Dutch brewing, for over a century, has enjoyed a reputation for the making of highest quality beer distributed throughout the world.
Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage; it is the third-most popular drink overall, after water and tea and is thought by some to be the oldest fermented beverage.
Beer only needs 4 things….
WATER: Water is the most used ingredient in beer and it is also the most important. The geography of the water effects how good it is for certain styles of beer. For example, the water in Holland is better for making lagers whereas the water in Australia is better for pale ales.
HOPS: Hops is the flavouring agent used in all styles of beer, however the amount used varies according to the style. Hops is dried and used at the start of the brewing process.
BARLEY: Barley is the grain that is malted as a source of starch. It is the starches and sugars extracted from barley, that when combined with yeast, creates alcohol. To extract the sugars the grain is soaked in water, allowing to germinate, and then dried in the kiln.
YEAST: Yeast is responsible for fermenting the sugars and creating alcohol. It also influences the colour and flavour of the beer and affects the alcohol content.
The basic process of brewing may be simple but the execution is highly sophisticated. The following is a simple overview of the process involved in producing the world’s most favoured alcoholic beverage!
Malted barley is soaked in hot water to release the malt sugars.
The malt sugar solution is boiled with Hops for seasoning.
The solution is cooled and yeast is added to begin fermentation.
The yeast ferments the sugars, releasing CO2 and ethyl alcohol.
When the main fermentation is complete, filtration begins then the beer is bottled with a little bit of added sugar to provide the carbonation.