Portal:Beer
Introduction

Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly from malted barley, though wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. During the brewing process, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilizing agent. Other flavouring agents such as gruit, herbs, or fruits may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, the natural carbonation effect is often removed during processing and replaced with forced carbonation.
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 parlours, 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 in a culture with few literate people.
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), although it may vary between 0.5% and 20%, with some breweries creating examples of 40% ABV and above.
Beer forms part of the culture of many nations and is associated with social traditions such as beer festivals, as well as a rich pub culture involving activities like pub crawling, pub quizzes and pub games.
When beer is distilled, the resulting liquor is a form of whisky. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that one user said of JOSS, an interactive programming system at RAND, "it's better than beer"?
- ... that Aldersbach brewery was founded more than 750 years ago at Aldersbach Abbey in Lower Bavaria?
- ... that the German police were called to investigate Deutsches Reichsbräu beer because of the Nazi-style imagery on its logo?
- ... that brewer Sophie de Ronde is allergic to most beer?
- ... that Richard Platt, a master brewer, founded Aldenham School and arranged for the Company of Brewers to pay the boys beer money?
- ... that when Louisville, Kentucky's WKYW radio became religious station WFIA in 1965, it ceased accepting beer, wine and tobacco commercials?
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“ | Water is drunk by the four legged beast; man prefers it with hops, malts, and yeast. | ” |
German Trinkspruch |
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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 | |
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