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What is Craft Beer?
Trying to define craft beer is a difficult task, as beer can be very subjective and a personal experience. To make a true craft beer definition even more difficult, each individual beer brand is one of a kind. Craft Beer in the United States Today is the best time in U.S. history to be a beer lover. As a nation, the U.S. now has more beer styles (150+) and brands (20,000+) to choose from than any…
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Yes, I am a Beer Evangelist
I’ve read articles and posts decrying beer geeks using the term “beer evangelist” to describe themselves. You know what? I pretty much agree with them. It’s a strange way for most beer lovers to describe themselves. Even so, I am one. Evangelist is an ancient Greek word which literally means “to bring good news.” And the goal for this blog and other things done to promote beer is to spread the…
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One of the best ways to learn more about beer is to visit where it is made. Most breweries large and small have some form of brewery tour or tasting. Some cost money, some are free, but all include a fresh taste of the beer made a stone’s throw away from where its poured.
Beer 101 is a new series on BrewNoob.com blog which helps answer common questions and breaks down popular topics and trends in the beer industry. As true Brew Noobs, we believe beer is fun because there are always new beers to discover and explore, and that we deepen our appreciation for the craft when we learn more about it. So to kick things off, this week we’re starting with the fundamentals of brewing beer- the 4 main ingredients -and we’ll explore each element in more depth in the weeks to come!
Beer 101: The 4 ingredients that make a Beer!
It’s been said that a beer only requires 4 ingredients: Grain, Hops, Yeast, and Water. In fact, the “German Beer Purity Law” written in 1487 say there can only be 3 of these ingredients, but that was before we had a good understanding of microorganisms like yeast (thanks Louis Pasteur!).To better understand the basic 4 ingredients of beer, let’s break down each element:
Grains (Barley)
Barley is the grain which makes up the “body” of the beer, but really any sugar can be used to make beer (Belgian-style beers often use candy sugar) and some gluten-free beers use alternative grain like spelt, but barley remains the most popular source for brewing beer. Barley is a food common around the world, but when this grain is used in beer it's malted, meaning it has been dried/cracked open using heat so that the sugars and enzymes inside it are prepared to brew beer.
In the malting process, all kinds of different flavors come out of the “roast” in a drying kiln, everything from amber red to chocolate to roasted stout which give a beer its color and flavor profile. Some of these malts have a sweeter taste while others can be smokey, creating a whole spectrum of flavor profiles that help define the beer’s style.
Hops
Hops are bitter plant whose lightweight flower-buds provide flavor and aroma to beer. Typically described as a bittering agent added to beer, there are actually dozens of varities of hops with their own flavor profiles: everything from grassy and pine-cone to citrus and herbal, varying in intensity and concentration in each brewing style. Hops also have a natural preservative quality to them which helps protect the beer from bacteria and other microbes (without harming the yeast), making it a key ingredient in all beers, even those which don’t have a heavy “hoppy” taste to them like lagers and stouts.
Water
H20 is often the most overlooked ingredient of beer, but since it makes up most of the brew it may be the most important element. In fact the mineral content of water has a huge impact on a beer’s taste because of how each element interacts with the other ingredients - think of how some people consider New York City pizza and bagels the best in the world because of the water source. Geography plays a strong role in water quality, so it’s no coincidence that some of the best stouts are brewed with mineral-heavy water running through the British Isles while the best lagers are brewed with clear water running down the Rhein River.
Yeast
Without yeast there is no alcohol in beer, or any other fermented beverage like wine or whiskey for that matter. Yeasts are the microrganisms which eat the starches/sugars extracted from the grain of the beer and transform/digest it into two byproducts: alcohol and carbon-dioxide, which gives beer both its buzz and characteristic bubbles.
One aspect not as commonly understood about yeast is its ability to transform the flavor of a beer during the transformative reaction. Adding differing strains of yeast to the same beer recipe will change the taste of the beer, imparting flavors as diverse as: fruity, tart, sweet, clove-like, sour, and even “funky” flavors. Some styles of beer extract the yeast from the beer after fermentation to keep the bottled/canned beer from becoming skunked or exploding bottles as the yeast continue to eat the sugar, while a few styles keep the yeast active to create a cloudy “unfilitered” style of beer which many drinkers enjoy.
Of course there are lots more ingredients which can be added to any beer, but for the most part all beers share these 4 basic components. In the weeks to come we’ll start to get more in-depth about each ingredient to learn about how each impacts the taste of beer and contribute towards the different beer styles. But for now hopefully this helps bring you up to speed in our Beer 101 series!
Beer 101, take notes! 🍻 thanks to @4tugs for taking this video! Cheers! 😁
Beer 101: Lagers & Porters & Ales, Oh My
Beer styles are incredibly confusing when you are just beginning to appreciate great beer. Being overwhelmed by initial choices seems to be the biggest thing standing in the way of enjoying the plethora of beers out there. What makes an ale different from a lager? What makes a porter different from a stout? Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Double India Pale Ale? And what on earth is a California Common!?
There is much to learn about what makes a beer more than just a beer. This series of posts will attempt to dispel some of the initial confusion surrounding beer styles, language, and classification so that you can enjoy your brew proudly and free of burden!
So get your pencils out, have your pint glasses ready, and get set for BEER 101!
Look forward to tomorrow's post on how to start getting adventurous with trying new beers!
Beer Lesson: Storage
For most of us, we come home and toss a six-pack in the fridge, where it enjoys a short but savory life. But for a beer-quality connoisseur, it’s easy to amass a collection of brews that no longer fits comfortably between your carton of milk and ketchup bottles. What's a beer lover to do? Much like a wine collector, you can build a beer cellar. (In some cases, it enhances the flavor.) Here’s what you need to know before filling your basement with your favorite bottles and cans.
Blackout: The chemical structure of hop oil is extremely sensitive to light (a photosynthetic reaction occurs that alters the aroma and flavor). Even brown and green glass bottles are subject to this phenomenon. If you, like many dedicated drinkers, have a “beer fridge,” unscrew the light bulb to give your brews a dark cave to live in.
Keep your cool: It may seem obvious to keep your beers cold, but if you’re interested in really catering to the needs of specific brews, read on. The basic rule of thumb is the higher the alcohol, the higher the temperature for long-term storage. Lagers, pilsners, and wheat beers will live a happy life at standard fridge temperatures, but ales (IPAs, stouts, and dobbelbocks) will keep better when stored at temperatures between 50 and 55 degrees. Barley wines, tripels, and dark ales are fine at room temperature, as long as it is constant.
Get up, stand up: There is some debate in the brewmaster world concerning the position of corked beer for storage. Traditionalists argue that beer should be stored on its side, like wine, to prevent the cork from drying out. But storing your beer horizontally increases oxidation, and allows the cork to commingle with the beer and contaminate the flavor. Most brewers agree that storing your corked beer upright is the best option, and modern methods of corking have proven impervious to drying out anyway.
Grow up: The average beer has a shelf life of three to six months, but stronger brews benefit from extended periods of maturation. For those hefty brews, buy two bottles of a barrel-aged beer. Tuck one into a temperature-controlled, dark corner and let it sit for five or six years. It is worth the wait, but drink the other one now as a control bottle. This is an experiment, after all.
Did you know? When a beer is “skunked,” it has been ruined by overexposure to light. Often, people misuse the phrase to refer to beer that has been ruined by fluctuating temperatures. A beer can become skunked in a matter of minutes in the right conditions, so a coozy is always a bright idea on a sunny day. Who knew beers need SPF too?
CraftBeer.com Offers Beer 101 Course
Think you know your beer stuff? Here's a chance to prove it and get a real certificate to show off to your family and friends.
The course costs $15 to take, and requires approximately one hour of your time. Upon successful completion (must receive 70% or above) a student receives a printable certificate from the Brewers Association. This is an accolade worthy of inclusion in any resume as it demonstrates knowledge of beer fundamentals and shows your commitment to all things craft beer.
Click on over to Craftbeer.com for more info.
