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Beer and nationalityWhat follows is a list of beers by the country within which they originate, and the beer drinking and brewing practices within those countries:
AlbaniaAlbania's most famous beer is Birra Tirana, which accounts for roughly 30% of the beer consumed in the country. ArmeniaArmenia is more famous by its cognac, vodka and also wine. Three local beer brands are available throughout the country: Kilikia (named after a historic Armenian kingdom at the Mediterranean coast), Kotayk (named after Armenian province east of Yerevan) and Erebuni (historical settlement in southeastern part of present day Yerevan). Russian beers, especially Baltika, are also widely available throughout the country. AustriaSee Austrian beer AustraliaSee Australian beer BelgiumSee Belgian beer BulgariaBulgaria, while being quite a small country in Eastern Europe, has quite a number of beer brands. The most popular breweries (all producing namesake lagers) are Kamenitza (produced in the city of Plovdiv), Zagorka (produced mainly in Stara Zagora) and AstikA (Produced in city of Haskovo). Other remarkable brands are Stolichno (bock beer produced by Zagorka), Shumensko (both lager and red ale, produced in the city of Shumen ), Burgasko (produced in the city of Burgas), MM (produced in the city of Varna), Pirinsko (brewed in the city of Blagoevgrad), and Plevensko (produced in the city of Pleven). Most of the Bulgarian breweries are currently owned by foreign breweries, such as Heineken (Zagorka) and Interbrew (AstikA and Kamenitza). Canada
ChinaSee Chinese beer Czech RepublicSee Czech beer DenmarkDanish industrialist J. C. Jacobsen revolutionized the world of brewing when his brewery, Carlsberg, bred a pure strain of lager yeast, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis . This enabled the breweries to achieve a large and consistent output, and lager has been the most popular style of beer in Denmark since Carlsberg started selling it in 1847. Smaller breweries in Denmark suffered greatly under the Carlsberg market dominance, especially during the middle of the 20th century, and this led to a large reduction in available beer quality and styles. In recent years the interest in higher quality beer has risen sharply, and the Danish beer landscape is now dotted with several microbreweries and brewpubs, producing a wide range of beers. EgyptThe leading local brand is called Stella (not to be confused with the Belgian Stella Artois). Available in original, export, and premium varieties, it is primarily sold to non-Muslim overseas visitors. Other brands on the market include Meister and Saqqara , and the non-alcoholic "Birell" and "Kaliber". Estonia and FinlandBoth of these countries are known for their traditional juniper beers. In Finland, this is known as Sahti and in Estonia it is called Koduolu. This beer is made from rye or oat malts that are filtered through straws and juniper twigs. According to beerhunter Michael Jackson, it is by far the oldest continuous living tradition of beer making, representing nothing less than a direct link with Babylonian beer-making methods. FranceAlthough the French market is dominated by industrial breweries, the Nord/Pas-de-Calais possesses strong brewing traditions and breweries (Pelforth, for example), which it shares with its Belgian neighbor across the border. Alsace, also has a strong tradition of brewing beer with bottom fermenting yeasts in the German style. Bretagne has experienced a significant revival of its brewing traditions in the past couple of decades and is home to a score or more of microbreweries. GermanySee the main article on German beer HungarySee Hungarian beer IndiaSee Indian beer IrelandIreland is best known for stout, of which Guinness is the largest selling and most widely distributed brand. Guinness also make the most widely distributed Irish lager: Harp. It is recommended that Guinness be served after being poured, waiting for three minutes and then topped-up. Along with Guinness there are also Murphy's, Caffrey's and Beamish. ItalyNastro Azzurro is a local Italian lager-style beer of around 5% strength. Birra Moretti is a cheap but refreshing lager sold in 66cl bottles, it has a premium version, Baffo d'Oro (Golden Moustache). Another historical brand is Peroni. Menabrea is a famous award-winning lager from Piedmont. Sardinia has its own beer, Ichnusa. JamaicaRed Stripe is Jamaica's best-known beer. It is considered to be a blonde lager. JapanBeer is the most favoured alcoholic drink in Japan. It was introduced in the early Meiji Era from Germany. Major makers are Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo while small local breweries supply distinct tasting beers. Lager beers are most common but beers made with lower grain contents called "Happoushu" (low malt beer, sparkling alcoholic drink) have captured a large part of the market as tax is lower on these products. Drinking beer with salted boiled beans, edamame, is known as a favourite summer pastime for adults. KosovoThe most popular beer by far is "Birra e Pejes" as it is known to locals or Peja Beer as known by internationals. KyrgyzstanWhile traditional Kyrgyz drinks like bozo and kymyz retain popularity, and Soviet-style beer lives on in the form of Nashe, Kyrgyzstan does have good beer. The brewpubs Steinbrau and Kellersbier in Bishkek bring German-style lagers to the land, while microbreweries exist in Osh and Jalal-Abad. Many of the big local names are Russian (Baltika, Sibirskoe Koronna, Bagbier, Klinskoe) or Kazak (Tian-Shan, Karagandinskoe). LatviaBeer is a historic traditions in Latvia and is known to have been made before the Northern Crusades in the thirteenth century. Today, the most popular brand in Latvia is Aldaris. LithuaniaThis Baltic state has a major beer scene in the northern part of the country, centred around the towns of Pasvalys, Pakruojis, Kupiskis and Birzai. The farmhouse brews of the region are highly distinctive, using local ingredients and techniques from pre-Soviet times. The bigest commercial breweries are located in towns Utena (Utenos beer), Panevezys (Dvaro, Karcemos beer), Klapeda - "Svyturys" brewery (several varieties of Baltijos beer), Kaunas - "Ragutis" brewery and Vilnius - "Tauras" brewery. MexicoSee Mexican beer New ZealandThe indigenous people of New Zealand (Maori) did not brew beer. Major ingredients of beer were not introduced to New Zealand until Europeans arrived in the mid 1800s. The first beer brewed in New Zealand was by Captain Cook while anchored in Ship Cove in the outer reachs of Queen Charlotte Sound in January 1770. Here he experimented with the use beer brewed with young Rimu branches as a treatment against scurvy. The late European history is characterised by the dominance of about three large breweries. The dominance of these was helped by the buying of some of the small local breweries. From the mid 1980s small boutique or microbreweries started to emerge. Consequently, the range of beer styles increased. Some pubs operate their own small breweries, often housed within the pub itself. Wine and ready mixed alcoholic drink consumption is increasing and is lessening the quantity of beer being sold. NetherlandsAmong the most popular beers in the Netherlands are Grolsch, Bavaria, Heineken, and Amstel. Most large breweries in the Netherlands are owned by Heineken. The amount of breweries in the Netherlands has grown from 14 in 1980 to 70 in 2002. Heineken is the world's second-largest brewer of beer, after Anheuser-Busch in the United States, it is also the largest export brewery in the world, with sales to 150 countries. The Netherlands is home to a large number of microbreweries making Belgian-influenced and traditional Dutch beers. The Amsterdam pub 't Arendsnest attempts to stock as many of these beers as it can. NigeriaA ban on imports of barley malt imposed in 1990 forced brewers to find ways to produce beer with locally-available sorghum and maize. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is an intriguing brew with a unique flavour. The Nigerian version is distinct from other Guinness FES's found around the world. NorwaySee Norwegian beer PhilippinesThe Philippines produces one of the most popular beers in the region, San Miguel, which has been brewed there since 1892. Spain also has San Miguel beer, but this was brought over from the Philippines by its German brewmaster, and did not originate in Spain. San Miguel Pale Pilsen is the most popular variety, and enjoys widespread recognition in Hong Kong and China as a cheap but well-crafted, refreshing beer. San Miguel also produces a kind of stout-porter (Cerveza Negra or Black Beer). Several competing brands from Asia Brewery such as Beer na Beer and Lone Star are also available but hardly widespread. The beer is also fondly remembered by American GI's from WWII who were stationed or fought in the Philippines. Sadly, harsh economic times have led to a drop in beer sales as customers switch to the "quick fix" of distilled spirits to wash away their woes. PolandBeer has always been extremely important for Poles. One Polish ruler, encouraged by the Pope to take part in a crusade, refused because, as he wrote to the Pope, the holy land has no beer. Traditional Polish beer is usually pilsener, lager or porter. The most popular Polish brands are Żywiec, Okocim , EB, Lech , Lezajsk, Tyskie and Warka. PortugalIn Portugal there are several brands of beer, the two most famous ones are Superbock and Sagres. Portuguese beer is considered very good, and a lot of barrels are drunk every day by young and old persons. RomaniaRomanian beer is known in Central and Eastern Europe for its taste and low price. Ursus (from Cluj) is the king of the Romanian beer from 1879 (a brand of South African Breweries). Other traditional Romanian beer brands are Timisoreana , Bucegi and Neumarkt . RussiaRussians have always been known as heavy drinkers and beer (Russian пиво – Pivo) is probably the nation's number two alcoholic drink after Vodka. Unlike the rest of the world, Russians categorize beer by color, not by fermentation process: Light, Red or Semi-Dark, and Dark. Light is a more or less equivalent to Lager and the last two are close to Ales. There are also super-strong beers (6-10% of alcohol) which are very popular in Russia. The most known brands of Russian beer are Baltika and Stary Melnik , however almost every region of Russia is proud to have its own brewery. By Russian laws, beer is not categorized as an alcoholic drink so it can be bought anywhere. There are a few microbreweries and brewpubs to be found, in major cities like St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kazan'. Serbia and Montenegrosee Beer in Serbia and Montenegro SlovakiaThe most famous brands in Slovakia are ?ari? , Smädný mních (Thirsty Monk) and Zlatý ba?ant (Golden pheasant). There are 15 breweries in Slovakia:
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SloveniaSlovenia is situated somewhere between Mediterranean wine loving area and Alpine beer loving area, so both, beer and wine, are very important to most Slovenians. There are two breweries in Slovenia, brewing various kinds of beer and trying to take as much control over nonalcoholic drinks industry as possible: Laško in a town with the same name (situated south of Celje) was established in 1825, Union in Ljubljana has been brewing beer since 1864. Thare are holy wars among drinkers of both brands, esp. to some people from eastern Slovenia Laško is a sort of their local pride. The most fanatic "supporters" of any brand often say "We drink insert one brand and piss insert the other one". In 2001 Laško announced their plans about merging with Union and thus create a drinks holding. The management of Union immediately asked Belgian Interbrew to buy the brewery. A so called "breweries' war" arose, and somebody quoted that "it is a national interest that Slovenian breweries are owned by Slovenians" (there were no such quotes a year later when Novartis purchased entire pharmaceutical blue chip Lek.). Laško managed to obtain a slightly higher share than Interbrew but still a bit less than 50%. Interbrew's advocates still try to "convince" courts that Laško obtained a portion of their shares illegally so the "war" is not over yet. Beside two major players there are several small breweries that (with the exception of Adam Ravbar in Domžale) only sell their products in beer halls attached to them. SpainAs far as the author's knowledge is concerned, there are three major brands of beer available throughout Spain which are San Miguel (brewed in Madrid and being the most famous), Estrella Damm (originated in Barcelona, making it the favourite in all of Catalonia) and Cruzcampo (made in Andalucia). San Miguel (which is nowadays also produced in a variant called "1516" referring to the German Purity Law) has quite a general lager taste which supposedly makes it suitable for the "gusto" of not only the Spanish population. Estrella Damm is probably the most cosmopolitain beer in Spain and according to the name must have been invented by Spaniards of German origin as the brew has a taste distinctive for German Pils beers. Cruzcampo's taste fails to please the gusto of most of the foreign lovers of beer as it tends to have a mouldy notion to it. The invention of a 0,33l-PET-bottle didn't really help much. South AfricaTaiwanTaiwanese Aborigines have consumed millet beer for centuries. In the modern era, Taiwan Beer is by far the most popular brand. Initially produced by a state monopoly during Japanese rule in the early twentieth century, the beer is now produced by a privatized company and is drank cold along with snacks or appetizers. Beer games – played both in private and in restaurants, to the chagrin of some customers – are popular among working-class men. United KingdomSee the main articles on English beer, Welsh beer and Scottish beer . United StatesSee American beer UzbekistanThe Uzbeks are not huge beer drinkers, and many of their beers are vile relics of the deplorable Soviet brewing tradition, but there are microbrewries and brewpubs in Tashkent producing German-style beer. The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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