General Things to Know About Beer

	Interesting facts about beer
	What is beer in fact?
	Beer is a beverage that contains alcohol and carbonic acid. It is brewed from the basic ingredients water, malt and hop. The fermentation procedure is generated by adding yeast. Countless sorts of beer may be distinguished: German pale ale, Berliner Weiße (typical Berlin wheat bear mixed with syrup), bock beer, double bock beer, dark (sometimes non-alcoholic) beer, Export beer, Pilsner beer, Porter beer, Gose beer, strong blond beer, Jopen beer, Kölsch beer (beer from Cologne), Lager beer, Lambic beer, Maerzen beer, Oktoberfest beer, Pils, Porter beer, smoked malt beer, rye beer, black beer, Schwarzviertler beer, Stein beer, stout beer, Urtyp (original type) beer, wheat beer, Viennese beer, Zoigl beer, Zwickel beer / Keller beer (cellar beer).
	Top-fermented / Bottom-fermented
	Top-fermented yeast is an older form of beer yeast and requires higher ambient temperatures during the fermentation procedure (15-20°C) than bottom-fermented yeast (4-9°C). Therefore, it is more prone to contamination with foreign fungi and bacteria. But the fermentation process is much quicker in top-fermented yeast and was already possible when no modern cooling techniques existed yet. Bottom-fermented yeast is the modern form of bear yeast. Selected yeasts are used in this process exclusively. In contrast to top-fermented yeast, bottom-fermented yeasts need low room temperatures (between 4 and 9°C) for the fermentation process. Therefore, less fungi and microbes are produced when brewing with bottom-fermented yeast. The bottom-fermented brewed beer stands out due to its longer durability compared to the top-fermented beer. Bottom-fermented brewing calls for a longer fermentation and storage time.
	Beer wort
	...is the liquid which is created before adding the yeast during the brewing and the mashing process.
	Original wort
	The original wort or the original wort content constitutes an essential measuring quantity when brewing beer. It designates the portion of the substances solved in water from malt and hop before fermentation. These substances are mainly flavours, malt sugar, proteins and vitamins. Consequently, the original wort becomes bear as a result of the alcoholic fermentation using yeast.
	Purification
	The purification process starts immediately after the mashing process. The hot mash is separated from the solid malt residue. Consequently, this is a kind of filtration process, which leaves spent grains on the one hand and quite clear and liquid wort on the other hand.
	Mashing
	In the mashing process, fermentable substances such as starch and sugar are solved. The mix of liquids and starch or sugar-containing substances is what is called “the mash”. The mashing process is subdivided into different phases and in this way, the solution process can be controlled.
	The German Purity Law on Beer
	In Germany, the Purity Law on Beer determines which ingredients are allowed in the beer. The German Purity Law can be expressed in common words as follows: “nothing else than hop, malt and water have to be put into the beer”.
	Beer Tax
	The beer tax is an indirect tax or a consumer tax. It is levied by the customs services with the receipts being paid out to the German Länder. The amount of the beer tax relies on the original beer wort content of the beer. At present, the standard tax rate per hectoliter is 0.787 EUR for each degree Plato (Plato = the unit of the original wort content). On this rate, roughly 1.9 per cent of beer tax is levied for a 0.2 l glass of strong beer with an original wort content of approximately 12 degrees Plato. The basis for the assessment is the annual production of a brewery. With a total annual production rate of less than 100,000 hectolitres, reduced tax rates are levied. Hobby brewers brewing up to 200 l per year are exempt from tax payment.
	Brewers´ Star
	The Brewers´ Star is brewers´ and maltsters´ guild sign and the symbol for the distribution centre of the domestic brand beverage of a brewery.
	Rosette
	A rosette is a drip protection made from paper which is put onto the bottom of some beer glasses to prevent beer foam from spilling onto the table. In most cases, the rosette is made from paper, is round and has a little cut inside. It is also often used as a publicity medium by the breweries.

General Things to Know About Beer

Interesting facts about beer