Portal:Beer

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 The Beer Portal  

Introduction

At the Café by Édouard Manet, circa 1879

Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the grain to sugars, which dissolve in water to form wort. Fermentation of the wort by yeast produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, and one of the most popular of all drinks. 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.

Beer is distributed in bottles and cans, and is commonly available on draught 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).

Some of the earliest writings mention the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) included laws regulating it, while "The Hymn to Ninkasi", a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, contains a recipe for it. 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 games. (Full article...)

Selected articles -

Horse Shoe Brewery, London, c. 1800

The London Beer Flood was an accident at Meux & Co's Horse Shoe Brewery, London, on 17 October 1814. It took place when one of the 22-foot-tall (6.7 m) wooden vats of fermenting porter burst. The escaping liquid dislodged the valve of another vessel and destroyed several large barrels: between 128,000 and 323,000 imperial gallons (580,000–1,470,000 L; 154,000–388,000 US gal) of beer were released in total.

The resulting wave of porter destroyed the back wall of the brewery and swept into an area of slum dwellings known as the St Giles rookery. Eight people were killed, five of them mourners at the wake being held by an Irish family for a two-year-old boy. The coroner's inquest returned a verdict that the eight had lost their lives "casually, accidentally and by misfortune". The brewery was nearly bankrupted by the event; it avoided collapse after a rebate from HM Excise on the lost beer. The brewing industry gradually stopped using large wooden vats after the accident. The brewery moved in 1921, and the Dominion Theatre is now where the brewery used to stand. Meux & Co went into liquidation in 1961. (Full article...)

Selected brand -

Boddingtons Bitter is a straw-golden bitter beer originally produced by Boddington & Co at their Strangeways Brewery in Manchester. It is now owned by AB-InBev and produced at their brewery in Samlesbury, Lancashire.

It is notable as one of the first beers to be packaged in cans containing a widget, giving it a creamy draught-style head. In the 1990s, the beer was heavily marketed as The Cream of Manchester in an advertising campaign credited with raising the city's profile. Adverts from 1996 to 1999 featured Melanie Sykes, who returned to the adverts in 2017 to mark 21 years since her first advert. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

Drawing of Alderman Brain published in The Weekly Mail with his obituary article on 21 February 1903

Samuel Arthur Brain (4 May 1850 – 19 February 1902) was a brewery entrepreneur in Cardiff, Wales, founder of Brain's Brewery. He was also a JP and local councillor, becoming an alderman and Mayor of Cardiff. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

• ... that weightlifter Wu Tsai-fu drank six huge glasses of beer to help himself urinate for a drug test?
• ... that Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Phillip Eng brews his own beer?
• ... that the annual operating cost of the Grain Belt Beer Sign dropped from $48,000 to $7,500 after it was renovated with LED lighting?
• ... that the offices of Hamm's Brewery in Saint Paul, Minnesota, were built on the site of the city's third cathedral?
• ... that 100 beerhouses were licensed in Brighton (population 40,000) in the first week after the Beerhouse Act 1830 was enacted?
• ... that the patu clubs on the New Zealand threepence were compared to bottles of ginger beer?

Selected brewery -

The Pearl Brewing Company (also known as the Pearl Brewery or just Pearl) was an American brewery established in 1883 in downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. In 1985, Pearl's parent company purchased the Pabst Brewing Company and assumed the Pabst name.

In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing on a contract basis and closed all of its own breweries. Pearl beer is still in production at Miller's Fort Worth, Texas, facility, but the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio was closed in 2001. Since then, the former brewery was purchased by Silver Ventures Inc, which has used the property as part of the revitalization efforts of southern Midtown and northern downtown San Antonio. (Full article...)

Selected image -

La Wambrenchies beer.

La Wambrenchies beer.

Credit: Jérôme Sautret (Zubro)

La Wambrechiess beer.

General images

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

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  The Caledonian Brewery, founded in 1869, Edinburgh, Scotland (from History of beer)
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  Spent grain, a brewing by-product (from Brewing)
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  Cask ales with gravity dispense at a beer festival (from Brewing)
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  Mexican craft beer from Tequixquiac in Zumpango Region (from Craft beer)
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  Robohop, a session IPA from Cervisiam in Oslo, Norway (from Craft beer)
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  Pasteur Street Brewing, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (from Craft beer)
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  Castaña, a smoked beer with chestnuts from Cerex in Extremadura, Spain (from Craft beer)
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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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  Põhjala Brewery, Estonia (from Craft beer)
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  World beer consumption per capita (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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  Brew kettles at Brasserie La Choulette in France (from Brewing)
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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. (from Craft beer)
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  Bottling beer in a modern facility, 1945, Australia (from History of beer)
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  Philistine pottery beer jug (from History of beer)
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  Diatomaceous earth, used to create a filtration bed (from Brewing)
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  Hop cone grown in a hop field, Hallertau, Germany (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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  Bill Urquhart at Litchborough Brewery (from Craft beer)
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  Dogo Beer from Minakuchi-shuzō microbrewery in Matsuyama, Japan (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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  Smoked beer from the Schlenkerla brewpub in Bamberg, Germany (from Craft beer)
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  Microbreweries, regional breweries, and brew pubs per capita (from Craft beer)
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  Zoigl beers from the communal brewhouses of Oberpfalz in Germany (from Craft beer)
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  Modern closed fermentation vessels (from Brewing)
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  Open vessels showing fermentation taking place (from Brewing)
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  Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver (from Craft beer)
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  Conditioning tanks at Anchor Brewing Company (from Brewing)
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  Craft brewing at Allagash in Portland, Maine (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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  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 mash tun at the Bass Museum in Burton-upon-Trent (from Brewing)
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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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  Rock mortars in Raqefet Cave, used to make beer during the Stone Age. (from History of beer)
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  Gambrinus – king of beer (from History of beer)
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  Great Leap Brewing operates a chain of brewpubs in China (from Craft beer)
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  A 16th-century brewery (from History of 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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  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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  Lauter tun (from Brewing)
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  A selection of French craft beers (from Craft beer)
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  A hydrometer measures beer's specific gravity (from History of 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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  Bergenhus microbrewery, Bergen, Norway (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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  A beer sommelier tapping a barrel for a taste at Nebraska Brewing Company (from Craft beer)
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  Irish Craft Beer Festival, 2015 (from Craft beer)

Beer topics

Categories

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Brewing in London

Brewing research

Yeasts used in brewing

Beer and brewery stubs

Selected quote -

“ Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo, and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells, but naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers. ”

The Buffalo Theory as explained on an episode of Cheers by Cliff Clavin to his drinking buddy, Norm Peterson

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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Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Stubs : Beer and brewery stub articles Other : Add {{Portal|Beer}} to the See also section of high-relevance articles

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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