Wow! Just look at my beer!
Can you see what I see in these depths of amber? It's all there.
When you guzzle a brewski on a hot summer day are you thinking of thousands of Egyptians hauling great blocks of stone across burning sands to build enormous pyramids to honor the Pharohs? The most important ingredient used in beer is barley. Barley filled the stomachs of those builders. Wheat is harder and more expensive to grow and so barley was the staff of life for the people of the ancient world. You won't find any tofu in The Bible but you'll find plenty of barley. Are you now thinking I've forgotten the Far East? Even in Japan rice was the food of luxury and barley was the food that sustained their civilization. Barley has been with us all since the beginnings of recorded history.
Barley is good for what ails you. It was a favorite of Hippocrates, the famous ancient greek father of Western medicine. Forget the recent oat fads. Barley is better. The magic cholesterol reducing ingredient of oats, beta-glucan, is found in equal or higher amounts in barley. And barley is higher in dietary fiber and lower in fat and calories than oats! High blood sugar? Inflamation? Feeling dull and listless? Hungry? Put some barley in your day and you're on your way! Wheat may have once been the breakfast of champions but gladiators ate barley.
Can you think of anything better to make beer out of? Most folks start brewing using powdered malt barley or that strange glop: malt extract. Why, extract of malt was the gunk in the "Winnie The Pooh" books by A.A. Milne that little Roo was forced to take as a strengthening medicine. Sure it's rich in B vitamins and folic acid but what is that goo doing in my beer? "It's delicious!" you say? Well, alright, I'll give you that. It turned out to be the only thing that Tiggers like for breakfast. Still, you wouldn't try to make wine out of frozen, concentrated grape juice would you? How about rehydrated raisins? Get your hands on some fresh barley! If you've got a few extra square feet of lawn you might consider growing your own barley and malting it. It's easy and it takes home brewing to another level. Nothing beats fresh ingredients.
Barley has been grown, cultivated and treasured since the earliest days of civilization. It is an amazing food packed with nutrition and flavor. For thousands of years barley has been used in medicine and new uses are still being discovered. Barley brings its goodness to the brewing of beer.
Look at this beer. See that golden glow? That's the barley in my beer.