Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly from malted barley, though wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. During the brewing process, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilizing agent. Other flavouring agents such as gruit, herbs, or fruits may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, the natural carbonation effect is often removed during processing and replaced with forced carbonation.
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.
A craft brewery or microbrewery is a brewery that produces small amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and is often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis on enthusiasm, new flavours, and varied brewing techniques.
The U.S. state of Oregon is home to more than 200 breweries and brew pubs that produce a large variety of beer.
Smoked beer is a type of beer with a distinctive smoke flavour imparted by using malted barley dried over an open flame.
The Saint Arnold Brewing Company is a brewery in Houston, Texas, USA, named after a patron saint of brewing, Saint Arnulf of Metz. It was founded in 1994 by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol, graduates of Rice University. The brewery offers tours every weekday & Saturday afternoons, which have attracted a large following. Saint Arnold has won numerous national and international awards including Mid Size Brewery of The Year 2017.
Eel River Brewing Company is a brewery in Fortuna, California and the first certified organic brewery in the United States.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company is a family-owned craft brewery with operations in Paso Robles, Buellton and Venice, California. The brewery was established in 1996 by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone and David Walker. The original brewery was located on a family vineyard in Los Olivos, California. Their first beer, Double Barrel Ale, was made in a patented variation of the Burton union system. The main brewing operations moved to Paso Robles in 2001. Firestone Walker is today known for bestselling beers such as 805 and Mind Haze. Firestone Walker celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021 and is now California's second largest craft brewery.
Kentucky common beer is a once-popular style of ale from the area in and around Louisville, Kentucky from the 1850s until Prohibition. This style is rarely brewed commercially today. It was also locally known as dark cream common beer, cream beer or common beer. The beer was top-fermented and was krausened up to 10% making it quite highly carbonated. Like cream ale, it was consumed fresh, usually as draught beer. In 1913 it was estimated that 80% of the beer consumed in Louisville was of this type. Many local breweries made only this style of beer.
Canal Street Brewing Co., L.L.C., doing business as Founders Brewing Company, is a brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, known for producing several highly rated and award-winning craft-style ales, including KBS, Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard, and Founders Porter. Since its founding as a craft brewery in the mid 1990s, it has grown to become the 15th largest brewery in the United States, and a prominent member of the West Michigan brewing industry. It is now majority-owned by Mahou San Miguel of Spain.
Grodziskie is a historical style of beer from Poland that is typically made from oak-smoked wheat malt. The beer can be described as having a clear, light golden color, high carbonation, low alcohol content, low to moderate levels of hop bitterness, and a strong smoke flavor and aroma. The taste is light and crisp, with primary flavors coming from the smoked malt, the high mineral content of the water, and the strain of yeast used to ferment the beverage. The beer was nicknamed "Polish Champagne" because of its high carbonation levels, and because it was valued as a high-quality beverage to be used for special occasions.
Jester King is a craft brewery in Austin, Texas that specializes in beer fermented with wild yeast. It is set on a 200-acre ranch about 18 miles west of Downtown Austin.
Dangerous Man Brewing Company is a microbrewery located in the Sheridan neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis.
Tractor Brewing Company is a New Mexico-based brewery, founded in 1999 in Los Lunas and since 2014 located in Albuquerque. Tractor beers have won awards at the New Mexico State Fair Pro-Am Competition.
Finnegans Brew Co. is a Minnesota-based brewery founded in September 2000, known for donating 100% of its profits back to the community. Proceeds are donated to the Finnegans Community Fund, which focuses on feeding the hungry by working with local food banks and produce growers.
Põhjala Brewery is a craft brewery in Tallinn, Estonia. Its name is Estonian for "northern realm". It is the largest craft brewery in the Baltic states and the only one to be included in the Ratebeer "top 100" list of world breweries. In 2019 the company had a turnover of 4.69 million euros. Põhjala has a particular focus on porters, barrel ageing, and ingredients from the forests of Estonia.
A barrel-aged beer is a beer that has been aged for a period of time in a wooden barrel. Typically, these barrels once housed bourbon, whisky, wine, or, to a lesser extent, brandy, sherry, or port. There is a particular tradition of barrel ageing beer in Belgium, notably of lambic beers. The first bourbon barrel-aged beers were produced in the United States in the early 1990s.
Slice Beer Company is a microbrewery in Lincoln, California, United States. Slice predominantly features West Coast IPAs, Hazy IPAs, and classic styles.
