How is Beer Made

Interested in expanding your horizons, as far as your beer consumption is concerned? Learn about the different beers out there and how they are made. Beer has been in our midst for as long as anyone can remember it is one of the most common alcohol beverage to be consumed in the world. But its worth a thought as to how beer is actually made.

Introduction to Beer – How’s it Made, and What Are the Different Types?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Caterina_Christakos]Caterina Christakos

Beer has been around for thousands of years. In fact, it rivals wine as one of the earliest known prepared beverages in the world-dating back as early as 9000 BC. There’s record of its consumption in the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and it was popular among the Germanic tribes of Europe by 3000 BC.

 The drink played a large role in the lives of Europeans throughout Medieval and early-Modern history. As it was more safe to drink than the water in the cities, it became a staple in many homes. More recently, industrial manufacturing practices have turned beer into a quarter-trillion-dollar industry, while modern techniques have contributed to an explosion in craft brewing.

 How Beer is Made

 Most types of beer are made of four essential ingredients:

 · water,

· hops, the flower of the hop vine, a member of the hemp family;

· specially prepared barley, a wheat-like seed grain that grows throughout the world;

· and yeast, the microorganism that, during the fermentation process, creates the alcohol and the carbon dioxide (i.e., the bubbles) in beer.

 The specifics of the brewing process are too complex to get into, but there are essentially three steps. First, there’s the mash process, in which the barley is broken down into its constituent parts, which are then prepared for fermentation. Second, there’s the wort process, which is also called the boil. This is when the brewer adds the hops, which add bitterness to beer.

 Finally, after the wort stage, the brewers remove all the solids from the beer and add yeast, the magic ingredient, into the mix. The yeast fermentation is usually done in a large fermentation tank, and it can take up to two weeks or more, depending on the type of beer being made. During this time, the substance gradually becomes the substance we know as beer. After it’s done, the yeast is removed, and the beer is bottled.

 Types of Beer

There are literally hundreds of types of beer, and craft brewers are always coming up with new ones, but here are the popular essentials:

 · Ale: Ales are sweet, full-bodied, top-fermented beers that contain no hops. Due to the brewing process, ales typically have a higher alcohol content than other types of beers, and they’re known for the wide range of flavor subtleties that can be produced. As such, there are many types of ales.

· Stout: A stout is a dark beer made with malts and usually containing a brown-ish coloring. The alcohol content is relatively low, and the flavor is often quite dry.

· Lager: Lagers are long-fermenting brews with an amber to dark-amber coloring. As the lager formula provides the basis for the brews of many of the largest beer-making companies in the world (including the American behemoths), its flavor is quite familiar to most people.

Wheat beers: Wheat beers are brewed with a large amount of wheat in addition to the barley. This gives them a dry, slightly sweet flavor and a lower

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Introduction-to-Beer---Hows-it-Made,-and-What-Are-the-Different-Types?&id=3657349] Introduction to Beer – How’s it Made, and What Are the Different Types?

How Beer Is Made
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mario_Oreilly]Mario Oreilly

When you think of beer you might think that it has only been here for a couple of hundred years but is so not the case, beer has been drunk all over the world in one form or another, from lagers to bitters.

So How Is Beer Made?
To put it in simple terms beer is a fermented combination of water, barley, yeast and hops. The various beers on offer in the licensed establishments across the world are mainly determined by the yeast that was used during fermentation.

So let’s take a beer apart and examine the different properties that make up a “pint”.

Water
The chief ingredient in beer is of course water, in the old days the purity of the water is what mainly affected the outcome when brewing beer. Beer production in this time was specific to a particular this would have been mainly due to water quality. This is no longer the case with the purification technology that we have available today.

Malt Barley
Malt barley is essential to beer brewing as the barley contains the highest amount of fermentable sugar. A lot of breweries today have moved to wards powdered or instant barley malt as it ferments far faster and therefore the beer brews quicker. The barley malt powder also contains extra minerals that help the yeast to grow.

Yeast
Yeast is crucial to beer production and without it there would be no beer. Yeast is a single celled organism that consumes any sugar it comes in contact with and expels 2 very well known chemicals that you will know as alcohol and carbon dioxide.

There are several different variations of yeast used to make beer, but the 2 most common yeast strains used are lager and ale. Now if beer was brewed using only water, yeast and barley it would be almost too sweet to stomach, this is where hops come in to the mix.

Hops
Hops are the flowers that grow on a climbing vine plant; these vines can be found in various different regions through out the world. Hops are used to make beer because of the bitterness of the flower, adding bitterness to beer helps to balance out the sweetness as well as acting as a natural preservative. When more hops are added to the beer mix it then has a very bitter taste, this brew is a favorite in England and has been given the appropriate name “bitter”.

For those of you who want to start brewing your own beer at home, there are plenty of resources available in the form of home brewing kits. Home brewing kits are great but as with everything reading the instructions are essential. This is required if the beer is achieve top quality. The only point I should stress to you is when home brewing, USE FRESH WATER!

Many have often sought information on how to make beer and the basic home brewing equipment can be bought for as little as $100

In order to start making your own beer the following items are needed:

A Brew Pot Primary Fermenter Airlock and Stopper Bottling Bucket Bottles Bottle Brush Bottle Capper Thermometer

To make beer is quite easy even from your home kitchen. A list of the equipment and their uses is as shown below.

Brew Pot
A brew pot is usually made from stainless steel; some of the newer brew pots are made from enamel coated metal and can hold up to 15 litres. For brew pots you need to steer clear of aluminum or chipped enamel coated as these 2 pots will make the beer taste strange, the brew pot is used to cook the beer ingredients and therefore start the fermentation process.

The Primary Fermenter
The primary fermenter is where all the action starts; this is where that amazing stuff that makes you so charming all begins. The primary fermenter has to hold at least 26 litres and must have an air tight seal; the airlock and rubber stopper. Make sure when you are buying one it is made of food-grade plastic, this will ensure nothing gets in or escapes.

Airlock and Stopper
The airlock is a handy gadget that allows for C02 to escape this is a must or it would blow up; at the same time it doesn’t let in any fresh air. The airlock fits into a rubber stopper and this stopper then fits into the top of your primary fermenter. The stoppers are numbered according to size, so make sure you use the correct stopper for the correct hole

Plastic Hose
This hose must be over 5 feet in length and made from food grade plastic, there must also be no holes or clogs and must be kept clean at all times, this hose is used to shift the beer from one system to another.

Bottling Bucket
This is a large food grade plastic bucket with a tap for drawing water at the bottom, this bucket needs to equal in size to your primary fermenter so your beer can be transferred over for bottling.

Bottles
After the fermentation stage, you then siphon the beer in bottles for the secondary fermentation and storage. The best types of bottles to use are solid glass with smooth tops that use bottle caps and not the twist-off caps. You can use plastic bottles with screw on lids but with these bottles the beer does not ferment as well and does not look anywhere near as good as the glass bottles. A quick point to remember, when making beer use dark bottles (brown or green) this is essential as bright light damages the beer.

Bottle Brush
This is a thin, curvy brush which is used to clean bottles; because of the shape of the brush it does a superb job at cleaning the bottles. The bottle brush is a specialized cleaning utensil you will require in order to maintain your bottle kit.

Bottle Capper
If you buy glass bottles for the fermented beer, you will need some sort of bottle capper and of course bottle caps, you can buy them from any brewing supplies store. The best type of bottle opener is one that is fixable to the fridge of counter top and can easily handled and operated.

Thermometer
This is a thermometer which can be attached to the side of your fermenter; it is just a thin strip of plastic which is self adhesive these temperature strips can be found in any store or shop.

Household Items
In addition to the above specialized equipment, you will need the following household items:

Small bowl Saucepan
Rubber Spatula
Oven Mitts/Pot Handlers
Big Mixing Spoon

So there you have the ingredients and the method to make your own beer, all you need now is to get yourself a beer making kit and you’re on the way to beer heaven.  http://www.marios-bar.com/bar-stools.html Bar Stool – We have information on the best bar stool for each and every bar style  http://www.marios-bar.barstore.com  Bar Supply – Bar supplies & bar equipment online. Your entire bar supply needs, for any bar, night club, theme bar, home or party

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Beer-Is-Made&id=684559] How Beer Is Made