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pokerface00 · 09-22-2012, 11:58 PM

So here are some cool beer facts from my website. I'd love to see people add to this so we can all learn some really wonderful things about our favorite past time!!

In Germany there is a beer ice cream in popsicle form. Its alcohol content is lower than that of classic beer.

 

The Code of Hammurabi of ancient Babylonia (c. 1750 B.C.) declared that a tradesman could be put to death for diluting beer.

 

In Medieval Europe, brewing and baking went together. Thus women were the first European brewers and were often called ale wives.

 

1810:Munich establishes Oktoberfest as an official celebration.

 

King Frederick the Great once banned coffee to bolster sagging beer sales.

 

In Babylon over 4000 years ago, it was customary for the bride\'s father to supply his new son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. As mead is a honey beer and their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the \'honey month\'– or what we know today as the \'honeymoon\'. In fact, Babylonians believed ifthe groom drank mead for an entire month, it enhanced the chances of his wife bearing a male heir.

 

In Bavaria, beer is legally defined as a staple food.

 

After consuming buckets of aul (or ale), the Vikings would head fearlessly into battle, often without armour or even shirts. In fact, 'berserk' means 'bareshirt' in Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild battles.

 

The first US lager was brewed in 1840 by John Wagner, who had a small brewery inthe back of his house on St. John Street in Philadelphia. Wagner brought the first lager yeast to the United States from a brewery in Bavaria.

 

Historians report that during the Middle Ages, when monks were brewing their beer in their monasteries, each monk was allowed to drink 5 quarts of beer a day.

 

Legend has it that Gambrinus, god of beer, challenged the devil to produce a “winewithout grapes.” The historical origin of the concoction we know today can befound in 12th-century Belgium, although the Egyptians had already created fermented-grain beverages well before then.

 

The pursuit of beer changed the course of humanity forever in 5000 BC. Neolithicpeople abandoned their wandering lives for farming, to grow grain for brewing beer.

 

In 1116 BC, Chinese imperial edict stated that heaven required people to drink beer.

 

The Egyptian pyramids were built on beer. Stonecutters, slaves and public officials were paid in a type of beer called \'kash\' – which is where the word \'cash\'originated.

 

In English pubs, unruly customers were told to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down – and so began the phrase 'mind your P\'s and Q\'s'. (Another explanation is customers were being warned about the potency of the beer. At\'freehouses\' where people could make and sell their own beer, there was less control on the alcohol content.)

 

The familiar Scandinavian toast sköl derives from scole, the drinking bowl shaped like the upper half of a human skull. Originally, these bowls were fashioned from the actual skulls of enemy killed in battle.

 

Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold and the yeast wouldn't grow; too hot and the yeast would die. This ancient practice is where we get the phrase'rule of thumb'.

 

Saint Arnold, a bishop born in 580, is considered the patron saint of beer. He encouraged people to drink beer instead of water during the Plague. Indeed, the Plague suddenly disappeared once his word spread (though some suggest because beer was boiled in the brewing process, it would have been safer than water,which had previously spread the infection.) When Saint Arnold died in 640, the citizens of his hometown carried his body from Remiremont to Metz for reburialin their church. On this journey, another miracle occurred – when the weary porters stopped to share their only mug of beer, they discovered the mug never ran dry.

 

The most expensive beer in the world? It's called “Tutankhamen” and is prepared according to the recipe recovered by a group of University of Cambridge archaeologists in Queen Nefertiti's Temple of the Sun in Egypt. It costs US $52 a bottle, and is produced in limited and numbered edition.

 

The pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock because they ran out of beer. Although they planned to continue down the east coast, the Mayflower's log explains the passengers 'were hasted ashore and made to drink water that the seamen might have the more beer'. On their arrival, the pilgrims immediately built a common house, which included a brewery.

 

In ancient times, monks who fasted or abstained from solid food subsisted on beer.

 

The music for 'The Star Spangled Banner' was derived from a British drinking songcalled 'Anacreon'.

 

Carlos V: This emperor was the first beer importer, and one of its most illustrious drinkers and aficionados. It's said that even in his retirement in Yuste, hekept a Flemish brewer in his reduced entourage.

The Stauff · 09-23-2012, 12:02 AM

Nice! I like the "wet your whistle" one!

pokerface00 · 09-23-2012, 12:03 AM

Assyrian tablets from 2000 BC stated that Noah was carrying beer aboard the ark.

 

The United States two-dollar bill features three brewers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams. In fact, George Washington installed a brewhouse on his grounds at Mount Vernon.

 

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get someservice. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

 

Beer wasn't sold in bottles until 1850. Beer lovers would visit their local tavern with a special bucket, have it filled and then begin the merry journey home.

 

Ale was brewed for centuries without hops. Before the 1400s, ale was flavoured with herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Yet the antiseptic quality of hops helped to preserve ale from spoiling and later became a vital part of its flavour.

 
In the Czech Republic, beeris cheaper than Coke. A half litre at the local pub costs just 30 cents (10.50CZK) while a half litre of Coke costs 85 cents (30 CZK). Beer is a little moreexpensive than club soda (which costs 29 cents, or 10 CZK, for a half litre).

pokerface00 · 09-23-2012, 12:05 AM

A labeorphilist is a collector of beer bottles.

 

Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty glass

 

A tegestologist is a collector of beer mats.

 

A flood of beer swept through the streets of St. Giles,England, on 17 October 1814. Caused by a rupture in a brewery tank containing3500 barrels of beer, the tidal wave killed nine people and demolished twohouses.

 

Universities in Europe and America from the 1300s throughthe 1700s had in-house breweries to provide beer to the students. Harvard hadits own brew house in 1674 and five beer halls, each burned down by riotingdivinity students.

 

The first six-pack of beer was produced by the Pabst Breweryin the 1940s. The brewery conducted numerous studies, which found six cans werethe ideal weight for the average housewife to carry home from the store.

 

Ancient Egyptians brewed beer in just three days, due to thehot climate. Served as a still fermenting cereal mash, they would drink itthrough straws from a communal bowl.

 

In eleventh-century England, a bride would distribute ale toher wedding guests in exchange for donations to the newlyweds. This brew, knownas Bride Ale, is the origin of the word \'bridal\'.

 

One method of checking a beer\'s quality is the way in whichthe foam adheres to the side of the glass after each sip. Beer connoisseurscall this “Brussels lace.”

 

By 3000 BC, the Egyptians were brewing at least sixdifferent types of beer.

 

1888: Citizens of Munich took to the streets and riotedafter a beer price increase was announced.

 

In 1740, Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided towater down the navy\'s rum. The unhappy sailors nicknamed the Admiral \'OldGrog\', after his wool grogram coats. The term \'grog\' soon began to mean thewatered down drink itself.

 

Czechs drink the most beer in the world per capita – anaverage of 160 litres a year per person.

 

In olde England, town inns paid a government tax known as a\'scot\' for serving beer. Beer lovers who left town to drink at rural pubswere said to be drinking \'scot free\'.

 

Root Beer was origionally called Root Tea, however the namewas changed to Root Beer to get more people to take interest in it.

 

Beer recipes have been found on Babylonian clay tablets fromover 6000 years ago.

 

Guinness sells an average of 7 million glasses a day.

 

The British Army supplied its men with a cash allowance forbeer, considered a vital nutritional staple on long overseas missions. Withthis allowance of one penny, soldiers enjoyed six pints of ale every day.

 

1587: The first beer is brewed in the New World at SirWalter Raleigh\'s colony in Virginia, but the colonists send requests toEngland for better beer

 

A beer a day... Beer was used to treat over 100 illnesses inEgypt, 1600 BC.

 

In the 13th century, King Wenceslas convinced the Pope torevoke an order banning the brewing of beer in Czech territories (no wonder hewas known as \'Good King Wenceslas).

 

In Egypt, two containers of beer were the minimum wage for aday's labour.

 

American beer is predominately made from rice. That is whyit tastes so light compared to foriegn beers. This is purely an Americaninvention to increase profits as they hoped a lighter beer would also drawwomen to purchase.

 

Beer was often served for breakfast in medieval England.

 

It was customary in the 13th century to baptize childrenwith beer.

**Pasta_Fazool** · 09-23-2012, 01:57 AM

Now this is a REALLY cool read! I'd love to see more.

**NordeastBrewer77** · 09-27-2012, 04:39 PM

I definitely have a pretty bad case of Cenosillicaphobia!

Cool read, man, keep 'em comin'!!