PublishedAugust 6, 2022, 07:00
INTERNATIONAL BEER DAY: A few facts to test your beer knowledge
You probably know that beer is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages. But do you know which country is the biggest consumer?
August 5 is International Beer Day. All the more reason for some to raise their elbows and test their knowledge of beer, for others.
1. Where does the oldest beer come from?
The Rakefet Cave in present-day Israel is considered the oldest known brewery to date. In Natufian culture, beer was already brewed some 13,000 years ago. The oldest beer recipe comes from Sumer, in present-day Iraq.
The Sumerians invented writing and apparently also beer, as evidenced by a writing tablet from Mesopotamia (dating to around 3000 BC) on which is given indications of the basic ingredients of various products cereals as well as several kinds of beer.
2. How much does the most expensive beer in the world cost?
In 2009, a person won at a UK auction a bottle of Löwenbrau lager that survived the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster in New Jersey and was found by firefighter Leroy Smith. The buyer had paid the equivalent of 11,000 francs for the bottle.
3. Which country is the biggest consumer of beer?
Does the Munich Oktoberfest allow Germany to rise to first place in the ranking of the biggest beer consumers or is it rather Ireland? Neither!
For several years, the Czech Republic has held the first place among the countries with the highest beer consumption, with an average of 181.9 liters per year per capita. This is revealed by the German statistics portal Statesman. It is followed by Austria, Poland and Romania.
4. How many beer designations are there in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, there are four major names for beer: light beer (below 10 degrees Plato (°P)), normal beer (from 10°P), special beer (from 11.5°P ) and strong beer (from 14°P).
The Plato degree (°P) expresses the mass percentage of must dry extract before fermentation. The higher this percentage, the more the yeast ferments the sugar, which results in a high alcohol content.
5. What is the strength of the strongest beer?
With its 57% alcohol content, Schorschbock, produced by the Schorschbräu brewery in Gunzenhausen, Bavaria, is the strongest beer in the world. A liter of Schorschbock costs the equivalent of 603 francs.
And you, what is your favorite beer?