Without the large supply of ice necessary to make lager beer, San Francisco brewers used the yeast and techniques appropriate to cool bottom fermentation, but brewed at topfermentation temperatures The result: a fullflavored and gassy beer that gave off a lot of foam when the keg was tapped Beer Today Today, the countries with the largest per capita consumption of beer are mainly traditional European beer producers: Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and Britain and its former colony Australia In the United States, beer accounts for more than three quarters of the alcoholic drinks consumed Most American beer remains bland and uniform, produced by a handful of large companies in largely automated factory-like breweries The 1970s brought a revival of interest in more flavorful alternatives, and a flourishing of “microbreweries” making specialty beers in small quantities, brewpubs that both brew and serve beer, and home brewing Some of these small enterprises have grown with their success, and the giant brewers are now making microbrew lookalikes And it’s now possible to find beers from all over the world in liquor stores and supermarkets These are good times for exploring the many different styles of beer and ale Brewing Ingredients: Malt Beer begins with barley Other grains — oats, wheat, corn, millet, sorghum — have also been used, but barley has become the grain of choice because it’s the best at generating starch-digesting enzymes Malting The first step in converting barley grain into malt is to steep the dry grain in cool water and then allow it to germinate for several days at around 65ºF/18ºC The embryo ...that both brew and serve beer, and home brewing Some of these small enterprises have grown with their success, and the giant brewers are now making microbrew lookalikes And it’s now possible to find beers... been used, but barley has become the grain of choice because it’s the best at generating starch-digesting enzymes Malting The first step in converting barley grain into malt is to steep the dry grain in cool water and then... all over the world in liquor stores and supermarkets These are good times for exploring the many different styles of beer and ale Brewing Ingredients: Malt Beer begins with barley Other grains — oats,