#InternationalBeerDay
Grab your pints - it’s #InternationalBeerDay! But do you know the science behind brewing your favourite beer? It starts with four essential ingredients: water, cereal grains, hops (a flower for flavour) and yeast.
Cereal grains, which include barley and wheat, are soaked in water in a process known as ‘malting’ which starts breaking down the starches. The grains are then dried and placed in hot water.
Placing the grains in hot water converts the starches from the cereal grains into sugars which are released into the beer mix. The mix is then boiled and any additional flavours are added.
But what makes beer alcoholic? That’s where yeast comes into play in a process known as ‘fermentation’. Yeast eats, or ‘metabolises’ glucose, a type of sugar released from the cereal grains, and converts these sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Did you know: the area you live in can affect the flavour of your beer. If you live in an area with hard water, there are increased levels of calcium and magnesium in the water, which changes how the yeast eats the sugars in the beer, altering the overall flavour.
The exact flavour of the beer depends on so many different things: how long you roast your grains for, temperature, length of fermentation and many more. This explains why we prefer some beers over others.
What about how we get the head of the beer? The hops in the beer mix create a layer of surface tension on top which traps bubbles, giving us the beloved head of the beer.
….and, just in case we decide planet Earth’s not the one for us, we’ve successfully grown Barley in space. PHEW. Happy #InternationalBeerDay