While out and about trying new beers and food, sometimes you need a conversation starter.  So, how about a bit of beer trivia?  Here are some little snippets to get the friendly debates going –

Who said “a wise man invented beer”?  According to popular culture, “Brainy Quotes”, and t-shirts; this phrase is generally attributed to Plato.  However, there are a number of scholars out there that indicate that this is something Plato never wrote and is not found in any of his dialogues.  The quote is either a misrepresentation of a statement that does occur in the dialogues or is mis-attributied.

What is beer?  The US Department of Commerce defines beer as an alcoholic drink produced by the fermentation of sugars derived from grains of barley, wheat, sorghum, maize or rice.  Notice there is no mention of hops or malt in the generic definition.  However, the classification system used by the US Department of Commerce does list hops and malts as raw materials used in the preparation of beer.  Most dictionaries include the malts and hops as part of the definition of beer.

Who is a craft brewer?  The definition used by the Brewers Association, a craft brewer, is small with an annual production of less than 6 million barrels, independent, and uses traditional brewing ingredients.

In 2014, which state had the most craft breweries?  According to the Brewers Association, California boasts 431 brewers, followed by Washington with 256 brewers, and then Colorado with 235 breweries.  However, if you look at it on a per capita basis, per 100,000 21 plus Adults, there is a big change.  California drops to the 20^th spot with 1.6 breweries per capita, Vermont jumps from 24^th (40 craft brewers) to first at 8.6 breweries per capita.  Washington loses its 2^nd place and drops to 7^th with 5 breweries per capita.  Oregon moves from 4^th with 216 craft brewers to 2^nd with 7.4 breweries per capita.  Colorado holds its 3^rd with a 6.1 breweries per capita.  Of course, this information is based on 2014 numbers, and the craft brewers list is growing all the time.  No telling what will happen next year.

In 2014, what was the craft beer share of the total US market?  Again according to the Brewers Association, craft beers accounted for almost 22 million barrels in a total 197 million barrel market.  Imports were just slightly ahead of craft beers at just under 29.5 million barrels.  Thus, craft beers accounted for an 11% market share; seeing a 17.6% increase from 2013.  And, craft beers saw a 36% growth in exports, with just over 380,000 barrels being exported in 2014.  (Note: 1 barrel of beer is 31 US gallons.)

How many different types of hops are there?  This question is sure to drive a debate.  There is a growing list of hops.  The BeerAdvocate hop guide currently lists 31.