(Ricardo Sanches/)
Not necessarily. Beer is made from the alcoholic fermentation of cereal malt, mainly barley. Malt, in turn, is obtained through artificial germination and drying of the cereal.
But beer is not always 100% malted cereal. That’s where corn comes in. By law, the drink has to have at least 55% malt. So up to 45% can be so-called non-malted cereals, which vary according to the availability of raw materials and the characteristics you want to give to the beer – such as lightness, since non-malted cereals generate alcohol without making the drink more full-bodied . Corn is most common in South America, as is rice in the US, oats in Europe and sorghum in Africa.
As unmalted cereals make production cheaper for large manufacturers, they have come to be seen as villains in recent years. But that doesn’t make sense. Just as “all malt” is not always synonymous with quality, corn beers can be very good. Among micro and small breweries, unmalted cereals often serve as a stimulus to creativity. Flying Dog, one of the most celebrated in the USA, launched Agave Cerveza (corn and agave, the raw material for tequila), while the Danish company Amager, in partnership with Rio de Janeiro’s 2cabezas, produced Marry Me in Rio, which has corn, rice and a respectable 87 on the RateBeer review site. The examples accumulate and show that corn can be more of an ally than a villain.
COB OF STORY
Despite the recent tantrum, corn has long been in the life of beer
- INCAS Long before the European invasion, Andean peoples made chicha, a fermented corn drink. This cousin of beer still exists today in countries like Peru.
- MEDIEVAL BELGIUM Leffe Abbey has been brewing beer since the 13th century. Today it makes some of Belgium’s most traditional and well-regarded beers. with corn
- THIRTEEN COLONIES Early US settlers brewed corn beer – and German immigrants to the country in the 19th century sold the corn version at a higher price than the single malt version.
CONSULTANCY Laura Aguiar, brewmaster and beer sommelière at Ambev, and Mauricio Beltramelli, master of beer styles and author of beer books.
SOURCES Book Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol, by Iain Gately; blogs “Two Fingers Collared” (The globe), “Lupulines” (capital letter) It is “Just for beer” (The State of S. Paulo); Draft Magazine, plateau.gov, RateBeer and The Washington Post.