Beer Facts More than 80 million Americans regularly drink beer. Beer accounts for about 87 percent of total alcohol beverage consumption. On a per capita basis, Americans drink approximately 23 gallons of beer per year. Annual production by U.S. brewers is about 180 million barrels. Approximately 90 percent of beer sold in America is packaged beer. Cans account for about 70 percent of packaged beer in the U.S. The brewing industry is directly responsible for the employment of some 900,000 Americans and indirectly responsible for the employment of nearly 2 million more. Retail sales of beer total more than $45 billion and the total economic impact of the beer industry is estimated to be $145 Billion! The economic impact on Michigan alone is nearly $4 Billion! Learn more at BeerServesAmerica.org   How Beer is Made Miller brews its quality beers with the finest ingredients - malted barley from Minnesota, the Dakotas and other barley-growing regions; corn grits from America's heartland; pure water; hops from the Pacific Northwest; and Miller's special yeast. The process begins when Miller brewers mix corn grits with water, then boil the mixture in large cereal cookers. At the same time, malted barley is being steeped in other large cooking vessels called mash tuns. After boiling, the corn grits are added to the mash tuns and the resulting "mash" is slowly heated to a specific temperature to convert the grain starches to fermentable sugars. The mixture is transferred to the lauter tun, where the sugar-laden liquid called "wort" is strained out and piped to the brew kettle. The remaining brewer's grain from the lauter tun makes an excellent, high-protein livestock feed. The wort (pronounced "wert") is boiled vigorously and hops, which impart the aroma and bitterness associated with beer flavor, are added at this time. From the brew kettle, the wort is chilled and pumped to the fermenting cellars, where yeast is added to begin the fermentation process. Each brewery's yeast differs and brewmasters take great care to preserve the integrity of their strains. Fermentation produces alcohol and carbonation in beer. When fermentation is complete, the beer is filtered to remove brewer's yeast and is piped to aging tanks. After being aged 10 to 14 days, the beer is ready for packaging in bottles, cans or kegs.   History of Beer Beer, the beverage of moderation, is older than western civilization. The ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Assyrians brewed forms of beer thousands of years before Christ. Vikings brewed "bjor" in Scandinavia and Julius Caesar found the various tribes of the British Isles drinking ale when he and his Roman legions landed. Beer is closely related with America's history. Beer first arrived on America's shores with European colonists. The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in December of 1620, because, in the words of a diarist aboard the Mayflower, "We could not now take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beere." Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (New York) also brought the art of brewing to the New World and one of the first log houses built on Manhattan Island was soon converted into a brewhouse. According to beer writer/historian Will Anderson, America's first "help wanted" ad was actually an appeal in a London newspaper for experienced brewers to come to America. Brewer Street in New Amsterdam was paved because of its breweries and their heavy beer wagons, which kept getting stuck in the mud during wet weather. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, all brewed beer on their estates. Samuel Adams, the fiery Massachusetts patriot, was the son of a Boston brewer and worked in his family brewery. By 1810, there were more than 100 breweries in America. The 1840's and 1850's brought tremendous change to America's brewing industry. Hundreds of thousands of Germans left their homeland for a new life in America during those decades, especially after revolutionary upheavals ravaged Europe in 1848. These German-speaking immigrants brought with them a love of sparkling, golden lager beer - and the knowledge to brew it. It was during the Civil War that many of America's great breweries, including Miller, began.