Beer : Health and Nutrition

3 The Basics of Malting and Brewing:
Product Safety and Wholesomeness
The fundamental shape of the processes by which beer is made has not changed for
many generations [see Bamforth (2003) for a general introduction and overview, and
a full glossary of brewing terms]. However, the control and predictability of those
processes has improved. Beer nowadays is invariably a highly consistent consumable,
closely controlled for the ef ciency of its production and its safety. There is little that
is hit-and-miss about the making of beer. Despite its reliance on agricultural products
(barley, sometimes other cereals, and hops) the understanding of the process means that
seasonal and regional vagaries can be overcome such that the taste, appearance and
composition of a beer are generally consistent from batch to batch. There is no such
thing as a vintage in brewing.
Accordingly, the customer should realise as they explore their local supermarket
shelves that one of the most consistent and reliable products to be had is the beer. It is
also one of the safest, as we shall see.
Chemical beer?
The brewing of beer is complicated. The vast majority of beers comprise at least 90%
water, with ethanol (it is customary to use ‘alcohol’ synonymously for this one alcohol
– although there are other alcohols in beer) and carbon dioxide being quantitatively
the next major individual components (Table 3.1). Beers also contain a wide range of
chemical species in relatively small quantities that determine the properties of the beer
in respect of appearance and avour.
Malting and brewing are processes designed to maximise the extraction and digestion
of starch and protein from barley, yielding a highly fermentable extract that is known as
wort. The processes are also designed to eliminate materials that can have an adverse
effect on beer quality, such as the haze-forming polyphenol from barley and hops and
the lipids and oxygen that, together, can cause beer to stale.
Malting and brewing within all companies, large and small, are very traditional
processes. Relatively few chemicals are added to beer (or to the process) as opposed
to being derived from its raw materials. In some markets (but by no means all) propylene
glycol alginate is used as a foam stabiliser (Bennett 1993) and sulphur dioxide