On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1409

meat tenderizers — that break down proteins
into smaller molecules that are less likely to
cloud the brew. Some companies avoid the
useofpreservatives,andusuallyadvertisethis
factonthelabel.
The Finished Beer In the end, brewing has
transformed the dry, tasteless barley grain
into a bubbly, bitter, acidic liquid (its pH is
about 4) that is 90% water, 1 to 6% alcohol,
andbetween2and10%carbohydrates,mainly
thelong-chaindextrinsthatprovidebody.
StoringandServingBeer

Incontrasttowines,withtheirhigheralcohol
andantioxidantcontents,mostbeersdonot
improvewithage,andareattheirbestfresh
fromthebrewery.Oxidationcausesthe
gradualdevelopmentofastale,cardboard
aroma(fromnonenal,afatty-acidfragment)
andharshnessonthetongue(fromhop


phenolicsubstances).Browningreactions
causeotherundesirablechanges.Topfermentedalesdevelopasolvent-likenote.
Stalingisslowedatlowtemperatures,so
whenpossiblebeershouldbestoredinthe
cold.Britaindoesmake“laying-downbeers,”
andBelgiumbièresdegarde,whichstartout
fermentationwithaveryhighsoluble
carbohydratecontentandcontinuetoferment
slowlyinthebottle,thecontinuousproduction

ofcarbondioxideandothersubstances
helpingtopreventoxidationandstaling.They
endwithalcohollevelsof8%ormore,and
improveforayearortwo.
Keep Beer in the Dark Beer should also be
kept away from bright light, especially
sunlight, and especially if it has been bottled
in clear or green glass: otherwise it will
developastrongsulfurousodor.Acupofbeer
at a picnic can go skunky in a few minutes;
bottled beer in a fluorescent-lit display case