Beer
- jwoodovetail
- Feb 11, 2022
- 2 min read
Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world. Excluding water, beer is the 3rd most popular drink overall after tea and coffee. Beer is brewed from cereal grains, most commonly from malted barley, wheat, maize (corn), and/or rice. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavors and act as a natural preservative and stabilizing agent. So beer is really just four ingredients, water, malted barley, hops, and yeast.
The world of beer in its refreshing, enjoyable, delicious, thirst quenching form is
simple. Just drink and enjoy, however the classification and the process of
brewing beer is not that simple. It seems that you need a bio-chemistry degree to
decipher the intricate details and nuances that pertain to beer. So bear
with me as I try to keep this as simple as possible.
Imagine that the world of beer can be described like a road map or atlas describes
the real world. It’s a good representation but there are exceptions.
There are no absolutes and there are always exceptions to the rule.
All beer falls into at least one of these categories, ale and lager.
Ales versus Lagers
The main difference between ales and lagers is yeast.
Ales are brewed with top fermenting yeast strains
that operates at warmer temperatures around
55-77 degrees F. Ales have a history that has
deep roots linked with Belgium and Great Britain.
Lagers are brewed using a bottom fermenting
strains of yeast at cooler temperatures around
40-52 degrees F. Lagers have more traditional
and historical ties to German and Bavarian roots.
There are always exceptions to the rule in the beer world, Kolsch and Altbier
are made using ale yeast that is fermented at lager temperatures. California
common lager or steam beer is brewed using lager yeast at ale temperatures.
This can all get really technical and confusing, just know that a delicious
cold beer is easily enjoyed, even if difficult to explain fully.
April 7th is National Beer Day in the United States
Oktoberfest originally started as a festival celebrating the
1810 marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig.
A Buddhist temple in the Thai countryside was built with
over 1 million recycled beer bottles.
The Code of Hammurabi decreed that bartenders
who watered down beer would be executed.
In 1983, there were 49 licensed breweries in the
United States; by the end of 2017, there were 8,863.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was once called the “Beer Capital of the World,” as it
was home to four of the largest American breweries: Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, and Blatz,
as well as a large German population and a vibrant drinking culture.
Ancient Egyptians used beer for a wide variety of purposes,
including as an enema and douche.
Top 5 Nashville Breweries
Top 5 Nashville Beers
Homestyle by Bearded Iris
Gerst by Yazoo
Thunder Ann by Jackalope
Hippies and Cowboys by Tennessee Brew Works
Teddy Loves Pilsner by Fat Bottom
Top 5 Draft Beer Bars
City Tap House
Noble’s Kitchen & Beer Hall
Neighbors
Von Elrod’s
Hops & Crafts
