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 -

Philistine pottery beer jug

Beer is one of the oldest human-produced drinks. The first chemically confirmed barley-beer – from the area of Mesopotamia, part of modern-day Iraq – dates back to the 5th millennium BCE. The written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia records the use of beer, and the drink has spread throughout the world; a 3,900-year-old Sumerian poem honouring Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing, contains the oldest surviving beer-recipe, describing the production of beer from barley bread, and in China, residue on pottery dating from around 5,000 years ago shows that beer was brewed using barley and other grains.

Some say the invention of bread and beer led to the development of technology and static civilization. (Full article...)

Selected brand -

Peeterman Artois was a wheat-based 4% ABV global lager first brewed in Belgium. It is brewed by InBev. It was named after St. Peeter, the patron saint of Leuven in Belgium where the Artois brewery is based. It was launched alongside Beck's Vier as a mid-strength beer to capitalise on the trend towards weaker strength lagers, as opposed to Stella Artois at 5.2% and standard Beck's at 5%. In December 2008, InBev announced it would withdraw Peeterman Artois (and Eiken Artois) in favour of a 4% version of Stella Artois. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

I. Patricia Henry (born August 20, 1947) is the first African American woman to hold a lead management position at a major U.S. brewery (Miller Brewing Company now MillerCoors in Eden, NC.) In 1990, she became the first female brewmaster to head the plant's entire brewing process in Eden, NC; in 1995 she became the first African American and woman plant manager of any beer brewery in the United States.

The MillerCoors plant in Eden, NC produces 9 million barrels a year. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

• ... that Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Phillip Eng brews his own beer?
• ... that some online social and "Barstool conservatives" spent their Christmas holidays arguing about whether a beer promotional calendar was "demonic"?
• ... that 100 beerhouses were licensed in Brighton (population 40,000) in the first week after the Beerhouse Act 1830 was enacted?
• ... 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?
• ... that the patu clubs on the New Zealand threepence were compared to bottles of ginger beer?
• ... that the debate in "Game On" invokes the beer question?

Selected brewery -

Camerons Brewery is an English brewery established by John William Cameron in Stranton, Hartlepool, County Durham, in 1865. It is the largest independent brewer in the North East of England, with a brewery capacity of 1.5 million hectolitres (900,000 hl production in 2012) and a tied estate of 75 houses. It is one of the oldest industrial concerns in Hartlepool, and has historically been one of the largest employers.

After one hundred years of growth through brewery acquisitions, the company had an estate of 750 licensed premises throughout the North East and North Yorkshire by the 1960s. The company subsequently struggled as the economy of its trading heartland suffered, and as it underwent a succession of owners with little experience of pub and brewery management. Camerons lost its independence to Ellerman Lines in 1974, and was acquired by the Barclay Brothers in 1983 and then Brent Walker in 1989. Brent Walker spun-off the majority of the tied estate as a separate company called Pubmaster, which was acquired by Punch Taverns in 2003. (Full article...)

Selected image -

The landmark Grain Belt beer sign

Grain Belt (beer)

Credit: Mulad, June 4, 2005

The landmark Grain Belt beer sign on Nicollet Island in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

General images

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

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

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Beer and brewery stubs

Selected quote -

“ Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ” — Ben Franklin

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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