Beer

Beer, for U.S. malt-beverage labeling, is a beverage made by the alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or decoction, or both, in potable brewing water, of malted barley with hops, or their parts or products, with or without other malted cereals, unmalted cereals, other carbohydrates, carbon dioxide, or other wholesome products suitable for food ¹. The sentence is identity. It is not a home-brew bill of materials.

Barley malted is the sugar source after the mash. Hops (or hop parts or products) are in the definition, not a garnish. Malt in wheat-flour identity is a different legal permission (enzyme correction). Do not copy 21 CFR 137 onto a pint.

This is not Wine (grapes) and not Mead (honey wine). Cider is apple fruit wine. Same yeast kingdom; different must.

What to notice #

Wort sweetness becomes alcohol and CO₂. Bitterness from hops is a taste; foam is protein and gas, not grape tannin. Smell malt and hop resin. A sour or solvent smell signals a different brewing failure that requires brewing-specific evidence to identify.

Original gravity and bottle-conditioning time depend on the formula, yeast, vessel, and pressure tolerance. The shared metabolism is Fermentation.