Beer 101

A very important question with a very important answer. So important, in fact, that some of the earliest known forms of writing in civilization refer to brewing, including the Babylonians' Code of Hammurabi. And fortunately, it's not that hard. (For anyone interested in trying it for themselves, home brewing kits are fairly inexpensive.) The ingredients are pretty simple: water, barley and hops. Much like in the Scotch-making process, beer begins with hot water and crushed barley (malt) combined into a mash.

Hops are added to the mash to give beer its flavor, and then the mixture is cooled and the yeast does its thing, converting the sugars to alcohol. Naturally occurring yeasts can get the job done, but most brewers add specially formulated yeast cultures to more reliably control the fermentation.

Once fermentation is finished, brewers will generally filter the beer with a clarifying agent to make it clear. From there, the beer goes into a keg, can, bottle -- whatever you like -- and is ready to be chilled and served.

Lager is the beer you are likely most familiar with, as it's the most popular type of beer in the world. Pretty much all your major high-volume domestic beers are lagers (Budweiser, Coors, etc.) as well as the major imports like Heineken, St. Pauli Girl and Harp. Corona and El Presidente serve as Mexico's contributions to the lager landscape. Lagers are made with a cold fermentation, using a bottom-fermenting yeast, which results in a clean-tasting, light, clear brew that appeals to just about everyone, hence its popularity.

The major difference between pale ales and lagers, as far as the beermaking process goes, is that ales get their kick from a top-fermenting yeast as opposed to the bottom-fermenting yeast of a lager. Top-fermenting yeasts, which form a head on the beer as it ferments, can yield higher alcohols and ferment at higher temperatures than their bottom-dwelling counterparts. The most well-known ales here in the U.S. are Bass, Newcastle Brown Ale and Pete's Wicked, with Sierra Nevada serving as the gateway I.P.A., though the ale category has seen a big rise in popularity over the past decade, with local microbrewed ales popping up just about everywhere. 

Wheat beer is, not surprisingly, made with wheat rather than barley, or at least with a high percentage of wheat to barley in the mash. It's also top-fermented like an ale. Hoegaarden is probably the most popular of the wheat beers here, but other contenders include Shock Top and Blue Moon.

Lambic is the rare beer that is made without cultivated yeast. In Belgian breweries where lambic is made, the naturally occurring yeasts are permitted to convert the fermentation on their own, without the assistance of cultures. Lambics tend to be rather sour thanks to the natural yeasts, and they're also frequently flavored with fruits to offset the sourness, as in Framboises and Krieks. The Lindemans label is the easiest lambic to find in the U.S.