On Food and Cooking

to impenetrable brown-black, and comes
from the kinds of malt used
Body, or weightiness in the mouth, which
comes from the long remnants of starch
molecules in the malt
Astringency, from malt phenolic
compounds
Prickly freshness, from dissolved carbon
dioxide
Taste, which may include saltiness from
the water, sweetness from unfermented
malt sugars, acidity from roasted malt
and from fermentation microbes,
bitterness from hops and from dark-
roasted malts, savoriness from malt
amino acids
Aroma, from woody, floral, citrusy hops;
malty, caramel, and even smoky malt;
and from the yeasts and other microbes,
which can produce notes that seem fruity
(apple, pear, banana, citrus), flowery
(rose), buttery, spicy (clove), and even