What exactly is beer

Beer is a drink that is made from grain (usually barley) that is mixed with water, made to ferment by adding a special kind of yeast to it (which turns it into a mixture called malt), and flavored with a plant called hops. The process of making beer is called brewing, and it is one of the most important businesses in the United States. Many people think it is wrong to drink beer, because there is alcohol in it, and alcohol can often be harmful. Many other people say this is not important, because most wines have three or four times as much alcohol as beer, and whiskey has more than ten times as much alcohol. More than half of the adults in the United States drink beer.

But everyone agrees that no one should drink beer until he is grown up. People have been drinking beer for thousands of years. It was known in Egypt more than five thousand years ago. The northern countries, especially Germany and England, became the biggest beer-drinking countries, while in countries farther south, such as France and Italy, wine is a more popular drink. There are many kinds of beer, but in the United States the most important kinds are lager beer and ale. Lager beer is a clear-colored beer that is aged, or stored, for several weeks or months after it is made and before it is sold. Ale is the same kind of beer except that a different kind of yeast is used. Beer is often called "dry." This means it has very little sugar in it. In America people like dry beer. In some parts of the world people like a sweeter beer. As with any other food or drink, it is all a matter of taste. There are other kinds of beer:

Bock beer, usually made in March or in another early spring month, is dark and sweet. Dark beer, or Munich beer, is a beer very much like bock beer, made all year 'round. Porter is a dark ale with roasted malt added for extra flavor and color. Stout is even darker and maltier than porter. Both porter and stout are most popular in British countries. Any dark beer often has caramel added to it, making it both sweeter and darker.