Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol. Ethanol is a drug, and depressant, and most societies regulate or restrict the sale and use of alcohol.

Chemistry. Ethanol (CH3CH2OH), the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages, is almost always produced by fermentation - the metabolism of carbohydrates by certain species of yeast in the absence of oxygen. The process of culturing yeast under alcohol-producing conditions is referred to as brewing.

Alcoholic beverages with a concentration of more than 50% ethanol by volume (100 proof) or greater are flammable liquids and easily ignited.

It should be noted that in chemistry, alcohol is a general term for any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom, which in turn is bound to other carbon atoms and further hydrogens. Other alcohols such as propylene glycol and the sugar alcohols may appear in food or beverages regularly, but these alcohols do not make them "alcoholic".

Most yeasts cannot grow when the concentration of alcohol is higher than about 18% by volume, so that is a practical limit for the strength of fermented beverages such as wine, beer, and sake. Strains of yeast have been developed that can survive in solutions of up to 25% alcohol by volume, but these were bred for ethanol fuel production, not beverage production. Spirits are produced by distillation of a fermented product, concentrating the alcohol and eliminating some of the by-products. Many wines are fortified wines with additional grain alcohol to achieve higher ABV (alcohol by volume) than is easily reached using fermentation alone.

Flavouring. Ethanol is a moderately good solvent for many "fatty" substances and essential "oils", and thus facilitates the inclusion of several colouring, flavouring, and aromatic compounds to alcoholic beverages, especially to distilled ones. These flavouring ingredients may be naturally present in the starting material, or may be added before fermentation, before distillation, or before bottling the distilled product. Sometimes the flavour is obtained by allowing the beverage to stand for months or years in barrels made of special wood, or in bottles where scented twigs or fruits — or even insects — have been inserted.

3.Answer the following questions.

1.What do we call an alcoholic beverage?

2.Why do many societies regulate the use of alcohol?

3.What is brewing?

4.What is term ‘alcohol’ referred to?

5.In what way is the concentration of alcohol in alcoholic beverages specified?

6.What is the limit for the strength of fermented beverages?

7.In what way are spirits produced?

8.How can flavour be obtained in the alcoholic beverages?

4.Match the words with their definitions:

1.alcohol 2.ethanol 3.brewing 4.proof 5.distillation 6.fermentation

a) the process of evaporating or boiling a liquid and condensing its vapour; b) the process of making beer, ale, etc. from malt and other ingredients by steeping, boiling, and fermentation; c) any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom, which is bound to other carbon atoms and further hydrogens; d) the alcoholic strength of proof spirit; e) a colourless flammable liquid, produced by the fermentation of sugars, esp. glucose; f) a chemical reaction in which a ferment causes an organic molecule to split into simpler substances;

5.Read and translate the following text.