debeer1-1, Exercise 2: The brewing sequence

Model answer:

Order: water, malt, mashing, boiling with hops, yeast (fermenting), maturing.

Water is the main ingredient by volume, and its minerals affect the taste. Malt (sprouted and dried or roasted barley) supplies the sugars and much of the colour and flavour. Mashing turns the malt's starches into sugars, making the sweet wort. Hops, boiled with the wort, add bitterness and aroma and help preserve the beer. Yeast turns the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Maturing lets the beer settle and, for lagers, is done cold for weeks.