Drinking Responsibly: Beer
This is the fourth installment in our “Drinking Responsibly” series! You can also read about tequila, gin and rum!
I studied abroad in Germany as a 17 year-old which, as an American teenager, was dreamy for many reasons, but primarily due to the fact that the drinking age for beer and wine in Germany is 16. Suddenly drinking a beer on a cobblestone street was a part of my reality, and it made that time so memorable for me. That time was also the beginning of my lifelong love affair with beer. My college years inevitably led to so much Keystone you could probably measure it in gallons… but as I passed the age of 21 and I got a little more agency over the products I was drinking, my taste for quality beer came back.
Beer is easy to find anywhere in the US, and practically anywhere in the world. I find it to be one of the most crisp, refreshing drinks at the end of a long day or over a weekend with friends. I now live in the Pacific Northwest, a hub for microbreweries and beer snobs—so I fit right in! Exploring the variety of beer brewed locally has been a treat, and it’s a fun way to get to know new places as small breweries pop up all over the US and the world.
Because of this variety in breweries, you as a consumer have a lot of choices for beers and companies to support. One of the choices that you can make as a consumer is to support breweries with environmental and community sustainability as part of their mission. This guide will give you a short overview of beer production, different types of beers, and various aspects of sustainability in the brewing process. We won’t tell you what to drink, but we will tell you what you could be thinking about while you’re drinking it… Cheers! Prost!
What is Beer?
The basic ingredients of beer are water, a starch source such as malted barley which is able to be saccharified (converted to sugars) then fermented (converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide), a brewer's yeast (to produce the fermentation), and a flavoring such as hops. The ratio of these ingredients in the process defines the flavor, but more on that later!
A VERY Brief History
Alright—full disclosure—until very recently I thought of beer as a European product, and gosh how wrong I was.
If you’re searching for the exact origin of beer, it turns out you’re out of luck. It’s difficult to attribute the invention of beer to a particular culture or time period, but the world’s first fermented beverages most likely emerged alongside the development of grain agriculture about 12,000 years ago! As hunter-gatherer tribes settled into agrarian civilizations based around staple crops like wheat, rice, barley and maize, they may have also stumbled upon the fermentation process and started brewing beer—some anthropologists have argued that these early peoples insatiable thirst for beer may have contributed to new agricultural technologies.
The first barley beer was most likely born in the Middle East. While people were no doubt drinking alcohol much earlier, hard evidence of beer production dates back about 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Beer consumption flourished under the Babylonian Empire, but few ancient cultures loved knocking them back as much as the Egyptians. Archeologists have unearthed ceramic vessels from 3400 B.C. still sticky with beer residue. These nutrient-rich suds were a cornerstone of the Sumerian diet, and were likely a safer alternative to drinking water from nearby rivers and canals, which were often contaminated by animal waste. Workers along the Nile were often paid with an allotment of a nutritious, sweet brew, and everyone from pharaohs to peasants and even children drank beer as part of their everyday diet.
More modern-tasting beers would not arrive until the Middle Ages, when Christian monks and other artisans began brewing beers seasoned with hops. Beer remained a skill requirement for all medieval women, with some women setting up commercial operations known as “alewives.” Men later took control of beer production from women after the Black Plague, as demand for ale rose. The addition of hops for flavor and as a preservative in Europe led to the preservation and packaging of mass produced beer. The industrial revolution in Europe saw the growth of beer as an industry in Britain, Germany and then elsewhere around the world as we see today.
This article offers an awesome history of beer that covers the stuff we didn’t have space for!
How is it made?
Fresh barley undergoes a process called malting, in which the kernel is steeped in water and allowed to partially germinate. This softens the kernel and develops the natural enzymes that break down the raw starch into sugar. The barley malt is then heated in a kiln to stop the process. Next the brewer mixes the malt with hot water, called “mashing” which converts the starch into sugars that yeast can digest. After mashing, the sweet liquid (called “wort”) is drained into a boiling kettle, and hops are added. Hops counteract the sweetness of the malt and contribute aroma to the finished beer (more on this later). The wort is then cooled and mixed with brewer’s yeast. This brewer’s yeast then ferments the sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide in one to two weeks. When fermentation is complete, the beer is conditioned, clarified, and carbonated before being packaged into oxygen-free bottles, cans, or kegs to keep it fresh!
Want to watch a fun video? We like this 6 minute clip from “Science Responsibly” about how beer is made.
Where does it come from?
Beer is brewed on every continent other than Antarctica! While most beers are brewed in a European “style”, most countries have their own breweries and local variations. there are places, like the Pacific Northwest of the United States, that are known for exemplary quality hops that are shipped globally. But, because beer can be made from basic starches, and hops grow in a wide variety of environments, many countries are able to grow the majority of the ingredients for beer domestically. One example is Singha, a beer produced by Boon Rawd Brewery in Thailand. Boon Rawd was the first brewery in Thailand, founded by Praya Bhirombhakdi, a Thai man who traveled to Europe to learn how to brew beer in the 1930s. All Singha beers are still made in Thailand, and while not all ingredients are grown there, it’s one example of how beer can be a way to explore global flavors. Wherever you are, there is likely a beer brewed nearby!
Interested in more about the history of hops around the world? If you’re a plant nerd like me you’ll like this essay from Peter A. Kopp: “Hop Fever” in the Willamette Valley: The Local and Global Roots of a Regional Specialty Crop
How is it enjoyed?
When it comes to beer there are a lot of names, and while many people have their favorites, it’s fun to explore and see what you like. Personally, I like lighter beers on warm summer days and darker beers during the colder months.
Some terms to know:
IBU: This abbreviation is often on bottles and beer lists followed by a number. IBU stands for International Bitterness Unit (yes that’s really a thing!). The higher the number the higher the bitterness, the lower the number the less bitter. But, like most things, it can get more complicated if you’re really into it.
Lager: Made with bottom fermenting yeast that has a lower tolerance to alcohol, lagers can taste light and a little malty. Classic lagers include Miller High Life, Coors and Budweiser. Lagers are a great launching pad for newcomers to beer, which definitely explains why I drank so much light beer in college...right?
IPA: Stands for “India Pale Ale.” These ales are usually hoppy. Hops were originally added to beer as a preservative for British brewers to ship their beers all the way to colonies in India. These ales with a heavy hop content were dubbed “India Pale Ales” which we still use to describe hoppy beers today. Within IPAs there are IPA styles including West Coast IPA, British IPA and New England Style IPA, each with different characteristics, again, if you’re really into it.
Pale Ale: Pale ales are usually hoppy but carry a lower alcohol content than IPAs. Most are a little malty and easy to drink.
Pilsner: Pilsners, which originate from the Czech Republic, are considered lagers. German pilsners are pale gold color and have a crisp flavor, while Czech pilsners are a little darker with more bitterness.
Stouts and Porters: Okay, think dark Guiness with this one. Stouts are a very dark beer and the flavor depends on where they come from. Stouts are often considered a sweeter beer with flavors that can taste roasty, almost like sweetened coffee. While the darker color can give the impression it’s tough to drink, stouts carry sweetness from unfermented sugars that offset any bitterness. Porters tend to taste less like coffee and more like chocolate, compared to stouts.
Sour: Sours have become really popular lately, especially as a summer drink. Sours are highly tart, and can come in a variety of forms and names, including Belgian-style Lambic beer, fruity Flanders ale and lemony Berliner Weisse beer. With the addition of fruits like cherry, raspberry or peach, sour beers marry sweet and sour to make beer flavors completely unlike lagers and IPAs, and often can taste similar to a cider.
There are SO many types of beer and even more to learn if you’re really into it. What’s the best way I’ve learned about beer? Going to a pub and asking for a couple of samples before ordering! I also use an app called Untappd to track beers I like and dislike.
While beer is usually enjoyed “straight up”, there are some cocktails that use beer. Yes, you read that right, beer can make a great ingredient for cocktails!
A classic “summer shandy” is half beer and half lemonade. A “Radler” is the same but can use any citrus juice, not just lemonade, and was popularized in Europe. Shandys and Radlers are often sold in cans pre-mixed, but you can also get creative with your own mixing at home!
A Michelada is a Mexican beer cocktail that gives bloody marys a run for their money. This drink is usually made with a light beer (most commonly Corona). First pour a small amount of salt, chili powder, and cayenne pepper on a small dish (Tajin spice mix is a great shortcut for this!). You’ll need these spices both for your rim and to sprinkle in the drink. Next squeeze limes (you’ll need about 2 tablespoons per cocktail) and run the lime wedge around the rim of a large glass. Dip the rim in seasoning then fill the glass with ice. Add lime juice, half a cup of tomato juice, a splash of hot sauce, and a splash of clam juice (optional, omit if vegan!). Pour in beer slowly using the edge of the glass (if you aren’t used to pouring beer over ice, the ice will cause the beer to have more foam if poured directly on the ice). Give the beer a light stir to mix up ingredients. Sprinkle with additional seasoning and serve. Drink up and imagine you’re on a beach somewhere—the effect is pretty idyllic.
Want even more creative beer cocktail ideas? We like this list full of ideas for all seasons from Brit+Co.
Avenues for Sustainability
Like everything we do, there is an environmental impact of swigging back a brew with friends. Since beer is such a varied product, there are many ways that breweries can work to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable food system. As is the case with so many products, change can come by choosing to support sustainable producers, so here are some practices to look for:
Reducing waste: The byproduct of the brewing process is a lot of solid grain products that enters the landfill after brewing. Many breweries find ways to feed this byproduct to animals, compost, or even use it to create energy with a bioprocessor.
Ingredients: Hops are a very water intensive crop, so some argue that ales like IPAs have more of an environmental impact than those that use less hops. This is an interesting argument (especially as someone who doesn’t really like IPAs very much…), but hops can be grown in a variety of conditions, and are grown on trellises in the air often with another crop below. There are organic breweries, and lots of ways to analyze each ingredient, in each environment. Personally, I think you could go crazy trying to find out which brew is the most environmentally sustainable, so I would focus on other aspects of beer production rather than the ingredients. That being said, some breweries are getting really creative with how they are using ingredients in their brews. The Toast Ale is now brewed in multiple countries by multiple breweries and uses the butts of bread loaves left over from restaurants in the brewing process! It’s a fun step towards delicious beer and raising awareness about food waste.
Energy Efficiency: Many breweries are switching to solar panels or other renewable energy sources for their beer production. New Belgium’s Fat Tire Ale was just touted as the first “carbon neutral” beer in the US. With any “carbon neutral” certification it’s important to dig deeper about how they’re achieving neutrality—carbon neutrality can easily be a greenwashing tool via land conservation easements that result in land grabs in foreign countries. Still, this is a really awesome step for the industry and part of a lot of work that New Belgium is doing to increase the awareness of the impacts of climate change on things we consume all the time, like beer.
Packaging: The packaging of beer can be a big factor in sustainability. Cans are lighter than bottles so they take less energy to transport. Both cans and glass bottles can be recycled, but that process can still be energy intensive. Many local areas now offer growler fills where patrons can reuse a large growler to take large amounts of beer home in 100% reusable packaging. A pint at a restaurant in a glass is also a great way to enjoy a zero-waste beer with friends!
Buy Local: Buying local beer is a great way to reduce the amount of energy consumed transporting beer. Local breweries also often offer growler fills or you can buy directly from them. Large operations come with scaling efficiency, but because beer is such a water intensive process, small local operations tend not to have as large of impacts on the local environment because they aren’t pulling as much water from small systems. Also local breweries tend to be more invested in their community and pay livable wages.
Supporting a local brewery can help make a local impact that helps foster sustainable community growth. There are black owned breweries across the US that you can support (here’s a list!), and while we aren’t here to endorse any company, there are definitely some national breweries that are leading the charge in sustainability (here’s another list!).
As always, we encourage you to do your own research. Look up companies before purchasing their products, learn how they produce their beer and consider their community impacts. Plus, it’s always fun to taste them!
Sources:
Some more beer history: https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-beer
How is Beer Made? http://allaboutbeer.com/article/how-is-beer-made/
Types of Beer: https://time.com/5218581/types-of-beer-guide/
Meaning of IBUs: https://beerconnoisseur.com/articles/whats-meaning-ibu
Radler Vs. Shandy: https://vinepair.com/articles/ask-adam-whats-the-difference-between-a-radler-and-a-shandy/
https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/sustainable-craft-breweries
