The basics about Beer.

Beer is pretty much produced all a round the worlds in one form or another from massif multinational companies down to small-scale local brewers. But they are all the same thing really all depending on the recipes and the ingredients.

To make beer you need water, a starch such as malted barley, hops, yeast and a clarifying agent or finings. You add them all together one at a time using varying vessel, heating to set temperatures and you end up with beer. Now that is the every simplistic way of saying how you make beer but that is the very basic process. But what makes a beer a larger or a ale.

This is a easy thing to answer it either has a bottom or top fermenting yeast , if it is a bottom fermenting yeast then it is a larger , if not it is a ale . But what does that mean, lets go in to that a little more starting with Ales

Ales have been brewed for thousands of years and go right back to the ancient Egyptians. An ale is a top fermenting warm made yeast beer. The yeast rises to the top of the brew during the fermentation process. Ales are normally stronger and more flavourful than lagers and can be served at room temperature . But the room temperature of today is not what I mean but about 10 to 14°c or 50 to 55°f , cellar temperature. To make a brew normally takes about 7 days or a little more than that.

Lagers are relatively new compared to Ales. From the German word “Lagern” meaning to store, they are made with bottom fermenting yeast. They are made with cool bottom fermenting yeast and need ageing before the brewing process is finished some times for as long as a month or more. The longer cooler fermentation process cerates a cleaner, crisper, mellow flavour. It is not as a complex flavour as an ale but 90% of all beer consumed is larger so it is more popular. One reason is that it is so refreshing to drink always-served chilled 4- to 7°c or 40 to 45°f. On a hot day in a glass straight from the freezer nothing better.

Beer has played second fiddle to wine fro a number of years always been seen to be a poor relation in the drinking world. However, it is ever growing interest in the subject and even a movement to promote small independent brewery more and more you find that it is consider the drink of choice , and lets face it after water and tea I think that beer is the third most drunk beverage in the world.

And if you ever go to Belgium then you will find that a simple drink such as beer is elevated in to some fine art form where as much care and attention to the subject as there is to wine.