International Beer Day 2023: Fun Facts About Beer, Its History And All About Indian Beer

Beer - that too a chilled one on a sunny afternoon is nothing less than pure bliss! Although we would like to celebrate beer every day, there actually is a whole day dedicated to celebrating beer.

International Beer Day is a celebration observed on the first Friday of every August. The day was founded in 2007 in Santa Cruz, California by Jesse Avshalomov. So, International Beer Day will be celebrated on the 2 August.

International Beer Day 2023

International Beer Day: History

Fact 1: International Beer Day has three declared purposes and they are;

  • To gather with friends and enjoy the taste of beer.
  • To celebrate those responsible for brewing and serving beer.
  • To unite the world under the banner of beer, by celebrating the beers of all nations together on a single day

Fact 2: Some of the Popular forms of International Beer Day Events around the globe include Tapping of new or rare beers, all-day happy hours, beer flights, trivia nights, binge drinking and other games (such as beer pong), beer/food pairings etc.

Fact 3: From 2007 through 2012, International Beer Day was celebrated on 5 August. After International Beer Day 2012, the day was moved to the first Friday in August.

International Beer Day 2023

International Beer Day: Fun Facts About Beer

  • The earliest evidence of brewing beer dates back to about 3500-2900 B.C.
  • The oldest brewery in the world today is the Weihenstephan Brewery in Freising, Germany - founded in 1040.
  • The strongest beer in the world was created by the Scottish brewery Brewmeister in 2017. It has a strength of 67.5%. For comparison, the beloved Kingfisher beer Indians primarily enjoy has a strength of 4.8 %.
  • China, the United States, Germany, Russia and Brazil are among the top five beer-producing countries.
  • The world's largest beer producer is the Belgian corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev, owning about 400 beer brands in 50 countries which includes popular brands like Budweiser, Corona etc.
  • The leading beer brand worldwide is Budweiser (as of 2018), in second place is Heineken, and in third place is Bud Light.
International Beer Day 2023

International Beer Day: All About Indian Beer

  • In India, the consumption of (rice) beer began centuries ago, as far back as 1500 BC.
  • The beer-like sura has been produced in India since the Vedic era (c. 1500-1200 BCE, Rig Veda), and rice beer has been produced by the native tribes since ancient times.
  • European beer imports to India from England started in 1716, introduced by the British Raj.
  • However, the first 'real beer' was introduced in India when in the mid-1850s, Edward Dyer moved to Kasauli to set up a brewery. He developed Asia's first beer, 'Lion.'