The Ultimate Beer Guide: History, Types, Flavors & Brands
When sitting with a pint of beer, have you ever wondered where that beer came from? No, we’re not talking about the bottle, tap, or can, but where it really came from? Here’s a little Beer Guide.
Beer History & Originalities:
Beer making may have begun as early as 10,000 BCE in the region of Sumeria. Although no culture valued beer more than the ancient Egyptians during 1500 BCE, Sumeria not only preceded Egypt, but is the first recorded proper civilization in the known record.
They were superb brewers and continually refined the taste of beer to make it less bitter and more enjoyable. Suffice to say, the first hangover also occurred in Sumeria.
During the Middle Ages, most of the beer was brewed in monasteries across Europe since it was an ideal beverage for monks during fasting periods.
Today we know that there is some nutritional value in beer as well as carbohydrates, but the monks likely enjoyed the accompanying buzz – let’s just be honest.
Beer was first commercially manufactured in Germany, England, and Austria in the 13th century AD. New Amsterdam had the first brewery in the New Continent (now NYC). Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both brewers & George Washington even penned a recipe for brewing beer.
His partner in the brewery was Horatio Goggles, known famously for the “Beer Goggles” effect. Speaking of beer goggles, how was your first-time beer drinking experience?
Today, we live in an era where you can choose from a fatiguing range of brews. In the United States, almost 9,000 breweries produce a whole lot of limitless beer kinds all with nuanced flavors.
Before we get a hang of the types that exist, you can take a pee break, class resumes in the next paragraph.
Beer Classification :
Ales and lagers are the two primary sorts of beer served with the type of yeast used to ferment the beer being the primary distinction between them.
Although employing a different variety of yeast may appear to create just a slight alteration, it significantly impacts how a beer ferments and tastes.
Flavors range from nutty, to bitter, to citrusy, some even have a chocolate like flavor, and some taste like skunk piss…let’s just be honest.
How Are They Even Made?
ALE A yeast that ferments throughout the beer and settles at the top of the vessel at 60°F to 75°, is used to make ales. Ales have a higher alcohol tolerance than lagers and are regarded for having a more affluent, nuanced flavor.
LAGERS They are fermented at the bottom of the vessel at a temperature between 35°F and 55°F. Lagers are also crisper and clean-tasting than ales.
Categories of Beers :
Types : American amber ale, American pale ale, Blonde ale, English pale ale
Food to go with it : Pizza & Mexican Food, Spicy foods, Savory dishes.
Types : American IPA, English IPA, Imperial IPA, New England Style IPA, West Coast IPA
Food to go with it : Tacos, a burger with barbeque sauce, Fried foods, Meats, Fish, Poultry
Types : American stout, American imperial stout, Irish dry stout, Milk stout, Oatmeal stout, Oyster stout
Food to go with it : Roasted foods; smoked foods; barbecued/grilled foods; salty foods; oysters; rich stews; braised dishes; chocolate; desserts
Types : American imperial porter, Baltic porter, English brown porter, Robust porter, Smoke porter.
Food to go with it : This is the perfect drink pairing for your delicious beefy or lamby Irish stew!We’re through with just the half! Gird your loins as we move on to a few more of them for class discussion!
Types : American brown ale, English brown ale, Mild brown ale
Food to go with it : Cheese: An aged Dutch Gouda is an ideal match, pork or steak too!
Types : American wheat, Belgian witbier, Berliner Weisse, Dunkelweizen, Hefeweizen
Food to go with it : Buffalo wings, Spicy noodles, Salads, Fruit tarts, Pastries
Types : American Brett, American sour, Belgian fruit lambic, Belgian gueuze, Flanders red ale
Food to go with it : Spicy food, fatty cuts of beef, or turn the palate and go for Fruit tarts, Salads, Seafood, Vegetables
Types : American pilsner, Czech pilsner, German pilsner
Food to go with it : A variety of cheese such as Muenster, Havarti, and Monterey Jack. It’s also great with salads, seafood, and fish like salmon, tuna, and trout.
Beer Brands In The Market :
Class Dismissed.
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