Shop counters are filled with a wide variety of beers. Among all this variety, it is worth figuring out what exactly is beer and what is just a beer drink. And what kind of beer you can drink.
Letter of the law
The newest GOST R 51174-2009, concerning the production of beer, regulates the ingredients that should be in its composition. These include: malt barley malt, malt wheat malt, drinking water, granulated sugar, hops or granulated hops, grain products (barley, wheat), wheat grits, rice, corn, brewer's yeast. Each of these ingredients has its own requirements, which can be found in the text of the GOST itself. As you can see from this list, the intoxicating drink, which is brewed here and now in Russia, has little in common with what is called natural beer as a fermentation product.
The USSR had its own requirements for the brewing process, and these requirements were almost identical to the German ones. The first GOST regulating not only the composition of beer, but also the brewing process was GOST 3473-53. At the time, very strict requirements were imposed on it regarding its composition, namely: brewing barley malt, hops and water. Everything. Nothing extra. This is a really high quality beer. With each subsequent revision of GOST (GOST 3473-69, GOST 3473-78 and GOST R 51174-2009), more and more grain, sugar, yeast, etc. were allowed in its composition. All this has led to the fact that in Russia it is almost impossible to find a beer that would be brewed from only three components - water, malt and hops.
What kind of beer to drink
What can a consumer choose, being in such cramped conditions? First, compliance with GOST. If the beer brand is purely Russian, then the beer must meet at least the 2009 standards. If the brand of beer is foreign, but it is brewed under license in Russia, then it is not at all necessary to comply with GOST. The fact is that foreign producers, before giving permission to brew beer in other countries, impose certain requirements on the plant for the composition and brewing technique of the product under their brand. And these requirements do not always fall within the requirements of GOST. A living example is Hoegaarden beer. The Belgians add orange zest and coriander to it. Corresponding requirements apply to breweries in other countries brewing it under license. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the Hoegaarden beer brewed in Russia does not meet the GOST requirements. The same applies to many other brands exported from abroad to Russia from England, France, Germany, Australia, Holland, New Zealand, etc. Each of these countries has its own standards for the preparation of an intoxicated drink, some of which have evolved over the centuries.
If the budget is limited, but you still want a good beer, you will have to do a good job of digging around in stores. It is now possible to find beer brewed to 1978 standards. Moreover, it can contain malt, water and hops. The question arises - why did the beer with such ingredients not fall under the 1953 standards? The answer is simple - differences in the technological process during cooking. After all, GOST regulates not only the composition, but also the process of making the intoxicated drink. Therefore, it can turn out to be quite good in quality and taste.
