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Clublife invited me to contribute some topics of my own. So today i'm going to write about something close to the heart of men. If not most men. BEER.

Former US Preside,nt Thomas Jefferson, once said, “Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.”

We don't need any occassion for beer drinking. In fact we can drink it any time of the day. Beer drank on a hot and humid day is what i would term refreshing. Drinking at night would be what i call, appetizing or 'shiok' (term for great in singlish). Did you know that construction workers drink lots of it when they are out toiling in the sun? Reason being, the beer helps to cool their system as they have to work long hours in the sun. Yet why do some men shy away from it? Beer belly, the fault of over drinking and no excercising what so ever. Beer is not to be blamed. It is the over doing and letting "nature takes its course" that causes this effect called the beer belly. Beer if drank in moderation has its benefits. In fact anything in moderation is good for the body.

Yet, we need to understand the origins of beer in order to appreciate the wonders of it. The history of beer dates back 4000 plus years ago back to biblical times. Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain & water before learning to make bread. Beer became ingrained in the culture of civilizations with no significant viticulture. Noah's provisions included beer on the Ark. In 4300 BC, Babylonian clay tablets detail recipes for beer. Beer was a vital part of civilization and the Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Inca cultures. Even Jesus was said to have made beer himself. Anyway enough of history.

Let us take a look at the different types of beer:

Beer can be divided into three main types, depending on the fermentation method. for more information pls direct yourself to http://www.beer2005.be/langue/en/biere/lesTypes.htm

The Main Types are:

Lager
The word lager is derived from the German verb “lagern”, which means: to store. During the late middle ages, before the days of refrigeration, fermentation was a hit-or-miss affair, especially during the hot summer months. To ensure a supply of beer for the summer, brewers in the Bavarian Alps stored kegs of spring brew in icy mountain caves. As the beer slowly aged, the yeast settled, creating a drink that was dark but clear and sparkling with a crisper, more delicate flavour. In 1842, lager acquired its familiar golden colour when a brewery in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia perfected a pale, bottom-fermented version of the beer. Lagers typically take more time to brew and are aged longer than ales. Lagers are best enjoyed at cooler-than-room temperature.

Bock Beer
The other bottom-fermented beer is bock, named for the famous medieval German brewing town of Einbeck. Heavier than lager and darkened by high-coloured malts, bock is traditionally brewed in the winter for drinking during the spring.

Ale
Although the term covers a fascinating variety of styles, all ales share certain characteristics. Top-fermentation and the inclusion of more hops in the wort gives these beers a distinctive fruitiness, acidity and a pleasantly-bitter seasoning. All ales typically take less time to brew and age then lagers and have a more assertive, individual personality, though their alcoholic strength may be the same. Ales are best enjoyed at room temperature or slightly warmer.
Porter and StoutWhether dry or sweet, flavoured with roasted malt barley, oats or certain sugars, stouts and porters are characterized by darkness and depth. Both types of beer are delicious with hearty meat stews and surprisingly good with shellfish. The pairing of oysters and stout has long been acknowledged as one of the world's great gastronomic marriages.

Dry
“Dry” refers to the amount of residual sugar left in a beer following fermentation. This type of beer is fermented for longer than normal brews so that practically all of the residual sugar is converted into alcohol. The result is a beer which consumers describe as having a crisp flavour, clean finish and very little aftertaste.

A study from the Netherlands indicates that moderate alcohol intake raises hormone that protects from artery disease. Among the findings they saw the levels of good cholesterol rise. While heavy alcohol use has many serious adverse health effects including liver disease, increased risk of digestive cancers and impaired judgement leading to accident, moderate use can have some health benefits.

WINE v/s BEER
According to Mr. Jim Anderson, wine connoisseur, "When you compare the raw ingredients that go into wine and beer, you'll find that wine, on one hand, is made purely from grapes, water and yeast. Grapes are a fine source of sugars, fiber and chromium, but few of those things survive the fermentation and filtering process. Yeast has loads of complex B vitamins, but again, they do not appear in the final product due to filtering."

Beer, on the other hand, is made from grains, water and yeast. Grains commonly used are barley and wheat (with cheaper, mass-produced beers relying on corn and rice), both of which are loaded with a variety of vitamins that survive the fermentation and filtering process. And the vitamin value of the yeast is conserved in the hundreds of unfiltered beers that are on the market -- both on tap and in bottles.

So take heed all you beer lovers. It is now a proven fact that beer -- yes, BEER -- can provide the same health benefits as wine. No matter what type of ale you prefer, studies show that drinking beer in moderation (up to 2 drinks a day for us guys) can and will reduce your chances of strokes, as well as heart and vascular disease.It's called the French Paradox -- the link between the low rate of heart disease among the French and their fat-laden diet was a daily dosage of red wine. Well, there's no denying the results of that study. But what the public doesn't know is that the health value of beer has been known, documented and applied for centuries.

So next time you take that mug, bottle or can. Whether it' s Henekin, Corona, Stella Artois, Budweiser or Guinness. Rembember the process that went through into making that cup you are holding. If you can't appreciate beer don't waste it. Go drink a root beer. There's so much to BEER as there is, the revamping of beer and the way to pour and many more. As nick always say, Bottoms Up! Happy drinking.

Cheers
Nick


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