Beer

Top 7 Beer Facts you need to know on International Beer Day

04 Aug, 2015

Whether you’re a lager lover or a pale ale connoisseur, there’s no excuse not to head to the pub the 1st Friday of August for a glass of your favourite brew. International Beer Day started as a local event in Santa Cruz some 8 years ago but is now celebrated in more than 207 cities in 150 countries around the world. The best opportunity to enjoy and taste new beers!

Beer styles

Here’s a short recap on what is what before reading on. Pale ale is one of the world’s most appreciated beer styles. It is made by warm fermentation using pale malt, giving it its light colour. Stout is a dark beer produced using roasted malts or barley. You may also know it under “Porter”. This name was first used in 1721 to describe the dark beer that street and river porters in London drank. Mild ale is usually dark with a malty palate. Like its name suggests, wheat beer is produced using predominantly wheat. The difference between a lager and an ale has nothing to do with the beer’s taste but has to do with the type of yeast used during fermentation and the brewing temperature.

But how much do you know about the world’s most popular beverage?

7 beer facts you didn’t know

  1. Beer is one of the world’s oldest beverage, with historical evidence tracing it back to 9500 BC in Egypt…. and soon became the local currency! Egyptian pyramid workers were paid with 4 liters of beer per day.
  1. Although the beer industry is associated by many to a male environment, women killed it until recently. In Egypt, women brewed beer to give to Tjenenet, the goddess of both beer and childbirth. At that time beer was considered effeminate and was thus consumed by women whilst men preferred a glass of wine.
  1. Pale lager comes from the German word lagern meaning “to store” as German brewers stored their beers in cool cellars during the warm summer months.
  1. Beer also has its mythological God! Sabazios was cherished in the Balkan peninsula whilst Dyonisos personified wine. His name comes from sabaium, meaning beer.
  1. In the Middle ages, beer was consumed more than water that was considered risky to drink. Nowadays, Germans consume over 160 liters a year and British 101 liters.
  1. The strongest beer in the world is the British Snake Venom…. with a 67.5% alcohol content. Better sip this one slowly!
  2. A beer wave of 1,470,000 liters flooded London in 1814 after a huge vat ruptured at the Meux and Company Brewery on Tottenham Court road. We can only imagine what the people did in the street…

Beer recommendations

The Notting Hill Summer from Moncada is a good summer beer. It’s light and zesty with subtle tropical fruit aromas and fresh citrus notes. A must have under the summer sun.

The Bristol HEFE from the Bristol Beer Factory is a German style wheat beer with banana, bubble- gum and grapefruit aromas. Try it with chicken, it’s delicious.

The Blue Moon is an all-timer. Made from unfiltered wheat and spiced following the Belgian tradition for a smooth finish, it displays orange peel and coriander notes.

Fancy something summery? Try a Monaco, a beer cocktail made with grenadine syrup and lemonade.

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