On Beer

[DWFII]

Probably preaching to the choir here but most domestic beers are more of an alcoholic concoction loosely based on some beer formula than actually beer--Miller and Budweiser are prime examples.

Beer and ale are made from barely sprouted barley. The sprouting begins the transformation of the carbohydrates in the grain to maltose...a type of sugar. The sugar feeds the yeast. The yeast converts it to alcohol. If this is done correctly, there will be enough sugar in the form of maltose to complete the fermentation and make beer or ale. At which point, the alcohol content gets high enough to kill the yeast and the fermentation stops. If done correctly, fermentation will stop exactly at the point when there is no more (or very little) available sugar.

If the brewer starts out with a top fermenting yeast, the result will be an ale. Stout is technically an ale. If the brewer uses bottom fermenting yeast, the result will be a lager. Both Pilsner and Bock are lagers.

If there isn't enough maltose present, the brewer must add supplemental sugar usually in the form of sucrose. Excess sucrose in the blood stream is known to deplete B vitamins from body tissues...including the brain. Much of this gets replaced by other nutrients we take in. But excess sucrose in alcohol will strip B vitamins from the brain toot sweet. That's a simple explanation of why we get a hangover. The same phenomenon can be observed in children who indulge to excess around Halloween--they get manic.

Quality beers and Ales use no additional sugar...they don't need it, for one, and, of course, the brewers recognize the debilitating effects. That's why the Germans had/have the Reinheitesgebot--the German Purity laws--that stated that beer could not be made with anything but barley, water and hops. Most good English ales are made the same way although I don't think there is any law governing that...extra sugar is just not needed if the brewer knows his craft.

Budweiser, Miller, and other domestic "light pilsners" skimp on the barley and add rice or corn instead (it's cheaper). But neither rice nor corn supply the necessary nutrients--maltose--for the yeast, and so the brewers are forced to add sucrose. Sucrose is not used as efficiently by the yeast as maltose. There may be some residual sugar (even though you can't taste it) in the beer and, and when digesting sucrose, the yeast produces some by-products that our bodies find mildly toxic.

Try drinking a little bit to excess (just a little bit, mind you) of a domestic beer and compare the physical effects you experience the next day with the same exercise using a good English ale or German Pilsner. Of course you might give yourself (and your body) a couple of days to recover from the effects of the first go-round. The same exercise can be performed the following days/weeks comparing a Margarita (or other sweetened mixed drink) with a good quality single malt.

I think you'll be surprised at how well you feel after drinking the true beers. If nothing else you'll have a good time.