What Makes It Beer?

It's been about a year since my last post. Shortly after it was posted, I discovered I was pregnant with my now 2 1/2 month old son. He's perfect, he's half Belgian, and yes, he likes a good Belgian brew (daddy's given him a few drops to taste). Now that he's here, I can get back to the business of talking about (and drinking!) beer.

In my last post, I mentioned we'd be talking about how beer is made. I believe understanding what goes into a beer will help you understand the different flavors and complexities each possesses. It's kind of like how knowing someone's parents will help you understand them better. Each beer is a member of the family and each has its own personality.

A good place to start is with our basic ingredients. Let's go back to Friar Tuck's quote.

"This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption."

Yep, that's right, the main ingredient in beer is grain. Barley is the most commonly used, but wheat, corn, and rice are not unusual either. It's the grain that gives beer its sweetness and base flavor. A barley beer will taste quite different from a rice beer.

Next comes water, without which beer wouldn't be drinkable. It might seem trivial, but the source and mineral content of water used can have a huge effect on the flavor of the beer. Hard water makes a good stout. Soft water works well for pale lagers. Soft water with gypsum enhances the flavor of a pale ale. Different kinds of water account for the variety of regional specialties in the world of beer.

Now we get to hops. What exactly are hops? Many people talk about hops like they're the most common thing in the world and everyone knows exactly what they are, even if they have no clue themselves. Simply, a hop is a flower from the hop vine. It looks kind of like a miniature green pinecone. Hops give beer its bitter flavor. When someone says that a beer is very hoppy, they're saying it is very bitter, but with all the floral, citrus, and herbal aromas that go along with a good hop. Hops also have some other qualities that aid in a good brew. We'll get into those later.

The final necessity for beer is yeast. No, you can't grab a packet of yeast from the grocery store and make beer. There are specific yeasts used in the brewing of beer. In fact, it is the yeast used that determines whether you will have an ale or a lager, a lambic or a stout. Yeast can be top fermenting or bottom fermenting, cultured or wild or airborne. Yeast is a microorganism (that's right, a tiny animal), and as it metabolizes the sugars from our grain, it creates alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol is toxic to the yeast, which is why most beers don't get above 12% ABV. A few "super yeasts" have been developed and have produced beer with as high as 29%.

The last ingredient is not necessary for beer ("unfiltered" beer doesn't have it), but is widely used. Clarifying agents collect the solids from the beer and precipitate them to the bottom. These allow the beer to look bright and clean rather than cloudy. Some people argue this distorts the flavor of the beer, saying that it is the solids that give the beer its meat. I say it depends on the beer.

That's probably enough for this post. Next time (and I'll try not to make it another year interval!) we'll start discussing the brewing process. Cheers!