AnitaBeer

beer glass (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is well known that beer has been with mankind for a long time. As beer itself changed, expanded, and improved, so did the way in which we actually got the beer to our mouths. The earlier vessels man used for drinking included earthenware, pottery, carved out wood, and even sewn-together pieces of leather. As time went on, man saw small improvements in the quality of their beer glasses. Early Europeans living during the time of the Bubonic plague saw the creation of beer steins, which had an enclosed top on the steins to keep flies from landing in the brew and getting the person sick.

The development of glass may have been the most important aspect of the way beer glasses are made today. As beer glasses became more and more popular, consumers could actually see what they were drinking and demanded a lighter and more appealing look as well as taste. This led to the filtration of beers; people no longer wanted the coarse chunks that were often found in the earlier beers of the breweries. With this new, more aesthetically pleasing wave of beer glasses, it seemed like beer steins were on the way out.

The development of glassware continued and produced a variety of beer glasses for all kinds of different beers. The most popular in the United States is the 16-ounce pint glass. It was originally used to fit the top of a Martini shaker, but bartenders soon found that as the brew flowed out of the beer taps the pint glass was the perfect vessel because it allowed for some of the carbonation to be released and allowed the aroma of the beer to be more pronounced. It is also favored for its storage capabilities; pint glasses can be stacked on top of each other and stored easily upright on shelves, quickly making them a favorite with the bartenders who ended up having to wash out each glass.

A drive to get people to buy their brand of beer by earlier breweries led to some unique and groundbreaking moves on the marketing and promotional front. Early breweries were often prohibited to give away beer or other rewards to their customers, but found that giving away beer glasses was a great way to reward customers and also to advertise for themselves. This led to the breweries producing beer glasses that were works of art unto themselves. The first were ornate and expensive; they would often have gold or silver embossed on the sides. Eventually, artists for the breweries began doing detailed etchings on the sides of the glasses or steins and even developed a method of firing enamel paint onto the beer glasses. These enameled glasses remain some of the most rare beer collectibles, even though they were made more recently than the others. Today, some of the beer collectibles and signs are worth thousands of dollars and sought out worldwide by eager collectors. Have you looked up in the top of Grandpa’s old drawer lately?

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The main ingredients found in beer are water, malted barley, hops, and yeast.  There are other ingredients such as flavoring, sugar, and other ingredients that are commonly used.  Starches are used as well, as they convert in the mashing process to easily fermentable sugars that will help to increase the alcohol content of beer while adding body and flavor.

Water
Seeing as how beer is mainly composed of water, the source of water and its characteristics have a very important effect on the character of the beer.  A lot of beer styles were influenced by the characteristics of water in the region.  Although the effect of minerals in brewing water is complex, hard water is more suited to dark styles, while  soft water is more suited to light styles.

Malt
Among malts, barley is the most widely used due to its high amylase content, and a digestive enzyme that facilitates the breakdown of starch into  sugars.  Depending on what can be cultivated locally, other malts and unmalted grains can be used, such as wheat, rice, oats, and rye.

Malt is obtained by soaking grain in water, allowing it to germinate, then drying the germinated grain in a kiln.  By malting the grain, enzymes will eventually convert the starches in the grain into fermentable sugars.

Hops
Since the seventeenth century, hops have been commonly used as a bittering agent in beer.  Hops help to contribute a bitterness that will balance the sweetness of the malts.  They also contribute aromas which range from citrus to herbal.

Hops also provide an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over the less desirable microorganisms.  The bitterness in beer is normally measured on the International Bitterness Units scale.

Yeast
Yeast is a microorganism that’s responsible for fermentation.  Specific strains of yeast are chosen depending on the type of beer produced, as the two main strains are ale yeast and lager yeast, with other variations available as well.

Yeast helps to metabolise the sugars that are extracted from the grains, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide as a result.  Before the functions of yeast were understood, all fermentations were done using wild or airborne yeasts.

Clarifying agent
A lot of brewers prefer to add one or more clarifying agents to beer that aren’t required to be published as ingredients.  Examples include Isinglas finings, which are obtained from swim bladders of fish and Irish moss, which is a type of red alga.

Since these ingredients can be obtained from animals,  those who are concerned with either the use or consumption of animal products should obtain detailed information from the brewer.

Infographics are all the rage on the Web these days. You know, those charts that show ideas and statistics in pictures? We found this one today that not only tells you what the strongest beers are, but also the ingredients of the strangest ones. Who puts bananas in beer? Some of the ingredients might make you sick.

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