BEER

Beer, One of my best (Favourite) subjects !

Man has been making beer for 7,000 years. Although many techniques have changed since our loincloth days (including better hygiene practices), the basic process is the same.
Interestingly enough most beers are made out of the same few ingredients. The manner in which they are made dictates what the beer will taste like, from dark ales to light beers. Water, yeast, malt and hops are the main four ingredients, but rice, other cereals are also needed, even some fruits have been added

Beer, How is it made

1. Mashing

Mashing takes place in a vessel called the mash tun. This is where grains known as malted barley (or “malt”) are soaked in hot water for about an hour in order to release the sugars contained in the grains. No sugar means no alcohol, which means no beer. In addition to contributing fermentable sugars, the malt also adds flavour aroma, and body. Sweetness comes from malt. You often hear people refer to a sweet tasting beer as “malty” for this reason.

2. Sparging

In this step the grains are rinsed with hot water in order to extract the rest of the sugar out of them. The grains are then separated from the hot liquid in a process known as lautering. The liquid is now known as wort (pronounced “wert”). Since the wort will shortly become beer, it is sent to another tank for the final brewing steps.

3. Boiling the Wort

The wort, now in what is known as the boil kettle, is boiled in order to kill any micro-organisms that are present in the liquid.

4. Cooling the Wort

After roughly an hour of boiling, the wort is rapidly cooled. The yeast needs to be added to the wort and if it is still very hot the heat will kill the yeast. Once the wort is around 80 degrees, the yeast is added, or “pitched” as the brewer would say. This is the last step in the typical brew day. Next up is fermentation, which is largely a waiting period.

5. Fermentation

During fermentation the hungry yeast consumes the sugars that were released and converts them into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is released into the air and the alcohol stays in the beer. This process usually takes 1-2 weeks.

6. Carbonation

This is done by directly injecting carbon dioxide into the beer. Another carbonation method is to add a small amount of sugar to the bottles. The residual yeast left in the bottles will consume the sugar and naturally carbonate the liquid by releasing C02. This is known as “bottle conditioning” and is the option of most home brewers.

Once carbonated it is time to package the final product. A commercial brewery will either can, keg, or bottle their beer

Here it is, beer ready to go!

Beer styles

It’s a shame really. Pick a random Joe off the street, ask him to name 3 different beer styles, and chances are he’ll spit out the following: “Carling, Carlsberg, and Breda.” And another fairy loses its wings….

What are Styles?

Beers styles are categories assigned to beers based on their flavour characteristics and location of origin.

All beer styles fall under the categories of ales and lagers. Ales being the heavier, more intensely flavoured stouts, pale ales, and hefeweizens of the world. Lagers being the clean and crisp pilsners, bocks, and helles beers.

The style groups were created around common sensory traits – appearance, aroma, flavour and body. The stout guidelines, for example, describe it as a black ale with coffee like aromas, roasted malt flavours medium hop bitterness, and a creamy mouth-feel.

Going Head to Head

Beer styles aren't written into law, but the most well-known and used style guidelines are those written by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).

When beers are entered into competitions, they are submitted under a specific style.

It’s a lot like putting your dog into a dog show. You would submit your beagle in the hound category, and your chihuahua in the toy dog category. Similarly, if you were entering your beer into a competition you would enter your ‘Sultry Stout’ in the stout category and ‘Uncle Jimbo’s Pale Ale’ in the pale ale category.
You can take the Beer out of Bavaria, but…

It’s important here to point out that besides beers being similar in appearance, aroma, and taste, the place where a beer style originated plays a large part in how that style was shaped. Early brewers didn't wake up one morning and say “ I'm going to make a beer that is black and creamy and call it a stout!”

Beer styles arose largely out of the ingredients available to the people of that region and many other circumstances that affected their finished beer.

Beer Cocktail

Elvio's Raspberry Beer Cocktail

6 Fresh raspberries

1 Chilled bottled beer (lager)

15 ml. Fresh lemon juice

15 ml. Wild Strawberries liquor 

25 ml. Vanilla Vodka 

Preparation
1. Mash all the ingredients, (not the beer) in a bowl ;

2. Fill a pint glass with ice

3. Pour the mash

4. gently fill the glass with the beer

Enjoy !