Drugs and Behavior: Chapter 9 (Alcohol)

In American beer, the primary grain is ______, which is malted by steeping it in water and allowing it to sprout. The sprouted grain is then slowly dried to kill the sprout but preserve the enzymes formed during the growth. This dried, sprouted barley is called _____, and when crushed and mixed with water, the enzymes convert the starch to sugar. Only yeast is needed then to start fermentation. The _____ sugar content of these grain-based beverages results in somewhat lower alcohol content: The typical American commercial beer contains about 4 percent alcohol

barley malt lower

On the continent, Europeans distilled wine into "_________" (derived from the Dutch term "burnt wine"), while the Irish and Scots distilled their malted-grain beverages (beer) into ______. (the Gaelic term uisgebaugh also means "_____ __ ____")

brandywine whiskey water of life

To obtain alcohol concentrations above 15 percent, ________ is necessary.

distillation

Distillation

A process in which the solution containing alcohol is heated, and the vapors are collected and condensed into liquid form again. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, so there is a higher percentage of alcohol in the distillate (the condensed liquid) than there was in the original solution.

How is beer made?

Beer is made by adding barley malt to other cereal grains, such as ground corn or rice. The enzymes in the malt change the starches in these grains into sugar; then the solids are filtered out before the yeast is added to the mash to start fermentation. Hops (dried blossoms from only the female hop plant) are added with the yeast to give beer its distinctive, pungent flavor.

How to make a light beer?

If you were asked to produce a "light" beer, with fewer calories, a lighter taste, and less alcohol, what would you do—add water? That's only part of the answer, because light beers have about 10 percent less alcohol and 25 to 30 percent fewer calories. The mash is fermented at a cooler temperature for a longer time, so that more of the sugars are converted to alcohol. Then the alcohol content is adjusted by adding water, resulting in a beverage with considerably less remaining sugar and only a bit less alcohol.

Proof

In the US, what indicates the alcoholic content of distilled beverages The percentage of alcohol by volume is one-half of the proof number: for instance, 90-proof whiskey is 45 percent alcohol

pasteurization

Process of heating the beers to remove the yeast to prevent it from spoiling after packaging.

Microfilters

Some brewers use this method to remove the yeast from beer without having to heat it. Carbonation is added at the time of packaging.

Alcohol

World's number one psychoactive drug

Although there are many varieties of beer, they fall into two broad types:

ale and lager

Most of the beer sold today in America is _______, from the German word _______, meaning "to store."

lager lagern

Distilled Products

*****

The yeast has only a limited tolerance for alcohol; when the concentration reaches __ percent, the yeast dies and fermentation ceases. While up to __ percent is theoretically possible, in practice the standard alcohol content for wine is about __ percent.

15 15 12

How are ales made?

Ale is made using a top-fermenting yeast and slightly warmer temperatures, and the shorter fermentation time results in more of the flavor of the malt being retained in the final product. (In general, ales have a stronger taste and lagers the lighter taste favored by most American beer drinkers)

Fermentation

Forms the basis for all alcoholic beverages. Certain yeasts act on sugar in the presence of water, and this chemical action is fermentation. Yeast recombines the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen of sugar into *ethyl alcohol* and *carbon dioxide*. Chemically, C6H12O6 (glucose) is transformed into C2H5OH (ethyl alcohol) + CO2 (carbon dioxide).

Where did the word proof develop from?

From a British Army procedure to gauge the alcohol content of distilled spirits before there were modern techniques. The liquid was poured over gunpowder and ignited. If the alcohol content was high enough, the alcohol would burn and ignite the gunpowder, which would go "poof" and explode. That was proof that the beverage had an acceptable alcohol content, about 57 percent.

Mead

Made from honey, might be the oldest alcoholic beverage (~8000 BC)

How are modern lagers made?

Made using bottom-fermenting yeasts, cool temperatures, and slower fermentation.

The term alcohol comes from an Arabic word meaning "_____ ______ _______" and originally referred to that part of the wine collected through distillation — the essence, or "spirit," of the wine.

finely divided spirit

Cereal grains contain ________ rather than sugar, and before fermentation can begin, the ________ must be converted to sugar. This is accomplished by making ____, which contains ________ that convert starch into sugar.

starch starch malt enzymes