39 amazing facts that can blow your mind about beer

Beer prevents kidney stones. A study published in American Journal of Epidemiology estimated that a bottle of beer consumed every day reduces the risk by 40 per cent.

Pope Benedict sharing beer with men of honour

Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third-most popular drink overall (after water and tea). People all over the world just love beer. An average American for instance, consumes 23 gallons of the beverage a year. Check out the following facts:

• Beer is one of the world’s oldest prepared beverages, possibly dating back to the early Neolithic or 9500 BC.

• The first professional brewers were all women called brewsters. The women had to be very beautiful to be able to become brewsters.

• The Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids under the influence. According to Patrick McGovern, an archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania, workers at Giza received about four liters of beer a day.

• The study of beer and beer-making even has an official scientific name – zythology. It derives from the Greek words “zythos” (beer) and “logos” (study).

• In 1814, almost 400,000 gallons of beer flooded several streets in London after a huge vat ruptured in the parish of St. Giles.

• Beer prevents kidney stones. A study published in American Journal of Epidemiology estimated that a bottle of beer consumed every day reduces the risk by 40%.

• The most beer-drinking country in the world is the Czech Republic. With an incredible per capita beer consumption of almost 40 gallons a year, the Czechs are way out in front in the beer drinking world league table.

• The world´s most expensive beer is Belgian’s “Vielle Bon Secours“. One bottle costs around 1000 American dollars.

• Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass. Terrifying phobia indeed.

• The oldest drinkable beer in the world was found in 2010, in an early 19th-century shipwreck discovered near Finland. The beer was preserved in bottles by the cold abyss and it tasted very old (unsurprisingly), with some burnt notes and an acidic aftertaste

• Beer strengthens bones. It is rich in silicon that increases calcium deposits and minerals for bone tissue.

• The world’s largest beer festival is Oktoberfest. Held annually in Munich, Germany, it is a 16-day funfair running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year.

• The foamy head is a very important part of the beer. It is formed by a complex carbon-dioxide reaction and can say a lot about the quality of the beer. If the head is missing, it can mean that your beer is flat and bland-tasting,

….and

1. Do you know the volume of alcohol in your lager beer is between 4% and 6%, depending on the brand? This is lower to what you have in your wine, which is between 12% and 21%?
2. Do you know beer is more sanitary than local water supplies?  The water used to make beer was boiled early on in the brewing process which killed any pathogens. The alcohol produced during fermentation and the addition of hops helped to preserve it.
3. Do you know your beer contains folate that helps to reduce the risk of heart disease when consumed in moderation?
4. Do you know your beer consumption reduces blood clots?
5. Do you know beer consumption improves mental function in women?
6. Do you know beer consumption increases bone density?
7. Do you know beer contains no fat? So, beer drinking does not cause overweight or obesity?
8. Do you know the key to health with beer drinking is to limit your consumption to moderation?
9. Do you know beer is rich in many vitamins of the B group and in minerals such as magnesium?
10. Do you know barley and hops used in the production of beer are rich in flavonoids, which have powerful antioxidant effects?
11. Do you know moderate beer drinkers are at lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)-related mortality than both heavy drinkers and abstainers?
12. Do you know Vitamin B6 in beer also prevents the alcohol-induced rise in blood homocysteine, a probable heart disease risk factor?
13. Do you know moderate alcohol drinking significantly increases the good cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, in the body?
14. Do you know beer consumption may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones?
15. Do you know there is a 40% lower risk of kidney stones in beer consumers?
16. Do you know beer consumption helps reduce chromosomal damage from radiation exposure?
17. Do you know beer contains high levels of silicon, which is linked to bone health?
18. Do you know moderate beer drinking reduces the risk of heart attacks?
19. Do you know beer consumption reduces death resulting from cardiovascular disease by 25 to 40%?
20. Do you know that beer drinking helps keep arteries from getting clogged?
21. Do you know daily beer consumption lowers the risk of developing kidney stones by 40 percent?
22. Do you know beer’s high water content helps keep kidneys working, since dehydration increases kidney stone risk?
23. Do you know hops contained in your beer help curb leeching of calcium from bones?
24. Do you know moderate beer consumption may help keep Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia at bay?
25. Do you know moderate beer drinking lowers the risk of mental decline by as much as 20 percent?
26. Do you know marinating meat steak in beer eliminates almost 70 percent of the carcinogens, called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) produced when the meat is pan-fried?
27. Do you know beer’s sugars help block HCAs from forming?
28. Do you know beer contains antioxidants?
29. Do you know beer and wine contain about the same levels of antioxidants, but the antioxidants are different because the flavonoids found in hops and grapes are different?
30. Do you know beer also contains vitamin B12 and folic acid?
31. Do you know that those who drink beer have 30 percent higher levels of vitamin B6 in their blood than their non-drinking counterparts, and twice as much as wine drinkers?
32. Do you know that moderate beer consumption helps prevent blood clots that block blood flow to the heart, neck and brain—the clots that cause ischemic stroke, the most common type?
33. Do you know moderate beer drinking reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 25 percent?
34. Do you know beer consumption increases insulin sensitivity, thus helps protect against diabetes?
35. Do you know moderate beer drinkers are less likely to develop high blood pressure—a major risk factor for heart attack—than women who sipped wine or spirits?
36. Do you know moderate beer drinking reduces mortality due to lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes?
37. Do you know beer contains zero cholesterol?
38. Do you know beer contains fibre?
39. Do you know beer has low calorie content as much as orange juice?