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.
The Boston Beer Company is an American brewery founded in 1984. Boston Beer Company's first brand of beer was named Samuel Adams after Founding Father Samuel Adams, an American revolutionary patriot. Since its founding, Boston Beer has started several other brands, and in 2019 completed a merger with Dogfish Head Brewery.
Altbier is a style of beer brewed in the Rhineland, especially around the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. It is a copper coloured, malt-forward, clean and crisp tasting, lighter-bodied beer with moderate bitterness. Its name comes from it being top-fermented, an older method than the bottom fermentation of lager beers.
Victory Brewing Company (Victory) is a brewery founded in 1996 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States. The main brands are HopDevil, Prima Pils, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey, DirtWolf, and Storm King, which are distributed in 34 states and nine countries. Victory Brewing is located at 420 Acorn Lane Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335.
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until prohibition in Canada. The provincial and federal governments' attempt to eliminate "intoxicating" beverages led to the closing of nearly three quarters of breweries between 1878 and 1928. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century that a significant number of new breweries opened up. The Canadian beer industry now plays an important role in Canadian identity, though globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by, or merged with, foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers, Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead, with an estimated 3.8 percent share of the domestic market in 2016, has become the largest fully Canadian-owned brewer.
Beer in Belgium varies from pale lager to amber ales, lambic beers, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were approximately 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries including Trappist monasteries. On average, Belgians drink 68 liters of beer each year, down from around 200 each year in 1900. Most beers are bought or served in bottles, rather than cans, and almost every beer has its own branded, sometimes uniquely shaped, glass. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed Belgian beer culture on their list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Beer has been brewed in England for hundreds of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.
Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels (23.0 GL) of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly 28 US gallons (110 L) of beer per capita annually. In 2011, the United States was ranked fifteenth in the world in per capita consumption, while total consumption was second only to China.
Upland Brewing Company, founded in 1997, is a brewery in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is currently the third largest brewery in Indiana with a total of six locations across Central Indiana. Upland currently makes over 80 beers per year which include ales, lagers, and sour beers.
The North Coast Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Fort Bragg, California. As of 2018, it is the 46th-largest craft brewer by annual sales volume in the United States.
The Golden Tap Awards (GTAs) is an annual beer awards event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbrew beer scene.
Russian River Brewing Company is a brewery and brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa, California, with a second location in Windsor. The company is known for strong India pale ales and sour beers.
The beers of the Caribbean are unique to each island in the region, although many are variants of the same style. Each island generally brews its own unique pale lager, the occasional stout, and often a non-alcoholic malta beverage. Contract-brewing of international beers is also common, with Heineken Pilsener and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout being the most popular. The beers vary between the islands to suit the taste and the brewing method used.
Cigar City Brewing, LLC is a craft brewery in Tampa, Florida, at 3924 West Spruce Street. Founded in 2007 by Joey Redner, it has been producing beer in Tampa since January 30, 2009. It currently produces approximately 170,000 barrels of beer annually. Since 2009, it has brewed over 6,000 individual brands of beer.
Great Basin Brewing Co. is a brewery headquartered in Sparks, Nevada. It is Nevada's largest and oldest currently operating brewery—though not the state's longest operated. Great Basin beers are available as bottled draught beer at over 400 locations in Northern Nevada and the surrounding regions, including Aces Ballpark. They also serve beer at many special events, such as the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off and The Great Reno Balloon Race. Growlers and kegs may be purchased or filled at any of the company's tap rooms.
Dock Street Brewing Company is a brewery with a brewpub in the Cedar Park neighborhood of Philadelphia, USA and a production facility and brewpub in Point Breeze, Philadelphia. Established in 1985, it claims to be the first craft brewing company based in the Philadelphia area following Prohibition and one of the first in the country. The name Dock Street was chosen in honor of the seaport district of the same name in Philadelphia which was the largest producer of beer in the then-newly formed country in the late 1700s.
San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale, sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.
Tired Hands Brewing Company is a brew-café founded in 2011 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, United States by Jean Broillet IV. The current location at 16 Ardmore Ave has a 1,000 barrel per year and 150 chair capacity. Tired Hands produces their beer in small batches and specializes in Belgian and French farmhouse ales as well as American hop-forward ales. The food menu includes on site baked bread, with locally produced cheeses, meats, pickled items, and seasonal produce. A second brewpub called the "Fermentaria" was opened in April 2015, at 35 Cricket Terrace. It has brewing capacity for up to 10,000 barrels per year and features a different taplist and food menu than the brew-café. Tired Hands opened another establishment in the city of Philadelphia, St. Oners opened in the Fishtown Neighborhood, at 2218 Frankford Avenue. Jean Broillet IV, the founder of Ardmore’s popular Tired Hands Brewing Company, stepped down after allegations of sexism and racism surfaced via anonymous Instagram posts in May 2021.
Southern Tier Brewing Company is a craft brewing company in Lakewood, NY, in the southwestern section of NY state known as the Southern Tier.
The Blackstone Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded by Kent Taylor and Stephanie Weins in 1994, it claims to be Nashville's oldest craft brewery. The original brewpub, called Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery, opened on New Year's Eve 1994 and operated until 2016. In 2011, the company built a production brewery nearby and opened a tap house for the public in 2016. Blackstone also brews traditional European lagers for the Nashville Brewing Company. Blackstone Brewing Company has received more awards than any other brewery in Nashville, winning multiple medals at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.
