An alcoholic beverage is a drink A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to filling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society containing ethanol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a powerful psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. It is best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and thermometers. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as (commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers Beer is the world's most widely consumed and probably the oldest of alcoholic beverages; it is 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 malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used. Most beer is, wines Wine is an alcoholic beverage, typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars found in the grapes and converts them, and spirits A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by distilling, or less commonly freeze distilling, fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer and wine.

Alcoholic beverages are consumed in most countries of the world. According to the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP), over 100 countries have laws that regulate their production, sale, and consumption.^[1] In particular, such laws specify the minimum age at which a person may legally buy or drink them. This minimum age varies between 16 and 25 years, depending upon the nation and the type of drink. Most nations set it at 18 years of age.^[1]

The production and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world, from hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without significant recourse to the domestication of either. Up to 80% of the food is obtained by gathering. The demarcation between hunter-gatherers and other societies which rely more peoples to nation-states The nation-state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a country as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity. The term "nation-state" implies that the two geographically coincide, and.^[2][3] Alcoholic beverages are often an important part of social events in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking Although types of alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the world, nearly every civilization has independently discovered the processes of brewing beer, fermenting wine, and distilling spirits plays a significant role in social interaction — mainly because of alcohol’s neurological effects.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant Barbiturates are effective in relieving the conditions they are designed to address; they are also readily abused, physically addictive, and have serious potential for overdose. When, in the late 1960s, it became clear that the social cost of barbiturates were beginning to outweigh the medical benefits, a serious search began for a replacement effect. A high blood alcohol content Blood Alcohol Content or Blood Alcohol Concentration is the concentration of alcohol in a person's blood. BAC is most commonly used as a metric of intoxication for legal or medical purposes. It is usually expressed in terms of volume of alcohol per volume of blood in the body. That is a unit-less ratio commonly expressed as parts per million (PPM) is usually considered to be legal drunkenness Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state occurring when an organism has a high level of ethanol in its bloodstream, or when ethanol otherwise causes the physiological effect known as drunkenness. In humans, common symptoms may include slurred speech, euphoria, impaired balance, poor coordination, flushed face, reddened eyes, reduced because it reduces attention Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing resources and slows reaction speed. Alcoholic beverages can be addictive, and the state of addiction Alcohol dependence, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing an entity in which an individual uses alcohol despite significant areas of dysfunction, evidence of physical dependence, and/or related hardship to alcohol is known as alcoholism Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disabling addictive disorder. It is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol despite its negative effects on the drinker's health, relationships, and social standing. Like other drug addictions, alcoholism is medically defined as a treatable disease. The term ".

Types

Alcoholic beverages that have a lower alcohol content (beer and wine) are produced by fermentation Ethanol fermentation, also referred to as alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process in which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are converted into cellular energy and thereby produce ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products. Because yeasts perform this process in the absence of oxygen, ethanol fermentation is of sugar- or starch-containing plant material. Beverages of higher alcohol content (spirits) A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by distilling, or less commonly freeze distilling, fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer and wine are produced by fermentation followed by distillation Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction.

Beer

Beer Beer is the world's most widely consumed and probably the oldest of alcoholic beverages; it is 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 malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used. Most beer is is the world's oldest^[2] and most widely consumed^[3] alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea.^[4] It is produced by the brewing Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt. Descriptions of various beer recipes can be found in Sumerian writings, some of the oldest known and fermentation Ethanol fermentation, also referred to as alcoholic fermentation, is a biological process in which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are converted into cellular energy and thereby produce ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products. Because yeasts perform this process in the absence of oxygen, ethanol fermentation is of starches Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most important carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize , rice, and cassava which are mainly derived from cereal grains Cereals, grains, or cereal grains are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis): the endocarp, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. Grain is both a — most commonly malted Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further by drying/heating with hot air. Thus, malting is a combination of two processes: the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring barley Barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare although wheat, maize (corn), and rice are also used. Alcoholic beverages which are distilled A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by distilling, or less commonly freeze distilling, fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer and wine after fermentation, fermented from non-cereal sources such as grapes or honey, or fermented from un-malted Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further by drying/heating with hot air. Thus, malting is a combination of two processes: the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring cereal grain Cereals, grains, or cereal grains are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis): the endocarp, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. Grain is both a, are not classified as beer.

The two main types of beer are lager Lager is a type of beer that is brewed using bottom-fermenting yeast at lower temperatures and for longer durations rather than those typically used to brew ales. In German, the term "lager" refers to storing a beer at cool temperatures and does not necessarily imply bottom-fermentation. Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are and ale Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. Most ales contain hops, which impart a bitter herbal flavour that helps to balance the sweetness of the malt and preserve the beer. Ale is further classified into varieties Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste. Most ales contain hops, which impart a bitter herbal flavour that helps to balance the sweetness of the malt and preserve the beer such as pale ale Pale ale, a variety of beer which uses a top fermenting yeast and predominantly pale malt, is one of the world's major beer styles, stout Stout and porter are dark beers made using roasted malt or barley, hops, water, and yeast. Stouts were traditionally the generic term for the strongest or stoutest beers, typically 7% or 8%, produced by a brewery, and brown ale Brown ale is a style of beer with a dark amber or brown color. The term was first used by London brewers in the late 1600s to describe their products, such as mild ale, though the term had a rather different meaning than it does today. Eighteenth-century brown ales were lightly-hopped and brewed from 100% brown malt.

Most beer is flavored with hops Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine. Hops were cultivated continuously around the 8th or 9th century AD in, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative A preservative is a naturally occurring or synthetic substance that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes. Other flavorings, such as fruits or herbs, may also be used. The alcoholic strength of beer is usually 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (ABV Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a percentage of total volume). The ABV standard is used worldwide), but it may be less than 1% or more than 20%.

Beer is part of the drinking culture Although types of alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the world, nearly every civilization has independently discovered the processes of brewing beer, fermenting wine, and distilling spirits of various nations and has acquired social traditions such as beer festivals A Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers are available for tasting and purchase. Beer festivals are held in a number of countries. A Beer Exhibition is usually synonymous with a Beer Festival but, whilst a beer festival may involve a limited range of beer styles or manufacturers, with an emphasis on entertainment, use, pub culture A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms are increasingly used to refer to the same thing, there is a definitive difference between pubs, bars, inns, taverns and lounges where alcohol is, pub games Pub games are games which are or were played in pubs, bars, inns, and taverns, particularly traditional games played in English pubs. Most are indoor games, though some are played outdoors, and pub crawling A pub crawl is the act of one or more people drinking in multiple pubs or bars in a single night, normally walking to each one between drinking.

The basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries. The beer-brewing industry is global in scope, consisting of several dominant multinational companies A multinational corporation or transnational corporation (TNC), also called multinational enterprise (MNE), is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred as an international corporation. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has defined[citation needed] an MNC and thousands of smaller producers, which range from regional breweries Regional brewery is a term used in the United Kingdom to describe a long-established brewery that supplied beer to tied pubs in a fixed geographical location such as South Wales, the Midlands or the Isle of Man. These breweries were generally founded before 1900, though one, Holdens Brewery, was founded in 1920. Some date back to the early age of to microbreweries A microbrewery is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer. In the U.S, the "Brewers Association" use a fixed maximum limit of 15,000 US beer barrels a year to define microbrewery. An American "craft brewery" is a small, independent and traditional brewery .

Wine

Wine involves a longer (complete) fermentation process and a long aging process (months or years) that results in an alcohol content of 9%–16% ABV. Sparkling wine can be made by adding a small amount of sugar before bottling, which causes a secondary fermentation to occur in the bottle.

Spirits

Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic beverages that have an alcohol content of at least 20% ABV are called spirits.^[5] Spirits are produced by the distillation of a fermented base product. Distilling concentrates the alcohol and eliminates some of the congeners.

Spirits can be added to wines to create fortified wines, such as port and sherry.

Alcohol content of beverages

The concentration of alcohol in a beverage is usually stated as the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) or—in the United States—as proof. In the U.S., proof is twice the percentage of alcohol by volume at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (e.g., 80 proof = 40% ABV). Degrees proof were formerly used in the United Kingdom, where 100 degrees proof was equivalent to 57.1% ABV. Historically, this was the most dilute spirit that would sustain the combustion of gunpowder.

Ordinary distillation cannot produce alcohol of more than 95.6% ABV (191.2 proof) because at that point alcohol is an azeotrope with water. A spirit which contains a very high level of alcohol and does not contain any added flavoring is commonly called a neutral spirit. Generally, any distilled alcoholic beverage of 170 proof or higher is considered to be a neutral spirit.^[6]

Most yeasts cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than about 18%, so that is the practical limit for the strength of fermented beverages such as wine, beer, and sake. Strains of yeast have been developed that can reproduce in solutions of up to 25% ABV.

Standard drinks

A standard drink is a notional drink that contains a specified amount of pure alcohol. The standard drink is used in many countries to quantify alcohol intake. It is usually expressed as a measure of beer, wine, or spirits. One standard drink always contains the same amount of alcohol regardless of serving size or the type of alcoholic beverage.

The standard drink varies significantly from country to country. For example, it is 7.62 ml (6 grams) of alcohol in Austria, but in Japan it is 25 ml (19.75 grams).

In the United Kingdom, there is a system of units of alcohol which serves as a guideline for alcohol consumption. A single unit of alcohol is defined as 10 ml. The number of units present in a typical drink is printed on bottles. The system is intended as an aid to people who are regulating the amount of alcohol they drink; it is not used to determine serving sizes.

In the United States, the standard drink contains 0.6 US fluid ounces (18 ml) of alcohol. This is approximately the amount of alcohol in a 12-US-fluid-ounce (350 ml) glass of beer, a 5-US-fluid-ounce (150 ml) glass of wine, or a 1.5-US-fluid-ounce (44 ml) glass of a 40% ABV (80 proof) spirit.

Serving sizes

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