THE ART OF BEER – Brewed with Passion

Hops give beer its flavour and unique aroma. They add the bitterness to beer, balancing out the sweetness that comes from the other key ingredient – fermented barley malt. The aromatic properties of this flowering vine come from some 200 essential oils. Hops are also antiseptic and a natural preservative, which is why beer made with hops stays fresh for longer. Two grams of hops are all that is needed for one litre of beer. Kronenbourg 1664 and BLANC 1664 uses only the finest Strisselspalt hops.

At least 95% of your brew is made up of water, making it vitally important to use good quality water. Kronenbourg uses water from the Vosges mountains, pure and packed with the right amount of minerals. Six litres of water go into making one litre of beer.

Beer gets its primary flavour and colour from grain that’s been turned into malt. Barley is the grain most often malted for beer, as in Kronenbourg 1664. But other grains can also be added to the mix, such as wheat used to craft Blanc 1664. Malting refers to the breakdown of starch contained in the grain so that it turns into sugar during the brewing process.

The pièce de résistance of every good beer is the yeast. Its what gives beer its unique personality and is every brewery’s most jealously guarded secret. Beer yeast is grown deep in the heart of the Kronenbourg brewery and is stored at -80oC in a secure room. Ten grams of yeast is added to every litre of beer.