Beer
From Zymipedia
Beer is a fermented malt based drink. Due to the fermentation of sugars from the malt by yeasts, beer also contains alcohol. The primary ingredients of beer are water, malt, hops and yeast.
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Beer is an alcoholic drink produced through fermentation of sugars derived primarily from malted grains. The primary grain used for brewing beer is malted barley, although some styles of beer use other cereal grains such as malted wheat.
The four primary ingredients of beer are water, malt, hops and yeast. The particular combination, amount and variety of each of these ingredients determine the final flavor, alcoholic strength and style of the finished beer.
Although there are microorganisms that can spoil beer, such as lactobacillus, there are no known human pathogens than can survive in beer. This is commonly thought to be due to the alcohol in the beer, however it is actually due to the low pH; typically in the range of 4.0 to 4.4.
Major Types of Beer
Almost beers fall in to two categories; lagers and ales. The only stylistic exceptions are "hybrid" beers, such as Cream Ales, Kolsch and California Common Beers (Steam Beers).
The differences between lagers and ale come from the type of yeast used to ferment the beers, and the fermentation temperature. Lagers are cold fermented, typically in a range of 46 to 56 F, followed by a period of cold storage called lagering, and ales are warm fermented generally in a temperature range of 55 to 75 F. After fermentation is complete, ales typically have a much shorter maturation period than lagers do, from a few days to several weeks, which may be longer for beers with high alcohol levels.
Styles
Common beer styles people may be familiar with include Pilsner, Stout, Pale Ale, and Cream Ale, however the range of beer styles is only limited by the imagination of the brewer.
Organizations such as the Beer Judge Certification Program have gone to great lengths to categorize and describe every major style of beer. The 2008 BJCP Style Guideline has 23 styles of beer and 80 sub-styles.
Evolution of Styles
Historically beer styles evolved regionally due to the ingredients that were available to the local brewers. For example, in Scotland hops did not grow well, and were expensive to import. So beers produced in Scotland typically had very low level of bitterness and hop flavor, but well developed malt flavors.
Likewise Pilsner developed in Bohemia (Now the Czech Republic), Lambic in Belgium, Porter in England, Bock in Germany, etc.
History
The earliest known evidence of beer and brewing comes Sumeria around 4,000 B.C. The evidence comes from clay tablets inscribed with the Hymn to ninkasi, the Sumerian's Godess of brewing, where the hymn contains a rudimentary recipe for beer.
Use of Hops in Beer
Although almost all modern beer styles use hops, early European brewers originally added spices such as rosemary, coriander, ginger, anise seed, and juniper berries to their beers to impart more complex flavors. Hops are used primarily used today because the bitterness derived from the hops tend to counter-balance the sweetness from the malt, and provide a more balanced flavor. Hops may also be added to beer to impart a floral or spicy aroma and flavor. Another benefit early brewers found was that hops also acts as an anti-bacterial and helps to preserve beers longer than unhopped varieties.
The earliest written records of hop cultivation come from 8th and 9th century A.D. from the Hallertau district in Germany, now famous for their Hallertau Mittelfruh hop variety. The earliest actual brewing records explicitly noting the addition of hops come from 14th century Germany.
Reinheitsgebot
The Reinheitsgebolt is the first example of a food purity law. Passed in German in 1516, it decreed that all beers could be made from only water, malt and hops. After the discovery of yeast and its importance in brewing, it was also added to the list.
