the act of making beer is called "brewing". beer is made by adding warm water to malted barley and other grains. the enzymes in the barley change the malted barley and other grains into simple sugars. this is called the mash. the water is then sparged (drained) from the grain. the water is now called wort. the wort is boiled and hops are added. hops provide flavour and preserve the beer. after boiling the wort is cooled and yeast is added. the yeast turns the sugars into alcohol and the wort into beer.