Alcohol content
Most beer labels have two figures that can tell a lot about the bottle's content. Alcohol content: alc. 3.6% or 3.6 vol. (vol. means volume fraction of alcohol). Ukrainian standards demand that real alcohol fraction should not be lower than declared on the label. But "for safety" real content of alcohol is always a bit higher than printed on the label. In Europe, on contrary, volume fraction of alcohol must not be higher than declared on the label. In the USA alcohol content is measured in per cents of weight, not of volume (alcohol by weight). The difference in measuring is about 20%. For example, 5% vol. equals 4% abw.
Beer is saturated with alcohol in two ways: natural and artificial. Artificial way is adding of alcohol It is used very rarely for extra B brands. The natural saturation of beer with alcohol is achieved by quantity and length of fermentations. That is why the longer fermentation, the Ber beer in the end.
Types of beer by alcohol content:
1. Fortified beer (after three fermentations plus spirit adding).
2. Extra B (after three fermentations).
3. B (after two fermentations).
4. Medium (after one fermentation with partial after-fermentation).
5. Light (after one short fermentation).
6. Non-alcoholic (special technology). Density
The second figure on the label means density or concentration of mass fraction of dry solids in the first runoff.
To put it simpler, it means the quantity of substances that make beer tasty and useful. The higher the density
the brighter, the more saturated and original will be the beer's taste. Pasteurization
short (3-20 min) heating of ready and bottled beer up to 60-80 C to kill germs or their ability to reproduce. Pasteurization considerably lengthens beer's life. Nonpasteurized beer can be stored a month, maximum two months if well-filtered. In Soviet times such beer could be stored a couple of days only. Filtration
After filtering beer becomes light and clear. Modern technologies of double or even triple filtration clear beer of yeast and germs not worse than pasteurization does, and beer's taste is not spoiled. As a rule, beer that will be bottled or canned is filtered more thoroughly. For draught beer one filtration is enough, bottled beer is filtered twice. Nonfiltered beer lives a few days only. You can taste it only at restaurants with mini-breweries or in bars at some breweries. Grain
The main raw material for beer is grain. If it were not for grain, even using hops, it would be impossible to invent anything nearly like beer. It is only now brewers use mostly barley. In old times different kinds of grain, such as millet, sorgo, dagussa, oats, rye, wheat, corn were used together with barley. Gradually grain kind of beer started to oust all others and before the beginning of 15th century was established definitively.
Presently barley is the king of brewing grains. It has been calculated that if barley were not used in brewing, people would grow 16.5 times as little of it than they do now. Top fermentation and fermentation from below
According to all ancient recipes of brewing beer with yeast (it is the most modem and optimal method), beer was brewed according to the so-called top fermentation principle. It is older and more widespread comparatively to the fermentation from below. There is no considerable difference in taste between those two types of fermentation.  |  | Top fermentation. Special top fermentation yeast of ascomycetes breed is used. Although the low yeast, that competes with them, is of the same breed. But there are several peculiarities. During the top fermentation process yeast goes up to the surface of wort and floats there in froth. Fermentation by this technology takes place at the temperature of 14-20 C. | | | Fermentation from below. People started to use it later, first records about it are dated 15th century (the same of top fermentation, actually). In this process similar but still slightly different breed of yeast congregates in the bottom of the tank where fermenting process is taking place. You will need lower temperature for this process - 5-10 C only. Therefore it is a bit harder to make beer this way, but you get more stable beer in return. |
Porter
Porter is dark, almost black beer with malty savour and high content of extract (classically brewed according to top fermentation method). Porter was extremely popular in 19th century. Gradually the interest to the porter started to fade and after World War II this kind of English has almost disappeared. It was first brewed in London in 1722 by a man named Ralf Harwood. He is now considered to be the creator of porter. He mixed all existing then ales - light, thin and dark and created the new kind of beer. This rather B and dark mixture was called "Entire". You can still sometimes see it on posters saying "Entire porter". Porter was brewed of highly dried barley (with or without malt) with top fermentation. Beer
Beer is a low-alcoholic frothy drink made of germinated and non-germinated grains by fermentation of hopped wort by brewer's yeast. It has more than 400 compounds in it that determine its high quality and usefulness for human. It is a high-energy protein concentrate rich with useful amino acids and vitamins. Light beer
Light beer is slightly bitter and smells of grain. Traditional light beer has a B and bitterish taste and is a good thirst killer. The most important is that beer should not be sour and leave a nasty aftertaste. Bitterish light beer is perfect for a hot day. That's why light beer is good after a substantial meal. Some beer brands have different kinds - special, classical, porter. Special is a delicate kind of light beer. Classical is Ber and more bitter. Original is the most bitter and hopped among all light brands. Dark beer
Dark beer is brewed without any colourants. Barley grain is roasted and therefore we get malt of caramel colour. Good dark beer is thick, sort of oily; the sicker - the tastier. It can be sweetish and have a savour of black bread crust. Don't drink dark beer after meal, drink it instead. Beer mat
(germ. - Bierdecke) is a mat made of porous cardboard that is placed under the beer mug (glass). It absorbs beer that can be spit from the glass. Beerophilia
is collecting of beer attributes: labels, cans, bottles, caps, mats, etc. Tegestology
collecting of beer mats. Green beer
unready, intermediate beer. Lager beer
all kinds of light beer for long-term preservation made with fermentation from below method. Lager tanks
tanks for afterfermentation and preserving of beer at the brewery. Kegs
cylinder metal vessels for beer with hermetically sealed inner part. Beer inside the keg is constantly under pressure. Neck label
label on the neck of the bottle, outside from the main label. Malt
germinated grains of barley or other corn that are dried and separated from germs. Malt germs
barley germs - brewing wastes. They are rich with proteins and therefore are used as fodder for animals. Malt house
a room for industrial production of malt. Malt is steeped, germinated and dried there.
Wort - sweetish substance created after ground malt is brewed and filtered. Then it is filtered through the bottom of the same tank or through another. Hop
perennial twining plant. Hop cones sit in a base of a hop leaf. Dried hops are used in brewing. They contain 8-10% of bitter, tanning and flavouring agents. Ale
light beer of top fermentation with fruit taste. Yeast
unicellular microorganisms of vegetal origin, mushrooms that start fermentation. It is used in preparation of bread, vine, beer, kvass, whisky, etc through fermentation. For brewing special kind of yeast is used. ZKT (german Zylinderkonisches Tank)
tanks where fermenting and maturation of beer takes place. Crown cork (german - Kronenkork)
bottle cap of the crown shape made of thin varnished metal 0.235 mm thick and gasket. Don't! | | Don't pour beer from one glass to another or add fresh beer to a glass with unfinished beer. | | | Don't shake beer and don't stir it. Oxygen in the air oxidizes beer very fast and beer becomes nebulous. | | | Don't mix beer with any other drink, it is an axiom! It concerns also mixing two different brands of beer or even beers of the same brand but of different alcohol content. | | | It is not advisable to drink beer from metal or plastic vessel. | | | Don't chill beer suddenly or heat it. You should not for example put a bottle of beer into freezer. | | | Keep beer away from sunlight as it kills it. | | | Don't put a bottle on its side as beer should be stored only in upright position so that beer does not come in contact with a cork. |
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