Beer Knowledge – For the Love of Beer Beer Knowledge – For the Love of Beer Contents Section 1 - History of beer ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Section 2 – The Brewing Process ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Section 3 – Beer Styles .................................................................................................................................................... 14 Section 4 - Beer Tasting & Food Matching ...................................................................................................................... 19 Section 5 – Serving & Selling Beer .................................................................................................................................. 22 Section 6 - Cider .............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Section 1 - History of beer What is beer? - Simply put, beer is fermented; hop flavoured malt sugared, liquid. It is the staple product of nearly every pub, club, restaurant, hotel and many hospitality and tourism outlets. Beer is very versatile and comes in a variety of packs; cans, bottles and kegs. It is loved by people all over the world and this world wide affection has created some interesting styles that resonate within all countries around the world. At the end of this course, you will have an understanding of the following key areas: The history of Beer; The brewing process; The different styles of beer; Beer Tasting & food matching; Food matching tips; and Serving and Selling beer; The first section looks at the History of Beer. At the end of this section, you should have an understanding of: Where and when beer originated; and History of beer in Australia. The aim this course is to inspire you to look at beer in a new light. Beer has history, passion, style and of course the ability to relax you from the ups and downs of life. Please press "Next" to get started. In the Beginning – Egyptian Times ‘Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.’ DAVE BARRY The art of brewing is as old as civilization. Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their nomadic hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started the farming process. Page 1 of 27 (c) Hospitality Institute of Australasia 2012 Beer Knowledge – For the Love of Beer Through hieroglyphics, cuneiform characters and written accounts, historians have traced the roots of brewing back to ancient African, Egyptian and Sumerian tribes. The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia and the ancient cities of Babylon and Ur. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation process by chance. A seal around 4,000 years old is a Sumerian "Hymn to Ninkasi", the goddess of brewing. This "hymn" is also a recipe for making beer. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment and an inebriating pulp resulted. These early accounts, with pictograms of what is recognizably barley, show bread being baked then crumbled into water to make a mash, which is then made into a drink that is recorded as having made people feel "exhilarated, wonderful and blissful!" It could be that baked bread was a convenient method of storing and transporting a resource for making beer. The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be he first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a "divine drink" which certainly was a gift from the gods. In the beginning- The Greeks and the Romans After Egypt was succeeded by the Greeks and Romans, beer continued to be brewed. Plinius reported of the popularity of beer in the Mediterranean area before wine took hold. In Rome, wine became ambrosia from the god Bacchus. Beer was only brewed in the outer areas of the Roman Empire where wine was difficult to obtain. For the Romans beer was considered a barbarian drink. As the cultivation of barley spread north and west, brewing went with it. As time passed, the production of beer came under the watchful eye of the Roman Church. Christian abbeys, as centers of agriculture, knowledge and science, refined the methods of brewing. Initially in the making of beer for the brothers and for visiting pilgrims, later as a means of financing their communities. However, there was still very little known about the role of yeast in completing fermentation. Beer brewing played an important role in daily lives. Beer was clearly so desired that it led nomadic groups into village life. Beer was considered a valuable (potable) foodstuff and workers were often paid with jugs of beer. In the beginning- The Germans By the fifteenth century, there was a record of hops used in Flemish beer imported into England, and by the sixteenth century hops had gained widespread use as a preservative in beer, replacing the previously used bark or leaves. However the most widely known event in brewing history was the establishment of German standards for brewers. The first of these regulations was the inspiration for the Reinheitsgebot of 1516 - the most famous beer purity law. This pledge of purity states that only four ingredients can be used in the production of beer: water, malted barley, malted wheat and hops. Yeast, though not included in this list, was acceptable, as it was taken for granted to be a key ingredient in the brewing process. The "Reinheitsgebot" was the assurance to the consumer that German beers would be of the highest quality in the world and acknowledges the European disdain for adding adjuncts such as corn, rice, other grains and sugars. In the beginning- Fermentation The next great development occurred in the mid-nineteenth century, through work done by Louis Pasteur, the first to propose an explanation of how yeast worked. Shortly thereafter, samples of Bavarian yeast provided the Page 2 of 27 (c) Hospitality Institute of Australasia 2012 Beer Knowledge – For the Love of Beer successful identification of a single-cell and strain of the bottom-fermenting lager yeast. German brewers had started to make beer by lagering (storing) in 1402. Beer, like wine, spread to all part of the globe through colonisation. Beer is made in virtually every country in the world and unlike spirits and in some cases wine have little restrictions on how it is made and manufactured. Beer in Australia Beer arrived in Australia around 1770 when Captain Cook set sail around 1768 to find new lands. He left with beer instead of water as a means of “preserving” water. Today beer is without doubt the most popular alcohol beverage in Australia. However, this was not always the case. In the early days of settlement rum was the drink of choice, so much so that as the currency was in such short supply rum was used as currency. Unfortunately, having rum as a currency led to drunkenness. Beer was introduced as a healthier and less intoxicating alcoholic beverage. The first, official, brewer in Australia was John Boston who brewed a beverage (many would not call it beer) from Indian corn bittered with cape gooseberry leaves. The first pub was opened in 1796 in Parramatta by James Larra, a freed convict. Until 1885 most beers brewed were Ales, top fermenting beers. (Beer styles and types are explained in detail later in the course.) In 1804 the government of the day opened its own brewery in Parramatta and was quickly followed by rival privately owned breweries. Interestingly by 1871 there were 126 breweries in Victoria alone servicing a population of only 800,000 people. Timeline of Australian brewing: ‘He was a wise man who invented beer‘ Plato. Important dates in Australian brewing history: 1824- Cascade brewery opens and is still the oldest operational brewery in Australia 1862- Thomas Cooper starts Cooper’s brewery in South Australia. It is still owned today by the Cooper family and the largest Australian owned brewery today. 1864- Carlton brewery opens in Melbourne 1887- The Fosters Brothers arrive from New York with refrigeration equipment and establish the first Lager brewery to use this type of equipment in Australia 1889- Lager is first brewed in Queensland at the Castlemaine and Quinlan brewery. Today the number of breweries has dwindled. Two large breweries, have a combined market share of approximately 85%. The two breweries are: Fosters and Lion Nathan. Fosters have a stable of brands that includes: Crown Lager, Carlton Draught, Carlton Midstrength and Fosters Lager. Lion Nathan beers: XXXX, XXXX Gold, Toohey’s New and Hahn Premium Light. Page 3 of 27 (c) Hospitality Institute of Australasia 2012 Beer Knowledge – For the Love of Beer In May 2012, XXXX Gold (a mid strength beer) became the number one selling beer in Australia, pipping VB (Victoria Bitter) which had been number one for 20 years. Good Point Its official XXXX Gold (a mid strength beer) is the number one selling beer in Australia pipping VB (Victoria Bitter) which had been number one for around 20 years. May 2012. Section