Beer, everyone drinks every day, so how much do you know about beer? Starting today, I will introduce beer to you in ten phases.
Beer common sense
Friends have noticed that you have a habit of drinking imported beer in the bar, you will also invite them to their homes to drink some beer that is not available in the domestic market, and you will bring back some foreign beer every time you go abroad. So, friends start calling you "Mr. Beer" or "Miss Beer.". Of course, they're joking with you. But your friends are also gradually seeing you as a teacher of beer knowledge. They think you can take beer seriously, and beer has always been something they don't understand.
So, what is beer? You may find this question a bit funny, beer has been in China for more than a hundred years, who has not drunk beer? Almost every province in China has its own beer brand. But, you know what? Beer is also a very complex alcoholic beverage. Beer culture is a very important part of their wine culture around the world, especially in European countries. There are countless beer brands out there, and the vast majority of them are something we have never seen in the domestic market. Maybe you've heard English words like Pilsner, Bock, Porter, Ale, and Lager, all of which are specialized in beer. So is there a difference between them? Beer is a fermented wine, but what about bottom fermentation and top fermentation? There are so many beer brands in the world, how can we tell them all?
In fact, "Beer" is a general term for all grain fermented wines. In terms of brewing process, Ale and Lager are the two main branches of the beer family, and their fermentation temperatures and yeast varieties are different. Lager's fermentation temperature is relatively low, and it also uses a low-temperature yeast. This beer can only be drunk after a few weeks of "low temperature rest" or "storage and curing" after fermentation, while Ale-type beers are fermented at higher temperatures and can be drunk soon after fermentation. There are several beer styles under Ale and Lager, such as Pilsner, the most popular Lager beer, and Porter and Finish are typical of Ale. In all Ale and Lager beers, you can find that the color of the beer is light and dark, the alcohol content is from light to strong, and the spices used for beer flavoring are also very rich.
Beer generally consists of three basic ingredients: purified water, malt and hops. These three components go through a chemical process called fermentation, where yeast breaks down the sugars in starch into carbon dioxide and alcohol. Of course, in order to give the beer more taste and color, some other ingredients may also be added, but the main ones are malt and hops. In addition, the carbon dioxide gas generated during fermentation must be retained, so that the beer can produce a very wonderful foam.
(To be continued)