According to statistics, beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in the world. By the way, in the overall ranking of all consumed liquids, beer distinguished itself, taking third place in popularity after water and tea.
It is no coincidence that beer attracts so much attention. It is not only a very aromatic and tasty drink, but also a very healthy one. There are a great many different types of beer, so every beer gourmet can find an option to their liking.
The German Beer Purity Law is a recognized quality mark worldwide. In 2016, the oldest of the current laws turns 500 years old. According to it, beer can only be brewed using ingredients such as hops, barley, yeast and water. To celebrate this occasion, we decided to provide some figures and interesting facts about the beer market in Germany, Europe and the world.
1. Hops help fight cancer
Hops are an important component of beer. It is what makes this drink so aromatic and tasty. Scientists have long studied the properties of hops, its effect on the human body and came to the conclusion that it helps in the fight against cancer. Hops contain even more antioxidants than red wine and green tea.
2. Drinking beer helps strengthen bones
The beneficial properties of beer do not end there. It contains silicon. The value of this substance is that it promotes better deposition of calcium and minerals in bone tissue.
3. Beer festivals are held all over the world.
The love for beer knows no bounds. Fans of this foamy drink all over the world organize and attend beer festivals, where various brewing companies present their range, conduct tastings, competitions and organize entertainment. The most popular beer festival today is the German Oktoberfest. It takes place annually in Munich and attracts more than 6 million visitors.
4. The first professional brewers were women
Brewing became a male occupation only at the end of the 18th century. Before that, professional brewers were women. This trend was observed in all countries where beer was brewed, including European ones. By the way, women also often became patronesses of beer. For example, the ancient Sumerians called the goddess of beer Ninkasi, and the Egyptians called her Menket.
5. There are phobias associated with beer
Beer has become so popular that it has given rise to phobias. Chenosillicaphobia, for example, is the fear of an empty glass of beer. And this phobia is understandable, because you don’t want the aromatic drink to run out.
6. Beer was brewed in Ancient Babylon
Beer is considered not only one of the most popular, but also one of the most ancient drinks. According to some sources, the first beer was brewed in the Neolithic era, that is, 9,500 years ago BC. Some scientists even tend to believe that in Ancient Babylon, bad brewers who prepared a drink of inadequate quality were drowned in a poorly brewed batch.
7. There are currently over 400 types of beer
Today, the brewing industry is a thriving and growing market segment. There are about 400 types of beer. Trying them all is no easy task. Belgium has the largest number of individual beer brands. Other favorite countries that produce the best beer are Germany, the Czech Republic and England.
8. The most expensive bottle of beer costs $1,000
Beer is not such an affordable alcoholic drink. Of course, you can find the most budget options in any supermarket, but they hardly have anything in common with real beer. Prices for this foamy drink fluctuate greatly. Thus, the most expensive bottle of beer in the world costs about 1000 dollars.
9. Guinness bubbles are not like the others
Guinness is popular all over the world. This Irish dark beer has long since transformed into a household name. Pouring it into a glass correctly is a real art. An interesting fact about Guinness: the bubbles of this beer do not rise to the surface, but sink to the bottom of the glass. All other types of beer cannot boast of such a feature.
10. The Czech Republic drinks the most beer
The Czech Republic is the country that drinks the most beer. This has been confirmed for many years now, and no one has yet managed to catch up with or surpass the Czechs. The data is calculated based on the amount of beer consumed per capita of the male population. This figure is almost 152 liters per year.
By the way, another beer record, set in the Czech Republic, is the fastest speed of drinking a liter of beer. A Czech emptied a liter bottle in 4.11 seconds.
11. There is a separate science that studies beer.
The popularity and useful properties of the foamy drink could not go unnoticed. Beer is studied today in a very adult and serious way. There is even a whole science that studies all the intricacies of brewing and evaluates the composition of the popular alcoholic drink. It is called zitology.
12. Beer prevents the formation of kidney stones
Another useful property of beer, which is important for human health, is that beer prevents the formation of kidney stones. The data was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Scientists have found that a bottle of beer a day reduces the risk of kidney stones by 40 percent.
13. A liter of beer is healthier than a liter of milk
Scientists from the Munich Institute of Beer (yes, there is one!) have established an interesting fact. It has now been scientifically proven that 1 liter of unfiltered beer is 10 times healthier than 1 liter of milk. This is due to the rich composition and unique substances that are mainly found only in beer.
14. There are glasses for each type of beer.
Drinking beer from a bottle is a successful marketing ploy and a big mistake. Beer sommeliers will tell you that you should never do this if you want to taste the true taste and understand the rich aroma of the foamy drink. By the way, different glasses are suitable for each type and there are a lot of them. So beer is not such a simple drink as it may seem at first glance.
15. Oldest brewery
There is evidence that Benedictine monks in Freising began brewing beer as early as the 8th century. However, St. Stephen's Monastery received official permission from the church authorities to produce and sell it only in 1040.
16. Veltins
Veltins is a German brewery founded in 1824. It is located in the city of Meschede. The owner since 1994 is Susanne Veltins. This enterprise is the leader of the German market in the segment of low-alcohol drinks. In 1997, the company became the main sponsor of FC Schalke 04, and in 2005, a football stadium in Gelsenkirchen was named in its honor.
17. Leading Beer Producers in the World
The chart shows that German breweries are dwarfed by multinationals, the largest of which, Anheuser-Busch InBev, is on the verge of taking over number two, SABMiller, in a deal that would cost the company more than 100 billion euros.
18. Bitburger
The Bitburger brewery was founded in 1817 in Bitburg, Germany. Its current owners, the Simon family, are direct descendants of the founder, brewer Johann Peter Wallenborn. Today, Bitburger beer is sold in 60 countries and is ranked 3rd among the best beers in Germany with an annual sales volume of 3.8 million liters.
19. Beer consumption in the world
If you look at the data on beer consumption in different regions of the world, Asia is the undisputed leader. Europe follows. Although, the average European drinks more beer than, for example, a Chinese.
20. Krombacher Brauerei
Krombacher Brauerei is one of the largest private breweries in Germany. It is located in the Krombie district of the town of Kreuztal. It was founded on February 4, 1803 by Johannes Haas. Since 1922, it has belonged to the Schadeberg family. It ranks first among the best beers in Germany.
21. Beer consumption in Germany
Beer consumption in Germany has been steadily declining since its peak in 1980. At that time, statistics showed that each German drank an average of 146 liters of beer per year, while in 2015, beer consumption per capita was 106 liters. For example, Czechs drink much more on average – 144 liters.
22. Oettinger
Oettinger is a German beer brand, the leader of the country's domestic market in terms of total sales. It was founded in 1731 in the small Bavarian town of Oettingen. The brewery operates on the discounter principle: high quality at a low price. Direct sales and no advertising.
23. Best Breweries
When it comes to beer production volumes, Oettinger and Krombacher are vying for first place. Last year, according to preliminary data, Krombacher pulled ahead thanks to higher exports.
24. Diversity
Many well-known German beer brands have long belonged to multinational brewing corporations. However, the real charm lies in the numerous small enterprises of the 1,350 German breweries. In total, there are over 5,500 individual beer brands in the country. Having produced almost 96 million hectoliters of beer, Germany is the largest beer producer in Europe as of 2015.
What do we know about beer? That it is a great antidepressant and a must-have for any friendly party? Do you know about the oldest beer in the world or who is the world champion in gulping beer? Today I present to you a selection of the most interesting facts about beer, collected from various sources
25. The oldest beer in the world
In 2010, a shipwreck was found off Finland. In the ship's hold, they found a real treasure - the world's oldest drinkable beer. It tasted like burnt cork and had a sour aftertaste (the latter was attributed to the fermentation process, while the actual taste was supposedly much more pleasant). Now they are going to start producing a new brand of beer based on this ancient recipe.
26. Monks and beer
In 1040, monks from the town of Weihenstephan received permission to brew beer. The pious brothers quickly got a taste for the drink and took the risk of asking the Pope for permission to drink beer during Lent. In order to explain their love for the drink, they sent a messenger to the Pope with a keg of excellent beer. The roads in those days were not particularly convenient, so the monk's journey was delayed, and along the way the beer went sour. After taking a sip, the Pope winced and said that such filth could be drunk at any time, even during Lent, because there was no pleasure, and therefore no sin, in it.
27. Pyramids and beer
In Ancient Egypt, the Nile River contained so many bacteria that locals preferred to drink beer instead of water. Scientists were able to find out the recipe for the English beer "Tutankhamun", which costs about 2,500 rubles a bottle, only by conducting a complex analysis of ancient beverage storage containers found in the pyramids.
During the construction of the world-famous Egyptian pyramids, workers were given beer three times a day. It is not known how this affected productivity, but at least it prevented riots.
28. Ancient Babylon and beer
In ancient Babylon, brewing low-quality beer was punishable by death. By law, any brewer who risked diluting the drink with water was sentenced to drowning in a barrel containing the fruits of his own dishonest labor or drinking the same product until death.
Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony, who was generally a capable and able ruler, loved beer so much that he got drunk on this drink almost every day and considered a day wasted when he failed to do so. On the morning of the Battle of Malberg (April 24, 1547), his confidants began to ask the Elector to make an exception this time and not drink beer. The Elector responded indignantly: "Do you really want this day to be wasted for me at all costs?" He got drunk as usual, lost the battle and was captured by Emperor Charles V, losing his electorate.
29. Japanese and beer
Japanese company Ginza Tanaka, well known for its gold works such as gold thread embroidered swimsuits, a gold Santa Claus, a gold Christmas tree and a gold replica of the Tokyo Tower, has decided to produce another masterpiece called Summer Cool, a real beer mug made of pure gold, worth 50 thousand US dollars.
A Japanese goldsmith says drinking beer from this mug is cooler than driving a luxury car. It uses 850 grams of pure gold (30 ounces) to make the mug.
There is another interesting fact about the Japanese. One Japanese company decided to make something unusual out of a traditional drink and developed a recipe for hard beer. Using thickeners based on fruit juices, the beer was brought to a jelly-like state and sold in cups similar to yogurt cups. Everyone could dilute it at their own discretion.
30. Peruvian beer made from saliva
Chicha is a traditional Peruvian corn beer that is said to have been brewed as far back as the Inca era. Its secret ingredient is quite unusual – saliva. There are many strange bacteria and enzymes in the human mouth. Some of them can actually replace the brewing process. This means that the fermentation process of corn can be activated by chewing it, moistening it in your mouth, and then spitting it into the beer mixture.
31. Scarecrows and beer
Taxidermy is certainly one of the few things that you wouldn't associate with beer. At least, that's what most people think. But British brewery BrewDog clearly disagrees, and in 2011 released the world's strongest beer, at 55 percent ABV. And the main gimmick was that each bottle of the drink, which was called "The End of History," was placed inside a taxidermy animal (with the cork sticking out of its mouth).
32. Beer cans
Beer cans are used to make all sorts of things: airplane models, Darth Vader minifigures, candlesticks… But 23-year-old British student Jack Kirby covered his car with a mosaic of beer cans. According to the student, he drank 4 cans of beer a day and collected them. In three years, the young man had accumulated 4 thousand cans. From this collection, he made a 1965 Ford Mustang.
Every summer, the city of Darwin (Australia) hosts beer can boat racing competitions. The appearance of the boats depends on the owner's imagination. In the history of the competition, there have been 65-meter sailboats and ambulance-shaped ships. Beer can boat racing has been held since 1974, after a hurricane hit the city and many workers were invited for restoration work. Beer consumption increased, and such competitions became a kind of way to get rid of garbage. Since then, the races have become the main and most spectacular event in the city.
33. Beer alcoholism
And in Zambia, they have learned to extract real benefits for the household from beer. Here it serves as an ancient means of fighting rodents. At night, bowls with a mixture of milk and beer are placed throughout the house, and in the morning, drunken mice and rats can be collected with bare hands.
34. Beer from the tap
One day, real beer, instead of water, started pouring out of the taps of the Polish city of Bydgoszcz. The cause was an accident at the brewery, as a result of which beer was directed under pressure into the city pipeline. Thus, one small breakdown was able to make the population of at least several neighborhoods happy.
35. Elephants and beer
In the US state of Missouri, there is a law that prohibits giving elephants beer. Apparently, this was a consequence of the events in the Indian village of Jauhati, which was attacked by 20 elephants, which emptied the beer barrels of a local brewery and committed a real genocide on the local population, as a result of which many were maimed and five people died.
36. Men with strollers
In Great Harwood, in the English county of Lancashire, there is a popular wheelchair race. The distance is 5 miles. Only men take part. Their task is not only not to tip over the wheelchair while pushing it in front of them, but also to drink a pint of beer in each of the 14 pubs located along the course.
37. Beer motivation
A peculiar method of stimulating labor and strengthening discipline existed at one time in one of the auxiliary shops of the Perm Motor-Building Association. Every week, workers were given 6 bottles of beer. Absentees and other violators of discipline were deprived of this reward. According to the administration, such an innovation is much more effective than raising wages.
38. Beer Museum
Beer museums can be found in many parts of the world, but the largest is located in the US state of Kentucky. The museum exhibits more than a million exhibits, not counting the collection of labels, caps and cans, including ancient brewing equipment. The museum presents a rich exposition on the history of American breweries and brewing in America. Plus, the museum has a huge beer hall with more than 1,000 seats.
39. Beer records
The record holder for drinking the foamy drink is Steven Petrosino, who drank a liter of beer in 1.3 seconds. This achievement was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Steven took part in a beer-drinking competition held in Carlisle (USA, Pennsylvania). The record was set on June 22, 1977. The previous champion was Peter Dowdeswell, who drank a liter of beer in 2.3 seconds. By the way, in 1977, a Frenchman from Carlisle distinguished himself with an unprecedented speed in drinking beer. He also "swallowed" a liter of foamy drink in 1.3 seconds. But for some reason, his record was not included in the Guinness Book.
