Banana beer is made from ripe (but not over-ripe) East African Highland bananas. To accelerate the ripening of bananas, a hole is dug in the ground, lined with dried banana leaves which are then set on fire. Fresh banana leaves are laid on top of them, and then the unripe bananas. These are then covered by more fresh banana leaves and pseudo stems. After four to six days, the bananas are ripe enough. This method only works in the dry season. During the rainy season, bananas are ripened by putting them on a hurdle near a cooking fire.

There are two types of banana that are used for banana beer: the harsh tasting igikashi and the milder tasting igisahira. The banana beer mixture consists of one third igikashi and two thirds igisahira. Once ripened, the bananas are peeled. If they cannot be peeled by hand, they are not ripe enough. After peeling, the bananas are kneaded until soft. The juice is then filtered to get clear banana juice, which is then diluted with water. Sorghum is ground and lightly roasted and then added to the juice. This mixture is left to ferment for 24 hours and then filtered.

After filtering, the beer is packaged in glass or plastic bottles. In commercial production, the beer may first be pasteurized before packaging to stop fermentation and extend shelf life

SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA

Cannabaceae is a small family of flowering plants. As now circumscribed, the family includes about 170 species grouped in about 11 genera, including Cannabis (hemp, marijuana), Humulus (hops) and Celtis (hackberries). Celtis is by far the largest genus, containing about 100 species.

SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA

TWO pals who brewed the world’s strongest beer have unveiled an even more lethal recipe – after fans said the first one tasted too weak.

Lewis Shand and John McKenzie, of Banffshire’s Brewmeister Brewery, broke the record with 65 per cent alcohol Armageddon last year.

They sold 6000 bottles around the world but some fans said it didn’t taste strong enough.

So Lewis and John, from Keith, bought a new brewery and spent nine months creating Snake Venom, with a head-spinning 67.5 per cent alcohol content.

SOURCE : DAILY RECORD

The main active ingredient of beer is alcohol, and therefore, the health effects of alcohol apply to beer. Consumption of small quantities of alcohol (less than one drink in women and two in men) is associated with a decreased risk of cardiac disease, stroke and diabetes mellitus.The long term health effects of continuous, moderate or heavy alcohol consumption include the risk of developing alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease.

SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA

SOURCE : WC.ARIZONA.EDU

A clay tablet has been found as an early example of writing, in the form of pictographs drawn in clay with a sharp instrument. In this case they record the allocation of beer.

The symbol for beer, an upright jar with pointed base, appears three times on the tablet. Beer was the most popular drink in Mesopotamia and was issued as rations to workers.

Alongside the pictographs are five different shaped impressions, representing numerical symbols. Over time these signs became more abstract and wedge-like, or ‘cuneiform’.

The earliest tablets with written inscriptions represent the work of administrators, perhaps of large temple institutions, recording the allocation of rations or the movement and storage of goods.

Writing, the recording of a spoken language, emerged from earlier recording systems at the end of the fourth millennium. The first written language in Mesopotamia is called Sumerian. Most of the early tablets come from the site of Uruk, in southern Mesopotamia, and it may have been here that this form of writing was invented.

The signs are grouped into boxes and, at this early date, are usually read from top to bottom and right to left. One sign, in the bottom row on the left, shows a bowl tipped towards a schematic human head. This is the sign for ‘to eat’.

SOURCE : THE BRITISH MUSEUM

According to Smithsonian magazine and Dogfish Head’s resident ancient-fermented-beverages expert, Dr. Patrick McGovern (he’s a professor by day), the Egyptian pyramids wouldn’t be here without the motivational capacities of sweet, sweet suds: “It was a source of nutrition, refreshment and reward for all the hard work. It was beer for pay. You would have had a rebellion on your hands if they’d run out. The pyramids might not have been built if there hadn’t been enough beer.”

We’ll take his word for it. For one thing, the pyramids are the only Wonder of the World that still stands today — the boozers must have been doing something right. Also, this guy “identified the world’s oldest known barley beer … the oldest grape wine … and the earliest known booze of any kind, a Neolithic grog from China’s Yellow River Valley brewed some 9,000 years ago.” Most recently, he helped Dogfish Head create Midas Touch, “a beer based on decrepit refreshments recovered from King Midas’ 700 B.C. tomb.”

We like his resume, but we’ll be really impressed if he can figure out something special to do with the Coors Light we still have left over from our Memorial Day barbecue.

SOURCE : BOSTON.GRUBSTREET

Skunking is caused by exposure to light. End of story. Well, not really. How it happens is simple: Beer is flavored with hops. It’s a bittering agent that helps protect the brew from bacteria, and it’s been used for centuries. Reports of light degrading beer date back to 1875, but it wasn’t until 2001 when Dr. Forbes at UNC figured out how and why, exactly.

Hops, are light-sensitive, and the three main compounds in them identified as being light-sensitive are called isohumulones. When attacked by either visible or ultraviolet light, these break down to make reactive intermediates, known as free radicals. These lead to the offensive taste and skunky odor.

This is why lighter, less-hoppy beers are generally less susceptible to skunking—there’s less in them that can skunk. That’s little solace to those of us who enjoy a smack in the mouth from a double-IPA. But fear not. Hop-lovers can take preventative action.

SOURCE : GIZMODO

The London Beer Flood happened on 17 October 1814 in the parish of St. Giles, London, England. At the Meux and Company Brewery on Tottenham Court Road,a huge vat containing over 135,000 imperial gallons (610,000 L) of beer ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect. As a result, more than 323,000 imperial gallons (1,470,000 L) of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms Pub, trapping teenage employee Eleanor Cooper under the rubble. Within minutes neighbouring George Street and New Street were swamped with alcohol, killing a mother and daughter who were taking tea, and surging through a room of people gathered for a wake.

SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA

SOURCE : definition-of.com