Beer...

Introduction

Along with wine, beer is probably one of the oldest alcoholic beverages known to man and the most popular one at that. All over the world, with the possible exception of France, Italy and Portugal, people guzzle beer in copious quantities.

Even in India, beer is one of the fastest growing segments within the liquor industry. But it is in England and Germany where beer drinking takes on an entirely new meaning. It is, in fact, almost a religion. Consider the numerous English pubs with their individualistic styles of beers; the stein wielding barmaids at a German beer garden. It is a way of life rather than the road to destruction. You could go on a `beer trail' and drink zillion different kinds of `tap' in one evening, then wonder how the simple beer could reach heights thought unattainable. Read on to figure out the basics about beer, how it's made, what the different types of beer are, what's the best way to drink it, so on and so forth.

How Is it Made

It is unjust that the hauteur which rightly attends wine should so often be permitted to overshadow beer. The two ought to be companions of honour as the principal types of fermented drink: made in the first case from the grape (or other fruits) and in the second from grain (mostly barley). Both are capable of great delicacy, and it is to the drinker's disadvantage that beer is...

Types

Technically speaking, there are two basic styles of beer - lagers and ales - different in the type of yeast used to brew it. This is what gives ales (top fermenting yeast) its characteristic hoppy...

Draught Beer

Beer served straight from the keg by means of a spigot or a valve. Unlike the bottled or canned varieties, draft beer hasn't been subjected...

How to Drink it / Food to go with/Good Cocktails

After an exhaustive round of statistics and conjecture, let's get to the pleasurable side of drinking this great brew. Beer drinkers are often quite definite about the glass...

Festivals / Trails / Famous Regions

Several beer festivals happen all over the world, from the famed Oktoberfest in Munich to the Great British beer festival and closer home, the Arlem beer festival in Goa...

Indian Scene

Not that we haven't had our share of innovation. Years ago, in the early eighties, Associated Breweries (of London Pilsner fame) launched London Stout into a market not quite ready for such adventure. It was soon shelved.