REACTIONS INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF BEER The production of beer has been known since the dawn of human civilization. Continued to this day, the widely used process has remained essentially unchanged. Beer typically contains around 450 chemical compounds. The flavors and aromas of different types of beer arise from changes in these compounds. The main ingredients for beer production are malted barley, hops, yeast and water. The brewing process begins with malted barley, which is the main ingredient. This, when ground and heated, gives a protein-rich sweet liquid called wort. Wort is an ideal medium for yeast growth. The yeast then turns the sugars in the malt into alcohol, which is called fermentation. Relatively recently, hops began to be added to boiling wort. Hops are responsible for the bitter taste and characteristic aroma of beer. The beer production process consists of several important stages:1. MaltingBrewing can use barley, corn or wheat as the main ingredient. However, barley is the most commonly used grain. As already mentioned, the main ingredient of beer is malted barley. The production of beer then begins with the malting of the barley. Barley cannot be used as is to produce the solution called wort. This is because the starch present in the flour contained within the barley is insoluble. This requires malting the barley. Malting also involves different phases. The first is maceration. At this stage the barley seeds are left to soak in water for approximately 40 days. The second step is germination. The barley plant took 3 or 4 days to germinate. In this process, enzymes are produced that break down starch (large molecules) into smaller molecules. If allowed to continue the natural germination process you will have a converted...... middle of paper......polyvinylpolypyrrolidone stabilizer which prevents polyphenols from combining with proteins. The result of flavor instability is that beer usually ends up tasting like cardboard. This is attributed to trans-2-nonenal. This is the result of an oxidation reaction whose exact process is not known. It is important to minimize the oxygen content in beer during brewing to avoid stale taste. Many opt for bisulfate because it is a natural antioxidant and can counteract the compounds responsible for flavor instability. However, bisulfate is eventually converted to sulfate, so it is not a permanent solution to the problem.8. FinishFinally, the beer is filtered and carbonated. After this step it is stored until bottling or canning.References1. http://www.esu.edu/~scady/mueller/home.htm2. http://www.alabev.com/brew.htm