We want to give you a little bit of information for the people that are new to beer. Beer has four ingredients and you can add more to make different flavors. The four core ingredients of beer
- Grains such as wheat, barley and oats
- Hops which create bitter flavor that highlights the beer
- Water and for brewing beer should be filtered
- Yeast that brings everything come together
For advice on how to make great beer check our 10 tips for beginning homebrewing
Lagers and Ales
There are two different types of beers.
Lagers are a more traditional type of beer. The yeast for lager is fermenting on the bottom of the fermenting range and at colder temperatures.
Ales are usually more hopy and they have a lot of variations. Ales are top-fermented to yeast stays at the top of the fermentation cycle and are done at warmer temperatures.
Beer History
In 5000 BC there was the first recipe of the documented brewing process. Archeologists have found remains of yeast and wheat even before that period.
Beer that we know today really happened in the middle ages right around the 11th to 12th century. That’s when beer became the form that you see today. If you think about it those four ingredients that make beer also go into making bread. Back in the day, they had to figure out what could be a great way to bring those nutrients from bread without having it spoiled that often. Beer became essential and monks became brewmasters.
Beer Tasting
We will be trying four different beers. Two ales and two lagers. All beers that we tried are from Texas.
Equal Parts Brewing (former Sigma Brewing) is a German style pilsner.
Seems little bit lighter than most pilsners. It was clearly not filtered at the end so you can see a little haze to it. Has that crisp finish and floral notes. We are not sure if it tasted like a completly traditional German style pilsner but we have enjoyed it.
Shiner Bock from Spoetzl brewery also known as Shiner.
With Bock you get the same crispness, but it brings more of the maltenes. You can taste the grains better. Because of that you don’t taste the bitterness from the hops.
Little Kicks, Eureka Heights oat cream IPA
Haziness is much higher than on other beers. Our guess is because of the oats that are used. The hops are there, you can taste them. But they are not overpowering. The creaminess from the oats provides a really good balance.
Credit: https://untappd.com/b/eureka-heights-brew-co-little-kicks/3922010/photos
The Rocket Fuel from 8th Wonder brewing company in Houston.
Off the top you get coffee notes straight from the aroma. The thing with Vietnamese coffee is that its very sweet. You still get profile from the coffee and the sweetness with the dark roast malt which is really good.
Credit: https://twitter.com/8thwonderbrew/status/647790841495318528
There is another type of beer that is a little different from these. Sour beers are a little bit more tart because they are made with a lot more fruit.
We have presented different types of beers and we hope that you have learned something. All the beers tasted great and if you are even in Texas we suggest in trying them. Cheers.
