Say Cheers To Beer

Summer is here and the desire to quench the unrelenting thirst with that golden pale, clear liquid of perennial popularity named beer, has again reared up. This desire makes many a person head for the nearby pub. There are not only several flavours of beer available now — ranging from raspberry and strawberry to cardamom, but there are also varied categories of beer flooding the market like crisp, hops, malt, roast, etc.

Here Ashok Malkani finds that besides having a wide variety, beer also has (if consumed in moderation) varied health benefits. If you believe beer piles up LDL (bad cholesterol) and gives ‘beer belly’ then you are way off the mark.

- Ashok Malkani

As the summer sets in the cool thirst quenchers are in hot demand. And among the front runners in the category of thirst quenchers is a chilled glass – or mug – of beer. Adam’s new ale, as the beer is referred to in a beer enthusiast’s parlance, is one drink that people around the world have always banked on to quench their thirst, and feel refreshed.

After tea, beer is the second most popular beverage in the world. It can easily help you enjoy the best of two conflicting worlds — the world of intoxication and the world of sobriety.

Despite its immense worldwide popularity, it should be noted that beer is also one of the most complex and varied of drinks. It can taste like lemons or smoke, coffee or coconuts, bananas or bread, chilies or ginger… Beer can be crisply acidic and earthy, or it can be bracingly bitter and spectacularly aromatic. There is a wide variety of beers to meet all the above-mentioned tastes.

Beer’s Indian Background

India has a long long association with beers. The Vedas mention a beer-like drink called sura. Sura is also mentioned in the Ramayana. Megasthenes, the Greek explorer of the ancient times who visited India during the Maurya empire’s reign, had recorded usage of rice beer in ancient India. Kautilya had also mentioned two intoxicating beverages made from rice called Medaka and Prasanna.