The Nature of Beer

Back in college, the little beer store around the corner from The Ranch ran ads stating "Mom Sez: 'Beer is Food!'".
At the time we thought this was perfect because we were poor college students who could either afford to buy food or beer. We drank The Industry Standard - Busch beer. It wasn't what you would call good beer, but it was $3.99 a 12-pack. Cans. And Mom said 'Beer is Food'.
What is beer? It's only four simple ingredients: water, malted barley (or wheat), hops and yeast. Four ingredients that prove that the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts. From these humble ingredients come an amazing variety of flavors from the mundane (Busch) to the complex (Chimay). What makes beer, then, must not be in the ingredients, but in the art of the brew.
In the brew, there are thousands of variations that can be combined and commanded by the brewmaster. How long do you toast the barley to arrest the spout? Toasting the barley for a longer time takes the flavor of the resulting beer from a sweet champaign to a golden ale, to a rustic amber ale, to a rich dark porter, to a thick stout. What hops do you use? Hops control the bitterness of the beer and contribute to much of the aroma. Yeast is used to produce the alcohol but can also contribute a unique flavor of its own - particularly in wheat beers where the malt flavor is very mild.
It is the brewmaster that blends these flavors the way that a painter combines colors. From this pallet the brewmaster creates their art for us to enjoy. Every beer I pour I admire the artistry that went in to creating the subtle colors and flavors in the brew. With every beer that I drink, I celebrate the artistry of the brewmaster.
And I remember 'Beer is Food'.