Also: Brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae Saccharomyces uvarum Yeast is the Microorganism that is responsible for fermentation in beer. Yeast Metabolizes the sugars extracted from grains, which produces Alcohol and Carbon Dioxide , and thereby turns wort into beer. In addition to fermenting the beer, yeast influences the character and flavour. The dominant types of yeast used to make beer are ale yeast ('' Saccharomyces Cerevisiae '') and lager yeast ('' Saccharomyces Uvarum ''); their use distinguishes Ale and Lager . '' Brettanomyces '' ferments Lambic s, and '' Torulaspora Delbrueckii '' ferments Bavarian Weissbier . Before the role of yeast in fermentation was understood, fermentation involved wild or airborne yeasts. A few styles such as Lambics rely on this method today, but most modern fermentation adds pure yeast Cultures directly to wort. Clarifying agent Some brewers add one or more Clarifying agents to beer. Common examples of these include Isinglass Finings , obtained from Swimbladder s of Fish ; kappa Carrageenan , derived from seaweed; Irish Moss , a type of Red Alga ; polyclar (artificial), and Gelatin . Clarifying agents typically precipitate out of the beer along with protein solids, and are found only in trace amounts in the finished product. TYPES AND STYLES OF BEER See Also: Beer style A great many beers are brewed across the globe. Local traditions will give beers different names, giving the impression of a multitude of different styles. However, the basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries. The British beer writer Michael Jackson wrote about beers from around the world in his 1977 book ''The World Guide To Beer'' and organised them into local style groups based on local information. This book had an influence on Homebrewer s in United States who developed an intricate system of categorising beers which is exemplified by the Beer Judge Certification Program . The traditional European brewing regions — Germany, Belgium , the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, The Netherlands and Austria — have local varieties of beer. 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. Categorising by yeast See Also: Brewer's yeast A common method of categorizing beer is by the behaviour of the yeast used in the fermentation process. In this method of categorizing, 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 See Also: Ale A modern Ale is commonly defined by the strain of yeast used and the fermenting temperature. Ales are normally brewed with Top-fermenting Yeast s (most commonly ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'') , 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 Ester s and other secondary flavour and aroma products, and the result is often a beer with slightly "fruity" compounds resembling Apple , Pear , Pineapple , Banana , Plum , or Prune , among others. 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 results in a cleaner-tasting, dryer and lighter beer than ale. Lager See Also: Lager ]] Lager is the English name for bottom-fermenting beers of Central European origin. They are the most commonly consumed beers in the world. The name comes from the German ''lagern'' ("to store"). Lagers originated from being fermented in the cellars of Eastern European castles and monasteries which became quite cold. Lager yeast is a Bottom-fermenting Yeast (e.g., ''Saccharomyces pastorianus''), 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 Ester s 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 improved modern yeast strains, most lager breweries use only short periods of cold storage, typically 1–3 weeks. Lambic beers: spontaneous fermentation See Also: Lambic Lambic beers, a speciality of Belgian Beers , use wild yeasts, rather than cultivated ones. Many of these are not strains of brewer's yeast (''Saccharomyces cerevisiae''), and may have significant differences in aroma and sourness. Yeast varieties such as '' Brettanomyces Bruxellensis '' and '' Brettanomyces Lambicus '' are quite common in lambics. In addition, other organisms such as Lactobacillus bacteria produce acids which contribute to the 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 sales volume, most of today's beer is based on the Pale Lager brewed in 1842 in the town of Pilsen , 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 , Bitburger , König Pilsener , 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 lager 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 that have been roasted longer. Guinness and similar beers include roasted unmalted Barley . Grains Barley malt is the most common grain used to make beer. Wheat, corn and rice are the secondary grains — used as an adjunct to the barley. Rye, sorghum, and oats are occasionally used as an adjunct. SERVING Draught and keg See Also: Draught beer Keg beer Draught beer from a pressurised Keg is the most common method of dispensing in bars around the world. A metal keg is pressurised with Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas which drives the beer to the dispensing Tap or faucet. Some beers, notably Stout s 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 or Bottle d beers containing a beer widget. Cask-conditioned ales See Also: Cask ale Cask-conditioned ales (or "cask ales") are unfiltered and unpasteurized beers. These beers are termed " Real Ale " by the Camra organization. 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 °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 take 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 See Also: Beer bottle Most beers are cleared of yeast by Filtering when bottled. However, Bottle Conditioning beers retain some yeast — either by being unfiltered, or by being filtered and then reseeded with fresh yeast. It is usually recommended that the beer be poured slowly, leaving any yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle. However, some drinkers prefer to pour in the yeast; this practice is, in fact, customary with Wheat Beer s. Typically, when serving a Hefeweizen , 90% of the contents are poured, and the remainder is swirled to suspend the sediment before pouring it into the glass. Alternately, the bottle is inverted prior to opening. Cans See Also: Beverage can |
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