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Beer is a beverage obtained by the YEAST-caused fermentation of a malted cereal, usually barley MALT, to which HOPS and water have been added. Among the earliest records of its use is a Mesopotamian tablet (c.7000 BC), inscribed with a cuneiform recipe for the "wine of the grain." The origin of beer brewing, however, has not been determined; nor is it known whether our prehistoric ancestors invented bread or beer first.
The Mesopotamians and the Egyptians are thought to have been the first to render barley more suitable for brewing by malting, a process in which the barley grains are germinated, developing the enzymes that transform starch into fermentable sugars. The Greeks brewed beer from unmalted grains until they learned malting from the Egyptians. No conclusive evidence exists of beer brewing in Britain prior to the Roman occupation. The Teutonic and Celtic tribes, however, made MEAD, brewed from corn and honey. The term beer did not come into common use until the Celtic word beor was applied to the malt brew produced in the monasteries of North Gaul. It is thought that hops, which have a preservative and aromatic effect on beer, were first used by Gaulish monks.
The centuries-old technique of brewing involves four steps: (1) mashing, the infusion of malt, water, and crushed cereal grains at temperatures that encourage the complete conversion of the cereal starch into sugars; (2) boiling, the concentration of the resulting "wort," and the addition of hops; (3) fermentation, the addition of yeast to the wort, resulting in the production of alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, byproducts of the action of yeast on sugar; (4) aging, in which proteins settle out of beer or are "digested" by enzymatic action. The aging process may last from 2 to 24 weeks. The carbonation that occurs during fermentation is now drawn off and forced back into the brew during bottling. The uniform clarity of modern beers results from filtration systems that use such agents as asbestos, cellulose, and diatomaceous earth. Additives are frequently used to stabilize foam and to maintain freshness, although they are less commonly used by European brewers. With few exceptions, bottled and canned beer is PASTEURIZED in the container, in order to ensure that the yeast that may have passed through the filters is incapable of continued fermentation. Genuine draft beer is not pasteurized and must be stored at low temperature.
Most beer produced in the United States is lager—a pale, medium-hop-flavored beer that is kept for several months at a temperature of about 0.5 deg C (33 deg F) in order to mellow. It averages 3.3 to 3.4 percent alcohol by weight and is high in carbonation. European lagers—Pilsner is an example—are stored for a longer time and have a higher alcohol content.
Few dark beers are brewed in the United States with the exception of the seasonal bock, a dark-brown beer that owes its color to a roasting of the malt, and is heavier and richer in taste than lager. Stout, a very dark beer, is brewed with a combination of roasted and regular malt and has a strong hop taste. Another dark beer, porter, was originally a mixture of ALE and beer and is today a sweet, malty brew, with a 6 to 7 percent alcohol content. Malt liquor is a beer made from a high percentage of fermentable sugars that are largely derived from malt. The resulting beverage has a higher alcohol content (5 to 9 percent by weight) than regular beer. The flavor is mildly fruity and spicy, without a hint of hops.
Low-calorie beers are made either by reducing the amount of grain used to make the brew or by adding an enzyme to reduce the starch content of the beer. They are lower in alcohol content (2.5 to 2.7 percent) than regular beer.
Many other fermented beerlike beverages are produced. In Japan, steamed rice is hydrolyzed and fermented into SAKE. Kvass, a type of Russian beer, is brewed from barley-rye malt and fruits. In many tropical areas, palm toddy is made from the sugary sap of coconut or palm trees. It is not intoxicating when fresh, but becomes so in a few hours.
In 1977, United States brewers produced 156,900 million barrels of beer (a brewer's barrel equals 141 liters), an increase of 4.4 percent over the 154,400 million barrels produced in 1976. West Germany has the highest annual consumption of beer (more than 150 liters—almost 40 gal for each person), with Australia and Czechoslovakia a close second and third. The United States is 14th on the consumption list.