Preservatives in beer and lager. What chemicals do...?!
Preservatives in beer and lager. What chemicals do...?
....lager and beer have to preserve them? And what harm can they do to humans?
Answers:
Beer doesn't have preservatives since no pathogenic bacteria can survive in beer. That is why historically (and present day in some parts of the world) beer has been safer to drink than water. Old beer may not taste at its best but it will never kill you.
Real ale has no additives or processing beyond brewing, fermenting, casking and conditioning. Most other beers are filterered and Pasteurised. This is to give them a longer shelf life but usually has a bad effect on flavour. It can be argued that the filtration of yeast from a beer is bad because the yeast performs various "cleaning up operations" during conditioning. If you filter the yeats out after fermentation you may be removing the yeast before it has finished its job and you'll be left with higher alcohols etc. I know that fizzy beer is more likely to give me a hangover. Stick to real ale - it is probably healthier and it tastes better too.
I have no idea but they must do some harm, i went on a three day session last weekend and my stomach still feels like its twisted in a knot! Probably wasn't the most sensible thing i ever did but you only live once.
Good beer contains only malted barley, hops yeast and water. The German purity law that originated in 1487 is standard that all good brewers follow. The hops act as a natural preservative. Large commercial breweries like Miller, Coors, Budweiser do not necessarily follow these rules. Stick to good craft brew, especially from a local brewer and you'll be fine.
That is a personal conviction of some people.
Some narrow minded purists ignore the fact that most preservatives do not have common names.
Thereby a fancy chemical formulation is used.
There aren't usually any preservatives added to beer. Generally mass produced beer is filtered to get rid of the yeast which will make it clearer and also give it a longer shelve life...but also, they are often pasteurized, which subjects them to heat to kill off any bacteria that might in there but is also killing some flavor. For your best bet, get non-filtered beer that has some sediment on the bottom and will still have yeast in suspension. The yeast is good for you and the beer tastes better. If you have a stong beer that's unfiltered you can age it and it will continue to mature and change, for lower alcohol non-filtered beer, fresher the better.
Okay, all lagers are beers. The other category of beer is the ales.
That said, the primary preservative in beer is alcohol. A high alcohol beer really needs no other preservatives. After alcohol, the next are hops, they not only flavor the beer, they also act as a preservative. Finally there is refrigeration, i.e., keep it cold.
I home brew and i have kept beer for up to six year using just these three preservatives. If you drink a commercial beer that uses other chemicals, you might consider switching brands, or even brewing your own.