Brewing - History, Brewing Process, Types Of Beer, Future Developments
brewed grain
Brewing is a multi-stage process during which the brewer encourages a grain such as barley to germinate briefly, steeps the grain in water to release its sugars, and adds yeast to the mixture, which ferments the sugar, turning it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Around the world, people have brewed grains and starchy vegetables for thousands of years from ingredients as varied as rice, corn, cassava, pumpkins, sorghum, and millet, and brewed beverages are staples in the diets of many cultures.
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Archaeologists have turned up evidence that the Sumerian people in the Middle East were brewing barley as long as 8,000 years ago. These early brewers may have discovered the fundamental processes of brewing as they observed—or tasted—what happened when they left fruit juices or cereal extracts exposed to the wild yeasts that naturally float in the air. Native Americans made a beer f…
The brewer's first step in making a beer is to wet the kernels of grain, promoting their germination, or sprouting. During this process, the germ or embryo of the grain breaks down slightly, releasing the enzymes that turn starches, complex sugars, into simple sugars. The brewer allows the grain to germinate for a short period and dries it quickly in a kiln. Dried, malted grain is very dura…
Current research in brewing technology is focusing on events at the cellular level. For example, brewery researchers are working on methods that will rapidly and accurately detect the presence and identity of unwanted yeasts or other microorganisms that find their way into the beer during brewing, and that change the flavor of the beer. (Potentially problematic organisms include Lactobacillus, Ped…
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