A glass of beer costs hundreds of dollars, is it a tax on your IQ?

In recent years , craft beer has become popular in the streets and alleys. There are suddenly more craft pubs in the community; restaurants also add the word "craft" on their signs; people no longer have to go to coffee shops to discuss business, but can also find a craft restaurant nearby.

Have you ever thought about these two questions if you have drunk craft beer: What exactly is craft beer? What is the difference between it and regular beer? Recently, as various beer festivals are being held, let's talk about craft beer.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

01

What is craft beer?

Let's go back a little bit. The definition of craft beer comes from the American Brewers Association:

1. To be small - annual production should not exceed 6 million barrels;

2. Be independent – ​​own at least 75% of the shares;

3. Be traditional - at least 50% of the brewed beer cannot have its flavor reduced by adding auxiliary ingredients.

Note: For point 3, it may be a little difficult for everyone to understand. The knowledge point is that beer has four main ingredients: water, barley malt, hops, and yeast , and the others are auxiliary ingredients. Some craft beers will add auxiliary ingredients such as fruits and chocolate to increase the flavor, but if too much rice is added, even more than the amount of malt, it is equivalent to replacing the main ingredients, which will be considered to reduce the flavor and is no longer craft beer.

However, this definition is outdated today.

First of all, there is no fixed standard for production . If a craft beer sells well and exceeds the so-called 6 million barrels, it means it is popular. We cannot ask them to stop production and say that it is not craft beer.

Secondly, many craft beer brands are majority-owned by non-craft beer investors. Beer brands such as Carlsberg, Heineken, Tsingtao, Yanjing, and Snow, specialize in producing industrial beer, which is the so-called ordinary beer, but they are also developing their own craft beer sub-brands.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Finally, does malt have to be the main ingredient to be considered craft beer? This is not absolute. For example, cider is often seen in craft beer bars. From upstream breweries and distributors, to middle distributors and pubs, to downstream customers, everyone assumes that cider belongs to the category of craft beer. But cider does not contain malt, but fruit wine fermented from pure apples .

Therefore, there is no standard definition of "craft beer" . If we must explain the difference between it and ordinary beer, we can explain it from two levels:

Taste level. Craft beer has a wider variety, a stronger taste, and is made from more sophisticated raw materials, so it costs more and sells for a higher price.

Cultural level. When drinking craft beer, craft beer lovers not only appreciate its flavor, but more importantly, they like the spirit of craft beer culture, which is an open, innovative, inclusive and equal atmosphere. You may feel uncomfortable at some high-end wine tastings, fearing that there are too many rules, that you don’t understand, and that you will make a fool of yourself; but you don’t have to worry about this at all in a craft beer bar. You can openly say that you don’t understand and ask the boss to recommend it to you. He will be happy to share the knowledge and history of beer with you, and even take out his private collection of good wine and his own brewed beer to share with you.

02

IPA, Stout…what are they?

Next, let’s take a look at the forks and turns of the beer map.

If you have been to a craft beer bar, you should still remember the confusion you felt when you saw the wine list. What is IPA? Is stout good? Is ale bitter? What is lager? Is wheat suitable for beginners?

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

If you want to understand a field, the best way is to first have an idea of ​​the distribution of species in the entire plate, and then delve into the details. Otherwise, it will be like being thrown into a tropical rainforest, with no way out in sight and it will be easy to get lost.

According to the fermentation process, beer can be divided into three categories: lager, ale, and naturally fermented beer.

1

Lager

Lager is fermented at low temperature , with the fermentation temperature between 5 and 12 degrees Celsius. The yeast settles at the bottom of the fermentation tank, so it is also called "bottom fermentation" or "lower layer fermentation" .

Most lagers have a light taste, light color, and low alcohol content. The joy of drinking lager comes from the abundant bubbles and cool temperature. After a few sips, you will feel refreshed. The common industrial beer (ordinary beer) is American light lager.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

There are different styles under the category of Lager, in addition to American light Lager, there are also Pilsner, Bock, etc.

Speaking of Bock, if you usually have the habit of drinking coffee, you may know the milk called "Ice Bock" . The specific process is called "Ice Distillation". Ice distillation is to freeze the milk and then slowly thaw it. During the thawing process, the milk will melt first and the ice will melt later. Then take the milk and ice it. The distilled milk is more fragrant.

Ice Bock milk, Image source: Wikipedia

But what many people don’t know is that the inspiration for this process actually comes from bock beer.

In the 1890s, a German brewery brewed a batch of lager and asked workers to transport it to stores. However, the workers were tired on the way and left the beer outside to sleep. As a result, the temperature dropped sharply, and when they woke up the next day, they found that the beer had frozen into a large block of ice.

Seeing this, the drunkard's tears could not help but flow from the corners of his mouth. So he took a sip of the unfrozen beer and found it surprisingly delicious! The beer was thicker, with a distinct malt sweetness and a higher alcohol content. Thus, the style of bock beer was born.

2

Al

Lager is fermented at low temperature, while Ale is fermented at high temperature , with the fermentation temperature ranging from 12 to 25 degrees Celsius. The yeast will float on the top of the fermentation tank, so it is also called "upper fermentation" or "top fermentation".

Compared with lager, ale has a much richer style. Common IPA, stout, and some wheat beers are all ales.

IPA

The full name of IPA is Indian Pale Ale, which means Indian pale ale . Legend has it that during the British colonial period in India, the British missed the beer from their homeland, but the efficiency of sea transportation was limited at that time, and the beer shipped from their homeland would go bad. So they tried to add a lot of hops to the beer. Hops have a preservative effect and can also increase the aroma of tropical fruits, but it also increases the bitterness , so there is the fragrant and bitter IPA.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

The good news is that in order to make IPA easier to drink, today during the hop cultivation and brewing stages, practitioners will deliberately retain the tropical fruit aroma of hops while reducing the bitterness to make IPA less bitter.

It is worth noting that hops are a plant of the Lupulaceae family. They are emerald green and strawberry-shaped, not the layer of foam on top of beer. Don't confuse them.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Stout

Stout is a black ale brewed with dark malt. Because the malt is dark in color and roasted , the body is full-bodied with flavors of caramel, coffee and chocolate. High-quality stout will be aged in oak barrels like whiskey. After barrel aging, the flavor is more layered and the alcohol content is higher. It can be stored for many years. If you encounter a good stout, you might as well buy a bottle to collect and open it on a good day.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Wheat beer

Wheat is the legendary " white beer ". Most beers are brewed with barley malt, and wheat, as the name suggests, is brewed with wheat malt . As for whether it is lager or ale? The answer is both, depending on the brewer's brewing process.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

The style of ale is ever-changing, and there are too many types to introduce one by one, leaving more space for you to explore in craft breweries.

3

Naturally fermented beer

The fermentation process of this beer is "very natural", leaving the wort open to allow the natural yeast in the air to fall naturally, and the environmental requirements of the fermentation site are quite particular. This beer is very suitable for fruit soaking to increase the flavor, and is also suitable for barrel aging .

If there is a "chain of contempt" for craft beer, then naturally fermented beer is the king at the top. A mouthful of naturally fermented beer usually takes 1 to 3 years to reach our mouths, while industrial beer only takes 7 days.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Naturally fermented beer has a very rich layering , including sour, smelly, salty, stable, fruity, musty, and barn flavors. Things that have been precipitated over the years are very precious and naturally expensive. A bottle of 750 ml of naturally fermented beer can be sold for hundreds or even thousands of yuan depending on its age.

Ordinary beer is just the tip of the iceberg. The door to the real beer world has been opened. There is a "tropical rainforest" with sour, sweet, bitter, smelly, light, strong, nutty, creamy, fruity, spicy...all kinds of beer are waiting for us to explore and enjoy. This is the charm of craft beer.

Last words

This article aims to popularize knowledge related to beer brewing and does not encourage drinking .

According to the World Health Organization, alcohol is believed to be the cause of more than 200 diseases and injuries and is classified as a "Group 1 carcinogen" along with other carcinogens such as asbestos, radium and tobacco.

Planning and production

Author: Chen Qiqi, popular science creator

Reviewer | Chen Ran Associate Research Librarian (Science Communication) / Senior Engineer, COFCO Nutrition and Health Research Institute

Planning丨Cui Yinghao

Editor: Cui Yinghao

Some of the pictures in this article are from the copyright library

Reprinting may lead to copyright disputes