Beer is much more than the fizzy yellow drink seen on TV. For centuries humanity has imbibed this beverage in celebration, for health and as a means of sustenance. Beer itself is most basically understood as a combination of four key ingredients: malted grains, like barley or wheat; hops; water; yeast. In reality, however, beer as we know it today in America is much, much more complex.

Take a look below at some of the ingredients, where they are from and why they are used.

MALT

Malt is a process more than an actual commodity. To malt any cereal grain you must steep the grain in water to allow the grain to germinate, but only partially, before being quick-dried with hot air in a process known as ‘kilning’. As the malt ‘sprouts’ a few things occur, but the most important is the production of enzymes need to convert the grain’s starches into sugars. These sugars will be extracted by the brewer and are essential for the production of alcohol. By far the most-used ingredient in beer (other than water), brewers use a variety of malts: barley; wheat; corn; rice; buckwheat.

Recently, with the rise in awareness surrounding celiac disease, some brewers have begun substituting malted cereal grains with sorghum, tapioca or other fermentable ingredients appropriate for a gluten-free diet.

It should be noted that the choice in malt will play the biggest role in the color of your beer. Dark beers like porters and stouts use malts that have been heavily roasted, thus imparting flavors of coffee or chocolate. Pale beers, like pilsners or pale ales, almost exclusively use the standard pale malt that can taste bready or biscuit, slightly sweet. Beers in the middle, like many IPAs, amber ales and Octoberfest offerings, use what is commonly referred to as “caramel malts”, that is malts that have been kilned more than a pale malt, but less than a dark malt. Often caramel malts have flavors that are, well, like caramel: sweet and complex. Malt contributes many of our favorite flavors in beer: nutty, caramel, bready, sugar, coffee, chocolate, molasses and many others.

HOPS

Often referred to as the ‘spice of beer’ this ingredient is fairly misunderstood. While it is true that hops contribute any perceived bitterness in beer, hops also contribute significantly to the beers aroma and perceived flavors. Generally speaking, hops come in two basic varieties: European and American. European hops tend to be a bit more floral and earthy, more delicate. American hops tend to have a touch of citrus notes and can taste of pine or resinous. The bitterness in beer depends on how much hops are added in the brewing process and at what point. More bitter beers (like India Pale Ales, American pale ales and some amber ales) are generally hopped heavily for long periods of time, whereas less bitter beers (like Belgian dubbel, Hefeweizen or Scottish ales) tend to be less bitter and focus more on the character of the malt or yeast used.

On the west coast of America we’ve taken traditional hopping methods and turned them upside down. With the evolution of the India Pale Ale right here in Sacramento, along with purely American styles like the Double / Imperial IPA, Imperial Reds and other hop-forward beers, the liquid itself has become a showcase for hops like the world has never known. Stick your nose in a beer like West Coast IPA from Green Flash (Vista, Ca), Union Jack from Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, Ca) or the world-famous Pliny the Elder from Russian River (Santa Rosa, Ca) and see for yourself what ‘hops on display’ is all about. These beers are all incredibly pale and incredibly (incredibly) hoppy.

WATER

Seemingly innocuous, this ingredient contributes more character to beer than most realize. While today our brewmasters are able to adjust water to meet their individual needs, not long ago the character of a beer was defined by the water and whether it was hard or soft. Great historic beer destinations like Dublin, Prague and London each created beers unique to their region in response to the quality of water they were left to work with. Today’s brewing techniques make water pH testing and adjustment a cinch, but next time you have a Guinness or a Pilsner Urquell, maybe even a Porter from Fullers, feel the way the beer impacts the tongue. It is impressive.

YEAST

Yeast makes alcohol. For some, that’s all you’ll need to know (it does so by ‘eating’ the sugars from the malt and converting them into alcohol and carbon dioxide). However, yeast also does a whole lot more and can be the primary flavor of your beer. Brewers measure yeast in two basic and general ways: Flocculation and Attenuation. Flocculation is just a science term that describes how a yeast settles. Beers that are naturally bright (clear, without filtration) use a high-flocculating yeast strain, whereas beers that are hazy or cloudy use strains that are low-flocculating. Attenuation describes, generally, how what percentage of fermentable sugars will be ‘eaten’ by the yeast. Some Scottish ales are famously sweet in the finish, caused in part to the low attenuating yeast employed. Beers from Belgium, on the other hand, can finish quite dry, due to the use of a highly attenuative yeast strain.

Yeast does more than produce alcohol and bubbles, though. The distinctive ‘bubble gum, banana and clove’ character found in German Hefeweizens is derived from its yeast. Peppery notes are often attributed to yeast strains from Belgium; some Scottish ales get their smoke character from its yeast. In America we tend to like our beers “clean”, meaning with little yeast character. This is especially true in our taste for industrial lagers, but also true for many of the ales brewed stateside. The most common ale yeast in America is nicknamed “Chico” yeast and is hailed for its ability to make high-octane beers that are moderate-to-high in alcohol while displaying mild yeast characteristics in the nose and palate.

OTHER STUFF

There are purists in the world that believe good beer must only have the four ingredients mentioned above; however, that is a short-sighted observation. Some of the world’s greatest beers use ‘other’ ingredients masterfully.

SUCROSE

Sugar, plain old table sugar, has been used by the brewers in Belgium to bolster the ABV while at the same time lightening the body of the beer. The best example of this is probably the world-famous Westmalle Trippel. Sugar is also used (for the same reasons) by many American craft brewers in their IPAs and double IPAs.

WOOD

Wood has been used by brewers for some time and in many different ways. For most casual beer drinkers the only wood we know of is “beechwood”, used in the lagering process by Budweiser. However, the American craft brewer has taken hold of wood in general and ran with it. Notable for local beer fans is the works of FiftyFifty brewmaster, Todd Ashman. He is commonly attributed as the first commercial craft brewer to age beer in bourbon barrels, back when he was in Illinois. Ashman’s use of bourbon barrels started a movement we haven’t even fully realized, it seems brewers everywhere are ‘playing’ with bourbon these days.  Apart from the bourbon barrels, brewers like Russian River in Santa Rosa have made a name for themselves in successfully aging beers of all types in used wine barrels. Lost Abbey in San Marcos utilizes brandy barrels for its premier beer, Angel’s Share. When brewers lack the space for barrel storage, they’ve been known to use wood chips – sometimes aged in their favorite bourbon or single malt – and add the chips directly the fermentation tanks. However used, it’s clear that wood as an ingredient in beer is here to stay.

FRUIT

As generic as it sounds, ‘fruit’ is a big player in today’s American beer market. While many of us think “sweet” when we read “fruit”, many brewers have mastered the fruit addition to impart aroma and some flavor, without becoming cloyingly sweet. In fact, in 2008 Rubicon here in Sacramento won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for a beer aged on top of local tart cherries, making the beer incredibly dry and sour – in a very good way. Pyramid Brewing, with a large facility in Berkeley, famously brews an Apricot Wheat beer which is more in line with the sweetness expected by many in a fruit beer. Even the brewers at 21^st Amendment in San Francisco have made a splash nationally with its Watermelon Wheat beer.

SPICES

Like fruit, above, spice is a pretty generic term. There may be no more popular use of spice in beer than coriander in beers like Blue Moon, or other smaller-batch versions of the Belgian White beer. It plays nicely off the orange and wheat notes, without overwhelming the palate. Brewers have also been known to use “pumpkin pie” spices in their autumn seasonal beers, cocoa in some porters, vanilla, coffee in stouts and porters, and black pepper in many Belgian beer styles. Pretty much the only rule brewers use with spices is the same rule used by chefs: if it tastes good, it is good – just don’t use too much.