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* The largest American-owned brewing company doesn’t sell beer in Oregon. Miller, Coors and Bud are now owned by foreign companies, which left Sam Adams on top until last year, when it was surpassed by Pennsylvania’s Yuengling. Founded in 1829, Yuengling claims to be the nation’s oldest brewery.
* Oregon doesn’t have the most breweries in the U.S. or the most breweries per capita. With 245 breweries, California has by far the most. Tiny Vermont has only 21 breweries, but the most per capita. Oregon has 121 breweries, which is third most total and second most per person.
* Beer styles go far beyond “light” and “dark.” There are 83 different styles judged at the Great American Beer Festival, including sour beers, oatmeal stouts and barrel-aged beers stored for a year in whiskey barrels before bottling.
* Beers made with herbs instead of hops are called gruits and were popular until the 1500s. They’ve seen a minor revival in recent years, partly spurred by Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch, a brew developed from an analysis of the 2,700-year-old drinking vessels found in the tomb of King Midas. Portland’s Buckman Brewing, housed inside the Green Dragon on Southeast Yamhill Street, is a leader, flavoring beers with chamomile, ginger and sweet potatoes.
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Dark beers are not “heavier” in calories than light beers. The color of beer depends on how long and hot the barley was roasted. Stouts, which use darker malts, are often lower in calories than brighter beers. Guinness, for example, is lighter than Heineken, Budweiser, Miller or Stella Artois.
* Some beer goes bad, other beer gets better with age. Mass-market lagers like Budweiser and Miller are best at their freshest. Full Sail’s Session lager, for example, is meant be consumed within 120 days, says brewmaster Jamie Emmerson. However, some high-alcohol, bottle-conditioned styles, including Imperial stouts and barley wines, can be cellared for years to allow flavors to mellow and mature. Portland’s Hair of the Dog is a leading advocate of bottle aging.
* The top-selling craft beer in the U.S. is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Oregon’s top offering was Widmer Hefeweizen, which ranked seventh among craft brews in 2010.
* The world’s largest beer market is China. The most popular Chinese beer—and the top-selling beer in the world—isn’t well-known Tsingtao. It’s Snow Beer. Tsingtao is China’s biggest export but a distant second domestically. The almost-clear Snow Beer is not available outside China and moved 16.5 billion pints in 2010, twice as much as Bud Light, which is second worldwide.
* The most popular imported beer in the U.S. is Corona. Heineken holds second place, followed by Modelo Especial and Corona Light. Mexico sends the U.S. five of its 10 most popular imports. This is a recent trend. A decade ago, Guinness (Ireland), Foster’s (Australia) and Amstel (the Netherlands) were in the top 10 instead of Tecate, Dos Equis and Corona Light.
* The world’s No. 3 beer market is Brazil, a nation now ahead of Germany and Russia. Skol is Brazil’s most popular beer.
Also, for real hop-heads, A new era of Oregon hops will better your brew.
