beer

For centuries Germany has boasted the oldest abbey beer in the world. The alcohol crisis has forced it to be sold

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Germany is the birthplace of Oktoberfest, the lagerthe saint Hildegard of Bingen and hundreds and hundreds of artisanal wineries dedicated to beer. The refreshing amber liquid is not at its best there, however. As the young lose interest for the drink and consumption falls per national beer capita, Germany finds itself with news like the one that has shaken the sector at the beginning of 2026: the oldest monastic brewery in the world, a 976-year-old icon, just sold suffocated by the economic context. It seems like a simple sale, but it says a lot about the industry. What has happened? That Germany is preparing for one of those business transactions that, due to their enormous symbolic value, transcend the pages of the salmon press to tell us about the cultural and social changes of a country. The Bavarian brewer Schneider Weisse has just reached an agreement to acquire the Bischofshof and Weltenburger brands, linked to Bischofshof GmbH & Co. Said like this, it could seem like a simple commercial procedure, material for the German BORME, but the agreement implies that Schneider Weisse takes charge of the brewery of the Weltenburg Abbey and that is something out of the ordinary. The reason? The brewing history of the monastery dates back to 1050, which is why it is considered the abbey brewery. oldestalthough if we talk about beer in general there is another previous one in Weihenstephan (Freising), brewed since 1040. What have they agreed? The truth is that not too many details have emerged. For example, the companies have not wanted to disclose how much the operation will cost. What yes have slipped is that the agreement will become effective in January 2027 and that Scheneider Weisse will continue to operate the Weltenburg Abbey Brewery. Not only that. He will also take over the logistics part of the Bischofshof, which includes 21 employees. Part of the business, located in Regensburg, will close at the end of this year and the idea is that in the medium term the production of the different brands will be concentrated in the headquarters that Schneider Weisse already has in Kelheim and the Weltenburg Abbey. Are they important companies? At least they are companies with a reputation. Although Weltenburg Abbey beer stands out on the world stage for its long history, which can date back to 1050, in reality the three names involved in the agreement have a long tradition. The Bischofshof brewery was founded mid 17th century in Regensburg and has been in charge of the production of Weltenburg since 1973. As for the house Schneider Weissebased in Kelheim, was also launched more than a century and a half ago, in 1872. “Our goal is to create a portfolio of traditional brands. We combine our brewing tradition of more than 150 years with the almost 380 years of history of the Bischofshof brand and the brewing tradition of the oldest monastic brewery in the world, dating back to 1050,” celebrates Georg SchneiderCEO of Schneider Weisse. “This creates a range of beers steeped in history and tradition, a unique offering from a single global supplier.” Why is it important? Weltenburg is relevant enough for any operation that affects him to generate interest, but if this operation has raised expectations (even beyond Germany) is because of its context. The companies acknowledge that the maneuver attempts to adapt to “the continued weakness” of the German beer market. “The reality is that, on our own and despite all our efforts and the measures adopted in recent months, it was no longer economically viable to continue operating the brands,” recognizes Till Hedrichthe general director of the firm Bischofshof and Weltenburger. “The evolution of the market has marked us too much.” Hedrich has also defended that the operation with Schneider, a firm based in Kelheim (Bavaria) is the most advantageous for the secular Abadian winery. “The looming threat of a total closure or dismantling by an investor with no connection to the region or its history can be avoided with the ‘Bavarian solution’ being implemented with Schneider Weisse.” Has the market changed that much? It seems so. From the collective itself is spoken of a “drastic drop in sales” of German breweries in the country. The BR24 program remember that in the last ten years alone, the German beer industry has lost almost 14 million hectoliters, almost 14% of its sales. And although the complete picture is somewhat more complex (the latest data from the Bavarian sector they are not bad), the overall trend is far from ideal for the industry in its own home. If at the beginning of the 80s the per capita consumption In the country it was around 145.9 liters of beer, right now it is below 90. Is there more data? Yes. Two years ago the Berlin journalist Nicholas Potter I slipped an interesting one in Guardian. “The decline can be seen at the Oktoberfest itself. In 2019, 6.3 million visitors drank 7.3 million liters. Last year attendance was about 7.2 million people, a record number, but they consumed only 6.5 million liters.” As a backdrop, the fall in consumption, the increase of the production of non-alcoholic beer and the loss of interest of members of generation Z for beer or wine. In April the Deursche Welle channel contributed another brushstroke that completes the picture. It is not only that the consumption of German beer has fallen in the country itself, it is that sales abroad have not evolved as the industry would like. According to Destatis data, 1,450 million liters of German beer were exported in 2024, significantly below the 1,540 in 2014. Images | Bernt Rostad (Flickr) 1 and 2 and Frank Mago (Flickr) In Xataka | If the alcohol sector thought it had a problem with Gen Z, it is because it did not see its stock: 22,000 million in bottles that no one wants

We humans like beer. The big question is whether we like it enough to have invented agriculture

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The big question is not whether it was the chicken or the egg first, but rather what our ancestors began to make first: bread or beer? Does about 12,000 years We humans promote one of the most important chapters in our history in the Middle East, the Neolithic Revolution. From being nomads who lived by hunting and gathering, we became sedentary creatures who cultivated the fields. The change was so momentous that anthropologists have long wondered what caused it. It would be reasonable to think that the search for something as simple as bread, but there are those who believe that the answer is another: beer. What if the great catalyst that led us to plow and harvest the fields was not the search for bread but our ancestral hobby to raise your elbow? Cereals, what do I want you for? Scientists have spent the last few decades unraveling the mysteries from our most remote past, but there is one (fundamental) one that they have not yet agreed on: What the hell led humanity to change hunting and gathering for a sedentary life based on agriculture and livestock? What was the catalyst for the Neolithic Revolution, one of the most momentous periods of all time? Since since humans have been human, they need to eat, the answer seems simple: if those men and women settled to plant wheat and barley, it had to be to make bread, right? That is, they began to spend hours and hours tending their fields to obtain grain with which to nourish themselves. In the 50s however a question began to creep into the anthropological debate: What if what really interested them in grain was not bread or porridge but beer? But… And why is that? The debate is not new. It has been on the table for some time and is heated from time to time with new discoveries, such as the one announced in 2018 by a group of Stanford researchers who found “the oldest record of alcohol”, clues that tell us about the manufacture of beer ago 13,000 years. The last one to raise the discussion was Michael Marshall, a scientific journalist and columnist for New Scientist. In December he published a wide chronicle in which he reviews the latest findings on the subject and (most importantly) exposes how much it is costing anthropologists to reach a conclusion. The benefits of beer. To understand the discussion, we must first clarify a key point: neither the bread nor the beer of the Stone Age were like the bread and beer that we know today. The latter in fact has little or nothing to do with the refreshing amber liquid that they serve us in bars. It was more like a puree, a “sweet, slightly fermented porridge,” clarify Professor Jiajing Wang, from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. “They germinated the grains, cooked them and then used wild yeast.” The result was a nutritious, caloric, protein-rich concoction that could even be safer than drinking water from rivers and wells. After all, it was the result of fermentation. Added to that was its alcohol content, a “social lubricant” that we still use in the 21st century to relax and socialize. Archaeologist Brin Hayden highlights, for example, its use in events that helped structure communities. There is research which suggest that (at least some communities) used it in rituals and for veneration of the deceased. Much more than suspicions. If the debate has been on the table since the 1950s, it is basically because it has been nourished by archaeological findings. Researchers have found traces that tell us about beer brewing at least 5,000 years ago in southern egypt and northern china or how he does 10,000 years Shangshan culture They brewed rice beer. One of the most important revelations in recent years, however, was the one achieved in a cave in Israel in 2018 by a team led by Professor Li Liu, from Stanford University. There they found evidence of beer brewing before the first cereals cultivated in the Middle East. The finding is related to the Natufiansa town dedicated to gathering and hunting, although they also tended to stay for long periods in the same place. “The oldest”. After analyzing residues located in 13,000-year-old mortars located in a cave in Raqefet, a Natufian cemetery near Haifa, Liu and his colleagues discovered remains of beer. Quite a milestone, like she herself stands out: “It is the oldest record of alcohol made by man.” “This discovery indicates that alcohol production was not necessarily a result of agricultural surplus production, but was developed for ritual and spiritual purposes, at least to some extent, before agriculture.” Issue settled? At all. To understand the complexity of the subject, it helps to review the discovery announced in 2018. At least at that time, the oldest known remains of bread, extracted from a Natufian site located east of Jordan, had between 11,600 and 14,600 years old. The traces of beer discovered by Liu’s team move in a similar range: a priori, they could be dated between 11,700 and 13,700 years ago. One of the keys to the problem, explains Marshall in your articleis that basically the making of bread and beer leaves very similar traces, basically starch residues. “We still don’t have conclusive evidence to answer that question,” Liu recognizes on the question of whether we turned to beer or bread first. The reality is more complex: because we don’t know, we don’t even know if some of those foods were the great catalyst that led our ancestors to change their lifestyle. “I wouldn’t be surprised if both were the motivations.” At the end of the day, the ‘beer first, bread first’ debate does not seek definitive conclusions so much as vindicating the weight of both foods. Both beer and bread, bread and beer, played a decisive role in diets and rituals. Images | Gary Todd (Flickr), Enhin Akyurt (Unsplash) and Gerrie van der Walt (Unsplash) In Xataka | The Wari … Read more

If the question is how to keep an empire together, the ancient Wari were clear: with psychedelic beer

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Archaeologists have found a key to better understand the Waria pre-Inca civilization that flourished among the 6th and 11th centuries AD and expanded throughout much of what is now Peru and areas of Argentina and Chile. The most curious thing is that the findings do not tell us about its architecture, military practices, social structure or economy, but about something apparently much simpler but crucial for the prosperity of the empire: the love of its bosses for psychedelic beer. Psychedelic beer? Exact. The concept is not new. We know that thousands of years ago The Egyptians already made cocktails with wine and hallucinogens (among other ingredients) and the hobby of the cultures pre-Inca cultures by psychoactive plants or the use of psychotropic substances in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican societies. The curious thing about the Wari is not so much what drugs they used but who did it and (above all) why. Its use would not be limited to priests in rituals, but would be used for political purposes. “We see this type of hallucinogen use as a different context than previous civilizations, which seem to have jealously reserved the use of hallucinogens for a select few, or the late Inca Empire that emphasized mass consumption of beer but did not use psychotropic substances such as vilca,” explains Professor Matthew Biwerwho in 2022 already published with other colleagues a study on the subject based on excavations in Quilcapampa (Peru). What did they consume? A mixture of chicha and vilca. To be more precise, an alcoholic drink made from the berries of the plant. Schinus molle and a psychedelic called Anadenanthera colubrina. Archaeologists are aware for a long time that the consumption of this last substance (vilca) dates back to at least 4,000 years ago, especially through pipes or inhaled such as monkfish. This is suggested by remains located in the Inca Cave, an Argentine site. In the Wari site of Quilcapampa, however, archaeologists have found vilca seeds near remains of chicha made with Schinus mollewhich leads them to think that the Wari not only consumed it with the help of pipes, but that they mixed it with chicha to drink it in psychedelic cocktails. Why is it important? Among other things, these concoctions served Wari leaders to show their power. By offering the mixture to their guests they were not only showing off their hospitality, they were also offering a luxury that was not available to everyone. Archaeologists located remains of vilca in Quilcampampa, but in reality the plant grows at hundreds of kilometers from there, in Ayacucho and Cusco. “The Wari added vilca to chicha to impress guests at their feasts, who could not repeat the experience. This created a relationship of debt between the Wari and their guests, probably from the surrounding region,” pointed out Professor Matthew Biwer years ago, when he published his first research. Was it useful for something else? Yes. And that’s what’s really interesting about a new study Posted by Jacob Keer and Justin Jennings in Magazine of American Archeologywhere they focus on another function of the psychedelic concoction based on chicha and vilca. According to their analysis, the cocktail helped the Wari leaders to consolidate their power. As? Organizing communal celebrations in which drinks were offered, fraternization feasts that were held in almost closed patios. “Except for a small patch of sky, they were isolated from the rest of the world in a high-walled interior space,” they relate researchers in your article. “This was the place where they spent hours together, drinking, eating, talking and praying. The hours that the participants spent together must have represented an unforgettable collective experience that forged strong bonds between those who attended.” What was it for? To strengthen ties. These feasts served Wari leaders to force alliances and consolidate their power. And not only because of the staging. Researchers have studied the effects that the psychedelic concoction may have had on attendees, increasing their empathy, facilitating the creation of long-term bonds and smoothing out rough edges in an expanding empire. “Although archaeologists are paying increasing attention to the role of psychedelics in past societies, they devote little time to their long-term psychological effects. One of these effects is neuroplasticity, which can lead to long-lasting prosocial feelings,” the study points outwhich highlights that the “glow” after consuming vilca (an effect that lasted for days) could help unify communities, “playing a fundamental role in the Wari government.” The combination of vilca and beer would in fact help to partially reduce the psychedelic effects, but prolong them over time. Do you all agree? The researchers suggest that people who consumed the psychedelic cocktail showed “greater openness and empathy”, an advantageous attitude in an empire in which “people who had been strangers or even enemies” coexisted. However, not everyone sees it equally clearly. Live Science recently interviewed to several experts, outside the study, who do not hide their skepticism. Among other reasons because they do not see enough evidence that the Wari mixed vilca and beer. It is true that remains were found nearby and there was no trace of pipes or any other indication that the vilca was consumed in the traditional way, but they are missing overwhelming evidence, such as ceramic fragments that preserve both compounds. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | The Incas did not need writing to forge an empire. And we are closer to solving the key object in your organization

The new alcohol law limits bars from placing beer chairs or umbrellas. And now millionaires fear losses

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We’ve been seeing it all our lives. Bars that fill their terraces with umbrellas, napkin rings, tables, chairs, sideboards and other furniture that promotes beer brands. For decades this advertising support was a boon for business. Now the hospitality industry fears that it will become a poisoned gift. The reason: the new law on alcohol and minors promoted by the Government and which already has the endorsement of the Council of Ministers wants to snip that kind of promotion. The locals calculate that the loss of that advertising support it will cost them millions. Blow to the hospitality industry? That’s what seems to fear the sector as a result of the law promoted by the Government to prevent alcohol consumption among young people. Although the regulation has not yet been finalized, the group is already managing a study which warns that it will seriously affect the finances of bars, restaurants, cafes, pubs and other hospitality establishments in Spain. The reason: the bill of Health seriously restricts any advertising sponsorship related to alcohol. And that is a problem for businesses that have been filling for years with awnings, tables, chairs, ashtrays, umbrellas, napkin holders, refrigerators and furniture in general on which beer brands are advertised. What exactly does the standard say? He billwhich can be consulted in the official Congress bulletin and received in march The Government’s endorsement sets some limits on advertising in the sector. Its article 26 is clear about this: “Any direct, indirect or covert form of commercial communication of alcoholic beverages is prohibited, or of products that imitate or simulate being one, or of non-alcoholic beverages that share their brand and differential features with those of alcoholic beverages, including the commercial name, corporate name, symbols or brands of the people or companies that produce said beverages, as well as their distributors when they are exclusively associated with alcoholic beverages on public roads, or places visible from them.” Does it clarify anything else? Yes. The law differentiates between two types of spaces: the ‘most sensitive’ and the rest, where the advertising restriction will be somewhat more flexible. “However, advertising limited to the trade name, corporate name and identifying brands or symbols of the producing companies may be permitted in a perimeter that is more than 150 linear meters from the access to educational centers that teach early childhood education, basic education, post-compulsory secondary education and elementary artistic education, health centers, social and socio-health services, parks and places for children’s leisure.” How will it be applied? In the statement March in which it reports the approval of the Council of Ministers to the Bill, the Ministry of Health clarifies, however, that it will allow the advertising of fermented drinks with less than 0.5% alcohol. Mónica García’s team also points out that the veto will not be immediate: it will come into force twelve months after the publication of the law in the BOE and will not affect “those situations that already existed before that moment”, which suggests that it will not affect the furniture that already exists. A different thing is when it comes time to renew it. Will it affect the sector that much? It seems so. At least that is what a Comprehensive Economic Analysis (AEI) report indicates. advance by The Economist. The analysis, prepared for the Spanish Hospitality and Brewery associations and which is having a notable impact, ensures that the loss of sponsorships from alcohol brands will be quite expensive for bars and restaurants. To be more precise, AEI estimates that it will cost the sector up to 1.7 billion euros. The estimate is based on two figures: a direct cost of around 600 million euros and a drop in sales of between 1,080 and 1,680 million. He AEI report It doesn’t stay there. It also warns that the measure will affect between 8,000 and 10,200 jobs and will be felt beyond bars and cafes, with a reduction in the contribution to the national GDP that it estimates between 900 and 1,176 million euros. The study also suggests that the money that alcohol manufacturers will stop investing in advertising furniture will probably be directed towards other channels, away from small hoteliers and their businesses. Why this suspicion? Although Health has clarified that the measure would still take time to come into effect and will not affect “existing” facilities, the AEI report points out that its wording leaves little room for doubt: “In practice it implies the removal of logos, signs, chairs, tables, umbrellas or napkin rings with beer brands from thousands of bars and restaurants in the country.” His estimate is completed with another from Hospitality of Spain that gives an idea of ​​the scope of the measure. According to their data, of a total of 130,000 bars and cafes in the country, between 70 and 80% incorporate elements sponsored by breweries. Will it affect everyone equally? “If approved, the new law will practically eliminate all this support, forcing the brand’s advertising to be withdrawn, which will have an estimated cost of 12,000 euros per store,” remark the study. The penalty that could be felt especially strongly in areas of Spain where hoteliers work in smaller markets and with less room for maneuver. The Economist slide that about 20% of the municipalities that now have only one bar (235) could see their doors close. Images | Guillaume Flament (Flickr) and Ccalm Film Festival-María del Mar López Morales (Flickr) In Xataka | From prohibiting purchases to prohibiting consumption: the changes in the recently approved draft reform of the anti-smoking law

beer that doesn’t give you a hangover

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“Only idiots drink non-alcoholic beer.” That was the reflection with which a young German named Louis Shirmer responded to Washington Post about the state of beer without in your country. If we think of beer, it is inevitable to think of Germany. It is one of the countries where the most beer is consumedbut in a few years now, something is changing: Europe, is becoming a land of non-alcoholic beer. And the new ‘liquid gold’ of breweries is also conquering Germany. Trend. We have said it on several occasions: the non-alcoholic beer market is experiencing a considerable growth. So much so that it is transforming the global industry and what a decade ago was considered a marginal product, with just a few options, has become a segment that is emerging. The non-alcoholic beers (the 0.0, especially) are more abundant, but there are also many companies that have gone all out with flavor. In some countries, it is a segment with an annual growth of 20% and there are already estimates that it will be a market of almost 44 billion dollars by 2035. Far from traditional beer, but without a doubt a good amount of money. Beyond fashion. Generational change is something that influences. The surveys point to a majority of ‘millennial’ consumers and Generation Z who choose or would choose an alcohol-free version of your favorite beer, something that responds to lifestyles known as “superb curious” (sober out of curiosity) or lifestyle “damp” (not abstinence, but moderation). Everything needs to be given a name in English. It can also respond to greater health awareness. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol causes more than three million deaths annually, 5.3% of the total, but apart from this, this aforementioned improvement in flavor allows 0.0 versions of a drink that, like coffee, is something social, to be chosen. The statistics confirm, in short, that alcohol in general is less present in everyday life (although depends on age). What the industry does. own Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has indicated in one of its latest consumer reports that it is something that is in the doldrums, and the brewers have done what they should: try to ensure that the consumer does not escape their product. If they drink less alcohol, we have to invest more in creating 0.0 versions, and there we have companies like Heineken, one of the giants in the sector, making millionaire investments in its Heineken 0.0 brand. AB InBev is another of the giants in the beer sector, with Budweiser as the flagship brand, and they estimate that, by the end of this year, at least 20% of their global beer volume will consist of no or 0.0 options. Returning to Germany, the country’s Brewers Association comment that non-alcoholic beer represents 9% of beer production and consumption in the country, but in the coming months they expect it to reach double digits. In Spain it is estimated that 15% of all beer consumed is non-alcoholic, being leaders in Europe in this segment. Jacobo Olalla is the general director of Cerveceros de España and attributes This success is due to the fact that the Spanish consumer does not drink looking for the effect of alcohol. And in Belgium, another beer country par excellence, the consumption of non-alcoholic beer now represents 5%. It seems little, but it represents a growth of 24.3% since 2021 and in a recent festival it was sold 800% more non-alcoholic beer than in the previous year’s version. Beer without getting drunk. Now, although breweries are investing to adapt and create alcohol-free alternatives, there are brands such as the American Athletic Brewing that have focused exclusively on alcohol-free products. It is the leader undisputed of its segment in the American market (the second largest consumer of beer internationally), so it is not something insignificant. And yes, obviously, non-alcoholic beer can have the properties of the cereals with which it is made without the negative side of alcohol (both for the body and in terms of its intoxicating effects), but the English have come to investigate a beer without it being capable of getting drunk. Behind that beer is David Nutt, a neuroscientist who seeks to ensure that beer continues to be a social drink capable of disinhibiting shy people, but avoiding risks such as addiction, cirrhosis or aggressive behavior. At the moment they are promises, but we would have to see how it affects, for example, the driving of a vehicle. Not just beer. We have to see if it is a fad or if it is something generational that is here to stay, but the purchase of alcohol in general, according to the International Wine and Spirits Recordhas fallen 20% since 2000 while the 0.0 beverage market has doubled in the last three years. And we don’t just have to talk about beer: there are wine cellars and spirits brands that are investing much in its ‘dealcoholized’ segment. In the end, Louis, it seems that non-alcoholic beer is not just for idiots. Images | uk:Користувач:Gutsul In Xataka | In the United States they are making beer with water from showers and sinks. And they have good reasons

In Brazil people are changing caipiriñas and cocktails for beer. And they have a good reason: methanol

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São Paulo is famous for many reasons, but probably none as universal as The caipiriñasthe drink made with Cachaza, Lima, Sugar and Ice that has exported to virtually all bars on the planet. For days, however, in the Paulista capital they are served much less caipiriñas. Also It has come down the consumption of whiskey, Geneva and in general any distillate. The reason: fear of Methanol poisoning. São Paulo, without caipiriñas. Something has changed on the nights of Brazil. Especially in those of São Paulocapital of the homonymous state and the most populous city in the country. Instead of asking Caipirinhasthe famous drink based on Cachaza, Lima, Sugar and Ice that is a native of the Paulista state, the young people They ask for beers or wine. Anything but to take a glass with distilled liquor to the lips. “Customers are worried,” Recognize to Associated Press (AP) Edilson Trindade, manager of an establishment of São Paulo. Last week he did not dispatched a caipiriña, when it is usual to serve dozens and tens. And it is not the only one. In A report Posted yesterday, the Paulista magazine Exam He shares testimonies from other bars that have seen how their activity collapsed 80% or young people who choose to stay at home or change cocktails for cans. A percentage: 50%. The Bloomberg agency points That, in general, the bars and restaurants of the state of São Paulo fear that its sales collapse up to 30%, a percentage that falls short if the data already handled by the federation of hotels, restaurants and state bars are taken into account. According to their calculations, last week some establishments saw how the consumption of vodka, whiskey, gin and other distillates collapsed about 50%. “Even beer demand has dropped because there are almost no customers, so general sales have been affected,” regrets The owner of a bar. But … why? That people are consuming less spirits in Brazil (and especially in São Paulo) have little to do with a sudden abstemious zeal. The reason is another: fear. The drop in demand comes after what seems like a OLA of poisoning by methanol caused in turn by the intake of adulterated alcohol. On Sunday, Brazil’s Ministry of Health talked about 255 cases16 confirmed and another 209 suspects. Of them the vast majority were recorded in São Paulo, where the authorities handled 14 confirmed episodes and studied 178. Is it so serious? Yes. Methanol can cause vomiting, blindness and even death. The government already speaks of 15 possible deathsalthough for now there are only two confirmed. “Until there is total clarity about the magnitude of these crimes, the population must refrain from consuming distilled drinks,” I recognized On Friday in an interview with the CNN Brazil chain, the country’s health minister, Alexandre Padilha. “Our recommendation is that people avoid distillates, especially if they are not sure of the origin of the drink.” “Adulterated drinks”. The authorities have not limited themselves to controlling the number of poisonings or giving advice. Also They have increased Their provisions to treat methanol poisoning and above all try to locate their origin. The Government It relates them With alcohol consumption and has inspected bars and distributors to clarify what happened. “We determine that methanol contaminated adulterated alcoholic beverages. So we need to understand how,” Point out Artur Dian, police chief of São Paulo, in statements to AP. Only in São Paulo the state authorities have confiscated since the end of September more than 7,000 bottles To investigate them. They have also closed a dozen establishments provisionally to take samples. Another percentage: 28%. The unknown of whether the drink was contaminated on an accidental way, although the police recognize that there are those who adulterate the liquor with substances such as methanol to improve their benefit margins. “Although we know that small quantities do not contaminate and are not able to cause damage, we do not know the exact amount that could remain in a bottle,” Share Dian. The National Association of Distilled Manufacturers handles studies that show that adulterated drinks are already monitored more than a quarter of the Brazilian market (28%), a high percentage that achieves thanks to prices that reduce by 35% to legal beverages. Images | Nathalia Segato (UNSPLASH), Mark Broadhead (UNSPLASH) and Ian Talmacs (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | The youth of the Elite Tech of Silicon Valley have left alcohol: their new “party” is to work 92 hours

There are 225 hours from Oktoberfest, but only 222 beer. The remaining three hours are an agonizing wait for Germany

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September 20 was the largest public festival pistolt. Held in Theresienwiese, Munich, all in The oktoberfest is hyperbolicand the liters of alcohol and the size of the beers that are going to be dispatched will not be less. However, few moments better define those party desires As I wait that has taken place before the start of this Bacchanalia German that will total 225 hours. It’s just three hours, 180 minutes, but for most they are an eternity. The ritual wait. There is something almost liturgical in those first hours without beer from the Oktoberfest, a collective voltage Remembering the early morning prior to a great family party, when the last details are refined and the house seems to contain your breathing. In Munich, in the Prado de Theresienwiese, that pause is Puebla de Pretzels, soft drinks and board games, and thousands of crowded bodies that have run, camped or paid by a hole to ensure a place under the canvases of the great lying. The ceremony It is simple and strict: The doors open at nine, the enclosure is filled with expectation and tiredness in equal parts, and it is not until the mayor wields the shooter and nailed the first tap at twelve o’clock when the crowd exhales and the drink, literally and symbolically, begins to flow. Those minutes (three exact hours In which beer is still promise) they distil a delicious anxiety, attendees occupy their place not because of the drink itself, but because of the experience that the jug makes possible: band music, dance on tables, the conversation that becomes collective anthem. The social mechanics of the first third. The history I remembered this weekend The New York Times on the occasion of the start of the massive festival. The waiting ritual also reveals a unwritten economy and a complex social choreography: groups that keep hours in the tail, young people who transform their patience into income selling accesses, families that play cards to spend time and waitresses who, before becoming Athletes Of the napkin and the jug, they are the guardians of that temporal border between emotion and ethyl catharsis. The seats within the historical tents They rarely reserve For the general public. Most are first arrivals, and competition for a good table can involve entire nights on the street. Inside, stories are shared, instant fellowship networks are woven, it is purchased A great pretzel To simulate composure and You drink prosecco In somewhat shy sips that are, in reality, the prologue. And when the countdown reaches its end, the explosion It is ordered ” of Festbier On the wooden tables. The Oktoberfest numbers. The truth is that the Oktoberfest is not just a party: it is An economic engine and a cultural scenario that moves millions of visitors. The price of a jug It may seem high For those who measure it in liters and cents, but the real value of the experience combines tradition, gastronomy and show. Young people who repeat the visit year after year are part of a generation that sees at the festival A seasonal rite: A place to measure resistance and find community. At the same time, demand Create microeconomies: Plazas Belings In the row, improvised services, street vendors that capitalize on the wait with pins or memories and the hotel industry that collapses and reconstructs around the dates. The emotional and physical cost also weighs: the posterior euphoria is accompanied by fatigue and the inevitable account count and, of course, hangover. Rituals and practices. The tentseach with Your personality and clientele (The historical ones where tradition weighs, preferred by young people, which attract everyone …) are microcosm with their own codes. There it is sung, dance on the tables, gigantic bread is shared and liters are consumed in a choreography that requires skill: measured gestures not to overwhelm the jug, deployment of synchronized toasts, greetings that cross languages. The role of the waitresses is central; As we said, they are the invisible army that maintains the rhythm, joining physical strength and memory of usual faces. And that First “O’Zapft is!” (It is already open!) Not only frees beer, releases social permissiveness: for a few hours, the unwritten rule of the decorum softens and the city is allowed to dance on tables with the solemnity of a carnival. Youth, businesses and limits. As in every great local event, he is accompanied by the same endemic evils: young people who monetize their patience, resellers that make early entrance into business, and a tension between the tourist who wants the rite and the place that lives it as a mass consumption. If you want, the phenomenon remembers how traditions, when They become globalThey acquire New layers: they become show, they are marketed and sometimes They disfigure. However, they also guarantee a continuity: the people who return every year, the families that transmit outfits and songs, the employees who see their most intense season in October. It is a fragile balance between authenticity and the fair, between cultural heritage and global market. Euphoria and memory. Oktoberfest Live from that transition (from tense calm to the runaway euphoria), and in that march it may summarize its charm: it is not the intake itself that defines the event, but the social fabric that is assembled Around waiting. It is the collective experience where the expected gesture of the mayor, the first tap and the first jar make of catalysts of a temporary communion. Sensation of sharing something that transcends the glass and stays like memory. And while some counting liters, others keep anecdotes, small evidence that a festival can be simultaneously industry, tradition and catharsis, although yes, always starting (as every year) with the same expectant calm of three hours that announces, inevitable, beers. Image | Tammy lo, RB Photo In Xataka | You can now party with shoes that guarantee be repellent to beer and vomit In Xataka | It is not that Germany is promoting the working day of four days, … Read more

The last extreme idea in beer fermentation has nothing to do with alcohol. It has to do with murderous bees

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The human being has been fermenting beer since time. In spite of this there is always a place for innovation and, probably the “recipe” created by microbiologists from the University of Cardiff, in Wales, is not precedent in the history of mankind. Bee-r. A team of researchers He has created beer using a type of yeast found in the so -called “Killer Bees of Namibia.” The yeast in question (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) It was extracted from specimens of this bee that had died due to natural causes, and then used for the fermentation process from which beer is created. The origin of the idea was on the visit of the British team to the University of Namibia. During the trip, they explain from the Unviersidad de Cardiff, the team was interested in these bees. “When we arrive back to Cardiff, we use the isolated yeast from the murderous bees, next to yeast extracted from Welsh bees, to create several beer remittances,” Les Baillie points outProfessor of Microbiology at the Welsh Center. The “murderous bees”. The so -called “murderous bees” are also known by the least threatening name of Africanized holiferous bees. It is a hybrid subspecies of the common bee (Apis Mellifera), which results from the hybridization of other subspecies of this common insect. The Denomination of Killer is due to aggressiveness Of these bees with whom they consider a threat: these bees attack in large numbers which increases the risk of encounters that are fatal. What do you know? The yeast S. Cerevisiae is (as its name suggests) a yeast commonly used In the manufacture of beer so, regardless of the singular of its origin, beer would not be special. However, we will not have to contrast that fact by our own means. This beer, They explain its creatorsseeks to combine the knowledge of the equipment in microbiology to bring it to products related to bees “to produce something unique.” Now, it’s time to climb the process, looking for some winery willing to take this “recipe” to the market. This could also serve to economically promote this type of research. “Our killer beer is a complementary project for our Pharmabees study. Our study is showing how honey, wax and other bees products can play a role in solving some of the greatest world challenges, including resistance to antibiotics and superbacteria” Baillie added. Pharmabees. Within the Pharmabees project, various actions focused on exploring, for example, how the pollination of certain plants can help us in the fight against superbacteria are registered. To do this, the team installed various hives in the university environment, accompanied by specific plants that, in principle, could lead to bees to create new types of honey and other products. The idea highlights the importance of these insects, not only because of their role in ecosystems but also because of their potential capacity to help synthesize certain compounds. Compounds that, who knows, could one day use for the most surprising purposes. In Xataka | The countries that drink beer around the world, exposed in this happy graphic Image | Scott Bauer, Usda Agricultural Research Service / Bncee Boros

The countries that drink beer around the world, exposed in this happy graphic

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There are more than 2,000 million people drink alcohol often, according to The World Health Organization. Within these data are the Beer drinkersa drink that, Like coffeeit is one of the most consumed in the world. Logically due to its population, China has been dominating as the country that consumes more beer In the world. But if we look at the consumption of per capita beer, the thing changes. And here it only remains to ask … what happens in the Czech Republic. The Czechs is one thing. The Kirin Group public At the end of last year a report on world beer consumption based on questioning sent to beer associations from different countries and industry reports, and is the basis on which Visual Capitalist He has elaborated the graph that you have on these lines. In it, we can see that many countries are quite aligned in per capita annual consumption, but there is one that is notable: Czech Republic. According to these data, the country’s per capita consumption was 152.1 liters per year. It is a figure that is far, far from the 106.5 liters of the Austrians, of the 103.3 liters of the Lithuanians and the 100.6 liters of the Irish, who are the ones that complete the list of countries with consumption above 100 liters. Heritage. Kirin’s report points out that most countries have remained in the same positions that occupied the previous year, but with a notable rise in Croatia, which passes from position ten to five in 2024. Consumption in Spain is not far behind, but there are more and more reports that point to a decrease in consumption In Spanish lands. Let’s go back to the Czech Republic for a moment, since it is a country where beer serves you in bars, unless you say they stop doing it. As in Germany or Belgium, they have recognized the beer culture as part of its national heritage. The three have cataloged the drink and its preparation as an intangible cultural asset, something that is not yet on the Unesco heritage list, but that reflects the importance that the drink has in each of the nations. Because this goes beyond the product, bottled beer, but covers The whole process. It is a celebration of the cultivation of hops and barley, traditional beer trades, the social role of taverns in both rural and urban areas and the role it plays in everyday life. Interestingly, in the list, Belgium occupies much lower positions of consumption. Leaving Europe. This beer tradition permeates consumption worldwide and therefore, although Europe is not the leading territory, it does have the countries where each citizen drinks more liters a year. To find the first non -European country, we must go down to 13th place, where Panama is. Here we start seeing countries like Mexico (15), Gabon (16) or South Africa (18). The United States, which also acquired a wide beer culture fruit of all the miscegenation of the country, is in 27th position with 63.1 liters per capita and curious is the 25th place in the United Kingdom with 65.5 liters. Zero-Ceroseseism. These data, remember, belong to the study prepared by Kirin, but, liter above, liter below, the top positions with that Czech Republic at the head of world beer consumption are something that remains in other statistics. Now, within all the beer consumed in Europe, there is something that is taking impulse: The production of alcohol without alcohol. In 2023 se They produced 34.3 billion liters of beer (being Germany, Spain and Poland the ones that most fermented), 1.8 billion Liters without alcoholbut although it seems little, it is an increase of 13.5% compared to beer data with less than 0.5% alcohol of 2022. And it occurs more because it is also consumed more. In Spain, for example, in 2023 it was consumed 3.5% more of alcohol -free beer than in 2022. We will see if that increase in the consumption of beer without alcohol, something that already shows in advertising, and the decline of alcohol consumption in young Europeans becomes a trend and how it influences these annual statistics. In Xataka | Alcohol kills, but not everyone equally: why Spain and Italy consume more but die less

Wine and beer have been moving tourists from all over the world for years. Now also the bread

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It doesn’t matter if we talk about Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza, Oviedo or Vigo. In any moderately large city in Spain (as in many other countries) it is difficult to go out and not find a place to buy A bread barbuns or a cross at a reasonable distance. They sell it in the neighborhood pastries, but also in supermarkets (grades and small) and of course in chains such as Starbucks or Dunkin. That does not mean that there are people willing to take the car or even get on a plane to try a special bread. In a world in which more and more travel And it is no longer surprising to speak oenological tourism and gastronomic excursions or dedicated to handmade beer (Craft Beer-Tourism) A new modality opens up: the Bakery tourism. Traveling with the palate. There is nothing written about trips. Nor about tourism or vacations. There are those who plan their getaways thinking about Paradisiac beacheswho prefers to spend their days free climbing mountainswho opts for cities, who prioritizes Quiet places To rest … and who directly decides his destination “listening” to his palate and the belly. It is nothing new. He wine tourismhe Beer-Tourism and the Gastronomic Tourism In general, it has been practicing for years and has become a business that moves billions of euros. According to Turespaña, only in 2022 (an exercise still marked by the pandemic) the tourists who visited Spain 22.7 billion of euros in en-gastronomic activities, which makes them one of the main sources of income for the sector. And of those that grow the most. @Nat.Majira Is called #LANNAN And it is in Edinburgh, it always has a tail and the #Croissant and #Painauchocolat They are your specialty 💖 #Edinburgh ♬ Original Sound – Nat.Maquirira Objective: Good bakeries. Not all travelers (and that includes from visitors from other countries to locals who plan small escapes) are looking for wineries, breweries or Michelin star restaurants. There are those who prefer sweet flavors and what they demand are handmade cupcakes or bakeries. A special bread. A brioche with its cream filling. A Babka particularly appetizing. A honey croissant. A Pain Au Chocolat. A cinnamon bun. The list adds and continues with pastry that travelers are looking for guided by Instagram or Tiktokspecialized forums or guides such as ‘Britain’s Best Bakeries’. Welcome to “Bakery Tourism”. The trend is extended enough to The Guardian I just dedicated A wide report in which he speaks of the “extraordinary boom of the Bakery Tourism“, a term that could be translated as” bakery tourism “or” pastry. As an example, he quotes an Edinburgh bakery, Lannan Bakerythat despite carrying open only a couple of years has managed to become a mecca of Bakery Tourism. “We had just received a person who came from Canada. And last year there was another from New Zealand who booked his trip to come,” says his pastry. Your Instagram profile adds around 103,000 followers And in Tiktok they can be found A good handful of publications about their buns and tartlets. @kimchiarepa Most famous bakery of Korea🇰🇷. #korea #Korea #성심당 #koreanbakery #Bakery ♬ Magnetic – Illit Does it happen only in the United Kingdom? Not at all. Arrives A quick search In Google to see how Pan and Bun tourism has its space share in other countries, including Morocco, Japan, the United States, Portugal, Türkiye, Germany or Argentina, such as I quoted recently The specialized website Travel and Tour World. Its logic is simple: cities take advantage of the attractiveness of pastry and traditional sweets to boost as a tourist destination. Nothing that did not have been doing wine warehouses, breweries and localities with Michelin star restaurants or culinary fairs for years. In the case of Portugal, for example, he quotes the popular ones Nata or Belem pasteswhich have already inspired several Guides and Routes By Lisbon focused right on that: show tourists where they can try them. Another word: “bbangjisullae”. Another country in which bread and tourism have marinated well is South Korea. Recently Korea Joongang Dailyk It echoed How there are Koreans traveling hundreds of kilometers, taking trains or spending the night away from home, in Airbnbs, to enjoy the best local refuel. There the trend has its own name: bbangjisullaea mixture of words BBANG (“bread”) and Seongjisullae (“pilgrimage”). And that does in some way those who practice it: a kind of “pilgrimage of bread.” The phenomenon also connects with an upward business in the country, that of the bakery, valued in around 5,500 million dollars and that according to the forecasts handled by the sector in mid -2024 faces a growth horizon. The data The food statistical information system also shows that the number of bakeries has grown clearly in the country: from 24,777 in 2020 to 28,070 in 2022. The franchisee premises however stagnated. Promoting the economy. That last nuance is interesting. Bread, buns and crosss can be bought in many businesses, from large pastmarkets baking chains; But the “bread pilgrims” look for a certain type of product. And how it reveals The report of The Guardian, They often resort to local businesses that can be far from the big cities. In Daejeon, the fifth largest metropolitan area of ​​Korea, stands out for example Sungsimdagfounded as a small bakery specialized in buns In 1956 and that has expanded since then until becoming a local icon. So much so that, according to the local tourism office, it was The most visited place by tourists who arrived in the city throughout 2022 and 2023. A good part of the surveyed travelers say that the pastry was one of the reasons that led them to know Daejeon. It is not a unique case. Something similar has happened in other locations of the US or of Australia. Images | Mark Ramsay (Flickr) and WEI (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | More and more people are going on vacation simply to sleep

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