Portal:Beer

 The Beer Portal  

Introduction

At the Café by Édouard Manet, circa 1879

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. Beer is 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. 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 -

Oktoberfest (German pronunciation: [ɔkˈtoːbɐˌfɛst] ^ⓘ; Bavarian: Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October, with more than six million international and national visitors attending the event. Locally, it is called d'Wiesn, after the colloquial name for the fairgrounds, Theresienwiese. Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since the year 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations that are modeled after the original Munich event.

During the event, large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer are consumed: in 2014, 7.7 million litres (2,000,000 US gal) were served. Visitors also enjoy numerous attractions, such as amusement rides, side stalls, and games. There is also a wide variety of traditional foods available. (Full article...)

Selected brand -

Three Horses Beer (better known locally as THB) is a pale lager that has been brewed by Star Breweries of Madagascar since 1958. It is the highest-selling beer in Madagascar and has been described as emblematic of the country. THB is sold nationwide and, since 2005, has been exported to such markets as France, Reunion Island, Comoros, and Mayotte. The Malagasy beer is produced at two breweries in Madagascar, the first centrally located in Antsirabe and the other in the northern city of Antsiranana. THB Pilsener, the most common variant of THB, has a light taste and is produced from mostly local barley, corn, and hops. Star Breweries also produces THB Fresh (a shandy with less than 1% alcohol), THB Special (6.2% alcohol), and THB Lite (1% alcohol). Recent investments in Star Brewery infrastructure have allowed a 20% increase in production since 2011.

After advertising alcohol in the media was banned under former President of Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana, Star Breweries has increasingly promoted THB through unconventional means. These have included sponsoring the THB Champions League, Madagascar's national football championship, and holding annual beer festivals. In addition, THB is a regular sponsor of local musicians through major annual festivals and tours. Star Breweries has also hired musicians to perform in music videos created to promote the beer. In 2014 the THB label was significantly redesigned, and in 2015, a new slogan, "THB eo foana e!" ("THB always!"), was promoted alongside the beer's longstanding trademark Soa Ny Fiarahantsika ("The Pleasure of Being Together"). Malagasy musical stars and other public figures regularly promote the beer. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

Eberhard Anheuser (27 September 1806–May 1880) was a German-American soap and candle maker, and the father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, the founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company.

Anheuser grew up in Kreuznach, where his parents operated a vineyard that had been in the family since 1627. Two of his brothers and he moved to North America in 1842. He was a major creditor of the Bavarian Brewery Company, a struggling brewery founded in 1853. When the company encountered financial difficulty in 1860, he purchased the minor creditors' interests and took over the company. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

• ... that at the 1965 World Pentathlon Championships, Herbert Polzhuber was said to have drunk ten beers and a bottle of cognac before firing his pistol at the ground and passing out?
• ... that some online social and "Barstool conservatives" spent their Christmas holidays arguing about whether a beer promotional calendar was "demonic"?
• ... that Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after harassment by neighboring Israeli settlers?
• ... that Pope Pius IX gave the monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey permission to brew Saint Vincent Beer?
• ... that a beer named after the barley variety Golden Promise was not brewed using the variety?
• ... that Fred G. Sullivan's film The Beer-Drinker's Guide to Fitness and Filmmaking depicts Sullivan being humiliated with mud and whips for the failings of his previous film?

Selected brewery -

St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is Draught Guinness.

Originally leased in 1759 to Arthur Guinness at £45 per year for 9,000 years, the St. James's Gate area has been the home of Guinness ever since. It became the largest brewery in Ireland in 1838, and the largest in the world by 1886, with an annual output of 1.2 million barrels. Although no longer the largest brewery in the world, it remains as the largest brewer of stout. The company has since bought out the originally leased property, and during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the brewery owned most of the buildings in the surrounding area, including many streets of housing for brewery employees, and offices associated with the brewery. The brewery had its own power plant. (Full article...)

Selected image -

Budweiser Budvar beer (Czechoslovakia).

Budweiser Budvar beer (Czechoslovakia).

Credit: Jérôme Sautret (Zubro)

Budweiser Budvar beer (Czechoslovakia).

General images

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

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  Modern closed fermentation vessels (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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  Mexican craft beer from Tequixquiac in Zumpango Region (from Craft beer)
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  Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver (from Craft beer)
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  Craft brewing at Allagash in Portland, Maine (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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  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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  Diatomaceous earth, used to create a filtration bed (from Brewing)
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  Hop cone grown in a hop field, Hallertau, Germany (from Brewing)
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  A selection of French craft beers (from Craft beer)
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  A mash tun at the Bass Museum in Burton-upon-Trent (from Brewing)
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  Lauter tun (from Brewing)
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  Bottling beer in a modern facility, 1945, Australia (from History of beer)
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  Cask ales with gravity dispense at a beer festival (from Brewing)
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  Bergenhus microbrewery, Bergen, Norway (from Craft beer)
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  Smoked beer from the Schlenkerla brewpub in Bamberg, Germany (from Craft beer)
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  A 16th-century brewery (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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  Casks of real ale from British microbreweries at a beer festival (from Craft beer)
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  Brew kettles at Brasserie La Choulette in France (from Brewing)
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  Microbreweries, regional breweries, and brew pubs per capita (from Craft beer)
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  Irish Craft Beer Festival, 2015 (from Craft 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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  Rock mortars in Raqefet Cave, used to make beer during the Stone Age. (from History of beer)
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  Spent grain, a brewing by-product (from Brewing)
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  Robohop, a session IPA from Cervisiam in Oslo, Norway (from Craft beer)
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  Philistine pottery beer jug (from History of beer)
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  Castaña, a smoked beer with chestnuts from Cerex in Extremadura, Spain (from Craft beer)
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  World beer consumption per capita (from History of beer)
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  Great Leap Brewing operates a chain of brewpubs in China (from Craft beer)
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  Põhjala Brewery, Estonia (from Craft beer)
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  Conditioning tanks at Anchor Brewing Company (from Brewing)
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  Pasteur Street Brewing, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (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 replica of ancient Egyptian beer, brewed from emmer wheat by the Courage brewery in 1996 (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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  Open vessels showing fermentation taking place (from Brewing)
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  Dogo Beer from Minakuchi-shuzō microbrewery in Matsuyama, Japan (from Craft beer)
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  Gambrinus – king of beer (from History of 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 hydrometer measures beer's specific gravity (from History of 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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  Malted barley before kilning or roasting (from Brewing)
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  A beer sommelier tapping a barrel for a taste at Nebraska Brewing Company (from Craft beer)
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  Bill Urquhart at Litchborough Brewery (from Craft 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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  The Caledonian Brewery, founded in 1869, Edinburgh, Scotland (from History of beer)

Beer topics

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Selected quote -

“ Beer, if drunk with moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health ” — Thomas Jefferson

Related portals

Beer lists

• Beer and breweries by region
• Beer and nationality
• List of beer organisations
• List of beer styles
• List of commercial brands of beer
• List of countries by beer consumption per capita
• List of World Beer Cup awards

Things you can do

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Beer is an association of Wikipedians with an interest in beer and beer-related subjects. They have come together to coordinate the development of beer and brewery articles here on Wikipedia. Additionally, other groups have formed other projects that entertain subjects that are directly related to beer, bartending and pubs. Additionally, the mixed drinks project covers topics that include beer cocktails. If any of these subjects pique your interest, please feel free to visit their projects. These groups would love to have you participate!

Parent project: WikiProject Food and Drink	view
Child projects:	Task forces: (All inactive)
Wikiproject Bacon (inactive) WikiProject Bartending (inactive) WikiProject Beer WikiProject Breakfast (inactive) WikiProject Fishing and Fisheries WikiProject Spirits (semi-active) Wikiproject Wine (inactive)	Beverages task force Cheeses task force Coffee and Tea task force Desserts task force Foodservice task force Herbs and Spices task force Pub task force
Related projects:
WikiProject Agriculture

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