How on Earth do you make one brand of beer taste different than the next?
I know they are all brewed from hops, etc. But how do you change it’s flavour.
Different yeast, different concentrations of ingredients, different hops. It’s like asking how do you make different types of bread: whole wheat, white, rye, sourdough. It’s all just flour water and yeast, right?
Lots of ways.
–Vary the amount of hops. Ales have a “hoppier” taste than lagers.
–Use different kinds of hops. Each variety of hops lends a different taste.
–Use different kinds of barley. See #2.
–Roast the barley. The darker it gets, the darker the beer gets.
–Vary the amount of alcohol.
–Vary the amount of residual sugars. More sugar gives a sweeter taste; less sugar a dry taste.
–Add corn. This gives you Budweiser.
–Age in a barrel.
–Use additives. This is verboten by the Rheinheitsgebot, the German beer purity laws.
There are so many different ways to change the flavor- that’s like asking how to make a different flavored ice cream. Different ingredients. There are four basic things that go into beer- water, sugar (malt), hops, and yeast. Yeast turn the sugar into alcohol. The hops are used for that bitter flavor. Change any one, and you change the flavor. For example, most of the time, roasted malted barley is used as the sugar. Stouts use malts that have been roasted longer. Hefeweizens use malted wheat. Mead is made with honey. Or change the kind of hops, or how much is put in, or at what stage the hops are added. The sooner the hops are added to the boil, the less of the bitterness survives. And yeasts are cultivated by breweries for specific styles, and are often heavily guarded secrets. Then, there are all sorts of additives that can be used- Red Hook makes a cappucino stout that has Starbucks coffee in it, and many labels have a summer fruit beer- like Pete’s Strawberry Blonde or Sam Adams’ Cherry Wheat. The possibilities are endless.
and here I thought I could post a somewhat definitive answer before anyone else. oh well. I forgot how popular threads about beer and sex are.
Possibly the most important ingredient hasn’t been mentioned yet: the water. Different Ph levels are suited to different beers. Most serious homebrewers know the levels in their local water supply, and artificially change the hardness or softness if necessary. Home brew magazines sometimes print lists of the water types found in the world’s major brewing cities for brewers wishing to emulate specific commercial beers.
Thanks guys.
I always thought that beer was made the same.
As they say “you lives and learns, don’t ya!!!”
Temperature as well…fermenting at cooler temperatures yields a crisp or “clean” taste…fermenting at warmer temps yields a more “estery” or “fruity” tone to the beer.
(this of course is related to the yeast choice)
Late again!
As you are probably realizing by now, mancunian, there are so many variables in beer making that a better question than “How do you make beer taste different?” would be “How do you make beer taste the same batch after batch?”
In fact, consistency is one of the major concerns (if not THE major one) of large breweries. Your typical beer consumer does not want this month’s Budweiser tasting different from next month’s. It’s really much more of a headache to get your beer to taste and look exactly the same each time.
Actually they add rice not corn.
Good point…
So how they do that then???
I drink Kronenboutg 1664, and I know for a fact this is made from the Gods tears 
This is why you really haven’t had Guiness unless you’ve had it in Dublin, or so I’m told. I do know from first hand experience that Heineken tastes better in Amsterdam.
Hardness, while related to pH, is about the mineral content of the water. I brewed up a batch of steam style beer that called for a spoon of gypsum to be added.
As for the consistancy issue, I think Bud does it by picking a real basic, flavorless recipe that is easier to control. It’s the smaller craft brews that have the tough time.
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Actually, that’s due to the fact that the Heineken you can buy in the states has had to come over here on a boat or plane under less than ideal conditions. Beer is heat and light sensitive. It will begin to deteriorate if not kept properly refrigerated, or exposed to light. And those green bottles do not do anything to protect against light. It’s the effect of light on hops that causes the well-known “skunkiness” of many imported beers.
Fresher beer=better beer.
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Verrryyyy carefulllyyyyy…
Actually, I don’t know the specifics. As BigDaddyD says, their recipe is simple, so it’s easier to control. I imagine they have various techniques…
::shrugs::
I’m a homebrewer, and a lot of the fun is in trying new things, so I don’t worry about it much, meself.
I know how to make beer so it will taste Real Bad:
Have me brew it.
What a coincidence, I was talking this over with the Bud guys in China a few months ago. First, it’s a really sanitary high tech operation and not sweaty guys with huge ladels stirring vats of wort.
Buds big thing is their yeast. They got special vaults of yeast that is supposedly the original strain locked away in case. They have an active yeast strain at the HQ. Each Bud site tests their yeast on a weekly basis, and if it starts to deviate from the standard, someone flies out a new batch.
Much as I dislike drinking Bud myself, as a homebrewer it’s pretty impressive to see them brew the same tasting very light beer each and every time.