To start this year off, I thought I would give you a sampling of a beer review, but I feel as though we're not all on the same page. Therefore, for the next two weeks, I'm going to give you a crash course in beer: first with the ingredients and then with a brief history of the beverage.Ingredients in beer vary greatly across this country and others. Some breweries use fruit, others ferment with other bacteria to produce sour flavors, and some mix honey into the brew. However, most beers contain four key ingredients: water, barley, yeast, and hops. So crucial are these four ingredients, that in the 16th century Germans passed a beer purity law called the Reinheitsgebot. German beer was and still is to some extent, required to use these ingredients, though an exception is made for wheat beers as seen in the Germen Weissbiers. Here are how each of the four ingredients contribute to beer

Water:

The base of all beers, it makes up the significant majority of the drink. It is boiled to remove any contaminants and gives the yeast a place to eat its sugar and thrive. Water can have a significant effect on flavor, though, based on the mineral composition of the area water.

Pilsners, a Czech style of lager, get much of its flavor from the soft water in the Pilsen River where it was created. British ales often have a flavor derived from the very hard water around London. While most American styles are not derived from their water qualities, the water is still a crucial part of the brew.

Barley:

Barley is where the sugar that the yeast eats comes from. In beer, barley must be malted (barely allowed to germinate then dried quickly to stop the growing) for the sugar and enzymes to be created in the mash, a steeping of barley in hot water.

Barley contributes significantly to the flavor and is often the cause of the varying styles of beer. Roasting the barley produces darker and often sweeter flavors (as seen in Amber Ales and Stouts). Wheat can be used for lighter colors and more refreshing flavors. In American mass-produced lagers, corn and rice are added to the grain content to lighten the beer and lower costs. Unfortunately, this kills flavors as rice and corn give off very strange and watery tastes.

Yeast:

The workhorses of beer, the yeast eats the sugars of the barley, converting them into alcohol and carbon dioxide. It is here that beer is classified into its two major categories: ales and lagers. Ales are top fermenting and ferment at warmer temperatures. They are known for their more fruity flavors and have become quite popular among the craft beer scene in this country. Lagers ferment on the bottom at cooler temperatures. They are characterized by their more traditional flavors and their crispness that cuts the finish off the beer. The traditional American beer is a lager derived from German immigrants brewing here. It should be noted that yeasts are probably one of the most varied aspects of beers and that as a living creature, yeast is extremely resilient. Sleeping yeast has been found in thousand- year-old Egyptian tombs, woken up, and bred to be used in the beers of today.

Hops:

Hops are one of the most talked about aspects of beer today. A plant grown predominately in Germany, Great Britain and the Northwest U.S., they provide a flowery bitter spiciness to beer but also serve as a preservative. Hops are highly acidic and, when added to the boiling water, they break down and their acids are released to help curb the growth of anything other than yeast. This is seen in one of the most favored American craft beers, India Pale Ale. The style originates from colonial British brewers sending beer to troops stationed in India. The beer would not make the long trip without spoiling, so more and more hops were added to help the beer survive, and the additional bitterness stuck. Hops can be bitterly palate killing flavor or they can be light and herbal depending on style and how boiled down they are. Most American craft beers go heavy on the hops, and the beer drinker who enjoys this assault of bitterness is called a "Hop Head."

That is it for the ingredients. Stay tuned for next week when I go into the history of beer. Be sure to support your local brewer and drink responsibly.