The basic ingredients in beer are water, hops, yeast and malted barley, although other cereals can be added along with sugar.

WATER

Water (known as liquor in breweries) is a vital ingredient in the brewing process. Differences in water qualities, including the balance of salts and minerals, can have a significant effect on the final product. These differences were a fundamental factor in establishing distinctive regional beer in Britain. Today most breweries treat their water, whether drawn from mains or from brewery wells, to give the precise characteristics that they need to brew the perfect pint.

HOPS

Hops (the flowers of a vine-like, climbing plant) are used to provide bitterness and aroma. There are many varieties of hops, grown mainly in the south east of England, although they are also grown elsewhere in the UK and on the Continent. The green cones of the female hop can be used whole. They can also be powdered and compressed into hop pellets which are easier to handle and store. Hop extracts can also be used. Traditional British ales, especially bitters, use around a third more hops than lager-style beers. Some brewers will use more than one type of hop to produce specific flavours. Whole hops can also be added to some beers whey they are put into casks at the brewery, a process known as dry-hopping, which adds extra aroma to the beer.

YEAST

Yeast is used to ferment malted barley and produce alcohol. Yeast is a naturally occurring micro-organism, of which their are several varieties or strains. Brewers carefully guard their own cultures of brewing yeast to maintain the characteristics of their beer and some have used the same strain continuously for over 50 years.

BARLEY

Barley is grown on over four million acres of British soil, mainly in East Anglia, southern England, the Midlands and Scotland. Brewers use barley to give beer body and strength, choosing malting quality - or premium quality barley - which has a low nitrogen content. A high nitrogen content can result in less extract for fermentation and eventually cause other problems such as cloudy beer. Barley is transformed into malt by soaking the grains in water and allowing them to germinate. This begins to break down the complex molecules of starch, cellulose and proteins inside each grain until they can be used in the fermentation process. The germination is then stopped by drying the grain in a kiln. The result is malt - an easily crushed material which gives beer its body, its potential strength and much of its flavour.