15 SURPRISING BEER FACTS THAT EVERY BEER LOVER MUST KNOW

Few things in life are as satisfying as guzzling a cold beer on a hot day. Few things in life are as comforting as getting a beer with your friends, after a hard day. In fact, few things in life are as uplifting as the humble beer. But how much do you know about everyone’s favorite beverage?
Here’s a handy list of beer facts that you can casually throw in to impress, the next time you’re sipping Buds with your buds.

1. Exposure to light will make your cold beer go bad.

Continued exposure to light will probably leave your beer tasting, and smelling, skunky. As you might have guessed, that’s not a good thing. This skunkiness is caused by a very specific compound called 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, or ‘skunky-thiol’. It gets its less chemical, more gross name because it’s also found in a skunk’s anal glands.
The reason is that hop, a primary ingredient in beer, is sensitive to light. When attacked by visible or ultraviolet light, hops break down to make reactive intermediates, called free radicals. This leads to an offensive taste, skunky smell and a ruined beer.

2. Beer and marijuana are more closely related than you thought. Hop, a main ingredient of beer, falls in the same family of flowering plants as its cousin, marijuana.

It’s true. Strictly scientifically speaking, beer and marijuana have a bit of a connection. Hop, or Humulus Lupulus, has anti-microbial qualities which help extend the shelf-life of beer, in addition to providing the bitterness. Both marijuana and hop belong to the same family of flowering plants called Cannabaceae.

3. Apparently, beer helps prevent cardiac disease and cognitive decline.

Moderation, as always, is key. It was found that, when consumed reasonably, beer reduces the risk of cardiac disease, stroke and cognitive decline.
Disclaimer: Binge-drinking has no such benefits.

4. Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass. So, that’s what you call it!

5. The strongest beer in the world has a 67.5% alcohol content. Please add this to your ‘Alcohol Bucket List’. 

Two Scots pals got together to brew the strongest beer ever and decided to call it ‘Armageddon’. This hardcore beer boasted an alcohol content of 65%. Imagine their surprise when customers complained that this beer wasn’t strong enough.
So, in true entrepreneurial spirit, Lewis Shand and John McKenzie decided to up the game. Their latest creation is 67.5% strong ‘Snake Venom’ beer.
It is not advisable to drink more than 35ml of this beer in one sitting.

6. Beer was not considered an alcoholic beverage in Russia, until 2013. 

On New Year’s Day 2014, Russia woke up to a rather troubling reality –  beer was classified as an alcoholic beverage for the first time. Previously, beer had been considered a foodstuff, along with all other drinks less than 10% in strength. The beverage was available freely, at street kiosks and 24-hour convenience stores.
All that changed, when then President Dmitry Medvedev signed off on these restrictions in 2011, to mitigate and control alcohol abuse.

7. A man made it through 46 days on ONLY beer and water. 

A brave man from Iowa, J. Wilson, completed the Lent-long Beer Fast in 2011. Wilson drank only beer and water for 46 days straight, and finally broke this absurd fast with a bacon smoothie.
The beer diet is modeled along the lines of a centuries-old tradition that was practiced by Paulaner monks in Munich, Germany. However, a prolonged diet of beer and water will result in scurvy, protein deficiency and lots of trouble.

8. Egyptian pyramid workers were paid with beer and give 1 gallon (4L), per day of work. 

Ancient alcohol expert and professor, Dr. Patrick McGovern, believes that the pyramids would not exist if it weren’t for beer. The story goes that workers would toil away to build Egypt’s pyramids, in return for cold beer at the end of the day.
McGovern says, “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.”

9. The oldest known recipe for beer is over 4,000 years old and was created by Sumerians.

In ancient Sumer, beer-brewing and bread-making were closely related. In fact, the oldest known recipe for beer is 4000 years old and was left to us by the Sumerians, inscribed on a clay tablet.
Ninkasi is the ancient Sumerian Goddess of Brewing and Beer, and head brewer for the Gods, themselves. The recipe has been written in the form of a Hymn to Ninkasi. The lyrical recipe records the entire process, from breaking down baked grains into pieces and stuffing them in a pot, to the addition of aromatics and water that would cause fermentation.
On that note, go check out the entire, translated Hymn To Ninkasi. It’s quite beautiful.

10. There’s a beer that is brewed from bananas in Africa. 

Several, in fact. Africa boasts of several commercial brands of banana beer. These include Mongozo Banana Beer, Raha and Agashya. The basic process involves the fermentation of mashed bananas, with variations in different parts of Africa.

11. Australian scientists have created a hydrating, hangover-free beer. 

A truly noble pursuit, scientists in Australia have created a hangover-free beer by adding electrolytes to the brew. The key, they believe, is to prevent dehydration. There is a catch, however. This only works on beers with a lower alcohol content.

12. There are beer-flavored ice creams with enough alcohol in them to leave you tipsy. 

13. Belgian city, Bruges, is all set to get an underground beer pipeline. 

The move comes as an attempt to preserve the beauty of Bruges. Each year, the city endures around 500 beer tankers clanking along its cobbled streets. As a result, the streets are now looking battered and bruised.
So, plans are being prepared for the construction of a high-quality plastic pipe that will carry 6000 liters of beer, beneath the city, instead.

14. Australia largest ever petition, with 792,985 signatures, was submitted to Parliament in the year 2000. The initiative? To protest rising beer prices. That’s a cause I can get behind. 

15. In outer space, there exists a gigantic cloud of alcohol which can be used to fill 400 trillion trillion pints of beer.

You read that right. There’s a cloud of ethyl alcohol, called G34.3, just floating along in space. What’s more is that the alcohol found in this cloud can fill 400 trillion trillion pints of beer.
You might not want to get too excited, though. The big, bad, booze cloud is 10,000 light years away from us, in the constellation Aquila. So, we’re probably a long way from it. Moreover, it is 1000 times the size of our solar system and we’d probably just drown in it anyway.
Bonus Fact: Budweiser beer, or really any beer, makes a kickass hair conditioner! Remember that the next time you have a flat beer and lackluster locks.