Beer


Beer is an alcoholic drink made from grain, hops, water, and yeast. First, grain such as barley or millet is malted. This means it is allowed to grow into seedlings before it is dried and crushed . Other cereal grains like corn or wheat are then added, along with hot water, which turns the mixture into a mash. The liquid that runs off from the mash is put into a large container and boiled with dried hop flowers. Hops give beer its special flavor. Other flavors can be added.

When the liquid cools, yeast is added and the brew is left to ferment. This is when the alcoholic content of beer forms. The main ingredient of beer made in North America and Europe is barley. Millet or corn is often used in Africa, and the Japanese make beer from rice. People have been making and drinking beer for almost 6,000 years. The Sumerians, who lived in what is now Iraq, left the earliest written records about brewing beer. Later civilizations, including the ancient Egyptians, grew special types of grain to make beer. Ancient people drank beer for its alcoholic content and because it helped to keep them healthier and kept them from going hungry.

In Britain, monks were brewing beer by 543 A.D. In the 1400s, women brewed beer as one of their household duties . Some of them made such good beer that other people bought it from them. By the 1700s, large breweries were making and selling beer. People drank beer because there was not much else to drink. Clean drinking water was hard to find, especially in big cities like London, until sewage systems were built. In the meantime, men, women, and children drank beer at every meal, including breakfast.  Today, beer is still brewed and enjoyed in every part of the world.

 

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions 

  1. Do you know how beer is made?
  2. When do you think people first started making beer?
  3. What gives beer its special flavor?
  4. Do you know what a brewery is?
  5. Is beer a popular drink for both men and women in your country?