CHENNAI: Beer always brings back a rush of memories. I remember the day I tried it in the second year of college. Gosh! I can never forget that day. My head was spinning and swirling after half a pint of it. It is quite a funny memory considering that now, beer is as good as water to me.
Beer is the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains —most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), and rice are widely used. Most beer is flavored with hops (flavoring agent), which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other flavorings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included.
The basic ingredients of beer are water, a starch source, such as malted barley, a brewer’s yeast and a flavouring agent. Flavouring beer is the sole major commercial use of hops. The flower of the hop vine is used as a flavouring and preservative agent in nearly all beer made today. The flowers themselves are often called “hops”. Hops contribute a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt; the bitterness of beers is measured on the International Bitterness Units scale. Hops lend floral, citrus, and herbal aromas and flavours to beer.
Beer is known as a happy drink in every part of the world and has a great significance on people.
Various social traditions and activities are associated with beer drinking, such as playing cards, darts, bags, or other pub games; attending beer festivals. Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany, running from late September to early October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world’s largest fair, with some six million people attending every year.
Best of beer cocktails internationally available:
Black Velvet — Guinness and champagne
Boilermaker — Beer served with a shot of whiskey, tequila, or vodka
Down Low — A shot of bourbon topped with 200ml of beer
Porch Crawler — Equal parts of beer, vodka, and frozen lemonade mix.