Editing Drink (section)

====Beer====
[[Beer]] is an [[alcoholic drink]] produced by the [[Hydrolysis|saccharification]] of [[starch]] and [[Fermentation (food)|fermentation]] of the resulting sugar. The starch and saccharification [[enzyme]]s are often derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly [[malt]]ed barley and malted wheat.<ref name="Barth 2014">Barth, Roger. ''The Chemistry of Beer: The Science in the Suds'', Wiley 2013: {{ISBN|978-1-118-67497-0}}.</ref> Most beer is also flavoured with [[hops]], which [[bittering agent|add bitterness]] and act as a natural [[preservative]], though other flavourings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included. The preparation of beer is called [[brewing]]. Beer is the world's most widely consumed [[alcoholic drink]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Volume of World Beer Production|work=European Beer Guide|url=http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/eustats.htm#production|access-date=17 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028165040/http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/eustats.htm|archive-date=28 October 2006 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status=live}}</ref> and is the third-most consumed drink overall, after [[Drinking water|water]] and [[tea]]. It is said to have been discovered by goddess [[Ninkasi]] around 5300 BCE, when she accidentally discovered yeast after leaving grain in jars that were later rained upon and left for several days. Women have been the chief creators of beer throughout history due to its association with domesticity and it, throughout much of history, being brewed in the home for family consumption. Only in recent history have men begun to dabble in the field.<ref>{{citation | last = Shoemaker | first = Camille | title = Women & the Beverage that Changed the World. | publisher = National Women's History Museum | date = May 2017 | url = https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/women-beverage-changed-world}}</ref><ref name="Nelson 2005">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xul0O_SI1MC&q=most+consumed+beverage&pg=PA1|title=The Barbarian's Beverage: A History of Beer in Ancient Europe|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|location=Abingdon, Oxon|isbn=978-0-415-31121-2|page=1|access-date=21 September 2010|last= Nelson|first=Max}}</ref> It is thought by some to be the oldest [[fermented drink]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Alchemy of Culture: Intoxicants in Society|first=Richard|last=Rudgley|isbn=978-0-7141-1736-2|year=1993|page=411|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5baAAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Alchemy+of+Culture|publisher=British Museum Press|location=London|access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Origin and History of Beer and Brewing: From Prehistoric Times to the Beginning of Brewing Science and Technology|first=John P|last=Arnold|isbn=978-0-9662084-1-2|year=2005|page=411|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5CPAAAACAAJ&q=Origin+and+History+of+Beer+and+Brewing|publisher=Reprint Edition by BeerBooks|location=Cleveland, Ohio|access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref><ref>Joshua J. Mark (2011). [https://www.worldhistory.org/Beer/ Beer]. Ancient History Encyclopedia.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHh-4M_QxEsC&q=oldest%20beverage&pg=PA10|title=World's Best Beers: One ThousandCraft Brews from Cask to Glass|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|access-date=7 August 2010|isbn=978-1-4027-6694-7|date=6 October 2009}}</ref>

Some of humanity's earliest known writings refer to the production and distribution of beer: the [[Code of Hammurabi]] included laws regulating beer and beer parlours,<ref>{{cite web|title=Beer Before Bread|work=Alaska Science Forum #1039, Carla Helfferich|url=http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF10/1039.html|access-date=13 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509121452/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF10/1039.html|archive-date=9 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> and "The Hymn to [[Ninkasi]]", a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, served as both a prayer and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people.<ref name="Nin-kasi">{{cite web|title=Nin-kasi: Mesopotamian Goddess of Beer|work=Matrifocus 2006, Johanna Stuckey|url=http://www.matrifocus.com/SAM06/spotlight.htm|access-date=13 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524231622/http://www.matrifocus.com/SAM06/spotlight.htm|archive-date=24 May 2008 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sumer">{{cite book|author1=Black, Jeremy A. |author2=Cunningham, Graham |author3-link=Eleanor Robson |author3=Robson, Eleanor |title=The literature of ancient Sumer|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-926311-0}}</ref> Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant [[Multinational corporation|multinational companies]] and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from [[brewpubs]] to [[regional brewery|regional breweries]].