At a pub table or even in some research institute around the world, there is a common opinion: the beer It is one of the best human inventions. However, regardless of tastes, most connoisseurs of the brew, one of the oldest and most popular drinks on the planet, do not imagine that beer was essential to building society as we know it today. The history of the drink – which is not well known – is closely connected with the main moments of development, such as the creation of civilization itself, the revolutions in the countryside and the city, and, fundamentally, with the development of science.
Among the innovations that arose out of beer, one notable was pasteurization, pioneered by the French chemist Louis Pasteur in 1864. His impetus was to investigate fermentation processes when a local brewer whose son was a Pasteur student asked him for advice on what might happen When the drink they produce spoils. Pasteur decided to use a microscope to study it, and in this way he identified the microorganisms responsible for converting alcohol into lactic acid (lactic acid bacteria) and which, when formed, offended the taste of the drink. Based on this discovery, Pasteur developed a process to kill these unwanted microorganisms and thus prevent the beer from spoiling.
The discovery of carbon dioxide
“The pasteurization process essentially consists of heating foods and beverages to temperatures above 60°C for a certain period (called binomial time x temperature) and then abruptly lowering the temperature of the food to prevent heat degradation. This process, used until today, dramatically reduces the The number of degraded and pathogenic microorganisms in juices, beer, milk and many other foods Pasteur’s studies on beverage fermentation have also influenced the health field, giving rise to the “pathological germ theory”, which can infect humans and animals.This new horizon that It emerged from Pasteur’s work that opened the way for the development of antiseptic methods in surgery and the research of Alexander Fleming, which culminated with the discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic widely used in medicine”, reveals Stanislaw Bogoch, Jr. , Professor of Food Chemistry at the São Carlos Institute of Chemistry (IQSC) at the University of the South Pacific.
The specialist says that other discoveries in the field of chemistry are also connected with beer. An example is the case of the famous chemist Joseph Priestley of the 18th century, who lived next to a brewery and noticed that the gas released from fermenting mixtures fell toward the ground, indicating that it was heavier than air. The observation led to the discovery of carbon dioxide and thus oxygen.
pH concept
Another important discovery in the field of chemistry that relates to beer is the concept of pH, which was introduced through research by Danish chemist Søren Sorensen, who was the head of the laboratory at the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sorensen studied the effect of hydrogen ion concentration in fermentation water on the stability of beer foam. The pH scale was introduced as a simple way to express it in 1909 and to measure the acidity of a compound. And there’s more: The method for cooling food and drink was also designed thanks to the research of German engineer Carl von Linde, who in 1894 developed an industrial cooling system while working at the Spaten Brewery in Munich, Germany. Before Linde’s invention, ice blocks were used to cool beer and prevent it from spoiling by heat.
The history of beer is still mixed with an important discovery in the field of statistics through the creation of the so-called “student test” in the twentieth century, a calculation that, in short, testifies to whether a certain result or a reliable number. The person responsible for its development was the English chemist William Gossett, who was hired at the age of 23 by a Guinness brewery to propose a method for monitoring the amount of yeast while brewing beer. Until then, to carry out this operation, it was necessary to perform a series of calculations, which increased the chances of error. In order to simplify and simplify the procedures, and to maintain the accuracy of the analysis, Gosset created the t-test – it is applied today as a statistical test in most different areas of knowledge. Since the Guinness Brewery has in the past had problems publishing research that ended up revealing trade secrets, the brewery has banned its employees from publishing any research, regardless of the content. As a result, José was unable to publish the discovery of his statistical method under his own name. Therefore, the scientist used the pseudonym “Student” for his publications. Guinness only discovered this fact after Josette’s death,” says Stanislaw.
Hand in hand with the development of the world
Beer was invented thousands of years ago in the region in which Iraq is now located, and is the result of a complex process that involves a series of chemical reactions. According to Brazilian legislation, beer is a drink that is produced with water from barley and hops – a plant responsible for the bitterness and fermentation of yeast. Many scholars believe that the cultivation of barley began around 9000 BC, thanks to the appreciation of beer. Professor Stanislaw says that according to some theories, the growth in demand for barley used to make beer, linked to the increased importance of agriculture to formerly nomadic peoples, may have indirectly contributed to the emergence of cities.
In the time of the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia, the consumption of beer also encouraged the creation of ways to produce its ingredients and preserve the final product. Crossroads between science and art. Many cultures considered beer a gift from God, and over the years, it became an essential part of people’s diet, and more than that, it became a social symbol. “At that time, when the fermentation process was over, the yeasts went to the bottom of the jar, forming a biomass rich in vitamins, like that of the B-complex, and were taken up after the drink,” comments the professor. The drink was so important to society that, around 2300 BC, it was used as currency, for example, to finance the construction of the pyramids in Egypt.
Initially, beer was nothing like what we know today, which means that the drink was not visually appealing. Beer, produced by hand, was cloudy and contained grain residue and served in large earthen bowls or wooden cups. “Until the advent of Pilsen beer in 1842 – a yellow or golden beer with a very beautiful foam – the drink was not visually pleasing. Since that time, glassmakers began to make transparent glasses and mugs for drinking beer and also enjoying it with their own eyes,” recalls the IQSC professor.
increase fertility
In the past, although it seems crazy these days, people preferred to drink beer instead of water for health reasons, particularly in times of disease outbreaks: “There were no water and wastewater treatment systems as we know them today, and because there is a certain amount Alcohol is in the composition of beer, some disease-causing microorganisms present in untreated water were not found in beer. In other words, at that time, people were getting sick less from drinking beer,” says Stanislaw. In addition, due to the effect of the drink on the central nervous system, people became more connected and relaxed, which led to increased fertility (more children) among couples who drank the drink regularly. Historical accounts also show that during the Great Navigations, in the fourteenth century AD, Europeans who attempted to reach Asia to explore the regions encountered difficulties in transporting water on long voyages, and thus also filled ships with beer kegs.
Thousands of years later, even with the introduction of new customs and values, beer has remained a huge star on the world stage, being one of those responsible for stimulating the American agricultural and industrial revolutions for example. Before Henry Ford developed the assembly car, Michael Owens built the first automatic machine in 1904 to produce beer bottles using compressed air. The drink was also part of the daily life of such figures as philosophers and leaders of different peoples. Karl Marx, author Communist Manifesto One of the world’s most influential political manuscripts, he was a great beer connoisseur.
Passionate about the history, and principally, the chemistry of beer and its ingredients, Professor Stanislaw recalls that even today, new discoveries, new flavors and styles of beer emerge, often from the results of scientific research. In this sense, one of the latest innovations in Brazil is related to the production of one of the essential ingredients for making beer: hops.
Brazilian hops
According to the professor, less than a decade ago, it was believed that it was not possible to produce hops with a chemical and sensory quality for fermentation in Brazil, since the plant is usually grown in countries with a cold climate and a longer photoperiod, such is the case for Germany and the United States. However, there are some initiatives to produce hops in different cities in the south, southeast, midwest, north and northeast of Brazil, which have overturned the myth of the impossibility of cultivation and production of the plant in the country. These initiatives have generated great expectations for Brazil to move towards self-sufficiency in the production of this important raw material for the brewing industry.
To get an idea of the demand for hops in the country, the brewing sector produces approximately 14 billion liters of beer annually, and as a result, the country ranks third in the ranking of the largest importers of hops on the planet. In 2015 alone, Brazil imported about 4 thousand tons of hops at a cost of more than 200 million Brazilian reals.
“We have applied formal methodologies for chemical and sensory analysis of hops in our laboratories, with the aim of contributing to the development of the production chain of hops in Brazil. To date, we have mentored two master’s students who have conducted their research on the phytochemistry and sensory properties of Brazilian hops and have also worked on developing new methods for preparing new miniature samples. For chemical analysis of hops. There is a wide field of research in the region, since every year new farmers begin to produce hops in the country. In addition, farmers are able to harvest two to three crops per year, “the professor celebrates.
The question remains: What else is in beer?
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