Beers and Ales
"Beer" is the generic name generally given in the West to an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of cereal grains. Whereas Wine is produced from basic materials rich in natural sugars, beer is made from materials with a high starch content; starches must be converted to sugar before the fermentation can take place. Sake and other oriental "rice wines" are actually more closely related to beers and ales than they are to true wines.

Commonly beers are made from malted barley and flavored with hops. There are two basic methods of production depending on the yeast strain; "bottom fermenting" yeasts fall to the bottom of the container when fermentation is complete whereas "top fermenting" strains release carbon dioxide and rise to the surface forming a head. Lager beers take their name from the German largern ("to store")
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These are bottom-fermented beers and stored at low temperature for several months. Lagers are typically light in color with a high level of carbonation, medium flavored and with an alcoholic content typically of 3 - 4 percent. English beers are top fermented as are ales, porter and stout. Top fermented beers have a stronger and sharper flavor and an alcohol content generally between 4 - 6.5 percent.
While nowadays, the terms "beer" and "ale" are used interchangeably, although originally the term "beer" was confined to a relatively weak beverage while "ale" was a much stronger liquor. Beers were brewed without the use of hops while a brew mix to which hops had been added was referred to as an "ale".
Stout is brewed in a manner similar to that of ale except that a proportion of roasted barley is included with the malt and other ingredients before mashing. It is the roasted barley that gives the dark color to the resultant beverage.



The term "Porter" is now becoming obsolete but refers to a brew intermediate between an ale and a stout and takes its name from the common practice of market porters to drink a blend of half ale and half stout. A "Cooper" is another variant and is a mixture of stout and porter.
The three largest beer-producing countries are the USA, Germany and the UK.



Annual per capita consumption varies from around 8 liters in countries such as Italy and Argentina to 115 liters in the Czech Republic. In the United States it averages 56 liters while in the UK it is 82 liters.