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How Beer is Made
Brewing is fundamentally a natural process. The art and science of brewing lies in converting natural food materials into a pure, pleasing beverage. Although great strides have been made with the techniques for achieving high-quality production, beer today is still a beverage brewed from natural products in a traditional way. Although the main ingredients of beer have remained constant (water, yeast, malt and hops), it is the precise recipe and timing of the brew that gives one a different taste from another. The production of beer is one of the most closely supervised and controlled manufacturing processes in our society. Apart from brewing company expenditures on research and quality control designed to achieve the highest standards of uniformity and purity in the product, the production of beer is also subject to regular inspection and review by federal and provincial Health Departments. Substances used in the brewing process are approved by Health Canada. On average, a batch of beer will take about 30 days to produce. To be more specific, brewing takes nine and a half hours, while fermentation and aging combined take between 21 and 35 days for ales and lagers respectively.
