Portal:Beer/Sandbox

 The Beer Portal  

Introduction

At the Café by Édouard Manet, circa 1879

Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation.

Some of the earliest writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating it, and "The Hymn to Ninkasi", a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, a recipe for it.

Beer is distributed in bottles and cans and is also commonly available on draught, particularly in pubs and bars. The brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. The strength of modern beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Beer forms part of the culture of many nations and is associated with social traditions such as beer festivals, as well as activities like pub crawling, pub quizzes, and pub games. (Full article...)

Selected articles -

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  San Miguel Pale Pilsen

  
  Beer in the Philippines is mainly produced by two large breweries, San Miguel Corporation, which produces San Miguel Pale Pilsen, and Asia Brewery, the country's second-largest brewery. In addition, there are a number of microbreweries across the nation.
  
  Beer is the most-consumed alcoholic beverage in the Philippines and amounted to a 70% share of the domestic alcoholic drink market in terms of volume during 2005. Between 2003 and 2004, the Philippines had the world's fastest beer consumption growth rate at 15.6%. With a rise in consumption volume from 1.22 to 1.41 million liters, it was the 22nd largest beer market in the world in 2004. Consumption per capita averages 20 liters per year. (Full article...)
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  Stoneware beer steins

  
  
  A beer stein (/ˈstaɪn/ STYNE), or simply stein, is either a traditional beer mug made out of stoneware or specifically an ornamental beer mug sold as a souvenir or collectible. An 1894 article on beer mugs in the American Vogue magazine that describes various types of steins stated: "And it is to this [i.e. German] nation that we owe Wagner's music and the apotheosis of the beer mug."
  
  Such steins may be made out of stoneware, pewter, porcelain or even silver, wood or crystal glass; they may have open tops or hinged pewter lids with a thumb-lever. Steins usually come in sizes of a half litre or a full litre (or comparable historic sizes). Like decorative tankards, they are often decorated in a nostalgic manner with allusions to Germany. (Full article...)
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  Hardcore IPA from BrewDog

  
  India pale ale (IPA) is a hoppy beer style within the broader category of pale ale.
  
  India pale ale was originally an export beer shipped to India, which was under the control of the British East India Company until 1858. (Full article...)
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  Can of Finnish Olvi beer

  
  Finland has a long history of beer (Finnish: olut) dating back to the Middle Ages. The oldest still-existing commercial brewery in Finland and the other Nordic countries is Sinebrychoff, founded in 1819. The Finnish Beer Day (suomalaisen oluen päivä) is celebrated on 13 October to commemorate the founding of the Sinebrychoff brewery and the birth of Finnish beer. The largest Finnish brewers are Hartwall, Olvi and Sinebrychoff. Most of the beers brewed in Finland are pale lagers. As of 2022, Finland's standing is 23rd in per capita consumption of beer: Finnish people consume 70.2 litres (15.4 imp gal; 18.5 US gal) of beer annually per capita, while the total annual consumption is 393 million litres (86,000,000 imp gal; 104,000,000 US gal). (Full article...)
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  Goldsmith played the Most Interesting Man in the World from 2006 to 2016

  
  The Most Interesting Man in the World was an advertising campaign for Dos Equis beer featuring actor Jonathan Goldsmith as a bearded, debonair older gentleman with voiceovers that were both humorous and outrageous. The advertisements began appearing in the United States in 2006 and became a popular Internet meme. The campaign ended in 2018. (Full article...)
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  Modern American pale ale made by Sierra Nevada

  
  In the United States, beer is manufactured in breweries which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually. In 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.
  
  Although beer was a part of colonial life in the United States, the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1919 resulted in the prohibition of alcoholic beverage sales, forcing nearly all American breweries to close or switch to producing non-alcoholic products. After the repeal of Prohibition, the industry consolidated into a small number of large-scale breweries. Many of the big breweries that returned to producing beer after Prohibition, today largely owned by international conglomerates like Anheuser-Busch InBev, still retain their dominance of the market in the 21st century. However, the majority of the new breweries that have opened in the U.S. over the past three decades have been small breweries and brewpubs, referred to as "craft breweries" to differentiate them from the larger breweries. (Full article...)
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  In brewing, attenuation refers to the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide by the fermentation process; the greater the attenuation, the more sugar has been converted into alcohol. A more attenuated beer is drier and more alcoholic than a less attenuated beer made from the same wort.
  
  Attenuation can be quantified by comparing the specific gravity — the density of a solution, relative to pure water — of the extract before and after fermentation, quantities termed the original and final gravities. Specific gravity can be measured by buoyancy, with a hydrometer. The higher the specific gravity of a solution, the higher the hydrometer floats. (Full article...)
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  A beer assortment sold in Bali, Indonesia; Carlsberg, Bali Hai, Bintang and Anker Beer.

  
  
  Beer in Asia began when beer was produced in Sumer, Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) circa 6000 years ago. It was introduced by Europeans in the 19th century, with modern breweries established in British India, the Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia), China, and Japan. Asia's first modern brewery was established in 1830 in India entirely using European brewing technology.
  
  Today, beer brewing is a growing industry in Asia. China has been the world's largest beer producer since 2001. Asia is the largest beer-producing region in the world since 2009. In 2013, Asian top beer producing countries were China (46.5 million kiloliters), Japan (5.5 million kiloliters), Vietnam (3.1 million kiloliters), Thailand (2.3 million kiloliters), South Korea (2 million kiloliters) and India (1.9 million kiloliters). (Full article...)
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  A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during various seasons, per climatic conditions during the time of the year, and also as a tradition. Furthermore, seasonal beer is produced based upon seasons, holidays, festivals and events. (Full article...)
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  Bottles of beers from several Canadian-based breweries placed on a table being used to play beer pong

  
  Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until prohibition in Canada. The provincial and federal governments' attempt to eliminate "intoxicating" beverages led to the closing of nearly three quarters of breweries between 1878 and 1928. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that a significant number of new breweries opened up. The Canadian beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, although globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers: Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead, with an estimated 3.8 percent share of the domestic market in 2016, has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.
  
  Beer sales have been sluggish overall in volume and in growth in industry revenue as other beverages have increased in popularity. Growth in revenue for beer makers averaged 1.3 per cent per year during 2011-2016; the estimated annual growth over the subsequent five years is only 0.4 percent per annum. Nonetheless, the number of licensed breweries in Canada increased from 310 in 2010 to 640 in 2015. Many of these are small operations since there were only 30 large (making over 7.5 million litres per year) breweries in 2015. (Full article...)
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  Beer cheese with saltine crackers

  
  Beer cheese is a cheese spread most commonly found in Kentucky. Similarly named cheese products can be found in other regions of the United States, but beer cheese spread itself is not widely distributed. Despite this fact, the product is nearly ubiquitous in Kentucky. There are a number of different brands that are popular – most are similar in taste and texture. Fans of the snack usually have their favorite brand, and there are many homemade versions which use a wide variety of ingredients to add personalization.
  
  Commercially produced beer cheese spread usually consists of a processed cheese base with a sharp cheddar flavor, while homemade varieties almost always start with sharp cheddar cheese. To this, enough beer is added to provide flavor and texture, as well as garlic, and a variety of spices including dry mustard, horseradish, jalapeño peppers, and cayenne pepper. Most varieties come in "mild" and "hot" versions, but all tend to have a strong garlic flavor. Beer cheese is traditionally served with saltine crackers, although it can be found served with various other crackers and crudités, most often as an appetizer. (Full article...)
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  The seven of diamonds

  
  
  In trick-taking card games such as bridge, the beer card is a name informally given to the seven of diamonds (7♦). Players may agree that if a player wins the last trick of a hand with the 7♦, their partner must buy them a beer. This is not considered as part of the rules of these games, but is an optional and informal side-bet between players. This practice likely originates from Danish Tarok or Skat in the middle of the 20th century. In most decks, the 7♦ is the only diamond number card that lacks rotational symmetry. (Full article...)
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  The previous location of AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego

  
  
  San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale (Double IPA), sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world. (Full article...)
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  Brown ale in a glass

  
  Brown ale is a style of beer with a dark amber or brown colour. The term was first used by London brewers in the late 17th century to describe a lightly hopped ale brewed from 100% brown malt.
  
  Today brown ales are made in England, Belgium and America. Beers termed brown ale include sweet, low alcohol beers such as Manns Original Brown Ale, medium strength amber beers of moderate bitterness such as Newcastle Brown Ale, and malty but hoppy beers such as Sierra Nevada Brown Ale. (Full article...)
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  A glass of beer with a large head of foam

  
  Beer head (also head or collar) is the frothy foam on top of beer and carbonated beverages which is produced by bubbles of gas, predominantly carbon dioxide, rising to the surface. The elements that produce the head are wort protein, yeast and hop residue. The carbon dioxide that forms the bubbles in the head is produced during fermentation as yeasts break down sugar-rich molecules to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. The carbonation can occur before or after bottling the beer. If the beer continues fermenting in the bottle, then it naturally carbonates and the head is formed upon opening and pouring the beer. If the beer is pasteurized or filtered then the beer must be force carbonated using pressurized gas.
  
  The density and longevity of the head will be determined by the type of malt and adjunct from which the beer was fermented. Different mash schedules and cereal sources influence head retention. In general, wheat tends to produce larger and longer-lasting heads than barley. (Full article...)

Selected brand -

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer as sold in the PRC in 2017.

China Pabst Blue Ribbon (Chinese: 蓝带啤酒; pinyin: Lán dài píjiǔ) is a brand of beer sold in China. It is produced, marketed and distributed by CBR Brewing Company, Inc., which is a Virgin Islands-owned holding company located in Hong Kong. It jointly owns the brand and breweries along with Guangdong Blue Ribbon Group under a sub-licensing agreement with the Pabst Brewing Company.

According to a Bloomberg Businessweek profile, the CBR Brewing Co. was established in 1988. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

Heyman photographed by E. Bieber

Philip Wulff Heyman (5 November 1837 – 15 December 1893) was a Jewish Danish industrialist who co-founded the Tuborg Brewery. He was also a pioneer of Danish butter and bacon exports to the United Kingdom. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

• ... that brewer Sophie de Ronde is allergic to most beer?
• ... that the patu clubs on the New Zealand threepence were compared to bottles of ginger beer?
• ... that Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Phillip Eng brews his own beer?
• ... that a beer named after the barley variety Golden Promise was not brewed using the variety?
• ... that 100 beerhouses were licensed in Brighton (population 40,000) in the first week after the Beerhouse Act 1830 was enacted?
• ... that Jaega Wise co-hosted the television series Beer Masters alongside musician James Blunt?

Selected brewery -

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General images

The following are images from various beer- and brewing-related articles on Wikipedia.

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  Great Leap Brewing operates a chain of brewpubs in China (from Craft beer)
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  World beer consumption per capita (from History of beer)
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  Alulu beer receipt recording a purchase of "best" beer from a brewer, c. 2050 BCE, from the Sumerian city of Umma in ancient Iraq. (from History of beer)
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  Malted barley before kilning or roasting (from Brewing)
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  A replica of ancient Egyptian beer, brewed from emmer wheat by the Courage brewery in 1996 (from History of beer)
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  A 16th-century brewery (from Brewing)
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  The Alulu beer receipt records a purchase of "best" beer from a brewer, c. 2050 BC, from the Sumerian city of Umma in Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq). (from Brewing)
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  Brew kettles at Brasserie La Choulette in France (from Brewing)
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  Castaña, a smoked beer with chestnuts from Cerex in Extremadura, Spain (from Craft beer)
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  Cask ales with gravity dispense at a beer festival (from Brewing)
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  Bill Urquhart at Litchborough Brewery (from Craft beer)
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  Yeast ring used by Swedish homebrewers in the 19th century to preserve the yeast between brewing sessions. (from History of beer)
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  A can of Juicy Ass IPA from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie, Ontario, Canada (from Craft beer)
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  Bottling beer in a modern facility, 1945, Australia (from History of beer)
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  Traditional fermenting building (center) and modern fermenting building (left) in Pilsner Urquell Brewery (Czech Republic) (from History of beer)
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  Dogo Beer from Minakuchi-shuzō microbrewery in Matsuyama, Japan (from Craft beer)
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  A beer sommelier tapping a barrel for a taste at Nebraska Brewing Company (from Craft beer)
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  Smoked beer from the Schlenkerla brewpub in Bamberg, Germany (from Craft beer)
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  Zoigl beers from the communal brewhouses of Oberpfalz in Germany (from Craft beer)
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  A selection of French craft beers (from Craft beer)
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  The Caledonian Brewery, founded in 1869, Edinburgh, Scotland (from History of beer)
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  Rock mortars in Raqefet Cave, used to make beer during the Stone Age. (from History of beer)
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  A mash tun at the Bass Museum in Burton-upon-Trent (from Brewing)
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  A funerary model of a bakery and brewery, from the Eleventh dynasty of Egypt, c. 2009–1998 BCE (from History of beer)
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  A 16th-century brewery (from History of beer)
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  Põhjala Brewery, Estonia (from Craft beer)
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  Craft brewing at Allagash in Portland, Maine (from Craft beer)
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  Microbreweries, regional breweries, and brew pubs per capita (from Craft beer)
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  Lauter tun (from Brewing)
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  Modern closed fermentation vessels (from Brewing)
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  Casks of real ale from British microbreweries at a beer festival (from Craft beer)
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  Robohop, a session IPA from Cervisiam in Oslo, Norway (from Craft beer)
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  Spontaneous fermentation at Timmermans in Belgium (from Brewing)
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  A yard of ale at Jolly Brewery, Taiwan (from Craft beer)
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  Conditioning tanks at Anchor Brewing Company (from Brewing)
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  Open vessels showing fermentation taking place (from Brewing)
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  Bergenhus microbrewery, Bergen, Norway (from Craft beer)
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  Hop cone grown in a hop field, Hallertau, Germany (from Brewing)
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  Irish Craft Beer Festival, 2015 (from Craft beer)
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  D. G. Yuengling & Son is the oldest operating brewing company in the US, established in 1829. It is also the largest craft brewer, and the 6th largest brewing company overall. (from Craft beer)
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  Pasteur Street Brewing, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (from Craft beer)
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  Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver (from Craft beer)
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  Spent grain, a brewing by-product (from Brewing)
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  Gambrinus – king of beer (from History of beer)
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  Diatomaceous earth, used to create a filtration bed (from Brewing)
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  A hydrometer measures beer's specific gravity (from History of beer)
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  A growler of beer from Flounder Brewing, a nanobrewery in New Jersey, US (from Craft beer)
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  Philistine pottery beer jug (from History of beer)
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  Mexican craft beer from Tequixquiac in Zumpango Region (from Craft beer)

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