beer glorious beer

[chefdesmith]

i wonder if there is any way to find out how many different kinds and different variations of beer have been made over the centuries?

[newportstorm]

Barring time travel, probably not. Historical records can give a glimpse, an idea, maybe a rough estimate, but how many beers do you think were brewed in local towns, hamlets, etc. that either weren't recorded or whose records are long lost?

[chefdesmith]

thats what i'm thinking its got to be a huge huge number

[darylM]

I think with the beer knowledge on the board we can figure out a ballpark estimate.

The answers to these questions would be a good start:

1> How many beer styles are currently reconized? This needs to include as many as we can name.

2> How many beers are entered into the experimental catagory on average in beer contests?

3> What is the percentage of homebrewers that regularly enter beer contests?

4> How many societies historically are known for beermaking?

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by darylM
I think with the beer knowledge on the board we can figure out a ballpark estimate.

The answers to these questions would be a good start:

1> How many beer styles are currently reconized? This needs to include as many as we can name.

2> How many beers are entered into the experimental catagory on average in beer contests?

3> What is the percentage of homebrewers that regularly enter beer contests?

4> How many societies historically are known for beermaking?

Problems exist with finding answers to many of your questions.

Beer has been around, in some form, for thousands of years. However, classifying such beers by any current style guideline (other than the all-encompassing "experimental" would be difficult/impossible).

Aside from periods of time when the roles of hops and yeast were unknown in the brewing process, local brewers often used whatever was local to them to make a drinkable brew - herbs, spices, fruits, etc. How to classify such beers that, while using similar ingredients, were quite unique to the local flora, fauna, climate, etc.?

Just as the craft brewing renaissance has expanded the minds and palates of beer lovers with "new" styles (with new creations happening every day/month/year), how many are undiscovered or never will be?

When I think of brewing tradition the UK, Germany, Belgium, United States, etc. come to mind. But we know that the "tradition" most US brewers enjoy is a rather recent phenomenon. Also, look at the decline in brewing tradition in countries like Germany (where beer consumption and appeal is slumping) and the UK (the near death of real ale). How many ancient brewing cultures have disappeared?

You could probably roll back a couple hundred years and get a good idea of how many breweries, beers, etc. have existed. Beyond that, it'd probably get dicey.

[darylM]

I am looking for an "order of magnitude" estimation. The resulting estimate is going to be dicey because some of the needed information will have to be filled in by local expertise. My goal is to create a type of beer based puzzle where it will be an interesting exchage between posters. I have a lot of respect for the collective knowledge of beer on this board and think we could get some answer to a very interesting question.

[zoom6zoom]

All I know for sure is that it's more than I can drink...

[n0rmann]

The answer is 89

[darylM]

Originally posted by n0rmann
The answer is 89

Wrong, the answer is 64.

[n0rmann]

You're obviously missing the 25 secret styles -- you only learn them when you learn praying mantis-style kung fu.

[chefdesmith]

i'm thinking of a number in the 100's of millions range

[zoom6zoom]

Originally posted by darylM
Wrong, the answer is 64.

If you're looking for an actual number, isn't 42 the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything?

[darylM]

Originally posted by zoom6zoom
If you're looking for an actual number, isn't 42 the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything?


That's right, 42.

[dparsons]

Take the total number of people that have lived since beer was invented, multiply by the average number of years they have been of drinking age (40 -15 say), and then multiply by 3 for the # experiments/improvements per year.

[EBW]

This is starting to look like the Ahhhh......nevermind board.

[Richard English]

I believe there are presently just over 3,000 brands of beer available in the UK. I would guess that the USA would have at least triple that number.

So that's 12,000 plus just for starters!

[xtalman]

Originally posted by zoom6zoom
If you're looking for an actual number, isn't 42 the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything?

But isn't that what good beer means also?