The Production of Alcoholic Beverages

Malt beverages, including beer and ale, are made by brewing cereal grains.The initial step in the brewing process is “malting. After having been softened sufficiently by being soaked in water, the grain is piled in heaps and allowed to sprout. When the sprouted root shoots are approximately three fourths the length of the kernels, the grain is subjected to a drying process. Thereafter the sprouts are removed. The malt is stored for a period of four to eight weeks. During this time an enzyme known as diastase is released and the characteristic malt flavor comes into being. The enzyme diastase changes starch into sugar during the subsequent “mashing process.

After the malt is ground up, mashing begins. Water and cereals are added to the malt. This mixture is then heated and stirred continually. Solid matter settles when the stirring is stopped. The next step involves adding hops, that is, the dried flowers from the hop vine, and boiling the mixture. Finally, yeast is added to start the fermentation process, the conversion of sugar into alcohol. The finishing process includes aging, carbonating and filtering.

Wines are commonly produced by fermenting crushed grapes or their juice under controlled conditions. The stronger wines generally have had brandy added to them. Aromatized wines such as vermouth are wines to which aromatic herbs and spices have been added.

Distilled liquors are produced from a variety of grains, fruits and vegetables. In the production of whiskey, grain is soaked in hot water to make a mash. By adding malt, the starch in the grain is changed into sugar. Yeast is added to cause the mixture to ferment, converting the sugar into alcohol. The mash is then distilled, that is, it is evaporated and then condensed. The condensed liquid, the whiskey, is usually aged in wooden barrels. The percentage of alcohol content is reduced by adding distilled water.

Other distilled liquors are brandy, gin, vodka and rum. Brandy is distilled from grape wine and allowed to age in wooden casks. Other fermented fruit juices may also be distilled to make brandy, or a fruit flavor may be added to grape brandy or to ethyl alcohol. Gin is distilled from grain, usually rye, and is flavored with juniper berries. Rum is distilled from sugarcane. Tasteless vodka is distilled from potatoes or grain. The various liqueurs and cordials are produced by adding sugar and certain flavorings to brandy or other spirits.

The distilled liquors have the greatest alcohol content. This is commonly measured in proof. In the United States the proof figure is approximately double the percentage of alcohol by volume. Thus a 100-proof whiskey contains approximately 50 percent alcohol. By contrast, some beers may contain as little as 2 percent alcohol, but usually the alcohol content of beer is about 4 to 6 percent. The alcohol content of dry table wines does not exceed 14 percent.

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