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Beer is the world's oldest and most popular alcoholic beverage, selling more than 133 billion litres (35 billion gallons) per year. It is produced through the fermentation of starch-based material, commonly barley, though cassava root in Africa, potato in Brazil, and agave in Mexico, among other starch sources, have been used.
Alcoholic beverages made from the fermentation of sugars derived from nonstarch sources (e.g., grape juice or honey), and beverages which are distilled after fermentation are not considered to be beer.
Because the ingredients and procedures used to make beer can differ, characteristics such as taste and colour may also vary. While local names for beers made with the same methods and ingredients vary, the similarities of method and ingredients can be detected to form a study of the nature of beer styles.
Beer is one of the oldest human-produced beverages, possibly dating back to at least the 7th millennium BC (perhaps prior even to bread), and recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.Earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500-3100 BC.As almost any substance containing carbohydrates, namely sugar or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world.
In Europe, beer was being produced by or for monasteries as early as the 7th century. By the 14th and 15th centuries, beer had achieved great popularity, at least in part because health epidemics made drinking beer safer than drinking water. However it was not until the 17th century, according to Michael Jackson, that beer took on the styles and flavours that we might recognise in the beers of today.
Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of several multinational companies, and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries.
The basic ingredients of beer are water, a fermentable starch source, such as malted barley, and yeast. It is common for a flavouring to be added, the most popular being hops. A mixture of starch sources may be used, with the secondary starch source, such as corn, rice and sugar, often being termed an adjunct, especially when used as a lower cost substitute for malted barley.
A great many beers are brewed across the globe. Local traditions will give beers different names, giving the impression of a multitude of different styles. However, the basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries.
The British beer writer Michael Jackson wrote about beers from around the world in his 1977 book The World Guide To Beer and organised them into local style groups based on local information. This book had an influence on craft and homebrewers in United States who developed an intricate system of categorising beers which is exemplified by the Beer Judge Certification Program.
The traditional European brewing nations - the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, The Netherlands and Austria - all have their own local beer histories which inform minor variations. In some countries - notably the USA, Canada and Australia - brewers have adapted European styles to such an extent that they have effectively created their own indigenous types.
There are a number of related beverages such as kvass, sahti and pulque.
Africa: Hundreds of local drinks made from millet, sorghum, and other available starch crops.
Andes, South America: Chicha, an Andean beverage made from germinated maize.
Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and Sikkim: Chhaang, a popular semi-fermented rice/millet drink in the eastern Himalaya.
China: Jiǔ refers to all alcoholic drinks, most of which are distilled liquors (báijiǔ), but there are traditional grain-based relatives of beer such as sulima, made by the Mosuo people, and lijiang yinjiu, made by the Nakhi people, both in the Lijiang region of Yunnan.
Finland: Sahti, a traditional Finnish beer.
Indonesia: Brem, a Balinese fermented rice wine.
Japan: Sake, a rice-based fermented drink.
Korea: Soju
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia: Kumis (in Kyrgyz called kymyz), is the fermented mare's milk drink popular in many parts of Central Asia and Mongolia. It is very easy to obtain as it is sold in any market and at small stands on the side of the highway in rural areas as a source of income for the local nomads.
Kyrgyzstan: Bozo is a low alcohol, somewhat porridgey drink made from millet. The Kyrgyz are also fans of kymyz (see kumis).
Mexico: Pulque, an indigenous beer made from the fermented sap of the agave plant.
Russia/Ukraine: Kvass, a fermented nonalcoholic or mildly alcoholic beverage.
Bouza: An ancient Egyptian beer made from bread which is still made in Sudan.
Some Celtic peoples of the European Iron Age drank, according to some classical sources, a type of beer known as korma.
Alcoholic beverages made from the fermentation of sugars derived from nonstarch sources (e.g., grape juice or honey), and beverages which are distilled after fermentation are not considered to be beer.
Because the ingredients and procedures used to make beer can differ, characteristics such as taste and colour may also vary. While local names for beers made with the same methods and ingredients vary, the similarities of method and ingredients can be detected to form a study of the nature of beer styles.
Beer is one of the oldest human-produced beverages, possibly dating back to at least the 7th millennium BC (perhaps prior even to bread), and recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.Earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500-3100 BC.As almost any substance containing carbohydrates, namely sugar or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world.
In Europe, beer was being produced by or for monasteries as early as the 7th century. By the 14th and 15th centuries, beer had achieved great popularity, at least in part because health epidemics made drinking beer safer than drinking water. However it was not until the 17th century, according to Michael Jackson, that beer took on the styles and flavours that we might recognise in the beers of today.
Today, the brewing industry is a huge global business, consisting of several multinational companies, and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries.
The basic ingredients of beer are water, a fermentable starch source, such as malted barley, and yeast. It is common for a flavouring to be added, the most popular being hops. A mixture of starch sources may be used, with the secondary starch source, such as corn, rice and sugar, often being termed an adjunct, especially when used as a lower cost substitute for malted barley.
A great many beers are brewed across the globe. Local traditions will give beers different names, giving the impression of a multitude of different styles. However, the basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries.
The British beer writer Michael Jackson wrote about beers from around the world in his 1977 book The World Guide To Beer and organised them into local style groups based on local information. This book had an influence on craft and homebrewers in United States who developed an intricate system of categorising beers which is exemplified by the Beer Judge Certification Program.
The traditional European brewing nations - the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, The Netherlands and Austria - all have their own local beer histories which inform minor variations. In some countries - notably the USA, Canada and Australia - brewers have adapted European styles to such an extent that they have effectively created their own indigenous types.
There are a number of related beverages such as kvass, sahti and pulque.
Africa: Hundreds of local drinks made from millet, sorghum, and other available starch crops.
Andes, South America: Chicha, an Andean beverage made from germinated maize.
Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and Sikkim: Chhaang, a popular semi-fermented rice/millet drink in the eastern Himalaya.
China: Jiǔ refers to all alcoholic drinks, most of which are distilled liquors (báijiǔ), but there are traditional grain-based relatives of beer such as sulima, made by the Mosuo people, and lijiang yinjiu, made by the Nakhi people, both in the Lijiang region of Yunnan.
Finland: Sahti, a traditional Finnish beer.
Indonesia: Brem, a Balinese fermented rice wine.
Japan: Sake, a rice-based fermented drink.
Korea: Soju
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia: Kumis (in Kyrgyz called kymyz), is the fermented mare's milk drink popular in many parts of Central Asia and Mongolia. It is very easy to obtain as it is sold in any market and at small stands on the side of the highway in rural areas as a source of income for the local nomads.
Kyrgyzstan: Bozo is a low alcohol, somewhat porridgey drink made from millet. The Kyrgyz are also fans of kymyz (see kumis).
Mexico: Pulque, an indigenous beer made from the fermented sap of the agave plant.
Russia/Ukraine: Kvass, a fermented nonalcoholic or mildly alcoholic beverage.
Bouza: An ancient Egyptian beer made from bread which is still made in Sudan.
Some Celtic peoples of the European Iron Age drank, according to some classical sources, a type of beer known as korma.
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