National Beer Day on April 7th annually, recognizes the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. Following water and tea, it is the third most popular drink overall.
- One of the world’s oldest prepared beverages, beer possibly dates back to 9500 BC when cereal was first farmed.
- It is also recorded in the written history of ancient Iraq and ancient Egypt.
- Virginia colonists brewed beer. William Penn included a place for brewing beer within the Pennsylvania colony. It can still be visited at Pennsbury Manor today.
- The first President of the United States recorded a recipe for brewing beer in his notes.
- Samuel Adams holds a place in both beer and tea history in this country. There were a few beer lovers and patriots among the nation’s founders.
- The United States also derives its rich brewing history from beer-loving German immigrants during the mid-1800s. Some of those immigrants families’ names are as familiar today as they were a hundred years ago.
- As it is one of the oldest beverages humanity has ever produced, it dates back to the 5th millennium BC in Iran, as ancients were drinking beer upon its discovery.
- A beer lover or enthusiast is called a cerevisaphile.
- Cenosillicaphobia is commonly touted as being the fear of an empty beer glass.
- Germany serves beer ice cream in popsicle form. Its alcoholic content is less than that found in “classic” beer.
- In 1962, Iron City beer was the brand used to test-market the concept of tab opening aluminum cans. By 1970, over 90% of all beer cans were self-opening.
- Prohibition, beginning on January 16, 1920, lasted 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, 17 hours, and 32-1/2 minutes, and was rescinded on December 5, 1933, at 3:32 p.m.
- Centuries ago in England, pub visitors used a novel innovation that enabled them to get their beer served quickly. They used mugs with a whistle baked into the rim, the whistle being used to summon the barmaid. It has been suggested this practice gave birth to the phrase “wet your whistle.”
- Beer is the third-most popular drink on Earth, after water and tea.
- In 2016, people consumed nearly 50 billion gallons of beer worldwide.
- The Czech Republic consumes the most beer per capita of any country in the world, and China consumes the most overall.
- As of 2017, California had by far the most breweries in the United States, with 1,106. Washington is a distant second with 499.
- McDonald’s offers beer on its menu in many countries, including France, Germany, Portugal, and South Korea.
- Women did the majority of beer brewing in ancient Egypt.
- The strongest beer in the world is “Snake Venom,” brewed by Scottish brewery Brewmeister. It is 67.5% alcohol by volume (abv). For comparison, most vodka is 40% abv, with beers typically between 3% and 10% abv.
- Approximately 48% of Americans drink at sporting events, with beer being the drink of choice.
- Rogue Ales, an Oregon brewery, created a “Beard Beer” using yeast grown in their brewmaster’s beard
- Strange craft beer ingredients used by contemporary brewers include coffee, oatmeal, avocado, cookie dough, chipotle peppers, seaweed, oysters, candy corn, squid ink, blue cheese, pastrami, and pig brain.
- Beer cans debuted way back in 1933
- The world’s best-selling beer is Snow! Snow is the name of a beer brewed for the Chinese market, and it’s cheap: 49 cents for a can, according to Quartz. Perhaps not surprisingly, since there are over 1 billion people in China, it’s also the world’s largest beer market by volume.
- New Hampshire consumes the most beer than any other state, according to a 2020 report by Vinepair.com. Montana and Vermont are 2nd and third.
- Beer still remains important today as roughly 1.75 million Americans have jobs as a result of the American beer industry.
- The largest museum dedicated to beermaking is in Altenburg, Germany.
- The oldest brewery in the world today is the Weihenstephan brewery in Freising, Germany. It was founded in 1040.
- Beer pong is a drinking game. Although it is still disputed where beer pong exactly originated from, it first emerged in the ’50s.
- ‘zythology’ is the study of beer. Zythology provides more insight on beer’s ingredients, sophistication, and brewing process.
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