Most people enjoy the taste of a nice cold beer after a hard day of work. In some countries, beer is served just as often as we drink sodas; basically with every meal. But, while most of us appreciate this wonderful beverage, a lot of us don’t know that much about it. We seem to prefer to enjoy its benefits without actually taking the time to know it too well.

But, just like a good friend, the more you know about them, the more you grow to love them. Learning a few fun facts about beer and the way that it is brewed can help you to enjoy it more and help you to appreciate the drink we’ve all come to know and love.

Here are a few things about beer that you may not have known:

1. Beer is the third most popular drink in the world. The only other beverages that can top it are water (well, of course!) and tea.
2. Beer is THE most popular alcoholic beverage in the world, with several million people drinking it at any given time.
3. Beer is old. Very old. It has been around for at least 10,000 years and some of the earliest writings of mankind are devoted to recording beer recipes and brewing techniques.
4. German monks were the first to start making the hops flavored beer that we are all now familiar with.
5. Although most beer is made of water, barley malt, yeast and hops, there are many thousands of variations and different types of beer all around the world. Beer recipes in some countries may even substitute potato starch or the starch of the agave plant in place of the barley malt.
6. Most beer is best served cold, but there are some types of beers that are meant to be served warm. These are usually dark lagers and they may also feel thicker in your mouth than other beers do.
7. The country that consumes the highest amount of beer per capita is the Czech Republic. Annually, they consume about 160 liters per person. The amount of beer that is drank in the Czech Republic every year would be enough to fill about 500 Olympic sized swimming pools.
8. Although too much beer is not good for you, it does contain a lot of good things. It has many B vitamins, including panthothenic acid and folate.
9. Beer has held many religious uses in the past, and was at times even worshiped as a deity in itself.
10. The most expensive beer in the world is called ‘Tutankhamen’. The recipe for it was found in the tomb of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti. It is prepared in limited quantities and costs about $52 per bottle.
11. The term ‘rule of thumb’ was coined because, before the advent of thermometers, brewers would use their thumb to test the temperature of their brews. If the temperature was too hot it would kill the yeast, but if it was too cold, the yeast wouldn’t grow.

These are just a few of the interesting Insanity Workout review things you can learn when you research the history of beer. Since beer has played such a pivotal role in cultural development, and even to the survival of mankind (because clean water was often hard to find, but beer was always safe), it stands to reason that its history is important, so it is well worth learning a few new things about your favorite beverage.