Beer predates wine as one of the oldest known alcoholic beverages (only mead surpasses it in age), and the discovery of the fermentation of grain is closely linked to the transition from a nomadic society to a settled agricultural society during the Neolithic Revolution.
The fermentation of starchy carbohydrates is a more complicated matter, however, than the transformation of grape sugars into alcohol, as a grain’s starch must be converted into sugar before fermentation can begin. Thus, the aim of the brewing process is twofold: the brewer must first derive the wort, a sugar-rich liquid, from malted grain and then the brewer must ferment the wort. Typically, the raw ingredients required for this process are water, yeast, hops, and a starch source. Hops, the dried flower clusters that provide flavor and bitterness to beer, have both preservative and antiseptic qualities that inhibit bacterial growth. This simple formula was detailed as early as 1516, in the Bavarian Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot), which codified the three ingredients authorized for beer production as barley, hops, and water. The action of yeast in fermentation was at the time undiscovered, and wheat, a component of Hefe-Weizen and white beer styles, was reserved for the production of bread.
In the modern brewing process, the first step is to create the malted barley, or malt. Barley—the cereal grain of choice for most beers—is steeped in water for approximately two days to promote germination of the grain. Once the grain begins to germinate, or sprout, it is transferred to compartments with controlled temperature and moisture levels. As the sprout grows to nearly an inch in length, the enzyme amylase is produced. Amylase converts the starchy carbohydrates of the grain into the fermentable sugars
Piscos from Chile are often aged in wood. Rauli is the most common wood used however European and American oak is often employed, for example Capel Reservado Pisco from Chile. Chilean Pisco is made from Moscatel de Alexandria, Torrontél and Pedro Ximenez
Chiean Pisco is designated into four categories:
Selección: (30% abv unaged)
Especial: (35% aged for a short time)
Reservado: (40% abv and aged for longer)
Gran Pisco which is aged for the longest period
Peruvian designations for Pisco apply to the grapes used:
Pisco Fur: from Fur
Pisco Ciuvre: from Quebranta, Quebranta Mollar or Negra Corriente
Pisco Aromatico: from Moscatél, Torrontél and Albilla
Pisco Verde: produced from partially fermented grapes
To expand on this sentence under "Vodka and Gin". . . "An Okinawan style of shochu, awamori, is always distilled from rice."
* Awamori is the distilled beverage indigenous to Okinawa, Japan's southern-most prefecture
* There are currently 47 producers of this beverage left
* Awamori is made from Thai rice (i.e. Indica, or long grain rice, not the short grained that is used in sake brewing)
* Awamori is made using black koji, which creates lots of citric acid
As far as Bourbon and aging are concerned- here's what I was told by a Compliance Agent from Kentucky today:
-Must be aged in charred, new American oak barrels (no minimum requirement)
-After two years it may be called Straight Bourbon Whiskey
-After four years there is no obligation to provide an age statement
-Less than four years of aging requires an age statement (with the youngest spirit being the age of the Bourbon)
-If the spirit is aged for one day in charred, new American oak barrels it may be legally called Bourbon!
Rumor has it that sometimes producers will top off barrels that have too much of an oak influence with "day old" whiskey...
This of course applies to a spirit made in the USA following the mash bill for Bourbon. For other whiskeys with other Mash bills in the USA (rye, wheat, etc.) the aging requirements for Straight is the same as Bourbon (2 years). Also, after four years the American whiskey does not have to list an age statement.