Once used to indicate a hopped ale, the modern usage of ‘beer’ refers to any alcoholic beverage brewed by fermenting grain (usually, but not exclusively, barley), in the same way that ‘wine’ can refer to any alcoholic beverage made by fermenting fruit.
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Who invented beer? And other questions
Find the answers to some of our most commonly received questions about beer and brewing.
What is beer?
Who invented beer?
The history of beer is as old as that of static human civilisations.
Some historians suggest that the desire for beer and bread might have been the driving force behind our ancient ancestors abandoning their nomadic lifestyles to focus on developing agriculture and settlements.
Evidence suggests that women have historically played a leading role in the creation of beer for thousands of years. Find out more in our blog post: Did women create beer?
What ingredients make beer?
Beer is the world’s favourite alcoholic drink for good reason. For millennia, through a combination of art and science, these same four basic ingredients have resulted in one of the world’s most diverse and beloved beverages.
Water
Essential for life and beer, water is referred to as 'liquor' when brewing.
Malted barley
Grains carefully prepared to provide starch and sugar to feed our yeast.
Hops
Delicate, cone-shaped flowers used to add bitterness and aroma to beers.
Yeast
Single-celled fungal microbes that produce carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Is a lager a beer?
Broadly speaking, beers can be divided into either lagers or ales. The main difference between these two categories is that lagers are bottom-fermented (meaning that the yeast sinks to the bottom of the fermentation tank) requiring a slow, cool brewing process, whereas ales use top-fermenting yeast (meaning that the yeast rises to the top of the fermentation tank) and brew more quickly at higher temperatures.
The word ‘lager’ comes from the German for ‘storage’ referencing the extra time taken to brew this particular style of beer.
What is an India Pale Ale?
At the height of the British East India Company’s activity in India, brewers exporting beer to South Asia were finding that, by the end of the long voyage to the Orient, their beers would have spoiled.
To combat this problem, a highly-hopped recipe was formulated, using the naturally preservative properties of the hops to help the ale survive the journey. This hoppy and dry style of beer became hugely popular both home and away.
The style was shipped to all corners of the colonial empire with some brewers dropping the ‘India’ and simply referring to them as ‘Pale Ales’ or ‘Export Ales’. The IPA style showcased in our classic India Pale Ale would go on to inspire various takes on the recipe like our First Drop Session IPA, Creekside Juicy IPA, and New World recipes using regional hops, such as our Bear Island East Coast Pale Ale.
What is a stout?
Once used to denote a strong beer of any type, ‘stout’ has come to refer exclusively to strong ales brewed in a porter style. Porter ales were developed in London in the 18th century and used dark malts, which resulted in a very dark, often black appearance. Their name stems from their popularity with the city porters of the time.
Though broadly synonymous with one another, modern day porters tend to be hoppier and lighter in colour than modern day stouts, which are typically black in colour. Here at Shepherd Neame we have two stouts in our permanent selection; Double Stout from our Classic collection and our Iron Wharf nitro stout.
What is a session beer?
A session beer is one that has been brewed to a relatively low ABV alcohol content, usually with a light and refreshing taste, so that revellers can enjoy several servings of the beer over a single ‘session’.