What is Beer?
Beer is a fermented beverage made with water, malt and plant parts (or extracts thereof) that are responsible for the taste and/or preservation of the beer (for example herbs and/or hops).
How is Beer made?
Barley is germinated and then dried. This process is called kilning.
The result is a malt. This malt is then milled, or crushed.
Then a kind of porridge is made from the crushed malt: called mash.
This is heated to certain temperatures to start enzymatic processes, whereby starch from the malt is converted into soluble sugars.
The mash is then filtered and the clear wort is then boiled and hops (or hop products) are added.
The cooled result is fermented, whereby alcohol and carbon dioxide are created from the malt sugars. During and after the first fermentation, the beer gets its typical taste.
How much alcohol is in Beer
The alcohol percentage varies per beer. A pilsner contains approximately 5% alcohol.