Making Beer
The Art of Making Beer.
Most beer lovers class their ale as the golden amber or nectar of the gods but the majority of beers have just four basic ingredients to their recipe.
The Brewing process of making beer is quite simple too and once this is done it will bring much pleasure to the avid beer drinkers of this land.
Most beer that is produced nowadays has a simple mixture of malted barley, hops, yeast and water; although there are different types of beer you can brew which use flavour enhancers such as sugar or starch.
Starches are used in the beer to help the sugars ferment more easily during the brewing process thus adding body and flavour to the fermented sugars and this also increases the content of the alcohol in the beer.
The main content of beer is water and so the purity of the water plays an important part in beer making and of course it’s taste.
It is believed that lots of beers are judged by where the water used came from some believe that mountain water and spring water have a unique body and flavour all of their own whilst others may not agree.
You need to have a little basic knowledge regarding water and their mineral content but in short hard water is more suited to dark beers whilst soft water is better for lighter beers.
In the 17th century hops were a popular choice of agent used to make the bitter taste to the beer this process is very important as bitterness helps to counteract the sweetness of the malts in the beer.
Hops also provide the aromas to the beer for example: citrus or herbal. It is also known that hops have an antibiotic effect, which favours the activity of the brewers yeast over the less desirable microorganisms.
The measuring of bitterness in the beer is usually done by the International bitterness scale.
Every type of beer has to contain malt in its recipe, master brewers can choose rye, malted oats, rice and malted barley which is the one most people choose as this contains a high amount of amylase, and it also contains a digestive enzyme which helps break down the starches into sugars.
Dependent on what grains are cultivated locally will determine your choice of malt.
The production of malt is done by soaking the grains in water to allow them to germinate it is then dried in a kiln, and because grain is malted naturally occurring enzymes work slowly to turn the starches into fermentable sugars.
Fermentation is created by yeast, which is a living micro- organism.
The master brewer will choose from a number of different strains of yeast which will decide what type of beer is to be brewed, the yeast also helps to metabolise the sugars which are removed from the grains and as a result of this produces carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Once the effects of yeast were realised most beers were fermented with the aid of airborne or wild yeasts.
In today’s world of making beer there are several yeasts to choose from though the most popular being lager yeast and ale yeast.
A lot of brewers favour adding one or more clarifying agents to their beer but do not have to declare these as “ingredients”. Bentonite, gelatine finings, Isinglass, and Irish moss powder are all widely used as clarification agents.
If you have concerns with the consumption of animal products ensure you have the full content information of your beer as some brewers use Isinglass which is a gelatinous substance which comes from the swim bladders of fish, so if you are unsure always ask.
Before you sip your next cold pint of amber nectar just take a moment to think about what has gone into making your pint of pleasure and raise your glass to your favourite master brewer and always remember “NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE”.
