11 Amazing Things You Didn't Know About Beer

Let's be honest, beer is brilliant. It's also a really interesting brew. Check out these fantastic tidbits of pub trivia brought to you by the Britain's Beer Alliance.

1. There is such a thing as space beer.

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Seriously. The barley for the beer was grown on the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station.

250 six-packs of beer were made in total and sold for 10,000 yen (about £60) each, with the proceeds going to charity.

2. Obama brews his own beer.*

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*OK, maybe not Obama himself, but staff at the White House have their own home brewery. Here's the official White House beer recipe for honey brown ale.

3. Beer has less calories than milk.

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Beer in moderation won't give you a belly. According to the British Beer and Pub Association, a pint of beer (4.6% alcoholic volume) contains fewer calories than wine, milk, or fruit juice.

4. There are cosmic alcohol clouds floating about in space.

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The reactions that took place to create it took about 10,000 years – which is the longest brewing process we've ever heard of. The bad news about this vast cloud of ethanol alcohol is that it's not as close as your local; it's 10,000 light years away in the constellation of Aquila.

5. Beer was invented by women.

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Beer's been around for 10,000 years – and for most of that time it was brewed at home by women. In ancient Greece women drank beer and men drank wine, which is why the pagan deities of beer are all female and the pagan deities of wine are male. Seriously – thank you, ladies.

6. Medieval people drank beer because it was healthier than drinking water.

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The alcohol and hops of the brewing process helped to quash germs and purify water. Luckily that's history.

7. We've got beer to thank for the pyramids.

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Why? Because Egyptian pyramid builders were paid in beer. They loved it so much that they'd strike if not given their rations. Ancient Egyptians drank two kinds of beer: one called heket or tenemu and another called kha-ahmet.

8. Guinness used to be prescribed to people with iron deficiency.

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Beer drinkers have 30% higher levels of vitamin B6 levels in their blood than people who don't drink the amber nectar. It's also a good source of vitamin B12 and folic acid.

9. You can get deep-fried beer.

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In Texas, of course – though they used stout, and it was claimed to taste like hot pretzels and beer. Yum!

10. Beer is the oldest brewed drink in the world.

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The oldest beer recipe dates back to 3500 BC, according to Smithsonian magazine. Beer even gets a mention in the Magna Carta.

11. Around half a million pounds' worth of stout is lost in the UK's bushy beards every year.

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There's so much more to beer than you think. And Britain's Beer Alliance can help you find the beer for you. Follow @BeerForThat on Twitter and find them on Facebook to discover more.