Beer : Health and Nutrition

52 Chapter Three
or ascorbic acid (vitamin C) might be added to counter staling (Postel 1972). There is
close regulation concerning the materials that are permitted. For example, in the US
this is through the Food and Drug Administration (http://www.fda.gov/). However, the
vast majority of the chemical constituents of beer are derived either directly from the
malted barley, adjuncts, water and hops, or are produced through the metabolism of
yeast during the alcoholic fermentation. In some markets, notably Germany within the
German purity law of 1516 (the Reinheitsgebot), the raw materials for the production
of beer are entirely restricted to malted barley, hops, yeast and water.
All raw materials of malting and brewing are subject to intense scrutiny by maltsters
and brewers. The main raw materials of course are barley, hops and water.
Barley
Speci c malting varieties of barley (Fig. 3.1) are employed for beer production, characterised
by their high yield of fermentable material that is readily obtainable from
the stored starch (Table 3.2). Farmers are obliged to avoid excessive use of fertilisers,
for fear of boosting the protein content of the barley – high protein means low starch,
which in turn means low levels of fermentable sugar. Farmers are also obliged to be
sparing with the use of pesticides and to use only those that are approved. However, in
Fig. 3.1 Barley in the field. The brewer produces beer from the grain.