Geeks Who Drink

Beer is the second most popular drink in the world, falling right behind tea. This makes total and complete sense to me because beer dates back to at least 4000 BC. The earliest recorded recipe for brewing beer is from the ancient Babylonians and the oldest known written recipe is for beer. Beer has been and will always be a part of our history; from FDR promising during his campaign for president in 1932 that he would put an end to prohibition to a recent study at the University of Illinois suggesting that drinking beer may make you smarter.

 If you’re a brew nerd like me you should know some of these small facts so the next time that you are at “Geeks Who Drink” trivia night you can show off some of your new found knowledge.

As a lady wanting to get into an all boys club I was a little discouraged until I found out that in mid evil Europe brewing and baking went together and who else than the little women folk to do the brewing. Beer wives was the not so flattering nick name given to these ladies but the paved the way for beer none the less. Women and beer have come a long way, especially in America. The US started brewing beer with mostly rice to give it a lighter taste so that it would appeal to the women’s market.

For the longest time I could not figure out why my best friend Sarah was able to hold her beer better than me. I could never keep up and I can never drink as much as she can. This girl can get her B- complex vitamins. After all these years I have finally figured it out; she is German. In the early 1800’s women were encouraged to drink seven pints a day in order to adequately breast feed their children. This number was later reduced after the government found two pints a day to be sufficient enough. The Germans were literally bread to be beer drinkers! WTF?! I get it now.

In the year 1756 a very smart man signed a 9000 year lease on a building in Dublin. That man was Arthur Guinness and his descendants have been brewing beer there since. Guinness sells an average of 7 million glasses a day!

Delicious! Take your new beer knowledge to trivia! Good luck my friends!