Beverage Knowledge

• Beverages


  Potable drinks which have thirst-quenching, refreshing, stimulating and nourishing qualities
• Refreshing


  Replenishment of fluid loss from the body due to perspiration
• Stimulation

  Increase of the heart beat and blood pressure due to intake of spirits (alcohol) or tea (thein) and coffee (coffein)
• Nourishment


  Provided by the nutrients in the beverages, especially fruit juices
• Most of the beverages supply energy in the form of sugar or alcohol
• Beverages also provide other nutrients like mineral salts and vitamins
• Reasons for drinking

  • To quench thirst
  • To get drunk, to enjoy a social setting (social drinking)
  • To enjoy the taste of the beverage
  • To feed an addiction (alcoholism)
  • As part of a religious or traditional ceremony or custom (proposing toast)
• Beverage


  A liquid formulation specifically prepared for human consumption
• Alcoholic beverage


  A drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol
• Alcoholic beverages

  • Ethanol is a psychoactive drug, with a depressant effect
  • Significant blood alcohol content may be considered legal drunkenness as it reduces attention and slows reaction speed
  • Ethanol being a psychoactive drug, with a depressant effect, many societies regulate or restrict its sale and consumption
• Reasons for consuming alcohol

  • As a component of the standard diet
  • For hygienic or medical reasons
  • For its relaxant and euphoric effects
  • For recreational purposes
  • For artistic inspiration
  • As aphrodisiacs
• Alcoholic beverages can be addictive and the state of addiction to ethanol is known as alcoholism
• Fermentation process

  1. Certain yeasts decompose sugars, in the feed stock in the absence of oxygen, to form alcohol and carbon dioxide

  2. Method for production of ethanol, wine, and beer
• Low-alcohol-content drinks


  Produced by fermentation of sugar or starch-containing products
• High-alcohol drinks


  Produced by distillation of low alcohol products
• Beer


  Alcoholic beverage made by brewing of fermenting cereals mash, especially malted barley, usually with the addition of hops as a flavoring agent (bitter taste) and as a stabilizer
• Types of beer

  • Ale
  • Lager
  • Stout
• Wine


  Alcoholic beverage produced through the partial or total fermentation of grapes
• Other fruits and plants that can be fermented to make wine

  • Berries
  • Apples
  • Cherries
  • Dandelions
  • Elder-berries
  • Palm
  • Honey
  • Rice
• Types of wine

  • Table wine
  • Sangria
  • Sparkling wine
  • Champagne
  • Fortified wine
  • Port
  • Sherry
  • Vermouth
• Let the host/hostess taste/smell the wine first before serving the rest of the guests. Remember to serve the ladies first.
• Distilled beverage


  A consumable liquid containing ethyl alcohol (ethanol) purified / enriched by distillation from a fermented feed stock such as fruits, vegetables, or cereal grains
• Spirits


  Distilled beverages low in sugars and containing at least 35% alcohol by volume
• Examples of distilled alcoholic beverages

  • Absinthe
  • Baijiu
  • Brandy
  • Grappa
  • Rum
  • Tequila
  • Vodka
  • Whisky
  • Sake
  • German Schnapps
• Aperitifs


  Pre-dinner drinks taken to stimulate the appetite, most are dry because dry beverages stimulate the appetite while sweet drinks tend to dull the appetite
• Distillation


  The process of converting liquid into vapor by heating and then condensing the vapor back to liquid form
• Most popular spirits and their base ingredients

  • Whisky - Grain
  • Gin - Neutral Spirit flavored with Juniper Berries
  • Rum - Sugar Cane
  • Vodka - Potatoes
  • Brandy - Grapes
  • Tequila - Blue Mezcal
• Whiskey


  A broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak)
• Rum


  Made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation
• Types of rum

  • Light Rums - commonly used in cocktails
  • Golden and Dark Rums - appropriate for use in cooking as well as cocktails
  • Premium brands - made to be consumed neat or on the rocks
• Brandy


  A general term for distilled wine, usually containing 40–60% ethyl alcohol by volume
• Vodka


  A clear liquid containing water and ethanol purified by distillation from a fermented substance such as potatoes, grain or sugar beet molasses, and an insignificant amount of other substances: impurities and possibly flavorings
• Sake


  A Japanese wine made from rice and is very strong
• Liqueur


  A sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream
• Categories of liqueurs

  • Fruit liqueur
  • Cream liqueur
  • Coffee liqueur
  • Chocolate liqueur
  • Schnapps liqueur
  • Brandy liqueur
  • Anise liqueur
  • Nut-flavoured liqueur
  • Herbal liqueur
• Gin


  A spirit flavoured with juniper berries
• Types of gin

  • Distilled gin - made by redistilling white grain spirit which has been flavoured with juniper berries
  • Compound gin - made by flavouring neutral grain spirit with juniper berries without redistilling
• Non-alcoholic beverage


  A beverage that contains no alcohol, generally drunk for refreshment, or to quench people's thirst
• Classification of non-alcoholic beverages

  • Hot and cold beverages
• Aerated beverages


  Beverages charged or aerated with carbonic gas, which imparts the pleasant effervescent characteristic