Beer is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in the world, it traces its history back to the depths of the centuries, has thousands of recipes and millions of fans in all corners of the planet. Therefore, it is not surprising that many festivals, fairs and celebrations of various levels are organized in his honor.
Thus, the “professional” holidays of producers and lovers of this foamy intoxicating drink appear in the calendar of many countries. For example, – this is March 1, in Russia the main industry holiday of beer producers – – is celebrated on the second Saturday of June.
Even in recent years, it is gaining more and more popularity International beer day (English International Day) is an annual unofficial holiday of all lovers and producers of this drink, which is celebrated on the first Friday of August. The founder of the holiday was the American Jesse Avshalomov, the owner of the bar, who wanted to thus attract even more visitors to his establishment.
For the first time this holiday was held in 2007 in the city of Santa Cruz (California, USA) and for several years had a fixed date – August 5, but as the geography of the holiday spread, its date also changed – from 2012 it is celebrated on the first Friday of August… It was by this time that it turned from a local festival into an international event – in 2012 it was celebrated already in 207 cities of 50 countries on 5 continents. In addition to the USA, today Beer Day is celebrated in many countries of Europe, South and North America, Asia and Africa. But in Russia it is still not very famous, although beer in Russia has always been popular.
As already mentioned, beer is a very ancient drink. According to archaeological finds, beer in Ancient Egypt was already brewed for sure in the 3rd century BC, that is, it can trace its history from more ancient times. A number of researchers associate its appearance with the beginning of human cultivation of grain crops – 9000 BC. By the way, there is an opinion that wheat was initially cultivated not for baking bread, but for making beer. Unfortunately, the name of the person who came up with the recipe for the preparation of this drink is not known either. Although, of course, the composition of the “ancient” beer was different from the modern one, which includes malt and hops.
Beer, roughly as we know it today, appeared around the 13th century. It was then that hops began to be added to it. Breweries appeared in Iceland, Germany, England and other European countries, and each had its own secrets of making this drink. The beer was made according to different family recipes, which were passed down from father to son and were kept in the strictest confidence. It is believed that the tradition of hosting a wild beer celebration came from Iceland, the homeland of the Vikings. And then these traditions were picked up in other countries.
Today, as before, the main goal of all such holidays is to get together with friends and enjoy the taste of your favorite beer, congratulate and thank everyone who, in one way or another, is associated with the production and serving of this foamy drink.
Therefore, traditionally, on International Beer Day, the main events are held in pubs, bars and restaurants, where all participants of the holiday can taste beer not only of different varieties, but also of different producers from different countries and even rare varieties. Moreover, the establishments are open until the early morning, because the main tradition of the holiday is to contain as much beer as it can fit. And also, for example, in the USA, various themed parties, quizzes and games are often organized, especially beer pong (an alcoholic game in which players throw a ping-pong ball across the table, trying to get it into a mug or glass of beer standing on the other end of this table). And all this with a glass of high quality drink. The main thing to remember is that beer is still an alcoholic drink, so you need to celebrate Beer Day so that you don’t have a headache in the morning.
Some interesting facts about beer:
– It is believed that the most beer nation is the Germans, the Czechs and Irish are slightly behind them in terms of beer consumption.
– In England, in the town of Great Harwood, an unusual beer competition is held – men arrange a 5-mile race, and at this distance they have to drink a beer in 14 pubs located at a distance. But at the same time, the participants do not just run, but run with baby carriages. And the winner is the one who not only came to the finish line first, but also never turned the wheelchair over.
– The largest brewery is the Adolph Coors Company (USA), its production capacity is 2,5 billion liters of beer per year.
– At the auction, a bottle of Lowebrau was sold for more than $ 16. This is the only bottle of beer that survived the 000 crash of the Hindenburg airship in Germany.
– Some of the most famous beer festivals in the world – which takes place in Germany in September; London’s Great Beer Festival in August; Belgian Beer Weekend – in Brussels in early September; and at the end of September – the Great Beer Festival in Denver (USA). And this is not a complete list.