BarleyBarley is a nice cereal grain, which makes beer taste like beer. Malted barley (germinated and dried) is sweet and can be roasted a little or quite a bit in order to brew many styles of beer. Smash the roasted malted barley and steep it in hot water - the resulting "barley soup" is called wort which is the humble beginnings of beer.
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HopsHops balance the sweet malty flavors and aromas of the malt with contrasting bitterness. They also preserve the beer. There are many varieties of hops which add different characteristics to the finished beer. The flavors and aromas can be described as citrus, floral, earthy, piney, bombastic, etc. Beer may contain a single hop or multiple varieties.
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YeastYeast is a magnificently mysterious microorganism which transforms the sugars in the wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide (carbonation or bubbles).
Fermentation - Boom! There are also many varieties of yeast and they impart differing flavors and aromas to beer. |