Science of beer making

1. Brewers, until Louis Pasteur definitively settled the question in 1876, made beer for thousands of years without a concrete knowledge of yeast and its role in fermentation. Until then the phenomenon that produced alcohol was known as "God is good."
2. The first cousin of the hops plant is...the marijuana plant. Fans of really hoppy beer also might want to know that one risk of ingesting lots of hoppy beer is a syndrome known as...Brewer's Droop. Hops contain an herbal form of estrogen that can make men...chesty...or even lead to that debilitating ailment known in these modern times as...erectile dysfunction.
3. Ale was brewed for centuries without hops. Before the 1400s, ale was flavored with herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Yet the antiseptic quality of hops helped to preserve ale from spoiling and later became a vital part of its flavor.
4. One of the fastest ways to destroy a beer's flavor is to expose it to sunlight. In fact, even the light from a fluorescent lamp is highly damaging. Every beer in the James Squire range is encased in brown bottles, the best protection for such a valuable drop.
5. The type of water in a beer can strongly affect its taste. Superior ales are produced with 'hard water' (containing a higher content of natural salts such as calcium) while 'soft water' produces superior lagers. However, with the advent of water treatment, some Caribbean breweries even use desalinated seawater in their beers.
6. Apparently, beer is a girl's best friend. Jewelers in Sierra Leone use beer to test the clarity and purity of diamonds. When immersed in beer, diamonds reflect light in a way that proves their authenticity.