National Drink Beer Day Fun Facts And Best Toasts


Today is National Drink Beer Day here in the United States, and abroad, London is just closing out their annual Beer Week, so it seems like the perfect time to celebrate the biggest selling alcoholic beverage currently in existence. In fact, the only beverages to outsell beer is bottled water and tea, so it’s not surprising that beer should be celebrated the world over as something more than a simple go-to party drink. Celebrating National Drink Beer Day is more than simply consuming your favorite craft beer, light beer, lager, or malt. It’s about appreciating the rich history of beer from its greatest consumers to its strangest facts.

National Drink Beer Day: The More You Know

To help us to appreciate beer in its many flavors and brands, Express offers up some little-known facts about beer. Here are a few perfect tidbits to trade with one’s mates while tying one on at the nearest watering hole. Among the facts revealed is the aforementioned fact that beer does outsell every beverage except tea and water, but there are far more intoxicating facts shared on National Drink Beer Day.

London Beer Week may be a good time now, but in 1814, part of the city was nearly destroyed by what is now called the Great Beer Flood. When vats in a local brewery ruptured, an estimated 388,000 gallons of beer flooded the surrounding streets in the area surrounding Tottenham Court Road. A tidal wave of foamy beer wound its way through the streets, destroying two homes and taking out one wall of the Tavistock Arms Pub.

The Great Beer Flood claimed the lives of at least eight people, including a teenage girl employed at the Tavistock Arms Pub, and a mother and daughter who drowned in the flood on a nearby street. A judge and jury later ruled the flood was an act of God.

Belgium’s La Vieille Bon Secours ale is the world’s most expensive beer, selling at £700 a bottle. In U.S. dollars, that would be $911.57 per bottle.

While Americans may like to think they corner the market, the fun-loving people of the Czech Republic drink more beer than anyone else in the world, consuming an average of 143 liters per person annually. Britain trails closest behind them at 63 liters.

It’s believed that beer was first introduced to the Sumerian population in approximately 10,000 B.C., so it’s no wonder that the Sumerians had their own beer goddess. Ninkasi was the name of the goddess of alcohol and beer. It’s said that Ninkasi was “born of fresh sparkling water.”

Keep Calm And Drink Beer And Other National Drink Beer Day Quotes

National Drink Beer Day may be a fairly recent implementation, but that doesn’t mean appreciation for beer has gone unrecognized in the past. Far from it, International Business Times points out that even Abraham Lincoln was an avid beer drinker, and he recognized the value of offering free beer as a campaign strategy.

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.” – Abraham Lincoln

Likewise, even Benjamin Franklin adored beer and saw it as proof of the divine, as Beer Fest Boots reveals on their website.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

The recently deceased King of Pop once recognized that beer was more than just an alcoholic beverage. He saw the benefits of producing beer and would undoubtedly have held a great National Drink Beer Day celebration.

“Beer culture is a part of the world of food and drink. It’s not just a commodity in cans and bottles, but has a value as an agricultural product with good ingredients.” – Michael Jackson

“A woman drove me to drink and I didn’t even have the decency to thank her.” – W.C. Fields

[Featured Image by Goran Gajanin – Pool/Getty Images]

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