Beer - just what is it?

Beer, according to Wikipedia, is the world's most widely consumed and probably oldest alcoholic beverage, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. Some of humanity's earliest known writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating beer and beer parlors, and "The Hymn to Ninkasi", a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, served as both a prayer and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer.

The basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries. Beers are commonly categorized into two main types - the globally popular pale lagers, and the regionally distinct ales, which are further categorized into other varieties such as pale ale, stout and brown ale.


From an alcoholic point of view, the strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume though it may range from less than 1%, to over 20% in some rare cases.

The strength of beers has climbed during the later years of the 20th century. Vetter 33, a 10.5% abv (33 degrees Plato, hence Vetter "33"), doppelbock, was listed in the 1994 Guinness Book of World Records as the strongest beer at that time, though Samichlaus, by the Swiss brewer Hürlimann, had also been listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the strongest at 14% abv.

Beer forms part of the culture of beer-drinking nations and is associated with social traditions such as beer festivals, as well as a rich pub culture involving activities like pub crawling and pub games such as bar billiards.

Beer is considered to be a social lubricant in many societies, and is consumed in countries all over the world. There are breweries in Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, as well as African countries. Sales of beer are four times that of wine, the second most popular alcoholic beverage. In Russia, consumption is on the rise as younger generations are choosing beer over vodka. In most societies, beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.

The basic ingredients of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted barley, able to be fermented (converted into alcohol); a brewer's yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavoring such as hops. A mixture of starch sources may be used, with a secondary starch source, such as maize (corn), rice or sugar, often being termed an adjunct, especially when used as a lower-cost substitute for malted barley.

Less widely used starch sources include millet, sorghum and cassava root in Africa, potato in Brazil, and agave in Mexico, among others. The amount of each starch source in a beer recipe is collectively called the grain bill.

Around the world, there are a number of traditional and ancient starch-based beverages classed as beer. In Africa, there are various ethnic beers made from sorghum or millet, such as Oshikundu in Namibia and Tella in Ethiopia. Kyrgyzstan also has a beer made from millet; it is a low alcohol, somewhat porridge-like drink called "Bozo". Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and Sikkim also use millet in Chhaang, a popular semi-fermented rice/millet drink in the eastern Himalayas. Further east in China are found Huangjiu and Choujiu - traditional rice-based beverages related to beer.

No matter where it comes from, beer has and always will take an important part of our lives, whether some people like it or not. With such a long tradition behind it, we can definitely say that this magical brew we call beer is here to stay. So here's to you beer, sweet nectar of the GODS.