Portal:Beer

 The Beer Portal  

Introduction

At the Café by Édouard Manet, circa 1879

Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea. Beer is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation.

Some of the earliest writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating it, and "The Hymn to Ninkasi", a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, a recipe for it.

Beer is distributed in bottles and cans and is also commonly available on draught, particularly in pubs and bars. The brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. The strength of modern beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Beer forms part of the culture of many nations and is associated with social traditions such as beer festivals, as well as activities like pub crawling, pub quizzes, and pub games. (Full article...)

Selected articles -

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout bottle label until 2005

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (FES) is a stout produced by the Guinness Brewery, an Irish brewing company owned by Diageo, a drinks multinational. First brewed by Guinness in 1801, FES was designed for export, and is more heavily hopped than Guinness Draught and Extra Stout, which gives it a more bitter taste, and typically has a higher alcohol content (at around 7.5% ABV). The extra hops were intended as a natural preservative for the long journeys the beer would take by ship. FES is the Guinness variant that is most commonly found in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and it accounts for almost half of Guinness sales worldwide. Over four million hectolitres of the beer were sold in Africa in 2011, where Diageo intend to grow the product into the continent's highest selling beer. (Full article...)

Selected brand -

Drewrys Brewing Company is an American brewery located in McHenry, Illinois founded in 1877.

Besides its Canadian connection (sometimes sporting a picture of a Mountie on cans or labels), the main Drewrys claims to fame were that the beer was "more flavor; less filling; more fun!", years before the popularity of light beers, and also (with the advent of lighter aluminum cans) that a can of Drewrys would float in water, rather than sinking to the bottom of a bucket or tub. (Full article...)

Selected biography -

An de Ryck (also known as Ann de Ryck or Anne de Ryck) is a Belgian brewster and the first woman brewing engineer in Belgium in the modern age. She is the granddaughter of Gustaaf de Ryck, the founder of De Ryck Brewery. During her time as brewmaster at the firm, they have won best Belgian tripel at the 2008 and 2013 European Beer Star, and the bronze medal from the World Beer Cup, in both 2006 and 2008. (Full article...)

Did you know (auto-generated) -

• ... that the debate in "Game On" invokes the beer question?
• ... that a beer named after the barley variety Golden Promise was not brewed using the variety?
• ... that Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority general manager Phillip Eng brews his own beer?
• ... that 100 beerhouses were licensed in Brighton (population 40,000) in the first week after the Beerhouse Act 1830 was enacted?
• ... that Jaega Wise co-hosted the television series Beer Masters alongside musician James Blunt?
• ... that Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after harassment by neighboring Israeli settlers?

Selected brewery -

Ore Dock's first-floor bar with its railroad spike tap handles (2016)

The Ore Dock Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Marquette, Michigan, that opened in May 2012. Named for a nearby local landmark, the brewery is known for being a "Marquette focal point and tourist destination," in the words of historian Russell Magnaghi. (Full article...)

Selected image -

Schutzenberger bière de mars (Alsace, France)

Schutzenberger bière de mars (Alsace, France)

Credit: Jérôme Sautret (Zubro)

Schutzenberger bière de mars (Alsace, France)

General images

The following are images from various beer- and brewing-related articles on Wikipedia.

• 
  Spontaneous fermentation at Timmermans in Belgium (from Brewing)
• 
  Põhjala Brewery, Estonia (from Craft beer)
• 
  Diatomaceous earth, used to create a filtration bed (from Brewing)
• 
  Open vessels showing fermentation taking place (from Brewing)
• 
  The Caledonian Brewery, founded in 1869, Edinburgh, Scotland (from History of beer)
• 
  Steamworks Brewing, Vancouver (from Craft beer)
• 
  Craft brewing at Allagash in Portland, Maine (from Craft beer)
• 
  A 16th-century brewery (from Brewing)
• 
  Casks of real ale from British microbreweries at a beer festival (from Craft beer)
• 
  The Alulu beer receipt records a purchase of "best" beer from a brewer, c. 2050 BC from the Sumerian city of Umma in Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq). (from Brewing)
• 
  A yard of ale at Jolly Brewery, Taiwan (from Craft beer)
• 
  Hop cone grown in a hop field, Hallertau, Germany (from Brewing)
• 
  Philistine pottery beer jug (from History of beer)
• 
  A hydrometer measures beer's specific gravity (from History of beer)
• 
  Traditional fermenting building (center) and modern fermenting building (left) in Pilsner Urquell Brewery (Czech Republic) (from History of beer)
• 
  Dogo Beer from Minakuchi-shuzō microbrewery in Matsuyama, Japan (from Craft beer)
• 
  Malted barley before kilning or roasting (from Brewing)
• 
  Yeast ring used by Swedish homebrewers in the 19th century to preserve the yeast between brewing sessions. (from History of beer)
• 
  A selection of French craft beers (from Craft beer)
• 
  Pasteur Street Brewing, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (from Craft beer)
• 
  Bergenhus microbrewery, Bergen, Norway (from Craft beer)
• 
  Great Leap Brewing operates a chain of brewpubs in China (from Craft beer)
• 
  Irish Craft Beer Festival, 2015 (from Craft beer)
• 
  D. G. Yuengling & Son is the oldest operating brewing company in the US, established in 1829. It is also the largest craft brewer, and the 6th largest brewing company overall. (from Craft beer)
• 
  A can of Juicy Ass IPA from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie, Ontario, Canada (from Craft beer)
• 
  A 16th-century brewery (from History of beer)
• 
  Lauter tun (from Brewing)
• 
  A beer sommelier tapping a barrel for a taste at Nebraska Brewing Company (from Craft beer)
• 
  A funerary model of a bakery and brewery, from the Eleventh dynasty of Egypt, c. 2009–1998 BCE (from History of beer)
• 
  Brew kettles at Brasserie La Choulette in France (from Brewing)
• 
  Spent grain, a brewing by-product (from Brewing)
• 
  Rock mortars in Raqefet Cave, used to make beer during the Stone Age. (from History of beer)
• 
  Mexican craft beer from Tequixquiac in Zumpango Region (from Craft beer)
• 
  Castaña, a smoked beer with chestnuts from Cerex in Extremadura, Spain (from Craft beer)
• 
  Gambrinus – king of beer (from History of beer)
• 
  World beer consumption per capita (from History of beer)
• 
  Robohop, a session IPA from Cervisiam in Oslo, Norway (from Craft beer)
• 
  A mash tun at the Bass Museum in Burton-upon-Trent (from Brewing)
• 
  Modern closed fermentation vessels (from Brewing)
• 
  A replica of ancient Egyptian beer, brewed from emmer wheat by the Courage brewery in 1996 (from History of beer)
• 
  Bottling beer in a modern facility, 1945, Australia (from History of beer)
• 
  Zoigl beers from the communal brewhouses of Oberpfalz in Germany (from Craft beer)
• 
  Conditioning tanks at Anchor Brewing Company (from Brewing)
• 
  A growler of beer from Flounder Brewing, a nanobrewery in New Jersey, US (from Craft beer)
• 
  Bill Urquhart at Litchborough Brewery (from Craft beer)
• 
  Alulu beer receipt recording a purchase of "best" beer from a brewer, c. 2050 BCE, from the Sumerian city of Umma in ancient Iraq. (from History of beer)
• 
  Cask ales with gravity dispense at a beer festival (from Brewing)
• 
  Microbreweries, regional breweries, and brew pubs per capita (from Craft beer)
• 
  Smoked beer from the Schlenkerla brewpub in Bamberg, Germany (from Craft beer)

Beer topics

Categories

Category puzzle

Beer

Select [►] to view subcategories

Beer

Beer by continent

Beer by country

Beer by region

Beer brands

Defunct beer brands

Breweries

Breweries by country

Cocktails with beer

Beer culture

Beer dishes

History of beer

Types of beer

Beer and brewery stubs

Brewing

Select [►] to view subcategories

Brewing

Beer

Breweries

Brewery buildings

Brewery workers

Brewing and distilling castes

Businesspeople in brewing

Homebrewing

Brewing ingredients

Brewing research

Yeasts used in brewing

Beer and brewery stubs

Selected quote -

“ It is nice when you can sit back with some friends, drink some beer and have a good time. ” — Dave Matthews

Related portals

Beer lists

• Beer and breweries by region
• Beer and nationality
• List of beer organisations
• List of beer styles
• List of commercial brands of beer
• List of countries by beer consumption per capita
• List of World Beer Cup awards

Things you can do

This list is transcluded from the tasks list page, to edit, click here

This is a list of single time tasks that need action. Once you have completed them, please remove them from the list.

Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Stubs : Beer and brewery stub articles Other : Add {{Portal|Beer}} to the See also section of high-relevance articles

WikiProjects

WikiProject Beer is an association of Wikipedians with an interest in beer and beer-related subjects. They have come together to coordinate the development of beer and brewery articles here on Wikipedia. Additionally, other groups have formed other projects that entertain subjects that are directly related to beer, bartending and pubs. Additionally, the mixed drinks project covers topics that include beer cocktails. If any of these subjects pique your interest, please feel free to visit their projects. These groups would love to have you participate!

Parent project: WikiProject Food and Drink	view
Child projects:	Task forces: (All inactive)
Wikiproject Bacon (inactive) WikiProject Bartending (inactive) WikiProject Beer WikiProject Breakfast (inactive) WikiProject Fishing and Fisheries WikiProject Spirits (semi-active) Wikiproject Wine (inactive)	Beverages task force Cheeses task force Coffee and Tea task force Desserts task force Foodservice task force Herbs and Spices task force Pub task force
Related projects:
WikiProject Agriculture

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

• 

  Commons
  Free media repository

• 

  Wikibooks
  Free textbooks and manuals

• 

  Wikidata
  Free knowledge base

• 

  Wikinews
  Free-content news

• 

  Wikiquote
  Collection of quotations

• 

  Wikisource
  Free-content library

• 

  Wikiversity
  Free learning tools

• 

  Wiktionary
  Dictionary and thesaurus

More portals

Discover Wikipedia using portals

• 

  List of all portals

• 

  The arts portal

• 

  Biography portal

• 

  Current events portal

• 

  Geography portal

• 

  History portal

• 

  Mathematics portal

• 

  Science portal

• 

  Society portal

• 

  Technology portal

• 

  Random portal

• 

  WikiProject Portals