A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.
There is a long history of alcoholic drinks in China. They include rice and grape wine, beer, whisky and various liquors including baijiu, the most-consumed distilled spirit in the world.
Beer in China has become increasingly popular in the 20th century, both local and imported brands. Most Chinese beers are pale lagers, such as Tsingtao.
Beerlao is the generic name of a range of beers produced by the Lao Brewery Company (LBC) of Vientiane, Laos.
Beer in Japan mostly comes from the country's four major breweries, Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory, which mainly produce pale lagers around 5% ABV. Beer is immensely popular, far ahead of sake consumption.
Purposeful production of alcoholic drinks is common and often reflects cultural and religious peculiarities as much as geographical and sociological conditions.
Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
In Syria, the production and distribution of beer was controlled by the government, and most widely sold through the army's Military Social Establishment supermarket chain and through mini markets in city centres and Christian as well as Muslim areas. Beers imported from Lebanon are not common, although brands like Lebanese Almaza, Heineken and Amstel are popular and available in hotels, restaurants and most shops in different parts of cities like Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus and Qamishli. Production of the country's two local brands, al-Shark and Barada was halted in 2011 due to the outbreak of civil war. A new brewery known as Afamia was opened in 2010 in Adra near Damascus. By the end of 2017, the Arados brewery was opened in the town of Safita in Tartus Governorate.
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (FES) is a stout produced by the Guinness Brewery, an Irish brewing company owned by Diageo, a drinks multinational. First brewed by Guinness in 1801, FES was designed for export, and is more heavily hopped than Guinness Draught and Extra Stout, which gives it a more bitter taste, and typically has a higher alcohol content. The extra hops were intended as a natural preservative for the long journeys the beer would take by ship.
Beer in Asia began when beer was produced in Sumer, Mesopotamia circa 6000 years ago. It was introduced by Europeans in the 19th century, with modern breweries established in British India, the Dutch East Indies, China, and Japan. Asia's first modern brewery was established in 1830 in India entirely using European brewing technology.
In Russia, beer is tied with vodka as the most popular alcoholic drink in the country. The average Russian person drank about 11.7 liters of pure alcohol in 2016, with beer and vodka accounting for 39% each.
Beer in Taiwan was dominated by monopoly products until 2002, when free trade became law in Taiwan. The main domestic brand remains Taiwan Beer, brewed by the publicly owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation that succeeded the government's monopoly bureau in 2002.
Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.
Central African cuisine includes the cuisines, cooking traditions, practices, ingredients and foods of the Central African Republic (CAR). Indigenous agriculture in the country includes millet, sorgum, banana, yam, okra, yellow onion, garlic, spinach, rice and palm oil. Imported crops of American origin include maize, manioc (cassava), peanuts, chili peppers, sweet potato and tomato. Additional foods include onions, garlic, chiles and peanuts.
Alcohol in Indonesia refers to the alcohol industry, alcohol consumption and laws related to alcohol in the South East Asian country of Indonesia. Indonesia is a Muslim majority country, yet it is also a pluralist, democratic and secular nation. These social and demographic conditions led to Islamic parties and pressure groups pushing the government to restrict alcohol consumption and trade, while the government carefully considers the rights of non-Muslims and consenting adults to consume alcohol, and estimates the possible alcohol ban effects on Indonesian tourism and the economy.
Alcohol in Malaysia refers to the consumption, industry and laws of alcohol in the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia. Although Malaysia is a Muslim majority country, the country permits the selling of alcohol to non-Muslims. There are no nationwide alcohol bans being enforced in the country, with the exception of Kelantan and Terengganu which is only for Muslims. The Islamic party respects the rights of non-Muslims with non-Muslim establishments like Chinese restaurants and grocery shops being excluded from such bans. The federal territory of Kuala Lumpur has the highest alcohol consumption in the country, followed by the states of Sarawak in second place and Sabah in third place.
Beer in Malaysia started in 1968, when two leading breweries of Guinness and Malayan Breweries merged to form a new company known as Guinness Anchor Berhad. Previously, the distribution of beer in Malaysia is mainly distributed by Malayan Breweries Limited which is centred in neighbouring Singapore. Carlsberg establish its first brewery outside Kuala Lumpur in 1970. By 2007, one local brewery began to establish their presence in the country although the demands for commercial beers are much higher than a new local brand. Most beers in the Malaysian markets are imported from neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. In 2022, finally Malaysia had its very own craft beer brand known as PaperKite. PaperKite is also the first Malaysian craft beer brand to win the World Beer Awards in 2023.
North Korea has at least ten major breweries and many microbreweries that supply a wide range of beer products. The top brand is the light lager Taedonggang by the state-owned Taedonggang Brewing Company.
Some dishes are shared by the two Koreas; however, availability and quality of Northern cuisine is much more significantly affected by sociopolitical class divides.
