It’s a fair question: What exactly is beer? Strictly speaking, the conversion of starch to sugar to alcohol constitutes beer. But sake isn’t beer (though technically it could be considered such); so what is it? Well, beer is the third most popular beverage in the world after water and tea and has been such for hundreds if not thousands of years. In modern terms, beer is the fermentation of the basic cereal grains (malted barley, oats, and wheat) with the addition of hops as a natural preservative and for the purposes of adding bitterness to the brew. Everything else in beer is under the discretion of the brewer, and this is where beer gets interesting. For a nerd like me, beer isn’t just a beverage; beer is history.
When water was untrustworthy, there was beer. Where an army stood victorious, it’s beer at the very least shared credit for its victory. Agriculture, religion, enlightenment; where major shifts in thought or power have gone over the centuries, beer has followed or led the way. There are a great many misconceptions about beer these days; what with the rise of microbreweries and the idea of artisan beer as some sort of luxury or oddity. The basics of beer however are enduring and absurdly simple.
