Beer and other Beverages

THE BEER FACTS

Did you know that ...

* Lagers are the most popular type of beer in Western Canada. The light and dry taste is achieved by using a bottom fermenting yeast and then storing the beer for several months in a cool place. Milwaukee became prominent for lager production because it sat over caves where the beer could be stored.

* Pilsners are really lagers that are made with a variety of hops that originated in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.

* Ales use a top fermenting yeast, more hops and are fermented at a higher temperature. They are the most popular type of beer in Eastern Canada.

* Dry beer, introduced in 1987, now has 35% of the Japanese beer market. Dry beer is any type of beer that is fermented longer than normal to convert more of the sugars into alcohol. It is the sugars that leave the after taste and the more removed, the less after taste.

* In the late 16th century, Germany was plagued with insects that attacked beer. As a result, a law was passed that all drinking vessels had to have lids. Thus, the traditional German Steins all have lids.

* Louis Pasteur proved that it was bacteria that caused batches of beer to go bad and that the bacteria could be killed by heating the beer to 150 -170 degrees Fahrenheit. This became known as pasteurization. For this he is known as "The Father of Modern Brewing". The process was later applied to milk.

* In Canada, more than 50% of the price of a bottle of beer is tax.

* A bushel of barley yields a bushel of malt, which in turn yields a barrel of beer, which is 333 bottles.

* The expression, "Take down a peg", comes from an English drinking horn that was marked at intervals by pegs. Contests were held to see who could drink the volume between the pegs most quickly.

* Per capita beer consumption (in litres) is:

• Reprinted from Malt Barley Production Tips, a publication of the Alberta Pool

(This article is from Barley Country, Winter 1995)