How beer is made

Beer is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting grains such as barley, wheat, and rye. The process of making beer begins by soaking the grains in hot water, releasing the sugars contained within. The sugar-rich liquid, also known as wort, is then boiled and hops are added for flavor. The wort is cooled and yeast is added to begin the fermentation process. The yeast consumes the sugars and turns them into alcohol and carbon dioxide, creating the beer. To give a better understanding of the process, it’s helpful to compare beer making to baking a cake. The grains are the flour and the water is the liquid. The boiling of the wort is like adding the wet ingredients to the dry and stirring. The hops are the spices, adding flavor. The yeast is like the baking powder, causing the cake to rise. The fermentation is like baking the cake in the oven, and the end result is the beer. A fun fact about beer is that the oldest known recipe is a 4000 year old Sumerian poem honoring the patron goddess of brewing, Ninkasi.