BEER CONSUMPTION

In Guyana, beer is a highly consumed beverage. In areas like Bartica 6 out of 20 persons begin consuming beer by the age of 14. In other parts of the country one in every 30 persons begins to consume beer by age 16. Even though the legal drinking age is 18, beer is an easily accessible commodity and is available to anyone at social events. In fact, research conducted by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [NIAAA] in the United States of America show that the serious drinking problems (including what is called alcoholism) typically associated with middle age actually begin to appear much earlier during adolescence. Some parents allow their under ages children to consume beers in their presence. Some people also drink and promote beer consumption for a living. 

“I consume about ten to fifteen beers in one night when I’m on duty. Being a spokes person for Carib beer I have no other alternative. However I only consume beer when I am on the job or at a social event. Sometimes when I’m hanging with friends I opt for a non alcoholic drink just because I know I consume it when I’m working.”  Annelise Edwards (Carib Model in Guyana).

 

A general study on beer drinkers in Guyana has not been conducted but beer remains the preferred beverage of choice among Americans who drink alcohol, as it has every year since 1992 -- with the exception of 2005, when wine edged into the top spot.

Most beers in Guyana are sold at low prices. Banks Beer, which is brewed in Guyana, is generally retailed for $300 each. Their main competitor, Carib Langer, is retailed for $240. Other beers sold in Guyana are the Stag Beer, Banks President’s Beer, Corona Beer and the Heineken Beer. 

BEER AND YOUR HEALTH

Beer is commonly known to have negative effects on persons who consume it in large portions on a regular basis. Conditions like Intoxication/ Impairment, High Blood Pressure, Heart burn and Dehydration are common in excessive beer drinkers. Excessive consumption of beer can impair how a person performs as a parent or partner. It can lead a person to be violent, to spend more time away from home, to leave other family members destitute, or to cause them anxiety, fear and depression. Beer does not have as high an alcohol content as vodka and other alcoholic beverages so the mentioned diseases are lower in beer drinkers verses drinkers of other alcoholic beverages.   However, there are facts that consuming beer in sparing amounts has astonishing benefits. 

 

Beer is rich in many vitamins of the B6 group and in such minerals as magnesium. Barley and hops used in the production of beer are rich in flavonoids, which have powerful antioxidant effects. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has completed an extensive review of current scientific knowledge about the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption. It found that the lowest death rate from all causes occurs at the level of one to two drinks per day. That is, moderate drinkers have the greatest longevity. 

There is strong evidence that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption has cardio-protective properties. Many research studies demonstrate a lower coronary heart disease incidence among moderate beer drinkers. These moderate drinkers are at lower risk of CHD-related mortality than both heavy drinkers and abstainers. The vitamin B6 in beer also seems to prevent the alcohol-induced rise in blood homocysteine, a probable heart disease risk factor. Consuming beer in moderate amounts may also aid in cholesterol issues and the prevention of kidney stones.           

HISTORY OF BEER

Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BC and recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Chemical tests of ancient pottery jars reveal that beer was produced about 7,000 years ago in what is today Iran, and was one of the first-known biological engineering tasks where the biological process of fermentation is used in a process. In ancient Mesopotamia, clay tablets indicate that brewing was a fairly well respected occupation during the time, and that the majority of brewers were women. Some types of beers were used especially in religious ceremonies. Beer was even part of the daily diet of Egyptian Pharaohs over 5,000 years ago.

No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment and an inebriating pulp resulted. These early accounts, with pictograms of what is recognizably barley, show bread being baked then crumbled into water to make a mash, which is then made into a drink that is recorded as having made people feel "exhilarated, wonderful and blissful!".  The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer.

Beer was first produces in Guyana by entrepreneur Peter D’Aguiar in 1959http://www.banksdih.com/?q=about-us . Two years later shares of the company were sold and Banks Breweries in Barbados was open. The link below is a tour of the Banks DIH in 1994.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK3EWPPvCuw

Since then, Ansa Mcal and other companies have opted to import other brands of beer to Guyana. There are seven known different beers available on the Guyanese market to date.