Beer, generally, is an alcoholic beverage produced through the fermentation of sugars suspended in an aqueous medium, and which is not distilled after fermentation. The unfermented sugar solution, called wort, is obtained from steeping, or "mashing," malted grains, usually barley. Alcoholic beverages made from the fermentation of sugars derived from non-grain sources — fruit juices or honey, for example — are generally not called "beer," despite being produced by ...

Including:

• Beer - Beer in antiquity
• Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages
• Beer - Beer in early European history
• Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution
• Beer - History of modern beer
• Beer - Etymology
• Beer - Mythology
• Beer - Ingredients
• Beer - Water
• Beer - Malt
• Beer - Hops
• Beer - Yeast
• Beer - Clarifying agent
• Beer - The brewing process
• Beer - Packaging and presentation
• Beer - Varieties of beer
• Beer - Ale
• Beer - Lager
• Beer - Spontaneous fermentation
• Beer - Hybrid beers
• Beer - Beer in a social context
• Beer - Beer around the world
• Beer - Africa
• Beer - Americas
• Beer - Asia
• Beer - Australasia
• Beer - Europe
• Beer - Related beverages

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In 1953, New Zealander Morton W Coutts developed the technique of continuous fermentation. Morton patented his process which revolutionised the industry through reducing a typical four-month long brewing process to less than 24 hours. His process is still used by many of the world's major breweries today, including Guinness. Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting mostly of conglomerates formed out of a multitude of smaller producers. While beer is generally an alcoholic beverage, some varieties exist, originating in the Western world, which undergo a process to remove most of the alcoho ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

Read more here: » Beer: Encyclopedia II - Beer - History of modern beer

Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BC and recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. As almost any substance containing certain sugars can undergo spontaneous fermentation due to wild yeasts in the air, it is probable that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world. Chemical tests of ancient pottery jars reveal that beer was (like wine) produced about 7,000 years ago in what is today Iran, and was one of the first-known biological engineering tasks where the biological pro ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

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Beer - Africa. African beer South African beer Beer - Americas. American beer Brazilian beer Canadian beer Costa Rican beer Mexican beer Nicaraguan beer Venezuelan beer Beer - Asia. Chinese beer Israeli beer Indian beer Japanese beer Korean beer Pakistani beer S ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

Read more here: » Beer: Encyclopedia II - Beer - Beer around the world

There are many different types of beer, each of which is said to belong to a particular style. A beer's style is a label that describes the overall flavour and often the origin of a beer, according to a system that has evolved by trial and error over many centuries. A major component of determining the type of beer is the yeast used in the fermentation process. Most beer styles fall into one of two large families: ale, using top-fermenting yeast, or lager, using bottom-fermenting yeast. Beers that blend the charac ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

Read more here: » Beer: Encyclopedia II - Beer - Varieties of beer

The main ingredients of beer are water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Other ingredients, such as flavouring or sources of sugar, are called adjuncts and are commonly used; common adjuncts are corn and rice. These starches convert in the mashing process to easily fermentable sugars that serve to increase the alcohol content of beer while adding little body or flavor. Major American breweries use relatively high percentages of adjuncts in order to produce very light-b ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

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In Europe, beer largely remained a homemaker's activity, made in the home in medieval times. By the 14th and 15th centuries, beermaking was gradually changing from a family-oriented activity to an artisan one, with pubs and monasteries brewing their own beer for mass consumption. In 15th century England, an unhopped beer would have been known as an ale, while the use of hops would make it a beer. Hopped beer was imported to England from the Netherlands as early as 1400 in Winchester, and hops were being planted on the island by 1428. ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

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After brewing, the beer is usually a finished product. At this point the beer is kegged, casked, bottled, or canned. Unpasteurized beers containing live yeasts may be stored much like wine for further conditioning in aging barrels to allow further fermentation and development of secondary flavors. A long conditioning period is common for Belgian ales and cask-conditioned real ales. It is not u ...

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Beer, Beer - Beer in antiquity, Beer - Beer in the Middle Ages, Beer - Beer in early European history, Beer - Beer during the Industrial Revolution, Beer - History of modern beer, Beer - Etymology, Beer - Mythology, Beer - Ingredients, Beer - Water, Beer - Malt, Beer - Hops, Beer - Yeast, Beer - Clarifying agent, Beer - The brewing process, Beer - Packaging and presentation, Beer - Varieties of beer, Beer - Ale, Beer - Lager, Beer - Spontaneous fermentation, Beer - Hybrid beers, Beer - Beer in a social context, Beer - Beer around the world, Beer - Africa, Beer - Americas, Beer - Asia, Beer - Australasia, Beer - Europe, Beer - Related beverages

Read more here: » Beer: Encyclopedia II - Beer - Packaging and presentation