The strength of beer may be measured by the percentage by volume of ethyl alcohol. Strong beers are above 4 percent, the so-called barley wines 8 to 10 percent.

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The beer brewing process involves malting, milling, mashing, extract separation, hop addition and boiling, removal of hops and precipitates, cooling and aeration, fermentation, separation of yeast from young beer, aging, and maturing. Brewing converts grain starches to sugar, extracts the sugar with water, and ferment it with yeast to produce the lightly carbonated beverage.

Lager is a type of beer. In Germany, brewing was a winter occupation, and ice was used to keep beer cool during the summer months. Such beer came to be called lager (from German lagern, &#;to store&#;). The term lager is today used to denote beer produced from bottom-fermenting yeast.

Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by extracting raw materials with water, boiling (usually with hops), and fermenting. In some countries, beer is defined by law&#;as in Germany, where the standard ingredients, besides water, are malt (kiln-dried germinated barley), hops, and yeast.

beer , alcoholic beverage produced by extracting raw materials with water , boiling (usually with hops), and fermenting . In some countries beer is defined by law&#;as in Germany , where the standard ingredients, besides water, are malt (kiln-dried germinated barley ), hops , and yeast .

History of

brewing

beer brewer; excavations of Dara, Egypt

Beer brewer, painted limestone, from the excavations of Dara, Egypt, c.

bce

(end of the Old Kingdom); in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

Making ancient Egyptian beer

Learn about the beer of ancient Egypt and the role of the yeast microbe in the brewing process.

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Before bce, beer was made from barley in Sumer and Babylonia. Reliefs on Egyptian tombs dating from bce show that barley or partly germinated barley was crushed, mixed with water, and dried into cakes. When broken up and mixed with water, the cakes gave an extract that was fermented by microorganisms accumulated on the surfaces of fermenting vessels.

The basic techniques of brewing came to Europe from the Middle East. The Roman historians Pliny and Tacitus (both in the 1st century ce) reported that Saxons, Celts, and Nordic and Germanic tribes drank ale. In fact, many of the English terms used in brewing (malt, mash, wort, ale) are Anglo-Saxon in origin. During the Middle Ages the monastic orders preserved brewing as a craft. Hops were in use in Germany in the 11th century, and in the 15th century they were introduced into Britain from Holland. In beer was made in Germany by a bottom-fermentation process, so called because the yeast tended to sink to the bottom of the brewing vessel; before that, the type of yeast used tended to rise to the top of the fermenting product and was allowed to overflow or was manually skimmed. Brewing was a winter occupation, and ice was used to keep beer cool during the summer months. Such beer came to be called lager (from German lagern, &#;to store&#;). The term lager is still used to denote beer produced from bottom-fermenting yeast, and the term ale is now used for top-fermented British types of beer.

Behind the scenes: How Samuel Adams beer is made

Learn about the chemistry of beer and the process of brewing from a brewmaster of the Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston, Massachusetts.

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The Industrial Revolution brought the mechanization of brewing. Better control over the process, with the use of the thermometer and saccharometer, was developed in Britain and transferred to the Continent, where the development of ice-making and refrigeration equipment in the late 19th century enabled lager beers to be brewed in summer. In the s the French chemist Louis Pasteur, through his investigations of fermentation, established many of the microbiological practices still used in brewing. The Danish botanist Emile Hansen devised methods for growing yeasts in cultures free of other yeasts and bacteria. This pure-culture technology was taken up quickly by Continental lager brewers but not until the 20th century by the ale brewers of Britain. Meanwhile, German-style lagers bottom-fermented by pure yeast cultures became dominant in the Americas.

Britannica Quiz

Beer and Brewing

Brewing in the 21st century is a large-scale industry. Modern breweries use stainless-steel equipment and computer-controlled automated operations, and they package beer in metal casks, glass bottles, aluminum cans, and plastic containers. Beers are now exported worldwide and are produced under license in foreign countries.

Where Did Beer Originate From?

While enjoying a pint of craft beer, have you ever stopped and wondered about the history of the world&#;s most popular fermented beverage? We often hear this question from guests on our Brews Cruise tours. We&#;ve put together a lesson on the origins of beer from its oldest records all the way to the present day. So the next time you crack open a cold one, you will have a deeper understanding of the history of beer.

Let&#;s start with a pop quiz: Where in the world and during what period of time was beer invented?

If you said in Germany in the Middle Ages, you are not alone in that belief. Many people associate the well-known German drinking culture with the birthplace of beer.

It is true that modern-day beer styles were mostly developed in Europe (especially in Germany). But through research, we now know that beer was first enjoyed in ancient Mesopotamia.

The Germans do love their beer, but it was not actually first created there. Zum wohl!

Here are some of the key civilizations involved in the foundation of the beer we know and love today.

The Sumerians

There are some theories that beer brewing happened at Godin Tepe settlement (now in modern-day Iran) as early as 10,000 BCE when agriculture first developed in the region.

The people who lived in the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers considered beer a very important part of their diet. They called it &#;the divine drink&#; because of its intoxicating effect.

The first solid proof of beer production comes from the period of the Sumerians around 4,000 BCE. During an archeological excavation in Mesopotamia, a tablet was discovered that showed villagers drinking a beverage from a bowl with straws.

Archeologists also found an ode to Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing. This poem also contained the oldest known recipe for making beer using barley from bread.

The Babylonians

The next civilization known for beer consumption was also from Mesopotamia &#; the people from the great city of Babylon.

Babylonians produced over 20 different types of beer around 3,000 BCE.

Beer was also considered divine in Babylon, a true gift from the Gods. It was also a sign of wealth.

The Code of Hammurabi, the ancient Babylonian set of laws, decreed a daily beer ration to citizens.

Every citizen had his daily dose of beer, depending on his wealth. The drink was so respected that people were sometimes paid for work in beer, instead of money.

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There was no way of filtering beer back then, so their beer was pretty thick (like porridge) and hard to drink.

To avoid this problem, ancient Babylonians were the first to use straws for drinking a beverage.

The Egyptians

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Although Sumerians and Babylonians both considered beer sacred, there was hardly a civilization that adored beer as much as the ancient Egyptians did around BCE.

The Egyptian goddess of beer was Tenenit. Her name derives from tenemu, one of the many words in the Egyptian language for beer.

Egyptians were excellent brewers, and they were constantly working on the taste of beer step-by-step so that it would be less bitter and taste better.

The most popular beer in Egypt was Heqet (or Hecht). This was a honey-flavored brew and their general word for beer was zytum.

Beer was often used throughout Egypt as compensation for labor. The workers at the Giza plateau received beer rations three times a day and workers on the Nile were often paid for their work in beer.

Archeologists have even found beer buried in the tombs of the Pharaohs, so they could enjoy the taste of this delicious beverage in the afterlife.

Ancient Greece and Rome

How did beer migrate to Europe and become popular around that continent? The Greeks and Romans!

Beer brewing techniques made its way from Egypt to Greece (as we know from the Greek word for beer, zythos from the Egyptian zytum) but was not a huge hit right away.

At this time, wine was so popular that it was the drink considered a gift from the gods. Therefore, beer was considered a barbaric drink and only fit for lower classes to imbibe.

Even so, the Romans were brewing beer (called cerevisia) quite early, as evidenced by discoveries in the tomb of a beer brewer and merchant (a Cerveserius) in ancient Treveris (modern-day Trier).

Beer was one of the most common drinks on the outskirts of the empire, and the legions of Rome brought beer to Northern Europe. Roman soldiers could enjoy a refreshing cup of beer on their long journeys.

The Middle Ages

And then came the Middle Ages. During this period, beer was mostly produced in monasteries all across Europe.

With its high nutritional value, beer was a perfect beverage for monks during times of fasting.

Since monks liked the beverage, in some monasteries, monks could drink up to five liters of beer per day.

The beer production helped the monasteries survive the Dark Ages, as they made enough money to live from selling their beer.

Introduction of Hops

Around AD, people started using hops in the brewing process. This refined its taste by making it much less bitter and gave us the beer as we know it today.

Usage of hops in beer production started spreading across Europe.

First Commercial Breweries

In the 13th century AD, beer was finally produced commercially in Germany, England, and Austria.

You know we would get back to Germany at some point!

The Germans were brewing beer (which they called ol, for `ale&#;) as early as 800 BCE.

Large quantities of beer jugs, still containing evidence of the beer, were discovered in a tomb in the Village of Kasendorf in northern Bavaria, near Kulmbach.

The German brewers soon set the standard for most beer makers in Europe. Their beer was of the highest quality, particularly because it was really cold and had a better taste.

The Renaissance Period

During the Renaissance period, beer production also had its &#;Renaissance,&#; which means &#;rebirth&#; in English.

In came the German Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Law).

According to this German law, beer could only contain water, barley, and hops. In the mid-s, the importance of yeast was discovered by people such as Louis Pasteur and it was added to the &#;approved&#; ingredient list.

The Reinheitsgebot was the world&#;s first consumer protection law, as it regulated the ingredients which could legally be used in brewing beer. It also guaranteed that there was a certain level of purity in German-made beer, which gave it the perception that it was safe to drink.

Like those who preceded them, the Germans also instituted a daily beer ration and considered beer a necessary staple of their diet.

The Modern ages

Breweries were emerging one after another in the colonies of North America. The first brewery on the New Continent was in New Amsterdam (which would later become New York City). Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were producing beer. George Washington himself wrote a recipe on how to brew beer.

In the nineteenth century, beer was widely famous as the world&#;s number one alcoholic beverage. This period of modern history marks the start of the biggest changes in beer production, such as using yeast for fermentation.

In , Oktoberfest was first held in Munich. Its origins can be traced back to wedding festivities that actually featured mostly wine.

Prince Regent Ludwig of Bavaria, the later King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen were married on October 17, . The entire city was invited to the city gates to celebrate and observe a huge horse race.

Over two hundred years later, it&#;s now the world&#;s largest beer festival. Munich traditionally hosts millions of beer lovers who all gather annually to enjoy the finest German beer.

As mentioned earlier, the famous Louis Pasteur discovered that yeast causes fermentation. His writings on the impact of yeast to control fermentation marked the single biggest discovery to allow for faithful replication of consistent beer batches.

Along with the newly invented automatic bottling and refrigeration processes, breweries and beer grew tremendously worldwide. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were breweries in the United States of America alone.

Prohibition

And then the Dark Ages hit again. But this time, they were dark only for ones who enjoyed a nice cold drink.

Prohibition in the United States started in Portland, Maine, with the so-called &#;Maine Law&#; penned by Neal Dow in . The new law forbade the manufacture and sale of all types of alcohol statewide.

Soon, other states followed suit, and America was well on its way to total abstinence from alcohol.

Prohibition took effect nationally in , and suddenly everyone who enjoyed a nice drink was considered a criminal. Of course, there were people who profited from this, mostly mobsters and bootleggers who ran underground breweries.

Prohibition eventually ended in , but its impact was obvious. Of the 3,200 breweries mentioned above, there were only 160 still operating after the era of Prohibition.

Beer Today

Today, we can call ourselves incredibly lucky. We live in an era where you can drink beer when you want and have an incredible variety of different beers to choose from.

There are nearly 9,000 breweries in the U.S., and they produce an endless array of different styles and flavors of beer.

And on our tours, you can learn more about the people, the processes, and the products that make the beer industry so strong in America!

We&#;ll drink to that!

For over 15 years, Brews Cruise tours have been bringing thirsty guests on expertly guided all-inclusive tours and activities to discover incredible breweries, wineries, and distilleries all over the United States.

Learn more about our various activities in Asheville, Charleston, Chicagoland, Coeur d&#;Alene (ID), Fayetteville (NC), Huntsville (AL), Las Vegas, Portland (ME), Portsmouth (NH), and Whitefish (MT).

For more information, please visit commercial brewing equipment.