At its best beers and ales are simple beverages made from wholesome ingredients that have been around for thousands of years.

Malts

Malt is cereal (mainly Barley) that has been modified by steeping the grain in water on fast open floors till the grain is at the point of germinating .It is then put in to a kiln to dry out and roasted to different degrees to give the malt different colours and flavours.

Why use malt in brewing? Modifying the cereal makes braking down the sugar and starch’s needed in brewing fermentation easer. The malt we use comes from a local run, Yorkshire family maltsters who have been producing top quality malts since the 1870’s

Hops

(Humulus lupulus) have been used in brewing
in Britain since the 15th century. It was probably added to beer to help keep it drinkable for longer as it has lots of herbal qualities, but we have now acquired a taste for the bitterness and floral flavours obtained from the acids and oils contained in the hop cones.

Over the years lots of varieties have been developed from all over the world to give lots of different flavour profiles to beer. Here at Daleside we use over 18 different type from as far a field as America, New Zealand, Europe and of course England.

Beer in the ancient world…

According to Egyptian legend it was the god Osiris who taught men how to make beer. Ancient Egyptians used beer in religious rites and as a drink with food. For a long time it was believed that the Egyptians made crude beer by crumbling well-leavened bread into water, strained it into a vat with a sieve and allowed the liquid to ferment due to the action of yeast from the bread. It is thought that the Egyptians flavoured their beer with date juice or honey, because the basic beer didn't have much flavour. In 1996 a scientist at the University of Cambridge used microscopic analysis to demonstrate that the Egyptians may in fact have used barley to make malt, just as we do today, and a type of wheat called emmer, instead of hops. The analysis resulted in a recipe and when a trial brew was created at a modern brewery the beer was found to be fruity and sweet because it lacked the bitterness of hops.

Beer and health…

Given that beer has been around for thousands of years - and hasn't yet resulted in the destruction of the human race – we know it’s perfectly safe to drink, thank goodness! However, like all alcoholic beverages, beer should be drunk in moderation. Everyone thinks they know their personal limit, but government guidelines on sensible drinking exist for a purpose. If you drink sensibly you can enjoy good beers and ales for many, many years!