About Beer Making

by Contributing Writer

Overview

Fermenting cereal grains with wild yeast to produce alcohol has been a part of our history for over 6,000 years. Though this brewing process has been modernized, the fundamentals of converting barley grain into a potent beverage have persisted. Today, China, the United States and Germany lead the world in beer production (see References).
Market Size

In 2007, the global beer market reached a value of $401.4 billion. This amounts to 127.2 billion liters consumed yearly. The European sector laid claim to just under half this, while the worldwide preference for the standard lager topped 53.6 percent of total market value (see References).

Identification

Beer can be broken down into four primary ingredients: water, malted grain, hops and yeast. Common cereal grains such as barley, wheat and rye can be soaked, dried and then mashed to convert starch reserves into sugar. Once this mash is broken down and filtered, the liquid "wort" that results is boiled in a kettle with hops, which works to balance and to flavor the malty sweetness of the mash. Yeast then ferments this mixture by eating the sugars released by the malt to produce alcohol (see Resources).
Types

The American Homebrewer's Association has identified 70 styles of beer. The two most common brews are the lager and ale. Lagers use bottom-fermenting yeast, which mature slowly and at low temperatures to yield a smooth beer that is golden in color. Ales require higher heat and more rapid fermentation, brewed with a top-fermenting yeast that gives the beer its aromatic flavor and higher alcohol content (see Resources).
Potential

In 1979, president Carter signed the Cranston Act, which repealed the prohibition on homebrewing. This opened the way for the nearly one million homebrewers in 2008 who make their own beer.
Fun Fact

Hops are extracted from a cone flower related to the genus cannabis (also popularly known as hemp).