I.H.

M, KOLKATA

BEER
Introduction

Beer is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world after water and tea. It is
probably the oldest of alcoholic beverages. Beer is a potable fermented alcoholic beverage made
from barley, with an alcoholic content ranging from 3.5– 8 per cent. In rare case, it may range
from less than 1 per cent alcohol by volume. Most beers are flavored with hops, which add
bitterness and act as natural preservatives. The word ‘beer’ is originated from baire meaning
‘barley’. Beer was discovered accidentally by the nomadic tribes of Middle East when they
decided to settle and establish an agricultural life. In times of an excellent crop, part of the grain
was stored as a reserve for times when the harvest might fail. Inevitably, the crude stores would
allow moisture to seep in and the grain would germinate. In order to save something from the
spoilt grain, they were made into porridge. The natural yeast in the atmosphere would act on
porridge and convert it into a crude beer with a light alcoholic strength. This accidentally made
liquor was then developed into a more sophisticated beverage by the modern techniques.

Beer is in existence for around 7,000 years old and was well known in ancient Egypt. In the
early times, it was brewed for private consumption in households and monasteries. During and
after the Dark Ages, Christian abbeys were the centers of brewing. Initially, abbeys made beers
for the Brothers and visiting pilgrims, later as a means of financing their communities. The
Greeks and Romans produced beers of acceptable quality and diffused it along the trade routes.
By the late Middle Ages, beer making was developed into a commercial business. Today, beer is
usually produced by fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains– most
commonly barley, although maize, wheat and rice are widely used. Beer is treated as a thirst
quencher and refreshing drink particularly in the summer. An interesting fact about beer is that
countries that are well known for their beer are generally not noted for their wines.

Definition

Beer is an alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermenting malted barley (and sometimes
other cereals) with hops added to flavor and stabilize it.

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Ingredients used for Beer manufacturing process:

o Barley

o Water

o Hops

o Yeast

o Finings

 Barley

The grain traditionally used for making beer is barley. Barley is preferred as it can be easily
malted for brewing. As different grape varieties are used for making different wines, different
varieties of barley are used to make different beers. The barley chosen for beer production must
have high starch, low protein and a little flavour. The two–row barley that has two rows of seeds
on its head is considered as the best for making beer. Barley in its malted form gives unrivalled
taste to the beer. Malt refers to germinated grains that have been roasted in a process known as
malting. Grains are soaked in water to allow them to germinate.

Germination is necessary to produce malt enzymes called diastase, which modifies the grain
starches into maltose sugar that can be fermented easily. Germination is stopped when maximum
maltose sugar is achieved, by roasting the grain. Malted grain is roasted according to the
brewer’s choice. Often grains such as maize, wheat, rice, millet, sorghum termed as adjuncts are
used in conjunction with barley to induce a different character and balance to the beer. However,
the weight of the adjuncts should not be more than 10 per cent of the barley content. The amount
of each starch source in a beer recipe is collectively called the grain bill.

 Water

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Water is the most important ingredient in bear-making, simply because beer is approximately
90 per cent water. In the brewing parlance, it is called liquor. Water can be soft or hard. Each
type of water is good for making certain style of beer. Hard water is ideal for lager and soft water
is more suitable for bitter ales. The mineral content of the water also makes it more favourable
for certain types of beers. If the gypsum content is more, the water would be good for producing
pale ale, and if chlorine content is more, water would be more suitable for porter beers.

 HOPS (Humulus lupulus)

Hops come from mulberry family, especially Humulus Lupulus. The flower of the female
hop plant is harvested, dried and used. They come in the form of cone, pellets and as
concentrated hop extract in liquid form.

• Hops give beer its dry and tannic taste.

• This contributes bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt

• They aid in ‘head retention’, (i.e., the foamy head created by carbonation lasts long)

• They have an antibiotic effect that favours the activity of brewer’s yeast over the undesirable
microbes.

• The acidity of hops acts as a natural preservative.

• Hops contribute floral, citrus, and herbal aromas and flavours to beer.

Credit goes to Brabant Monastery for introducing HOPS to beer. The following are examples of
hops:

1. Hallertau Mittelfrüh- Germany

2. Goldings- UK

3. Saaz- Czech Republic

4. Cascade – USA

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 YEAST - Yeast is a micro-organism which helps in the process of fermentation.

Fermentation - is the process by which bacteria, yeast or any other micro- organism converts
sugar into alcohol and carbon di-oxide in the presence of moisture and oxygen.

Yeasts used in Beer Production are:

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis

 Finings

Finings are used to clarify the beer. Isinglass, the bladder of sturgeon fish, is the traditional
fining agent. Carefully measured quantity of finings is added into each cask. It attracts all the
sediments to the bottom of the cask, making the beer clear and bright. In true sense, finings are
not the constituents of beer, but are purely an agent of clarification. Other fining agents like
Bentonite Clay and Gelatin are most widely used in modern days.

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THE BREWING PROCESS

The process of making beer is known as brewing. Beer production involves a series of
complicated process that calls for close monitoring, as the final quality and character depend on
the output at each stage. Following are the steps involved in beer brewing process.

Malting

Malting is carried out in malt houses. This process has three distinct steps:

• Steeping: Barley is soaked in a tank full of water for about three days. Grain absorbs water to
its full strength and expands in its body.

• Germination: Moist barley is spread on the malting floor and is allowed to germinate. The
grain is frequently turned to regulate the growth and temperature and provide oxygen to assist
germination. During the germination process, the insoluble starch in the cereal is converted into
soluble maltose sugar by the action of diastase enzyme. Germination is stopped when maximum
maltose sugar is achieved in the grain. The sprouted cereal is called as green malt.

• Kilning: The green malt is gently roasted in a kiln and the moisture content is reduced.
Depending on the intensity and duration of roasting, different types of malts are produced - pale
malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt and black malt. In pale malt, the grains are roasted just to stop
germination. If the roasting continues after the stage of pale malt, it produces brown malt or
crystal malt, chocolate malt and finally dark burnt black malt. The choice of particular malt gives
the beer its dryness, colour and flavour.

Mashing

The malted barley is crushed in a mill to produce a coarse powder called ‘grist’. At this
stage, the other grains such as maize, wheat, or rice can be introduced to give more subtle
characteristics to the beer. The grist is then sent to the mash tun and mixed with hot water to
produce a sort of porridge called mash. The mash is heated for a few hours at around 65⁰ C.
During this process, the enzyme amylase converts the adjunct starch into maltose.

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Lautering

The mash is transferred to a vessel called a lauter tun and is filtered to remove any grain
residue. The filtered sweet, brown liquid produced after the lautering is known as ‘wort’. The
leftover solids from the lauter tun are used as cattle feed.

Kettle

The Wort is put into a huge copper brewing kettle, where hops and sugar are added. The
quantity of sugar and hops added depend on the style of beer brewer wants to produce. The wort
is then boiled for two hours to extract the flavour from the hops. The ‘spent hops’ are separated
from the liquid in a whirlpool and removed. The hopped wort is then pumped through a paraflow
(heat exchanger), where it is cooled to a temperature of 15⁰ C.

Fermentation

The wort is transferred to fermentation tanks and yeast is added. During fermentation, the
sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Once the desired alcohol is achieved, or the
yeast runs out of sugar, the fermentation stops. Basically, beer is fermented by two different
processes:

• Top fermentation

• Bottom fermentation

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is the yeast responsible for top fermentation. This fermentation
happens at a warmer temperature of 15-25⁰ C. Top fermentation is vigorous, fast, and takes only
a week of time. The most-common top fermented beers are ales, porters and stouts.

Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis is the yeast responsible for bottom fermentation. This

fermentation takes place at the bottom of the tank and is visible only by few tiny bubbles of
carbon dioxide that float to the surface. This kind of fermentation is a slow process and requires
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a cooler temperature of 5-9⁰ C. Usually, lager beers are produced by this method of
fermentation.

Filtration

Beer is racked for some time, to remove any of the solid particles. Carefully measured
quantity of isinglass, bentonite clay or gelatin is added into each tank. It attracts all the sediments
to the bottom of the tank, making the beer clear and bright.

Aging

The beer is placed in a tank and is aged for up to 2 months. Ageing permits the beer to
mature and develop smooth, desirable flavours. Ales are generally needed to age for at least 10-
14 days, whereas lagers need a minimum of 21 days. Some breweries let their beer age on its
lees.

Pasteurization

It is a process of sterilization by rapid heating and cooling. This process kills bacteria and
left-over yeast cells and prevents the beer from being spoiled. Canned or bottled beer must
undergo pasteurization at 60 – 65⁰ C. Usually, draft beer is not pasteurized and, therefore needs
to be refrigerated at 2-6⁰ C.

Carbonation

This is a process in which carbon dioxide is added to a beverage to make it fizzy and
sparkling. In the brewing process, carbonation is done by any one of the following two methods:

(1) The first method consists of impregnating the beer with carbon dioxide before packaging.

(2) The second method consists of inducing second fermentation in the cask or bottle by adding a
small dosage of yeast and unfermented wort to the fermented brew. The carbon dioxide produced
during second fermentation is unable to escape because it is locked in the bottle by the bottle cap.

Packaging

Beer are packed in various containers from bottles and cans to stainless steel kegs.
Generally, beer is bottled in dark-glass bottles to protect it from the sun light. However, most
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breweries bottle their product in clear-glass bottles, which should be stored away from the
sunlight. Beers are packed in cans to reduce the risk of breakage, spoilage and for better storing.
The cans are usually coated inside with lacquer to avoid any reaction of beer with the metal cans.
Beer is also packed in kegs. Kegs are metal containers with a capacity of 10 gallons. These are
vertically stored in the cellar.

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TYPES OF BEER

Beer is mainly divided into two families – ales and lagers. The colours, flavours and
aromas of beers can be the same, regardless of the type of beer they are. Ales are top fermented
beers and lagers are bottom fermented beers. Each type is available in various styles.

Ale Beer

Ale is a type of beer produced by top fermentation. Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is the

yeast, used for fermentation of this kind of beer. Fermentation occurs in an open vessel at
warmer temperatures 15 to 25⁰ C. Ale beer comes in various styles.

Lager Beer

The name comes from a German word lagern, which means ‘to store’. Lager beer is
bottom-fermented. After fermentation, the beer is stored in refrigerated casks for 6 months.
Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis is the yeast used in the fermentation of this beer. Fermentation is
done at low temperatures in an enclosed vessel. Most of the American and Indian beers are
lagers.

Draught / Draft beer

Draught / Draft beer is either lager or ale that is drawn directly from the keg. The beer
trade calls it as ‘bulk beer’. The level of fermentation and carbonation is usually lower in draught
beer. Draught beer is usually unpasteurized and, therefore, suffers no loss of taste due to the
heating process. As draught beer is unpasteurized, it is more fragile and so utmost care is
required while storing. It should be kept refrigerated between 2⁰C and 4⁰C. Generally, in well-
stored conditions draft beer last for 20–30 days before it loses its fresh taste and aroma. Draught
beer should be consumed after being tapped. It should be drunk straight from the pitchers, as it
tends lose its crispness inside the glass. Draught beer dispensing system uses gas, usually carbon
dioxide, to maintain the carbonation in the beer. Modern breweries are using a mix of CO2 and
nitrogen gas, to reduce the effect of over–carbonation. The function process of a beer dispensing
system is explained below with the help of a diagram. It gives a basic idea to the reader how a
dispending system works in a bar.

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BRAND NAMES

Ale

• Boddington’s

• Ballantine

• King of Ales

• Provisie

Stout

• Guinness

• Russian Imperial Stout

• Murphy

• Young’s Stout

• Beamish

Lager

• Heineken

• Budweiser

• Carlsberg

• San Miguel

• Lowenbrau

• St. Pauli Girl

• Olympia

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Pilsner

• Pilsener Urquell

• Tuborg

• Konig

• Heineken Pils

POPULAR BRAND NAMES

o Budweiser – U.S.A

o Hoegarden – Belgium

o Corona – Mexico

o Amstel, Heineken – Netherlands

o Fosters, Millers – Australia

o Carlsberg, Tuborg – Denmark

o Asahi – Japan

o Guinness – Ireland

STORAGE OF BEER

 Beer must be stored at 13–15°C (55–58°F) in a well-ventilated cellar.

 Spile (Small Wooden Peg/Stopper) control should be done to ensure the quality of the beer
and control the pressure inside the cask.

 Tapping should be carried out 24 hours before it is required.

 High temperature fluctuations will spoil the beer.

 Bottled beers should not be exposed to sun light.

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FAULTS IN BEER

Sour Beer

o Deposits of yeast in the pipes and dispensing equipment

o Adding stale beer to a fresh cask of Beer

o Not exhausting the beer on time

o Exposing the beer to heavy fluctuations of temperature

o Exposed to heavy lighting

Cloudy Beer

o Stored in low temperature

o Uncleaned or poorly cleaned pipes

o Trying to pull the beer from the cask without removing the spile

Flat Beer

o Poor or faulty spile control – having a soft spile when a hard/firm spile is required

o Beer stored at a very low temperature

o Served in a greasy glass

o Poured and left in the glass for a long time

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Source: adapted from Grossman’s Guide to Wines, Beer and Spirits, ISBN 0- 684-
17772–2 and F&B Service Simplified by R. Gopikrishna and PVS Vara Prasad,
Pearson’s, ISBN : 978-93-5407-126-3
Authorship: Shane Joseph.
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