what is beer made of

Beer is usually made from four main ingredients: water, malted grain, hops, and yeast.

Quick Scoop: What Is Beer Made Of?

• Water – Makes up the majority of beer and acts as the base in which everything else is dissolved and fermented.

• Malt (usually malted barley) – Sprouted and dried grain that provides the natural sugars yeast will ferment into alcohol and carbonation, and also gives beer much of its color and body.

• Hops – The green cone-shaped flowers added during brewing to give bitterness (to balance the malt sweetness), aroma, and some natural preservation.

• Yeast – A living microorganism that eats the malt sugars and turns them into alcohol and carbon dioxide, creating beer’s alcohol content and bubbles.

Extras and Modern Twists

While classic beer relies on those four, many brewers also add other grains (like wheat, corn, or rice), sugars , or flavorings such as fruit, spices, coffee, or chocolate to create different styles and flavors.

A simple way to remember it: wine is fermented grapes, cider is fermented apples, and beer is fermented grain sugar flavored with hops and powered by yeast.

TL;DR: Beer = water + malted grain + hops + yeast, with optional extra grains and flavorings for variety.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.