The Brewing Process of Beer

"He was a wise man who invented beer", according to Plato. Although Plato was not the only one who was wise, the Germans too know their beer. Beer dates back to the beginnings of civilization. There are different types of beer, festivals for beer, and many German beer drinkers. Ale and lager, top fermented and bottom fermented, drank by millions across the world and perfected throughout the centuries (Strong, 124). The Germans as a society value their world renowned beers. Oktoberfest is a famous annual celebration where beer drinking is a necessity. The first beer brewed in Germany was dated back as far as eight hundred BC. A beer amphorae, also known as the "hallsstattzeit" was found near Kulmbach. The relic was dated back to that time.

Beer brewing and consumption has been around for an estimate of 5000 years. The special technique that was discovered was actually an accident involving barley being soaked in the rain, spontaneously fermented, flavoured with honey and dates, and it was drunk from jugs with straws. This accident was perfected to a point where there are more than 70 types of beer, and most people have their favorites. Beer is part of most societies, and it has become a major industry in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In the 1990s in the United States, more than 200 million barrels of beer was produced, and an average of each adult consumed 121 liters of beer in their lifetime. Beer has a huge impact on society and we should consider this issue because statistics show that beer can lead to many types of death (Leckie, 67).

The brewing process of beer is somewhat complicated; however it is interesting to know how this popular beverage is made while you are drinking it. In beer there is some kind of starch, this is mostly Barley however it varies between different companies. There has to be Hops which is a cone-like flower that provides the beverage with a bitter flavour and aroma. This also has preservative qualities. Yeast is included in the process, and water.

The first stage is called Malting. In this stage the collected barley is soaked in water to moisten it, and then they start to sprout this is called germination. During the germination enzymes in the grain convert the starch into a type of sugar called maltose (C12H22O11). After several days of malting, the ...