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 Post subject: Beer Facts
PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:34 am 
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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 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 if the groom drank mead for an entire month, it enhanced the chances of his wife bearing a male heir.

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'.

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.)

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

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

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

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

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.

One of the fastest ways to destroy a beer's flavour is to expose it to sunlight. In fact, even the light from a fluorescent lamp is highly damaging. Every beer in the James Squire range is encased in brown bottles, the best protection for such a valuable drop.

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

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 some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

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.

Tutankhamun Ale was recently brewed from a recipe over 3500 years old, found inside the Sun Temple of Queen Nefertiti in Egypt. Based on sediment from old jars, the ale was flavoured with coriander and Naback fruit. The first of just one thousand bottles brewed was later auctioned for $1000.

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.

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

The type of water in a beer can strongly affect its taste. Superior ales are produced with 'hard water' (containing a higher content of natural salts such as calcium) while 'soft water' produces superior lagers. However, with the advent of water treatment, some Caribbean breweries even use desalinated seawater in their beers.

A flood of beer swept through the streets of St. Giles, England, on 17 October 1814. Caused by a rupture in a brewery tank containing 3500 barrels of beer, the tidal wave killed nine people and demolished two houses.

Apparently beer is a girl's best friend. Jewellers in Sierra Leone use beer to test the clarity and purity of diamonds. When immersed in beer, diamonds reflect light in a way that proves their authenticity.

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

In ancient Babylon, the female brewers were also temple priestesses. In fact, some beers were brewed exclusively for temple ceremonies.

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 pubs were said to be drinking 'scot free'.

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

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

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 reburial in 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.

Each July, Belgium's brewers pay homage to Saint Arnold at a church service. On this 'Day of Beer', brewers march through the streets dressed as the 'Chevalrie du Fourquet' (or 'King of the Mashing Fork').

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

In the Middle Ages, monks built their churches and monasteries using mortar mixed with ale.

In Germany, some pubs charge a flat hourly fee for customers to drink all the beer or wine they want.

Konishiki, reputed to be the world's largest sumo wrestler at 625 pounds, once consumed 100 glasses of beer and 70 pieces of sushi at one sitting.

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

Ancient Egyptians mixed beer foam with half an onion to ward off death.

Beer was often served for breakfast in medieval England.

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.

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

A labeorphilist is a collector of beer bottles.

A tegestologist is a collector of beer mats.

The oldest document known to man is an ancient clay tablet depicting the preparation of beer for sacrificial purposes, inscribed in Babylon in 6000 BC.

Five thousand people were tragically trampled to death in a rush for free beer at the Coronation of Czar Nicholas II of Russia in 1896.

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

For the ancient Egyptians, beer was so important that the hieroglyphic symbol for food was a pitcher of beer and a loaf of bread. In fact, pharaohs were buried with tiny model breweries, complete with miniature wooden brewers, to ensure a sufficient beer supply on the arduous journey to the afterworld.

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


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:23 pm 
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