“When I die, I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin. I wonder would they know it was me?” James Patrick Donleavy
The Oktoberfest is approaching soon, i.e., the hop harvest festival organized in Munich since 1810 and one of the largest folk festivals in the world at the same time. Each of us knows that it is related to tasting young beer. It is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The total world beer production is around 1.7 billion liters.
Why do we drink beer so eagerly? What happens in our body when we drink it? We can then accidentally discover a star, break up with a significant other, or do something ridiculous without realizing the seriousness of the situation. It is only after a while that we are affected by what we have just done. Let’s take a closer look at beer’s bright and dark sides.
Beer variability
People have created so many kinds of beer that for sure, each of us will find a favorite taste. Besides many beer’s types, we can distinguish But (the oldest style of brewing beer, known since antiquity, fermentation at warm temperature for a relatively short time, available to home brewers), Storage (fermentation for a long time at low temperature and rely on bottom-fermenting yeast that sinks to the bottom of the fermentation tank), Porter (a type of ale with a dark black color and an aroma and hint of roasted malt.), Stout (a type of dark ale, with a bitter coffee aftertaste that comes from unmalted roasted barley added to the wort.
After pouring into a mug, Stout type of the beer has a thick, creamy foam on the surface), Blonde Ale (light, sweet beer), Brown Ales (beer with notes of chocolate, caramel, citrus or nuts), Pale Ale (English style of beer, pale ale, known for its coppery color and fruity aroma), India Pale Ale (British piles brewed with the addition of hops), Wheat (light beer with a soft, sweet taste and a cloudy texture), Pilsner (the hoppiest lagers with a dry, slightly bitter taste), Sour Ale (beer with the roots of antiquity. Made from wild yeast. Characteristic of a tart aftertaste that goes well with tropical fruit and spices). In fact, there are much more types of beer. Everybody can find something for themselves. Even people who cannot consume gluten can choose gluten-free beer.
Chemical composition
Making a beer is not as easy as it sounds to be. It requires a complex series of biochemical reactions that must take place. Why are they needed? Thanks to them, barley is converted into fermentable sugars that are next converted with yeast to alcohol. It is worth mentioning that barley is the most common grain used to get sugars in beer, while recently, brewers are turning out barley with corn, rice, millet, sorghum, maguey, buckwheat, and other ingredients.
The majority serve the demand for gluten-free products but a minority taps into an interest in cultural and historic beers.
The main ingredient of beer is water. There is over 90% of water in that beverage. It is a crucial ingredient in beer, while some particular types of beer are only brewed in specific places around the world due to the unique mineral salts that are dissolved in water. Dublin water contains large amounts of bicarbonates and calcium that cause the rise of the pH. To counteract this, local brewers use roasted malts, which allow the pH to be lowered. This is how the taste of Irish stout (such as Guinness) was created.
The Pilsen region in the Czech Republic has very soft water (low content of the mineral salts), which is why pale, hoppy beers, called pilsners, are brewed there. Generally, beer is rich in potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium ions (cations) and sulfate, nitrate, chlorine and phosphate ions (anions). What about missing percent? It is estimated that there are up to 2,000 different chemical species in beer, possibly twice as many as in wine. Beer contains an extract, ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The extract consists of carbohydrates, proteins and products of their breakdown. In beer, we will also find bitter compounds iso-alpha acids from hops, pigments – melanoidins (brown and flavorsome dyes found in malts and malt products), vitamins, and various types of organic acids that give a specific, unique taste of some beer’s types. The exact content of minerals is influenced by the type of selected grain, hops, water, and yeast. In dry beer, about 80% of carbohydrates are dextrin, about 13% are reducing sugars, and the remaining 7% is pentosan (a type of polymer).
How is beer made?
Beer production is a complex process. It starts with soaking the barley in hot water and burns for some time. During this time, simple sugars are released from the beans, which are then involved in alcohol formation. That is how the wort – a liquid extracted from the process is made.
Wort is transferred to the brewhouse, where it is then brought to a boil. During this process, hops are added at different intervals, depending on the type of beer. The further fate of the substance depends on its destiny. When beer ale or lager type is to be produced, it is transferred through the heat exchanger to cool it down. Then, it is pumped into the fermentation vessel, where the yeast will be added. In other cases, it is cooled in open vats, where it reacts with ambient yeast and begins the brewing process.
After a day, the beer is transferred to a fermentation vessel. Yeast is added to initiate the process of converting the sugars of the wort into alcohol while releasing CO2. After fermentation, many beers are filtered or passed through a centrifuge to remove any solids. What does the color of beer depend on? The color of the beer is caused by a chemical reaction, the so-called Maillard reaction. It is based on the grain burning process. Amino acids and sugars form when grains sprout combine with each other in heating to form melanoidins (brown-colored polymers).
Beer vs. body
Beer is often considered one of the lightest alcoholic beverages. Our taste buds (the ones responsible for the bitter tastes) are responsible for the fact that we feel the taste of beer. They send information to our brains about the food we eat. The taste of beer releases substances in the brain that make us want to drink more of it.
Beer causes an increased dopamine production (a substance responsible for our feeling of pleasure) in our brain. Let’s not forget that beer is still alcohol, maybe not strong, but still alcohol. Beer interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect how we receive and process information.
Some studies show a positive effect of the beer on the kidneys and nourishment of the body due to the diuretic properties. Drinking beer can, in some way, prevent the formation of kidney stones; in fact, beer has no medicinal properties. It also increases our appetite.
Drinking alcohol disrupts fat metabolism and causes fat build-up, which increases the risk of developing other conditions – e.g., diabetes. Beer can provide us with certain ingredients – it contains B vitamins, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and zinc, but it is not the primary source of these ingredients, so its consumption is unnecessary.
Beer does not contain cholesterol and can also improve cholesterol levels in people who consume it. Of course, despite the beer’s positive influence on our body, it should not be consumed too often, as well as in larger quantities. An excessed beer consumption may harm the body – it increases the risk of developing numerous diseases – for example, atherosclerosis, liver dysfunctions, pancreas problems, or even a stroke due to the alcohol content.
Beer 0% – or really 0%?
Non-alcoholic beer is brewed the same as regular beer, except that it is interrupted by its fermentation. As you can easily guess, fermentation is responsible for the alcohol content and some tastes. Recently, special yeasts have been used, which do not convert sugar into alcohol, but they give everything that constitutes the aroma and taste of beer.
Some non-alcoholic beers are recognized and taken by sportspeople. Athletes appreciate the isotonic properties of non-alcoholic beer, which contains many valuable micronutrients and B vitamins. However, many beers with non-alcoholic inscriptions on the bottle contain alcohol, up to 0.5% of alcohol. That is the amount that would be similar after eating a few apples that undergo chemical processes in the body after consumption like fermentation and following alcohol production.
Interesting facts about beer
- Beer is the third most popular drink in the world, right after water and tea. It is the most common alcohol-containing beverage.
- In ancient Egypt, beer was thought to be a drink that could be used to treat diseases.
- There is a crater on the Moon called Beer.
- In Mesopotamia, beer served as a currency for a certain period.
- In the Middle Ages, drinking beer was safer than drinking water.
- Interestingly, consuming beer regularly has nothing to do with the formation of the so-called beer belly.
Summary
People drink beer on various occasions, on rainy days in pubs, on summer days at the beach, and in the open air. The great German beer festival called Oktoberfest has been held since 1818. People from all over the world come to it. Some people say that beer reduces stress or anxiety.
Interestingly, a small amount of this drink helps to be creative and come up with brilliant ideas. However, regular beer (containing alcohol) disturbs the motoric coordination of the body and affects concentration. So, overusing that tasty beverage is highly non-recommended.
This article is a joint work of Oliwia Raniszewska (Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw), Emilia Cywińska (Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw), Agnieszka Pregowska (Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences), and Magdalena Osial (Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw) as a part of the Science Embassy project. Image Credit: Agnieszka Pregowska
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