Unlike wines, most beers should be stored upright to minimize oxidation and metal or plastic contamination from the cap.  High-alcohol ales, however, which continue to ferment in their corked bottles, should be stored on their sides.

Studying the experimentally induced intoxicated behavior of ants in 1888, naturalist John Lubbock noticed that the insects that had too much to drink were picked up by nest mates and carried home.  Conversely, drunken strangers were summarily tossed in a ditch.

Despite the month implied by its name, Munich’s annual 16-day Oktoberfest actually begins in mid-September and ends on the first Sunday in October.

The familiar Bass symbol, a red triangle, was registered in 1876 and is the world’s oldest trademark.

According to a journal entry from 1636, farm workers in the colony of Quebec not only received an allowance of flour, lard, oil, vinegar, and codfish; they were also given “a chopine of cider a day or a quart of beer.”

In 1965, a Belgian royal decree mandated that lambics must contain a minimum of 35% wheat.  It also ordered that labels state the name and location of the brewery.

Beck’s in not only Germany’s top export beer, it also accounts for 85% of all German beer exports to the United States.

Pennsylvania has had more breweries in its history than any other state.  In 1910 alone, 119 of the state’s towns had at least one licensed beermaker.

In their efforts to regulate beer quality, the ancient Babylonians, who were among history’s earliest brewers, decreed that any commercial beermaker who sold unfit beer would be drowned in his/her own libation.

Bottle caps, or “crowns,” were invented in Baltimore in 1892 by William Painter.  Painter proved his invention’s worth when he convinced a local brewer to ship a few hundred cases of beer to South America and back and they returned without a leak.

Beer advertising matchbook covers have become sought-after collectibles on Internet auction sites.  A 1916 matchbook promoting Brehm’s Brewery in Baltimore brought $43, while a 1930s cover promoting Eastside Beer from Los Angeles went for $36.

Beer and video games have a long association.  Tapper, originally a 1983 arcade game and now a computer one, tests players’ skills by challenging them to coordinate the movements of beers, a bartender, empty mugs, and patrons.

BEER HISTORY

Ancient History

Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain & water before learning to make bread.

Beer became ingrained in the culture of civilizations with no significant viticulture.

Noah’s provisions included beer on the Ark.

4300 BC

, Babylonian clay tablets detail recipes for beer.

Beer was a vital part of civilization and the Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Inca cultures.

Babylonians produced beer in large quantities with around 20 varieties.

Beer at this time was so valued that it was sometimes used to pay workers as part of their daily wages.

Early cultures often drank beer through straws to avoid grain hulls left in the beverage.

Egyptians brewed beer commercially for use by royalty served in gold goblets, medical purposes, and as a necessity to be included in burial provisions for the journey to the hereafter.

Different grains were used in different cultures:

a) Africa used millet, maize and cassava.

b) North America used persimmon although agave was used in Mexico.

c) South America used corn although sweet potatoes were used in Brazil.

d) Japan used rice to make sake.

e) China used wheat to make samshu.

f) Other Asian cultures used sorghum.

g) Russians used rye to make quass or kvass.

h) Egyptians used barley and may have cultivated it strictly for brewing as it made poor bread.

1600 BC

Egyptian texts contain 100 medical prescriptions calling for beer.

If an Egyptian gentleman offered a lady a sip of his beer they were betrothed.

(Thirsty for More?)