| The average annual per capita beer consumption in Belgium is more than 56
gallons; in the United States, it is 20 gallons.
While running for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758, George
Washington incurred campaign expenses for a hogshead of rum punch, 28.5
gallons of wine, eight quarts of cider royal and 43 gallons of beer. The
future president won the election with 301 votes more than any other
candidate.
Before prying open a bottle with a non-twist cap, carefully place a
quarter on top of the cap. This will prevent the bottle opener from
creasing or otherwise damaging the metal cap.
The word "balderdash," signifying nonsense or senseless talk or
writing, originated in the 17th century. At that time it referred to a
senseless mixture of liquids, such as milk and ale or beer and wine.
Strong bocks were traditionally brewed in the autumn or winter for
springtime enjoyment, but it was not unheard of to serve them at other
times of the year.
Many beer glasses indicate the level of a full pint with a barely
noticeable line about 3/4 inch below the rim. Called the Plimsoll line in
England, it is named after ship-building reformer Samuel Plimsoll, who is
better known for his universally accepted convention for marking the load
line on cargo ships.
The four basic ingredients in beer are yeast, malts, hops and yeast. The
exact role of yeast was unknown until 1876 when Louis Pasteur
scientifically established its function in the fermentation process.
In Europe, the designation "light" refers to the pale color of a
beer. In the United States, it identifies a lower-calorie brew.
Bitters are England's most popular draft beer. Extremely well
hopped, best (aka "special") bitter falls between ordinary (3% -
3.7% by volume) and extra special bitter (4.8 - 5.8% by vol.) in alcohol
strength. Badger Best is 4.1% by volume.
Prior to artificial refrigeration, beer makers avoided brewing
during warm months. Beer styles brewed during the summer period tended to
be light bodied and low in alcohol content to avoid spoilage. Typically
rather fruity and tangy, these brews were the forerunners of today's wheat
beers and other lighter-tasting brews.
Bowling alleys comprise 3% of all on-premise beer sales in the
United States.
Bock Beer, which is malty, sweet and strong, was originally brewed
in Germany to celebrate the spring planting season. It was also a favorite
brew during Lent, since it was filling enough to take care of hunger
pangs. Double bocks are more intense versions, most with higher alcohol
content than bocks.
The ancient Greeks and Egyptians made wine from barley. Today,
however, the term "barley wine" refers to a style of
strong-flavored full-bodied ale that is bittersweet and quite high in
alcohol content (6% to 12%).
After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called
aul, or
ale, the Vikings would head fearlessly into battle, often without armor or
even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare
shirt" in Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild
battles.
Historians report that the ancient Egyptians commonly hailed each other
with the greeting "Bread and Beer."
In ancient Greece, the word "symposium" originally meant a
number of men getting together for an evening of drink and good
conversation.
Bavaria is home to one-sixth the world's breweries. Not surprisingly,
Bavarians drink almost 48 gallons of beer per capita. In contrast, U.S.
beer consumption is around 22.1 gallons per person.
Reputedly the world's oldest brewery, Weihenstephan ("Holy Stephen" in
English) has been brewing beer on the same site since 1040. The Towns connection
to brewing goes back even earlier, to 768, with the first recorded documentation
of hop cultivation.
In 1740, Admiral Vernon of the British Fleet decided to water down the Navy's
rum. Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and began to call the
Admiral Old Grog after the stiff wool grogram coats he wore. The term
"grog" soon began to mean the watered-down drink itself.
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when
customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints
and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase, "Mind your P's
and Q's."
The traditional (and original) Oktoberfest celebration in Munich begins in
mid-September and ends 16 days and nights later on the first Sunday in October.
It was the accepted practice in Babylonia 4,000 years ago
that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his
son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because
their calendar was lunar-based, this period was called the "honey
month" - or what we know today as the honeymoon.
One of the actors who
played the Lone Ranger on the radio was named Brace Beemer? And that if you
rearrange the letters in his name, you can spell "Embrace Beer"?
Special beer glasses are often used on important and
celebratory occasions. In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, drinkers raise a tuplak,
a glass shaped like a boot, when offering a toast.
Konishiki,
reputed to be the world's largest sumo wrestler at 625 pounds, once consumed 100
glasses of beer and 70 pieces of sushi at one sitting.
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"Of beer an enthusiast has said that it could never be bad, but that
some brands might be better than others..."
- A.A. Milne
"I think this would be a good time for a beer."
-
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on December 6, 1933 when Prohibition
was repealed.
"Bread is the staff of life, but beer is life itself."
-
Anonymous
"If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt."
- Dean Martin
"Fermentation and civilization are inseparable."
- John Ciardi
"A great beer makes its own friends."
- Carlsbad Ale Works'
motto
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend
time with fools."
- "Papa" Ernest Hemmingway
"It takes beer to make thirst worthwhile."
- Old German saying
"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drank I feel
ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about all the workers in the
brewery and all their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they
might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to
myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams
come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
- Jack Handy
"24 hours in a day. 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?"
- Steven Wright
"Drink beer, the custom of the land."
- Epic of Gilgamesh, c. 2500 B.C.
"Without question the greatest invention in the history of
mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but
a wheel does not go as well with pizza."
- Dave Barry
"He was a
wise man who invented beer"
- Plato
"Whoever makes poor beer is transferred to the dung hill."
- Danzig (now Gdansk), Poland city ordinance, c. 1000 A.D.
"It was as natural as eating and to me as necessary, and I would not
have thought of eating a meal without drinking...beer."
- Ernest Hemingway
"There is nothing worse than a closed pub."
- California
alehouse pioneer Judy Ashworth
The church is near, but the road is icy,
The tavern is far, so I will walk carefully.
-unknown
Lady Astor: "Sir, if you were my husband, I would
poison my drink."
Winston Churchill: "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."
Lady Astor: "Sir, you're drunk!"
Churchill: "Yes, but in the morning, I will be sober, and you will still be ugly!"
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to
be happy."
- Benjamin Franklin
"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave
up reading."
- Henny Youngman
"A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have
the decency to thank her."
- W.C. Fields
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