Usually, this is malted barley (it can be other grains) that has been soaked, germinated, dried, roasted, and crushed.

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2 Beer has been around for more than 10,000 years and has earned quite the reputation: Philosophers praised it, the Irish blessed it, monks brewed it, and Americans made imbibing it a cultural event. It can either be the simplest of drinks, both to make and enjoy, or it can be a complex combination of color, taste, and aroma. It all depends on your pint of view. But whether you re a seasoned beer geek or new to the world of brew, the trick to learning more about beer is to experiment! Try new flavors and styles, and along the way, you ll improve your palate, up your brew IQ, and learn to better appreciate the styles you love. To discover what 10,000 years of fuss has been about, Central Market invites you to think outside the six-pack and master the brew. The thumb-sized, cone-shaped green flowers of a creeping vine, hops were first used in beer by the Germans who appreciated its aromatic bitterness. Usually, this is malted barley (it can be other grains) that has been soaked, germinated, dried, roasted, and crushed. Seriously, the water quality is essential. It has to have the right calcium or acidic balance to activate the enzymes in the malt. Beer yeast is either top-fermenting ale yeast or bottomfermenting lager yeast.

3 To make the most of your chosen brew at home, store, temperature, and pour are the keywords you want to live by. Beer talk boils down to three equal elementst: color, how it tastes, and how it smells. Get a handle on how each is affected by ingredients, and you ve got the basics of beer down. COLOR: The color of beer is largely determined by the amount and type of malt used. The dried malt is kilned or roasted to varying degrees, and that determines the deepness of the beer s color. Adding other grains, like wheat, can also lighten a beer s color. TASTE: Water is beer s main ingredient, and whether it s filtered, mineralized, hard or soft affects a beer s flavor. Malts add the sweetness, and hops added early in the brewing process contribute bitterness that offsets the sweet. Hops added in the middle of the process add flavors ranging from citrus to spicy to earthy give a hoppy flavor; those added at the end increase the hoppy aroma, which can also range from citrus to spicy to earthy. The type of yeast (ale or lager) also adds bread-like, fruity, or spicy tastes. AROMA: A beer s smell comes from the mixture of hops, malt and, sometimes, yeast. Hops can add smells from light and flowery to sharp and pungent, depending on the plant, how much is added to the brew and when. Malt adds a bread-like aroma; fruity or spicy scents come from compounds created during fermentation. STORAGE: Though beer doesn t spoil, it may not taste that great after time does a number on it. If you re not planning to drink your beer right away, follow these storage tips: Store beer in its original, upright position. Keep beer away from light. Dim or dark places are best. Store your beers in cool, constant temperatures. Follow the use by date on the bottle. In general, American beers can be stored from 4-6 months, while imported beers can be stored up to a year. TEMPERATURE: Repeat after us: Do not serve beer in a frosted glass. It creates condensation that only dilutes your brew. Instead, adjust the temperature of your beer. All temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit. Serve Cold at 41 : Pale lagers; lightest ales; sweeter, fruit-flavored lambics Serve Chilled at 46 : Standard ales, amber lager dark lager, ciders Sever Cool at : Rich, malty beers; beers with high alcohol content POUR: Your mother was right: Don t drink directly from the container, in this case, a can or a bottle. Use a clean glass stored at room temperature. It ll hold a head and allow the beer to reach the perfect serving temperature. Holding the glass at a 45-degree angle, aim your pour to hit the middle of the side of the glass. As the glass fills, slowly bring it upright. The last bit of beer should be poured down the middle of the glass for a dense head.

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5 Cloudy: Beer you can t see through. If we re talking about wheat beer, cloudiness is good. With other beer styles, clarity is key. Cloudiness can be caused by infections, inadequate fermentation, or the presence of particles like yeast or sugars in the beer. Craft Brewery: A small brewery that s usually privately owned and produces six million barrels of beer or less per year. Finish: A beer s aftertaste. Some beers even have a completely different finish than their original taste while you are drinking them. ABV: Alcohol by Volume; how much alcohol drink contains. Beer can range from 2% to 12% ABV. Adjunct: Any ingredient used in beer other than water, barley, hops, and yeast. Barrel Aging: Aging beer in wooden barrels, or casks used to age bourbon, whiskey, or wines. Bitter: Flavor that comes from hops to balance maltiness. Body: The weight of beer, Usually described as thin or full-bodied. Hoppy: A hop aroma or flavor that can range from citrus and pine to earthy and spicy. Hoppy beers are usually relatively bitter. IBU: International Bittering Units; the measure of actual bitterness of a beer. The higher the IBU, the more bitter the beer. Malty/Maltiness: The sweetish flavor found in some beers. Maltiness also can have an earthy flavor. Malts with heavier roasts will be darker in color, while toasted malts can be in a range of colors. Oxidation: When molecules in a beer react with oxygen over time. Usually results in a stale or skunked flavor. Yeasty : A yeast-like flavor often derived from beer sitting on yeast too long during fermentation.

6 Broadly, beers are either Ales or Lagers Flavor from yeast is the big difference between the two. The type of yeast, used in ales and stouts, creates a fruitier flavor. The other type of yeast, used to brew lager, makes lagers crisper. Ale Styles: Most ale styles are from the British Isles, though some are from Belgium and Germany. The following ales are listed from light color to dark. WHEAT ALE: Very light color and body; made with malted wheat as well as barley. German-style Hefeweizens will be cloudy. PALE ALE: Includes a broad range of styles (some of which are not even pale) from lightly hoppy cream ale to super-hoppy India pale ale (IPA). AMBER OR RED ALE: Popular with U.S. craft brewers; brewed with a higher percentage of caramel malt. BROWN ALE: The earliest style of English beer; nutty with light hops. BELGIAN ALE: Includes the famed dubbel, tripel, and even quad abbey brews and lambic brews that are sometimes flavored with fruit. PORTER: Dark-roasted malt gives porter an almost chocolatey taste. STOUT: Formerly called stout porters, these are the full-bodied heavies of ale. Lager Styles: Most beer is lager, and most lager styles originated in Germany, where a strain of yeast was developed that could tolerate the cold weather. Generally, cold-fermented beers do not have the fruitiness and rich mouth-feel of ales. The following lagers are listed by color from light to dark. AMERICAN PALE LAGER: Made with rice or corn in addition to barley malt, with less hoppiness, can range from low-calorie light beers to high-alcohol malt liquors. EUROPEAN PILSNERS: Czech and German Pils are more robust than the American beers they inspired, European lagers range from high-hops Pilsners to maltier styles. AMERICAN DOUBLE/IMPERIAL PILSNERS: Similar to a European Pilsner in appearance but with more pronounced maltiness and a strong bitterness. AMERICAN AMBER OR RED LAGER: Reddish-hued brews with a caramel-like taste, and relatively low bitterness. GERMAN MARZEN, OKTOBERFEST, AND VIENNA LAGERS: Full-bodied, rich amber beer with the taste of toasted malt and low to medium hops. BOCK: Traditional German style with malty flavor, light hops, and higher alcohol. Double bock (or Duppelbock) is a stronger, fuller bodied, maltier bock version.

7 ALES Wheat Ale India Pale Ale (IPA) Amber or Red Ale Brown Ale Belgian Ale Porters & Stouts LAGERS American Pale Lagers European Pilsners American Double/ Imperial Pilsners American Amber or Red Lager German Marzen, Oktoberfest Bock Taste Notes Goes Great With Why? Fruity; Slightly Bitter Fruity Hop Aroma; Sharp Bitterness Toasty; Lightly Fruity Nutty; Malty Aroma Dry and Spiced to Sweet and Malty Chocolaty; Hoppy; Smooth; Toasty Salads; Vegetables; Goat cheese; Feta Grilled Meats; Spicy Foods, Blue cheeses Seafood; Burgers; Sharp Cheddars Roasted Pork; Barbecue; Gouda Lamb; Roasted Chicken; Spicy Foods; Edam Barbecue; Spicy Foods; Chocolate Cake Pair acidic beers with acidic foods. Bitter hops bring out spices, moldy tangs. Caramel and citrus notes enhance smoky foods. Chocolate and caramel notes accent grilled foods. Match herbal/spiced ales with herbs and spices. Malt flavors pair well with grilled foods. Dry; Crisp Spicy; Herbal; Floral Flavors Intense Bitterness; Spicy Barbecue; Burgers; Shellfish; Aged cheeses Shellfish; Salmon; Prosciutto; Sharp Cheddars Grilled Meats; Spicy Food; Sharp Cheddars Dryness complements strong barbecue flavors. Bitterness lets flavors of shellfish and salmon bloom. Hoppy bitterness is good match for spicy foods. Caramelly; Malty sweetness Toasty and Bready; Malty Anything on the grill; Pizza; Prosciutto Steak; Spicy Foods; Stilton Caramel flavors are great with sausage and pepperoni. Hops handle spices, and juicy malt melts into steak flavors. Malty; Toffee-like Roasted Pork; Ham; Mexican Food; Maltiness pairs with salty Parmesan flavors in ham and earthy Mexican food flavors.

8 Match Your Pint to Your Plate When it s all said and done, pairing the right beer with the right dish is a matter of taste, namely yours. To start small with your experimenting, start here. Hoppy beers require strong flavors to balance them. Fruit-tinged beers go well with lighter dishes and sweets. Think of ale as red wine and lager as white wine and match accordingly. Like goes with like: so the bit of bitterness in beer makes it a great match for tastes that also have bitter qualities. Like wine, beer is good with food cooked in beer. How to Grow Your Beer Taste in Four Easy Steps: STEP 1: Start with flavors you know. Stouts, ambers, and porters often match familiar flavors like coffee, bread, caramel, and chocolate. STEP 2: Get a little extreme. Try hoppier styles, like India Pale Ales. Remember, these are usually bitter! Beer, Meet Cheese Beer and cheese are made for each other, no matter what the oenophiles claim. After all, look at what a brew can do for a plate of ballpark nachos. Here are some tips on pairing beer and cheese: Pair delicate light beers, pilsners, and fruit-flavored ales with young, fresh cheeses. Pair malty stouts or porters with nutty, aged cheeses. Pair highly hopped, bitter pale ales and pilsners with tart, sharp cheeses, like Cheddars. Pair strong, sweet Hefeweizens with blue cheeses. STEP 3: Now for something completely different. Think obscure. Sour ales, including lambics, are intentionally sour, but generally dial down the bitterness. STEP 4: Go back to what you know. With a palate primed to catch the nuances of beer, go back to your favorites and sip them in a different light.

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