Pub trivia: Beer
Beer
With more variations than a premier league starting eleven, beer has loosened our tongues, purses and morals for centuries. Here are some facts that may prove useful while sipping a stella during your local pub quiz.
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Fact
The strongest commercially produced beer in the world is Sam Adams Utopias, which is 24% alcohol by volume and carefully aged in cognac and port barrels. Now that's what we call special brew.
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Fact
It's thought that the phrase "mind your Ps and Qs" has a beery origin. Many believe it stems from the days when ale was ordered in pints and quarts in English pubs, and publicans would "mind their Ps and Qs" when tallying up the sales for the day.
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Fact
Stella Artois may be an ubiquitous beer today, but it started out in 1926 as a special seasonal Christmas beer. Which is how it got its name – "stella" being Latin for star, and Artois being the brewery founder's name.
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Fact
The strongest commercially produced beer in the world is Sam Adams Utopias, which is 24% alcohol by volume.
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Fact
The famous red triangle you see on Bass beers was actually the first trademark ever registered in Britain. On 1 January 1876, a Bass employee stayed up overnight outside the registrar's office to be the first person to register a trademark. The logo can also be seen in masterpieces by the likes of Manet and Picasso.
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Fact
If you're normal and don't enjoy warm beer, reach for the brown bottled kind. Brown coloured glass is the best at blocking UV light, which not only warms the beer but can affect the taste too.
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Fact
The legendary "33" on the Rolling Rock beer bottle refers to the number of words in the beer's original slogan. The number was scribbled on the end of the slogan as a guide for the printers – who naturally assumed it was part of the text and bunged it in.
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Fact
The word lager actually comes from the German word for "storehouse". Original lagers were made by putting beer into storage to get rid of sediment and attain a clean, clear colour. Modern techniques have speeded this up just a tad.
Danny Wallace interview
His book Yes Man has been turned into a Hollywood film, so we caught up with Scottish-born comic Danny Wallace for all the glitzy goss.
Dara O'Briain interview
Suavely suited and booted, Irish wit Dara O'Briain's tongue is as sharp as a jagged razor blade. We chatted to the big man (he's 6' 4'') about college, cartoons and off-the-cuffery.
