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| Beer |
Beer is produced by brewing
grain, most commonly malted barley, with hops and water followed by
fermentation. In this article, we will take a look at the history, types,
brewing process and health benefits of beer.
History of Beer
Beer has a long history dating back to around 10000 BC in Mesopotamia. Some of
the key points in the history of beer are:
- Evidence suggests that beer was first brewed in ancient Mesopotamia as early
as the 5th millennium BC, mainly as a fermented barley drink.
- The earliest chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500–3100 BC from site
at Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran.
- In ancient Egypt, beer was associated with the god Osiris, and Egyptians
consumed beer from around 1150 BC as evidenced from tomb reliefs and pottery
vessels.
- The Ancient Greeks consumed beer-like beverages made from barley and flavored
with herbs, whereas the Romans favored beer made from wheat rather than barley.
- During European medieval times, beer was an important source of nutrition for
both adults and children due to unreliable water quality. Monks began
commercial brewing of beer in the 9th century AD.
- In the 16th century, the German Purity Law restricted beers to only malt,
hops, water and yeast, setting a standard that is still followed today in
Germany and elsewhere.
- The Industrial Revolution led to mass production of beer in the 19th century,
and lager beers became popular in America after German immigration in the
1840s.
Types of Beer
There are several types and styles of Beer
that can be primarily categorized into two main categories:
Ale
- Pale ale - Low in bitterness with light gold to copper color. Examples include
American pale ale.
- IPA (India Pale Ale) - Hoppy, bitter and highly carbonated pale ale style
originally brewed for export to India.
- Amber ale - Low bitterness with amber to copper color. Eg: American amber
ale.
- Brown ale - Medium bitterness with brown color from residual caramel
character.
- Stout - Very dark beer made with roasted malts or barley. Guinness is a dry
stout.
Lager
- Pilsner - Light gold to golden color with grassy, citrus hop character.
Example is Pilsner Urquell.
- Lighter lagers - Very pale, straw to light gold color with neutral malt
flavor. Budweiser is a lighter lager.
- Amber lagers - Color ranges from light copper to amber with sweet malt
flavor. Eg: Oktoberfest.
- Dark lagers - Dark brown with roast malt flavors similar but less intense
than stouts.
The Brewing Process
Now let's take a look at the basic brewing process that produces beer from
start to finish:
Malting - Barley is soaked, germinated and dried during malting to prepare it
for brewing and introduce enzymes for fermentation.
Mashing - Malted grains are steeped in hot water (155–165 °F) which converts
starch into fermentable sugars.
Lautering - The liquid (weet wort) is separated from the grains in a lauter tun
with sparging.
Boiling - Hops and other ingredients are added at specific timings during
boiling to extract bittering and flavoring compounds.
Cooling - The wort is cooled to fermentation temperatures below 80 °F.
Fermentation - Yeast is added to the wort in fermenters to consume sugars and
produce beer through anaerobic respiration.
Maturation - Aging, carbonation, and packaging steps produce the final beer.
Health Benefits of Beer
While beer is not exactly a health food, moderate beer consumption has some
potential health benefits:
- Beer contains antioxidants from hops that may help protect cells from damage.
- Phytoestrogens and polyphenols in beer may help prevent heart disease and
cancer.
- Silibinin in hops has anti-inflammatory and liver-protecting properties.
- Beer drinkers tend to have higher bone mineral density than non-drinkers.
Silicon aids bone health.
- Moderate beer intake has been linked to a reduced risk of kidney stones and
diabetes.
- Social aspects of beer drinking may provide mental health and dementia
prevention benefits.
Of course, excessive intake outweighs any benefits and has many negative health
effects over the long term including weight gain, higher cancer and liver
disease risk. Moderation is key to tap into the little benefits beer has to
offer.
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