Beer Facts & Trivia  

Stroll Down Beer History  

• Legend has it that beer was accidentally discovered by a Sumerian who left out a leavened bread until the yeast fermented. 

• Ancient Babylon had strict beer regulation laws. An entry in the Code of Hamurabi, beer sellers could be executed for diluting beer. 

• Deep inside, Christopher Columbus knew he would conquer the New World. All he needed was a bottle of sherry.

• Attila the Hun might have killed many enemies but he was betrayed by his bloody nose that cut out his breath when he passed out during his bachelor party.

• During the Middle Ages, monks who brewed beer had a papal permission to drink five quarts of beer daily. 

• In 400 BC, Jews figured out that by adding hops in brewing beer, they do not have to put in more alcohol into the mix as preservatives. Other than that, hops gave beer its distinctive bitter taste.

• Beer ingredients according to the Reinheitsgebot*were mainly: water, hops, and barley. Yeast was not revealed for the next 35 years.

• In 1516, Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria penned down the first consumer protection law stating that the approved ingredients for beer were limited to water, barley, and hops.

• In the Medieval Era, brewing was a domestic affair like baking. The earliest beer brewers in Europe were called the "ale wives".

• The movie director of The Shawshank Redemption got his 1930s period film all messed up. The inmates drank out of beer bottles when beer was still sold in cans until years later. 

• In the 1930s, untrained workers screwed up a beer brewery's recipe. It was so bad that pub owners would dispose barrels of beer into the gutter. But brewers had a better idea: they repacked the remaining beer, branded it  “Michelbob,” and everyone agreed that the "new" recipe tasted better than ever. 

• The beer has made someone a saint. Arnold of Soissons, a French bishop advocated for locals to drink beer because of its health benefits. He preached how beer is safer to drink than water.

• In 1962, the beer market was testing if beer drinkers had strong thumbs by introducing tab-opening aluminum beer cans called Iron City Beer. The feedback was good that by 1970, 90% of all beers sold in can already be opened by thumb. 

• In the 1990s, breweries owned beer salons. Bartenders would earn $10 to $15 a week.

• An 1116 BC Chinese emperor ordered the people to drink beer because it was a heavenly command.

• The first lager to be brewed in the US is credited to John Wagner. In 1840, Wagner set up a small brewery in Philadelphia. His lager yeast was straight from Bavaria. 

• Beer bottles didn't come out until 1850. Before then, beer drinkers would bring a special bucket to have it filled in the local tavern.

• The "33" on the Rolling Rock's beer bottle was a printing error. It generated a lot of mystery so the company left the label on the bottle. 

• In Czech Republic taverns, the bartender will refill your empty glass to no limit -- until you put your coaster on top of your glass to tell him you've had enough.

• Ancient Egyptians thought that Osiris, the gold of agriculture invented beer.

• Germans also made beer ice cream. These popsicles contain lesser alcohol content than good ol' beer.

Of Beer & Brides

• The origin of the word "honeymoon" can be traced back to an ancient matrimonial practice in Babylon. It was then customary for a man's father-in-law to supply him with mead or honey beer during the first month of marriage. Beer was invented long before mercury thermometers. That's why when brewers wanted to check if the temperature was just right for growing yeast, they would dip their thumb in the mixture. Hence, the term "rule of thumb" was coined.

• 19th century Englishmen know how to throw the best bachelor party. The customary "bride ale" was consumed the night before the wedding. Thus, the term "bridal" was born.

Beercabulary

• The technical name for a  beer lover is "labeorphilist". 

• If you collect bottles, you are called a "cerevisaphile". 

• Bartenders in old England surely know how to keep the bar in order. When the crowd gets rowdy, the bartender shouts on top of his lungs, "mind your own pints and quarts!" Later on, it was shortened to "mind your own Ps & Qs," because bartenders would rather serve more ale rather than break a fight. 

• The word "berserk" is literally translated to "bare shirt" in Norse. Vikings often go into battle after drinking huge amounts of aul or ale. Once intoxicated, they wouldn't mind if they wore any shirt or armor at all.

• The word "toddler" is the English contribution to the dictionary. Long ago when potable water was not safe for drinking, parents were taught proper child rearing by allowing youngsters to drink beer past the breastfeeding stage. Mothers took delight in seeing their intoxicated kids toddle when they walk. 

• The origin of the word "wet your whistle" is from an old English pub custom. Tavern regulars sipped from mugs attached with whistles. When they want refills, they know how to get the barmaid's attention. 

• Ever wondered where "booze" came from? Long time ago in Egypt, slaves brewed millet into a drink called bouza. 

• Beer lovers often forget the words in "the quick brown fox jumped . . ." so they made their own. "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs." 

United Beers of America

• According to the US Act of Congress, bourbon is the official alcohol of Americans. Though there had been a lot of unsuccessful attempts to change it into beer through the years. 

• In 1788, New Yorkers proclaimed that ale was the "proper drink for Americans". 

• The American beer brewing tradition lives on. In 1990, there were an estimated 1, 800 breweries in the US alone. 80 years after, it was reduced to 44. But by 2007,  the number of beer breweries increased to 1, 449. A large portion of them are small-scale independent and home brewers. 

• George Washington had his own brewery in Mount Vernon. 

• Jim Whitaker, the First American to reach on top of Mt. Everest, trusted a can of Rainier Beer better than his sherpa.

• The Declaration of Independence in 1776 would have not been possible without a bottle of Madeira wine.

• President L.B. Johnson had a fine way of telling his staff he needs another round of scotch: he would jut his empty glass out of the limousine's window.

• The first US Marine Corps recruiting station was in a bar.  

• The first beer to win a blue ribbon at the Chicago World Fair is the Pabst Beer. Beer connoisseurs call this the Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. 

• Franklin Roosevelt promised to bring back democracy by ending Prohibition. He became president in 1932. 

• The Prohibition lasted for 13 years and ten months. It began on January 16, 1920 and it was lifted on December 5, 1933. 

• On an African safari trip, Theodore Roosevelt beat the heat by taking along 500 gallons of beer.  

• The tune of "The Star Spangled Banner" was after a British drinking song called "Anacreon". 

• Before Prohibition, the top beer imported to the US was the Pilsner Urquell. 

• The first American beer brewery was erected on 1642 in Hoboken, NJ.  

• In the year 2008, beer is around 1.4% of the United States' GNP according to the Beer Institute.

Sources:

http://www.beerchurch.com 
http://www.comedy-zone.net
http://www.beermasters.com
http://www.foodreference.com/html/fbeer.html
http://www.neatorama.com
http://www.beermachine.com
http://www.pinbeer.com
http://www.fattymattybrewing.com