Prohibitionists and other conservatives have long viewed beer as the devil’s brew. Beer itself isn’t so bad; it’s people that have given it a bad rap. When used in a controlled, social setting, beer is nothing more than a cold, refreshing break time treat.

Rich History
There is evidence that beer has been around almost along as history itself. Pre-historic man is said to have created beer before learning that grains could also be used to produce another dietary staple called “bread”. Noah is said to have stocked his ark with beer. Ancient Babylonian clay tables revealing recipes for beer date back to 4300 BC.

Social Acceptance
Clearly, beer has always been in important element in social gatherings. It’s a staple at sport arenas, card games and dart matches. Problems can arise, however, when beer drinkers indulge privately or believe they can drink away their troubles. Of course, binge drinking or drinking in excess also brews trouble.

Worldwide Acclaim
Beer is consumed all over the world. North America, South America, Asia and Europe all have rich beer histories. Breweries can be found in Mongolia, many African countries, and Middle East countries including Iraq and Syria. Virtually anywhere a thirsty traveler stops to rest, a cold pint can easily be found. Many beers of the world are imported and readily available to North American beer drinkers looking to explore new flavours.

Rating Systems
Some avid beer drinkers actually rate the beers they consume, tally the scores and post their comments on Internet websites to determine the world’s most popular brews. Beer drinkers in America can correspond online with their Russian counterparts and swap bottles of beer through the mail. Others drink a variety of beers to keep and collect the bottles and caps. Pubs sometimes host beer clubs, awarding plaques or personalized steins to those who have purchased and quaffed every brand of beer on the menu.

Glass or Cans?
Some beer drinkers prefer to quaff from a proper pint glass, and others downright refuse to drink from a bottle or can. Drinking from a glass or stein helps to release the aromas of the beer, so the drinker is able to appreciate more than just the taste of the brew. Pouring beer into a vessel also allows a head to form on the beer, an important element for many beer drinkers. Similar to wine and spirits, there are specific glasses available for different types of beer. Many brewers produce glassware intended for use with their own brand of beer.

Temperature
The ideal beer temperature varies depending on a number of factors. More experienced beer drinkers will tell you that a warmer temperature enhances the flavour, while colder temperatures inhibit the senses of the tongue and throat. Subtle nuances are weakened, and the main flavour is downright destroyed by low temperatures. On the other hand, those who work hard and play hard expect an ice-cold beer, served in a frosty mug. Irish beer drinkers insist that a pint of Irish Guinness is best served at room temperature.

Pouring
The way beer is poured has influence over the presentation of beer. The flow rate from the tap, position of the pour and the tilting of the glass all affect the outcome. How the beer is poured determines the size and longevity of the head, and the turbulence of the pour affects how the carbonization is released. More heavily carbonated beers, such as German pilsners, need time to settle before they’re served. Many barkeeps will serve the beer with remaining yeast at the bottom of the glass to add extra color and flavor.

Served warm or cold, from a bottle or glass, beer is an important part of society from Montana to Mongolia. And sometimes, even those so-called little old ladies will gather to enjoy a pint with their mates.

In any family when one person gets excited about something new, everybody gets in on the act. And that is certainly true of children. They love to be active in whatever hobbies mom and dad love to be part of. So if you bowl, the kids want to go and play the video games. If you love Shakespeare in the park, the kids will go and play on the ground nearby. So if you can find a way to give the kids a part of what you are doing, that keeps the family together.

That may seem tough with a hobby like home brewing. After all, the process of brewing is pretty involved and there is boiling water and sterile instruments to think of. That kind of thing really isn’t fun for the kids. So if you can find a way to make a “beer” just for them, then they too can enjoy the excitement and feel part of what the adults are doing.

A way to fill this need is to brew up a delicious batch of ginger beer from for the kids. And the nonalcoholic beverage drinkers in the family will love it too! Of course, ginger beer is not real “beer” in the sense of an alcoholic brew although it can be mixed with beer for delightful and very British toddy. But it’s so easy to make that the kids can get involved and they will love the beverage that results almost as much as mom and dad love their home brewed beer.

It’s a good thing to have the procedures, tools and ingredients for your ginger beer all ready to go on brew day because it’s a great surprise to the kids to let them know that they are going to get to make their own beer too! Because the steps for making ginger beer are fast, easy and harmless, the kiddos can have a ball doing it using a very simple recipe and even if they drink it all gone, it’s easy enough to whip up another batch.

The ingredients for ginger beer are not exotic and they can be found at any grocery store. They include…

. Be ready with 8 plastic bottles that will hold a pint and 4 bottles that will hold a quart and some bowls to mix the ginger beer up with.
. Ginger – you can get it fresh at larger grocery stores. Two ouches is enough.
. Cream of tartar – about one teaspoon will do.
. Two lemons sliced.
. A pound of sugar
. An ounce of yeast
. Boil one gallon of water.

Now it’s just a matter of putting it all together. Cut the lemons in big sized rings and combine them in a big bowl with the other ingredients. The only other preparation you need to do besides boiling the water is to crush the ginger so it mixes with the water and other parts of the beer.

Now just chill the mixture to room temperature and add the yeast. Put it in the larger bottles to let it ferment for a couple of days. Once that is done, skim off the residue on top and your ginger tea is ready to enjoy.

The Alaskan brewing company is the oldest operating brewery in Alaska, with their amber beer being their most popular brand. They produce two other brands as well, pale ale and Alaskan frontier amber. If you enjoy fresh amber beer, Alaskan brewing is what you want.

As you may already know, brewing beer in Alaska is very hard to do. The coastal community of Juneau doesn’t have road connections to the lower 48 states, so everything arrives and leaves by water or air, with weather always having the final say.

In 1986, the Alaskan brewing company became the 67th brewery to operate in the United States and the only one to operate in Alaska. Since that time, Alaskan brewery has received more than 30 major medals and awards, including the best beer in the nation award during the 1988 Great American Beer Festival.

The popularity of their beers has led to a great amount of efforts to keep up with the demand from consumers. They also hold the unnofficial record for the production on a 10 barrel brewing system, which produces an amazing 42 batches a week.

The Alaskan Brewery offers several different styles of brew as well, which are listed below:

1. Amber – This is the company’s flagship beer, based on a turn of the century recipe that was used to quench the thirst of the miners during the Gold Rush era. It provides a smooth, malty, rich taste that goes well with meals – or friends.

2. Pale – Pale is fresh, crips, and inviting. Alaskan pale is great with crab, pawns, and salads. The floral aroma of the hops is derived from dry hopping the tanks during the entire fermentation process.

3. Stout – The oatmeal style beer of stout doesn’t have the harshness of other stouts. Great with chocolate and hearty meals, stout is also ideal to enjoy while walking in the snow.

4. ESB – If you like hops, the infusion of hops in this delight will amaze your nose while the refreshing cascade hops will provide a wonderful crispness to both the flavor and the finish. This beer is great with spicy food, wild game, and other wintery food.

5. Smoked porter – Very exclusive, Alaskan smoked porter has a world class reputation for its excellence. Brewed in the fall, this beer is ideal for storing in the cellar for later enjoyment.

6. Winter ale – This tender brew of spruce trees has been used for brewing in Alaska since the late 1700s.

In the great world of commerce, new technologies are constantly being created to make life easier for us all. The enterprise of draft beer is no different. In the last few years, companies have made several advances that improve not only the quantity of draft beer but the quality as well. Self-cleaning beer taps systems have been developed as well as self-contained systems that are making life easier for the bartender as well as the consumer. This leads to increased profits for restaurant owners and a lower turnover rate for kegs of beer.

Probably the most important improvement has been the “quick-fill” systems that not only get colder brew into beer glasses but also cut down on waste, therefore reducing costs and improving profit margins. These improved beer taps fill the beer glasses from the bottom to the top, therefore getting more beer and less foam into the glass. These “quick-fill” systems can get up to and beyond a 98% yield out of a keg, where the industry standard is somewhere between 75-80%. This is especially relevant when it comes to a novice bartender. A beginning bartender can produce as much as 25-30% waste on a keg of beer in a busy night. Their lack of experience in pouring draft beer literally makes them pour all of the owner’s profit down the drain. There have also been small modifications to beer tap handles that have increased the success rate of the draft beer pour.

As consumer demands for draft beers goes up, so does the manufacturers urgency in creating a system that will deliver the product in the same quality as when it leaves the brewery. This is another one of the main problems with draft beer; it must remain at a constant temperature of between 38-42 degrees Fahrenheit. If the keg gets too warm, it will produce too much foam and make a lot more waste. If it is too cold, there will be no foam and there will be too much beer poured in the glass. Either way, it means lost profits to the restaurant or bar owner. Modern techniques in transporting product have increased as breweries strive to maintain a constant temperature to better preserve the taste of their beer right from the brewery. Recent inventions are not so much whole new systems as they are modifications to bar’s and restaurant’s already existing systems. With so many ways to pour a draft beer and so many different aspects of how the beer hits the beer glasses, companies are trying to take a lot of the guess-work out of the bartender’s job. New systems fill beer glasses from the bottom up, thus eliminating much of the usual 15% waste factor.

Representatives for these new beer taps say that while they still have a ways to go, things seem to be getting better for the most part. There has not been a perfect method developed yet, despite the efforts of the manufacturers. Improvements continue to be made and passed on to the consumer, giving the beer-drinking consumer something to smile about.

One of the reasons the hobby of home brewing is so popular is that you are not just taking up a pastime, you are becoming part of a closely knit society of home brewing that has its own culture, language and social structure that is unique to brewers alone.

Of course, the social aspect of drinking beer is well known. The infrastructure of pubs and bars that offers to patrons a place of comfort, friendship, fun and relaxation is about a lot more than just tipping back a delicious drink,. It is a part of our social fabric that goes back to revolutionary times when our most important documents were hashed out over a beer. And the importance of sharing a beer is just as powerful today as we all enjoyed thinking about that bar where “everybody knows your name” called Cheers.

So just as the social aspect of enjoying a beer with others is strong and well entrenched in our culture, so too is the art of making beer a deeply rooted part of society that goes back generations. That popularity has regular revivals and we are seeing a surge of interest in brewing today as all over the country brew pubs are springing up around delicious home grown beers that in many cases are far better than the mass produced beers that are heavily advertised during the Super Bowl.

This well developed and sophisticated brewing subculture not only will be of great help to you as you start to learn about becoming a home brewer yourself, it will become a society that is a lot of fun to be part of and where you may make friends for life as you share with others your love of making your own beer. In America the grass roots level subculture of home brewing is growing fast. This is no small concern to the big retail brewers who cannot possibly make the quality and rich kinds of beers that can be made at the local level. But this is a natural evolution as we follow our cousins in the UK where keg beers made locally dominate the world of beer consumption in a culture where pubs are a central part of the fabric of society.

One reason home brewing has such an appeal is the tremendous diversity of beers you can produce and the control you have over flavor, consistency and alcohol levels. In most cases, once you have your basic equipment for brewing beer, it is cheaper to make your own beer. And there is something satisfying about brewing up a big batch of beer to put back to ferment as you enjoy a five gallon batch you made last month. Beer brewers can become quite obsessed with flavor, color and “punch” and always be looking for new ways to become better at this fun and interesting hobby.

Whatever level of involvement in beer making appeals to you, you can probably find new friends in the beer brewing society that you can share your hobby with. There are beer brewing radio stations and ham radio channels devoted to helping amateur brewers share their secret recopies and solve each other’s problems. And there are home made beer competitions that can really put some challenge that all on you to make that blue ribbon beer that rally makes the judges sit up and take notice.

So as you find yourself getting more and more enthusiastic and “caught up” in the fun of home brewing, don’t be embarrassed by that because you can find a diverse assortment of other beer making enthusiasts to share your hobby with. So have fun, make friends, make good beer and above all, share your beer and your knowledge with others. Because beer is about more than good drink. It’s about good times with good people as well.

It is commonly known that beer has been around mankind for a long while. As beer itself changed, expanded, and improved, so did the way in which we actually got the beer to our mouths. Pottery, wood, stoneware, and even sewn up pieces of leather made up the earliest drinking vessels. As time went on, man witnessed small advancements in the quality of their beer receptacles. Early Europeans that lived during the time of the black plague saw the development of beer steins, which had a closed top on the steins to prevent flies from landing in the beer and making the person ill.

Today, the most important factor to influence modern beer glass making was the creation of glass. As consumers actually started to be able to look at what they were consuming from the glass they began to demand a beer with more flavor and a improved hue. Customers didn’t want chunks in their drinks anymore so manufacturers began to filter their beers. With this new, improved wave of beer glasses, it appeared beer steins were on the way out.

A variety of glasses were created and produced for the various kinds of beers. The sixteen-ounce pint glass is the most in demand glass in the United States. It was originally used to fit the top of a Martini shaker, but barkeeps soon discovered that as the beer poured out of the beer tap handles the pint glass was the top receptacle because it let part of the carbonation to be released and let the aroma of the brew to be more obvious. The pint glass rapidly became popular with barkeeps who had to rinse each glass by itself because it can be put on top of each other and stored easily on the shelves.

An attempt to get consumers to get their kind of beer by breweries led to some unique and groundbreaking moves on the marketing and advertising front. Handing out glasses to consumers was a way that manufacturers found to promote their beers even though it was illegal. This led to the manufacturers creating glasses that were works of art unto themselves. The first were gaudy and costly; they would often have gold or silver embossed on the sides. Eventually, artists for the breweries began doing detailed carvings on either side of the beer glasses or steins and even developed a method of cooking enamel paint onto the glasses. These enameled glasses are still some of the most rare beer souvenirs, even though they were made more recently than the others. Nowadays avid collectors all over the earth continue to collect these tin signs and memorabilia that are sometimes worth thousands. Have you looked up in the top of Grandpappy’s old drawer in a while?

It is commonly known that beer has been around mankind for a long time. The way we consumed beer developed as beer expanded, grew, and advanced. The earliest vessels humans used for drinking included stoneware, pottery, carved out wood, and even sewn-together bits of leather. As time proceeded, humans saw small improvements in the quality of their beer glasses. During the bubonic plague beer steins were essential because of their closed top to keep bugs from getting in the beer and getting them ill.

Nowadays, the most important thing to affect modern beer glass production was the development of glass. As glasses became more and more popular, customers could actually see what they were consuming and demanded a lighter and better color and taste. Drinkers didn’t want chunks in their beer anymore so manufacturers started to filter their products. With this new, more aesthetically pleasing wave of beer glasses, it appeared beer steins were on the way out.

All kinds of beer glasses were created and produced for the different kinds of beverages. The most popular in the United States is the 16-ounce pint glass. It was originally used to cover a Martini shaker, but barkeeps soon found that as the beer flowed out of the beer tap handles the pint glass was the perfect vessel because it let some of the carbonation to be released and let the smell of the brew to be more obvious. The pint glass rapidly became popular with bartenders who had to rinse each glass individually because it can be stacked on top of each other and put easily on the shelves.

On the advertising and marketing front some extraordinary and groundbreaking moves were developed by early breweries to try and persuade people towards their products. Handing out beer glasses to people was one way that manufacturers found to promote their products even though it was prohibited. This led to the breweries creating beer glasses that were works of art unto themselves. Gold or silver embossing on either side of the glass was not uncommon for these first flashy and pricey glasses. Gradually, artisans for the breweries began doing detailed etchings on the sides of the glasses or steins and even developed a method of firing enamel paint onto the beer glasses. These painted glasses remain some of the most unique beer souvenirs, even though they were produced later than the others. Today fervent collectors all over the planet continue to collect these signs and collectables that are sometimes worth thousands. Have you been up in the top of Granddad’s old drawer lately?