Beers and ales come in all sorts of colours, from your golden lagers to dark stouts. But why exactly and what does it actually mean and say about your ale? A large part of why is the Maillard reaction, discovered by Louis Camille Maillard in 1912 So what is the Maillard reaction? It is a browning process created not by enzymes but sugars and amino acids. Different sugars and amino acids give different reactions which results in melanoidins. Without this process ales would be a completely different drink, because while alcoholic content is important it is the flavour and colour which really makes an ale. This is a very common process that you likely come across every day, it is the same reaso
Outside of making the best tasting beer, or one that can knock you out quicker an aim of many homebrewers is making a clear drink. Now real ales will never be completely clear, unless you want to repeatedly filter your ale it is simply a natural part of the process. You can however lessen the effects. Haze being suspended in the liquid can cause a more rapid deterioration in quality, a serious amount may also be a sign that the beer was contaminated. So you may want to take some steps to prevent a serious haze in your ale. But what even is this stuff in your beer? The haze produced can be caused by a number of different things, but all are processes that create proteins. Sometimes other subs
