Beer ingredients, what are they?
Did you know that beer is the second most consumed beverage in the world? Its elaboration process with barley grains, cereals and fermented grains, give it that characteristic bitter taste that we enjoy so much when we drink a beer, which is what makes it only below soft drinks in the world ranking. Today in Venerable Capital, experts in the export of alcoholic beverages, we are going to see the ingredients of beer.
Although there are many types, flavors and shades of this wonderful liquid, all varieties are born from the mixture of essential ingredients for a good beer. Cereals such as wheat, rice or corn are fermented with water and yeast to obtain the different styles of beer that we know today.
On the other hand, barley is one of the ingredients of beer, which, depending on the amount used, determines very important traits such as the color, aroma, sweetness and flavor of this drink.
Beer ingredients
Beer is made from four essential ingredients for its brewing: water, malt, barley, hops, and yeast. Today there are many variations of these ingredients, which in turn give rise to a wide variety of types of beer.
There are even several kinds of water that, together with the mentioned ingredients, give rise to incredible combinations for beer. It is worth mentioning that craft beer uses other ingredients, almost always of plant origin, to obtain a result with more attractive aromas, colors and flavors.
Barley
Barley is the grain from which malt is obtained, it undergoes a germination and drying process known as “malting”. The grains are forced to germinate by partially soaking in water to be aerated or baked, drying them and preventing them from dying.
Through this process, the necessary enzymes are obtained to carry out the maceration, which is the conversion of starches into sugar. Depending on the beer to be produced, the barley is dried, boiled or roasted, generating different types of barley malt for different kinds of beer.
Although barley is the main and original ingredient, other cereals such as wheat, or even rice or corn are often used.
Yeast
The yeast is responsible for generating a metabolic process that transforms the sugar extracted from the malt into alcohol. This process is called fermentation and it helps define the body of the beer.
Such is the importance of this ingredient that the world’s most reputable brands have been cultivating and patenting yeast for centuries to ensure that their products and beers are unique.
Hop
Hops is an aromatic climbing plant of the Cannabaceae family, the female flower of this species is the one used for beer. Lupulin is found in the buds of hops, a yellowish powder made up of resins and aromatic oils that are much needed to make beer.
There are many varieties of hops, with different characteristics, but in general, hops provide aroma, flavor and bitterness to beer. In addition, it is a natural bactericide that helps preserve the liquid.
Water
Good brewmasters know that water is the main ingredient in a good beer, since it is made up of precisely 96% water.
Brewing history takes place on the banks of the rivers and wells near the factories, when many began to buy the springs and water sources with which they made the beer to ensure that the recipe did not suffer any change.
As we say, all these beer ingredients are essential, but each one has its possible variations with which to get an infinite number of different types of beer. And you, do you manufacture and distribute your own beer? At Venerable Capital we can help you with the export process, contact us!
