My favorite beer is Heineken! Beer is one of the most consumed drinks in the world!
Whats in it?
Malt Extract
Malt extract is made from malted barley or malted wheat. It is used as the basis for most homebrews, providing the sugars that yeast consume to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. Malt extract comes in a variety of forms. You can purchase malt extract as a hopped kit in a can, plain liquid, or in dried powdered form. Malt extract also comes in a variety of colors for making different styles of beer, including extra light, light, amber, and dark.
Malt
Though homebrew can be made just with extracts, most homebrew recipes include some form of malted grain. Specialty malts, such as crystal malt, chocolate malt (not the stuff you get at the baseball park), and black malt, can be added to extract brews to create different styles of beers like pale ales, porters, and stouts. It is possible to brew without any extracts by mashing malted grains. All grain brewing involves mashing base malts such as pilsner or pale ale malts in place of the extract. Unmalted grains such as oats, wheat, or roasted barley are sometimes used in the brewing process as well.
Adjuncts
Rice or corn, referred to as adjuncts in brewing terminology, can be used to produce fermentable sugars without adding body or flavor to beer. Adjuncts used in place of malt or malt extract make thinner less flavorful beers. Sugars, such as corn sugar or table sugar, can be used with the same effect.
Hops
Hops are a flowers used to season beer. Bittering hops, meaning adding hops early on in the boil process, provide bitterness to the beer to balance the sweetness of the malt. Hops added at the end of the boil, referred to as finishing hops, add flavor and aroma to the beer. Adding hops directly to the fermenter, or dry hopping, lends additional hop aroma to the beer. Hops also serve as a natural preservative, helping to prevent spoilage in beer. Hops comes as either whole flowers or compressed pellets (think rabbit food). There are many varieties of hops available to homebrewers, allowing for great diversity of flavors and aromas. Different hops are used to brew different styles of beer. For example, cascade hops give American pale ales their distinct citrusy quality, fuggles have an earthiness common in English-style ales, and saaz lend the spicy/herbal character found in European Pilsners.
Yeast
Yeast makes beer by converting sugars from malt or malt extract into alcohol and carbon dioxide. There are two major classes of yeast, ale and lager. Ale yeast is a top fermenting yeast (meaning it is most active near the surface of the fermenting beer) that ferments at warmer temperatures, generally between 55 and 75 degrees F (13-24 degrees C). Ale yeast tend to produce fruity flavors and aromas, which vary depending on the yeast. Lager yeast is a bottom fermenting yeast (meaning it is most active near the bottom of the fermenting beer) that ferments at colder temperatures, generally between 32 and 55 degrees F (0-13 degrees C). Lager yeasts tend to be neutral in flavor and aroma and thus do not produce the fruity esters found in ale yeasts. Beers fermented with lager yeasts are usually cold stored at temperatures below 45 degrees F (7 degrees C) following primary fermentation for a period of a few weeks to several months-a process known as lagering. Beer yeast is sold in two forms, dried and liquid.
Water
Making up 90-95 percent of beer, water is an important ingredient in the brewing process. Tap water will work, but overly chlorinated water can result in harsh flavors in the finished beer. Chlorine can be removed by boiling or filtering, or you may choose to use bottled water. Factors such as mineral content and pH of brewing water can a have significant effect upon the final product, although these are of less concern in extract beers than in all grain beers. Certain minerals may be added to beer to achieve flavors found in beers brewed in certain areas of the world, for example the famous English pale ales of Burton-on-Trent are brewed with the very hard water found in that region. The more common mineral used in brewing include Calcium Sulfate (gypsum), Calcium Chloride, Sodium Chloride (table salt) and Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom salt).
Health Benefits of BeerStudies have shown that moderate consumption of beer can:
• Lower rates of heart disease. Consuming alcohol in moderation (defined by the U.S. government as no more than two drinks per day for men or one drink per day for women) may lower coronary heart disease risk for some people by 30 to 60 percent, even those at high risk because of diabetes, hypertension or a previous heart attack.
• Aid in bone formation. Beer contains silicon, a mineral that helps build bone mass. Dietary silicon has been shown in one study to improve bone density in the hips of men and premenopausal women.
• Prevent cell damage that can lead to cancer and heart disease. Hops and malt used to make beer are rich sources of disease-fighting antioxidants. Beer also contains polyphenols, the same antioxidants found in wine, fruits, vegetables, and green and black tea. Ales and lagers generally contain more antioxidants than light and nonalcoholic beers.
• Lower rates of diabetes. In one 12-year study, regular light to moderate alcohol intake was associated with a 36-percent lower risk of diabetes. Moderate consumption has been associated with reduced insulin resistance and reduced diabetes (conversely, heavy drinking and alcohol dependence is associated with increased insulin resistance and increased diabetes).
• Protect against ischemic stroke (responsible for 80 percent of all strokes), Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Moderate consumption has been linked to improved cognition and memory.• To drink moderately is to drink within the limits set by your health, the society in which you live and your obligations towards your family and friends.
• Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks can be good for your heart. Numerous studies throughout the world have shown that there is strong evidence that people who are moderate drinkers of beers, wines and spirits have a substantially reduced risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, when compared to teetotalers and heavy drinkers.
• Per drink (of equivalent alcohol content), beer contains more than twice as many antioxidants as white wine, although only half the amount of red wine. However, many of the antioxidants in red wine are large molecules and may be less readily absorbed by the body than smaller molecules found in beer.
• Beer does not contain fat or cholesterol and is low in free sugars. The calories in beer come largely from the alcohol content.
Source: -National Beer Wholesalers Organization, www.nbwa.org/health. -The Benefits of Moderate Beer Consumption; The Brewers of Europe 2002
