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For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation).
File:Leffe 900px.jpg
Leffe, a Belgian beer, served in branded glasses
Schlenkerla Rauchbier straight from the cask
File:800px-Kriek Beer.jpg
Kriek, a beer brewed with cherries

Beer is the world's oldest[1] and most widely consumed[2] alcoholic beverage and the most popular drink overall after water and tea.[3] It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereals - the most common of which is malted barley although wheat, corn, and rice are also widely used. Most beer is flavoured with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other flavourings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included. Alcoholic beverages fermented from non-starch sources such as grape juice (wine) or honey (mead) are not classified as beer.

Some of mankind's earliest known writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating beer and beer parlours[4], and The Hymn to Ninkasi, a prayer to the Mesopotamian Goddess of Beer, served as both a prayer and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people.[5] [6] Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries.

The basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries, and are commonly categorised into two main types - the globally popular pale lagers and the regionally distinct ales which are further categorised into other varieties such as pale ale, stout and brown ale. The strength of beer may range from less than 1% abv (alcohol by volume) to over 20% abv in rare cases, though is mainly around 5% abv.

Beer forms part of the culture of various beer drinking nations, and has acquired various social traditions and associations, such as beer festivals and a rich pub culture involving activities such as pub crawling or pub games such as bar billiards.

History

Main article: History of beer
Egyptian wooden model of beer making in ancient Egypt, Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, California

Beer is one of the world's oldest beverages, possibly dating back to the 6th millennium BCE, and is recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[7] The earliest Sumerian writings contain references to beer. A prayer to the goddess Ninkasi known as "The Hymn to Ninkasi" serves as both a prayer as well as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people.[5][6]

As almost any substance containing carbohydrates, mainly sugar or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world. The invention of bread and beer has been argued to be responsible for humanity's ability to develop technology and build civilization.[8][9][10] The earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500–3100 BCE from the site of Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran.[11]

Beer was known to Germanic and Celtic tribes in Europe as far back as 3000 BCE [12], though was mainly brewed on a domestic scale. [13]

Beer produced before the Industrial Revolution continued to be made and sold on a domestic scale, although by the 7th century CE beer was also being produced and sold by European monasteries. During the Industrial Revolution, the production of beer moved from artisanal manufacture to industrial manufacture, and domestic manufacture ceased to be significant by the end of the 19th century.[14] The development of hydrometers and thermometers changed brewing by allowing the brewer more control of the process, and greater knowledge of the results.

Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries.[15] 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.[16]

Brewing

Main article: Brewing

The process of making beer is known as brewing. A dedicated building for the making of beer is called a brewery, though beer can be made in the home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company. Beer made on a domestic scale for non-commercial reasons is classed as homebrewing regardless of where it is made, though most homebrewed beer is made in the home. Brewing beer is subject to legislation and taxation in developed countries which from the late 19th century largely restricted brewing to a commercial operation only. However, the UK government relaxed legislation in 1963, followed by Australia in 1972, and USA in 1979 allowing homebrewing to become a popular hobby.[17]

The purpose of brewing is to convert the starch source into a sugary liquid called wort which is then able to be fermented by yeast into the alcoholic beverage known as beer.

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.

A 16th century brewery - a contemporary engraving by J Amman

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. 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 contained in 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 sterilises 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. Boiling also destroys any remaining enzymes left over from the mashing stage as well as coagulating proteins passing into the wort, especially from malted barley, which could otherwise cause protein 'hazes' in the finished 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.

Pasteurisation is an optional stage of the beer process in which the beer is slowly heated and cooled to kill off any existing bacteria in order to maintain longer shelf life. This is generally a stage not included in higher end beers, but is quite common in mass-produced beers such as American-Style lite beers, and other mass-produced lagers. It is less common in ales as pasteurization can change the many flavours.

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 may have a small amount of fresh wort/sugar and/or yeast added to them during packaging. This causes a short period of fermentation which produces carbon dioxide.

Ingredients

Malted barley before roasting

The basic ingredients of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted barley, able to be fermented (converted into alcohol); a brewer's yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavouring such as hops. A mixture of starch sources may be used, with a 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. Less widely used starch sources include millet, sorghum and cassava root in Africa, potato in Brazil, and agave in Mexico, among others.

Water

Beer is composed mostly of water. Different regions have water with different mineral components; as a result, different regions were originally better suited to making certain types of beer, thus giving them a regional character.[18] For example, Dublin has hard water well-suited to making stout, such as Guinness; while Pilzen has soft water well-suited to making pale lager, such as Pilsner Urquell.[18] The waters of Burton in England contain gypsum which benefits making pale ale to such a degree that brewers of pale ales will add gypsum to the local water in a process known as Burtonisation.[19]

Starch source

Main articles: Malt and Mash ingredients

The starch source in a beer provides the fermentable material and is a key determinant of the strength and flavour 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 not only important in the sparging stage of brewing (in which water is washed over the mashed barley grains to form the wort), but also as a rich source of amylase, a digestive enzyme which facilitates conversion of starch into sugars. Other malted and unmalted grains (including wheat, rice, oats, and rye, and less frequently, corn and sorghum) may be used. In recent years a few brewers have produced gluten-free beer made with sorghum with no barley malt for those who cannot consume gluten-containing grains like wheat, barley, and rye.[20]

Hops

Main article: 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". The use of hops in beer was recorded by captive Jews in Babylon[21] around 400 BC. Hops were used by monastery breweries, such as Corvey in Westphalia, Germany, from 822 AD,[14][22] though the date normally given for widespread cultivation of hops for use in beer is the thirteenth century.[14][22]

Hop cone in a Hallertau, Germany, hop yard

Before the thirteenth century, and until the sixteenth century during which hops took over as the dominant flavouring, beer would be flavoured with herbs or spices, such as a gruit mixture.[23] Some beers today, such as Fraoch by the the Scottish Heather Ales company,[24] and Cervoise Lancelot by the French Brasserie-Lancelot company,[25] use plants other than hops for flavouring.

Hops contain several characteristics that brewers desire in beer: hops contribute a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt; hops also contribute floral, citrus, and herbal aromas and flavours to beer; hops have an antibiotic effect that favours the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms; and the use of hops aids in "head retention",[26][27] the length of time that a foamy head created by carbonation will last. The acidity of hops acts as a preservative.[28][29]

The bitterness of beers is measured on the International Bitterness Units scale. 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

Main articles: Brewer's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Saccharomyces uvarum

Yeast is the microorganism that is responsible for fermentation in beer. Yeast metabolises 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 lambics, 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

Clarifying agent

Main article: Finings

Some brewers add one or more clarifying agents to beer, which typically precipitate (collect as a solid) out of the beer along with protein solids and are found only in trace amounts in the finished product. This process makes the beer appear bright and clean, rather than the cloudy appearance of ethnic and older styles of beer such as wheat beers.[30]

Common examples of clarifying agents include isinglass, obtained from swimbladders of fish; Irish moss, a seaweed; kappa carrageenan, from the seaweed Kappaphycus cottonii; Polyclar (artificial); and gelatin. If a beer is marked 'suitable for Vegans' then it has either been clarified with seaweed or with artificial agents.

Types and styles of beer

Main article: Beer style

The basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries,[31] and a great many brands of beer are brewed around the globe. Local traditions will give beers different names, giving the impression of a multitude of different styles. However, beer is commonly categorised into two main types - the globally popular pale lagers and the regionally distinct ales which are further categorised into other varieties such as pale ale, stout and brown ale.

The late British beer writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book The World Guide To Beer categorised a variety of beers from around the world in local style groups suggested by local customs and names.[32] Fred Eckhardt furthered Jackson's work in The Essentials of Beer Style in 1989.

These books had an influence on homebrewers 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

Main article: Brewer's yeast

The most common method of categorising beer is by the behaviour of the yeast used in the fermentation process. In this method of categorising, beers using a fast-acting yeast, which leaves behind residual sugars, are termed "ales", while beers using a slower-acting yeast, fermented at lower temperatures, which removes most of the sugars and leaving a clean, dry beer, are termed "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, drier and lighter beer than ale.

Ale

Main article: Ale
Cask ale hand pumps with pump clips detailing the beers and their breweries

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

Ales are normally brewed with top-fermenting yeasts (most commonly Saccharomyces cerevisiae), though a number of British brewers, including Fullers and Weltons,[33] 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 apple, pear, pineapple, banana, plum, or prune, among others. Typical ales have a sweeter, fuller body than lagers.

A particularly well-known ale type is India Pale Ale (or "IPA"), developed by British brewers in the 19th century. The ale was light, and suited to a hot climate, but with a moderately high alcohol strength and strong hop content, intended to preserve it over a long ocean voyage. Some mass-produced beers (e.g. Alexander Keith's, brewed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) use the term "India Pale Ale", but are not in any way true IPAs.

Real ale is a natural product brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in the cask (container) from which it is served through a process called secondary fermentation where the beer slowly ferments in its cask producing its own natural CO2. This causes CO2 to become dissolved in the beer resulting in natural carbonation.

Lager

Main article: Lager
A glass of lager

Lager is the English name for cool fermenting beers of Central European origin. Pale lagers are the most commonly consumed beers in the world. The name "lager" comes from the German lagern for "to store", as brewers around Bavaria stored beer in cool cellars and caves during the warm summer months. These brewers noticed that the beers continued to ferment, and also to clear of sediment when stored in cool conditions.[34]

Lager yeast is a cool "bottom-fermenting yeast" (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 esters and other byproducts, resulting in a "cleaner" tasting beer.[35]

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

Main article: Lambic

Lambic, a beer of Belgium, is naturally fermented using wild yeasts, rather than cultivated. 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.[36]

Pale and dark beer

German dunkel beer served in a branded glass

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 pale lager is light in colour with a noticeable carbonation (fizzy bubbles), and a typical alcohol by volume content of around 5%. The Pilsner Urquell, Bitburger, 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.

Brewing industry

SABMiller became the largest brewing company in the world when it acquired Royal Grolsch, Brewer of Dutch premium beer brand Grolsch.[37] InBev is the second-largest beer-producing company in the world,[38]and Anheuser-Busch holds the third spot, but after the proposed merger (announced 13 July 2008), between InBev and Anheuser-Busch, the new Anheuser-Busch InBev company will be the largest brewer in the world.[39][40]

Serving

Draught and keg

Main articles: Draught beer and Keg beer
Draught beer keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels

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 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. Some types of beer can also be found in smaller, disposable kegs called beer balls.

In the 1980s, Guinness introduced the beer widget, a nitrogen pressurised ball inside a can which creates a foamy head.[41] The words "draft" and "draught" can be used as marketing terms to describe canned or bottled beers containing a beer widget, or which are cold filtered rather than pasteurised.

Cask-conditioned ales

Main article: Cask ale
A selection of cask beers

Cask-conditioned ales (or "cask ales") are unfiltered and unpasteurised beers. These beers are termed "real ale" by the CAMRA organisation. Typically, when a cask arrives in a pub, it is placed horizontally on a frame called a "stillage" which is designed to hold it steady and at the right angle, and then allowed to cool to cellar temperature (typically between 12-14 °C/53-57 °F),[42] 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

Main article: Beer bottle

Most beers are cleared of yeast by filtering when bottled. However, bottle conditioned 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 beers. 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. Alternatively, the bottle may be inverted prior to opening.

Cans

Main article: Beverage can
Kannenbeer, 1900 advertisement for selling beer in sealed stone jugs

Many beers are sold in beverage cans, though there is considerable variation in the proportion between different countries. In 2001, in Sweden 63.9% of beer was sold in cans.[43] People either drink from the can or pour the beer into a glass.

Cans protect the beer from light and have a seal less prone to leaking over time than bottles. Cans were initially viewed as a technological breakthrough for maintaining the quality of a beer, then became commonly associated with less-expensive, mass-produced beers, even though the quality of storage in cans is much like bottles.[44] Glass bottles are always used for bottle conditioned beers, so are associated with higher-regarded beers. Plastic (PET) bottles are used by some breweries.[45]

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.

Édouard Manet's painting The Waitress showing a woman serving beer

Beer writer Michael Jackson proposed a five-level scale for serving temperatures: well chilled (7 °C/45 °F) for "light" beers (pale lagers), chilled (8 °C/47 °F) for Berliner Weisse and other wheat beers, lightly chilled (9 °C/48 °F) for 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 beer) and barley wine.

Vessels

Main article: Beer glassware

Beer is consumed out of a variety of vessels, such as a glass, a beer stein, a mug, a pewter tankard, a beer bottle or a can. Some drinkers consider that the type of vessel influences their enjoyment of the beer. In Europe, particularly Belgium, breweries offer branded glassware intended only for their own beers.

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.

Beer and society

Social context

See also: Category:Beer culture

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

International consumption

See also: Beers of the world and Beer consumption by country

Beer is considered to be a social lubricant in many societies.[46] Beer is consumed in countries all over the world. There are breweries in Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria as well as African countries (see African beer) and remote countries such as Mongolia. Sales of beer are four times that of wine, the second most popular alcoholic beverage.[47][48]

Health effects

Low-alcohol beer contains a lower ethanol-content so the effects of alcohol are less

The main active ingredient of beer is alcohol and therefore the health effects of alcohol apply to beer. The long-term effects of alcohol abuse include the risk of developing alcoholism, alcoholic liver disease, and some forms of cancer.

The moderate consumption of alcohol, including beer, is associated with a decreased risk of cardiac disease, stroke and cognitive decline.[49][50][51][52]


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".[53] Some sources maintain that filtered beer loses much of its nutrition.[54][55]

A 2005 Japanese study found that low alcohol beer may possess strong anti-cancer properties.[56] Another study found nonalcoholic beer to mirror the cardiovascular benefits associated with moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages.[57] However, much research suggests that the primary health benefit from alcoholic beverages comes from the alcohol they contain.[58]

It is considered that overeating 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.[59]

Several diet books quote beer as having the same glycemic index as maltose, a very high (and therefore undesirable) 110; however the maltose undergoes metabolism by yeast during fermentation so that beer consists mostly of water, hop oils and only trace amounts of sugars, including maltose.[60]

Alcoholic strength

Beer ranges from less than 3% alcohol by volume (abv) to almost 30% abv. The alcohol content of beer varies by local practice[61] or beer style. The pale lagers that most consumers are familiar with fall in the range of 4–6%, with a typical abv of 5%.[62] The customary strength of British ales is quite low, with many session beers being around 4% abv.[63] Some beers, such as table beer are of such low alcohol content (1%~4%) that they are served instead of soft drinks in some schools.[64]

The alcohol in beer comes primarily from the metabolism of sugars that are produced during fermentation. The quantity of fermentable sugars in the wort and the variety of yeast used to ferment the wort are the primary factors that determine the amount of alcohol in the final beer. Additional fermentable sugars are sometimes added to increase alcohol content, and enzymes are often added to the wort for certain styles of beer (primarily "light" beers) to convert more complex carbohydrates (starches) to fermentable sugars. Alcohol is a byproduct of yeast metabolism and is toxic to the yeast; typical brewing yeast cannot survive at alcohol concentrations above 12% by volume. Low temperatures and too little fermentation time decreases the effectiveness of yeasts, and consequently decreases the alcohol content.

Exceptionally strong beers

The strength of beers has climbed during the later years of the 20th century. Vetter 33 a 10.5% abv (33 degrees Plato, hence Vetter "33") doppelbock was listed in the 1994 Guinness Book of World Records as the strongest beer at that time,[65][66] though Samichlaus, by the Swiss brewer Hürlimann, had also been listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the strongest at 14% abv.[67][68][69]

Since then some brewers have used champagne yeasts to increase the alcohol content of their beers. Samuel Adams reached 20% abv with Millennium[70] and then surpassed that amount to 25.6% abv with Utopias. The strongest beer sold in Britain was Delaware's Dogfish Head's World Wide Stout, a 21% abv stout which was available from UK Safeways in 2003.[71] In Japan in 2005, the Hakusekikan Beer Restaurant sold an eisbock, strengthened through freeze distillation, believed to be 28% abv.[72] 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. The strength was achieved by freeze distilling a 10% ale twice.[73]

See also: Category:Types of beer

Around the world there are a number of traditional and ancient starch based beverages classed as beer. In Africa there are various ethnic beers made from sorghum or millet, such as Oshikundu[74] in Namibia, and Tella in Ethiopia.[75] Kyrgyzstan also has a beer made from millet, it is a low alcohol, somewhat porridge-like drink called Bozo.[76] Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and Sikkim also use millet in Chhaang, a popular semi-fermented rice/millet drink in the eastern Himalayas.[77] Further east in China are found Huangjiu and Choujiu - traditional rice-based beverages related to beer. The Andes in South America has Chicha, made from germinated corn; while the indigenous peoples in Brazil have Cauim, a traditional beverage since pre-Columbian times which is made by chewing manioc so that enzymes present in human saliva can break down the starch into fermentable sugars.[78]

Some beers which are made from bread, which is linked to the earliest forms of beer, are Sahti in Finland, Kvass in Russia and the Ukraine, and Bouza in Sudan.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beer.

References

  1. ^ Arnold, John P. Origin and History of Beer and Brewing: From Prehistoric Times to the Beginning of Brewing Science and Technology. ISBN 0966208412.
  2. ^ "Volume of World Beer Production". European Beer Guide. Retrieved 2006-10-17.
  3. ^ The Barbarian's Beverage: A History of Beer in Ancient Europe.
  4. ^ "Beer Before Bread". Alaska Science Forum #1039, Carla Helfferich. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  5. ^ a b "Nin-kasi: Mesopotamian Goddess of Beer". Matrifocus 2006, Johanna Stuckey. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  6. ^ a b Black, Jeremy A.; Cunningham, Graham; Robson, Eleanor (2004). The literature of ancient Sumer. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926311-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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Bibliography

  • Archeological Parameters For the Origins of Beer. Thomas W. Kavanagh. [12]
  • The Complete Guide to World Beer, Roger Protz. ISBN 1-84442-865-6.
  • The Barbarian's Beverage: a history of beer in ancient Europe, Max Nelson. ISBN 0-415-31121-7.
  • The World Guide to Beer, Michael Jackson. ISBN 1-85076-000-4
  • The New World Guide to Beer, Michael Jackson. ISBN 0-89471-884-3
  • Beer: The Story of the Pint, Martyn Cornell. ISBN 0-7553-1165-5
  • Beer and Britannia: An Inebriated History of Britain, Peter Haydon. ISBN 0-7509-2748-8
  • The Book of Beer Knowledge: Essential Wisdom for the Discerning Drinker, a Useful Miscellany, Jeff Evans. ISBN 1-85249-198-1
  • Country House Brewing in England, 1500–1900, Pamela Sambrook. ISBN 1-85285-127-9
  • Ale, Beer and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World, 1300–1600 , Judith M. Bennett. ISBN 0-19-512650-5
  • A History of Beer and Brewing, I. Hornsey. ISBN 0-85404-630-5
  • Beer: an Illustrated History, Brian Glover. ISBN 1-84038-597-9
  • Beer in America: The Early Years 1587–1840—Beer's Role in the Settling of America and the Birth of a Nation, Gregg Smith. ISBN 0-937381-65-9
  • Big Book of Beer, Adrian Tierney-Jones. ISBN 1-85249-212-0
  • Gone for a Burton: Memories from a Great British Heritage, Bob Ricketts. ISBN 1-905203-69-1
  • Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition, Phil Marowski. ISBN 0-937381-84-5
  • The World Encyclopedia of Beer, Brian Glover. ISBN 0-7548-0933-1
  • The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, Charlie Papazian ISBN 0-380-77287-6 (This is the seminal work on home brewing that is almost universally suggested to new hobbyist)
  • The Brewmaster's Table, Garrett Oliver. ISBN 0-06-000571-8
  • Vaughan, J. G. (1997). The New Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854825-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Bacchus and Civic Order: The Culture of Drink in Early Modern Germany, Ann Tlusty. ISBN 0-813920-45-0

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