Here’s how your beer was grown
What better way to quench a thirst during these hot, humid days of summer, then an ice-cold beer? With the plethora of craft beers and local breweries in the Pittsburgh area, choices abound. Now let’s consider the plants used to make it.
Beer dates back 7,000 years, with archaeological evidence of brewing in Egypt and China. In Mesopotamia, priestesses brewed this alcoholic beverage in honor of the beer goddess, Ninkasi. Closer to home, the first beer in America was brewed in Virginia in 1587 using corn. Pennsylvania’s own D.G. Yuengling & Son Brewery in Pottsville has the honor of being the oldest beer in America, originating in 1829. Yuengling survived Prohibition by producing a beer with only 0.5% alcohol content, 1/10th the amount of alcohol in beers we consume today.
Four ingredients are needed to produce beer: water, yeast, hops and barley or some other grain. The German purity law, known as Reinheitsgebot, was passed in 1516 and limited beer to those ingredients. Since then, brewers in other countries have added other ingredients to give their beer unique flavor. Examples include pumpkin, cucumber, cloves and herbs.
Yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae), a single-cell living organism, is capable of making bread rise and also fermenting drinks. For yeast to produce ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, it needs sugar on which to feed. In beer, yeast derives sugar from grain. When grain seeds are wet, germination begins and the stored starch in the seeds turns to sugar. Mashing is the process of steeping barley grains in hot water to activate its malt enzymes, converting its starch to fermentable sugars.
Barley ( Hordeum vulgare), a member of the grass family, is the grain of choice for beer. Its enzymes readily allow for its stored starch to be converted to
sugar. Barley is extremely hardy and resilient to cold, drought or poor soil. Sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor) is sometimes substituted for barley because it does not contain gluten, producing beer that is safe for people with celiac disease or other gluten intolerances.
Common hops ( Humulus lupulis) is a herbaceous perennial native to Europe, southwestern Asia and North America. Hop stems are called bines, not vines, and they twine in a clockwise direction with stiff hooked hairs binding them to supports. Bines grow 1030 feet, typically on trellis supports in fields called hop gardens or hop fields. Hops are easily grown in the home landscape. Their leaves and flower clusters are attractive and make a handsome addition to a trellis or arbor. Washington and Oregon lead the U.S. in hop production.
The hop plant is dioecious, meaning the male and female flowers grow on separate plants. The female plant’s cone-shaped flower cluster, the strobili, is used in brewing. The glands within these cones produce resins and oils which add flavor.
Hops are used primarily as a bittering, flavoring and stability agent in beer. Large quantities of hops were used by the British Empire in the 1700s to preserve beer for the journey to its colonies, including India, thus the name India pale ale or IPA. Bitterness can range from 10 international bittering units in a typical American lager to 50-90 IBU in a hop-heavy IPA. Hops also help to keep beer fresher and retain its head of foam.
Hops give beer its floral, fruity and citrus flavors. Common American cultivars include ‘Cascade,’ ‘Chinook,’ ‘Amarillo’ and ‘Centennial.’ With the growing popularity of hops’ aroma, breweries are using hops throughout the brewing cycle and in larger quantities. In addition, craft beers use hops for its antimicrobial properties.
While enjoying that next sip of your favorite brew, be sure to toast its simple ingredients and the plants that help make it so refreshing.
program supports the outreach mission of Penn State Extension and provides research-based information on best practices in sustainable horticulture and environmental stewardship. Information: alleghenymg@psu.edu or 412-4823476.