The process by which beer is made. In the first stage the barley grain is soaked in water and allowed to germinate (malting), during which the natural enzymes of the grain convert the seed starch to maltose, and then to glucose. Grain is then dried, crushed, and added to water at a specific temperature (steeping) and any remaining starch is converted to sugar. The resulting liquid (wort) is the raw material to which yeast is added to convert sugar to alcohol. Hops (female flowers of Humulus lupulus) are added during this process to give a characteristic flavour.