| By Ayanjit Phukan |
In essence beer is just grain wine. We can see that the people who fall between the age group of 20-25 years, who are just out of college are generally beer drinkers. Beer is more famous amongst men than women because beer has an image problem. It is thought that an individual after drinking a couple of pints feels like 6”10 and bullet proof. People think that it is an unhealthy drink and beer drinking leads to gain in waist dimension also commonly known as the “beer belly”. But actually a glass of dark beer is as healthy as that of a red wine glass. It has been seen that out of the age group of 20-25 years (women), only 14% women drink beer and 54% men love their ales. Women do not like drinking beer much because of the bitterness imparted by the hops. Not all beers are same, there is a beer for everyone. For women Belgian beer is more suitable because the taste of the hops is very mild. But still beer is a favourite beverage as it quenches thirst, goes, goes well with almost any food and one can enjoy several beers without going drunk due to the low alcohol percentage, and they are priced in such a manner that anyone earning an average wage can enjoy it. Chefs around the world have started beer and food pairing. In America Chefs are pairing roast beef (dry) with British style pale ale. Chefs have even paired soups with beer. An American Chef has paired the Indian National soup Mulligatawny with a Scotch Ale.
People in the age group on 25-35 years are matured drinkers who love their wines, whiskies and cocktails. Nowadays it’s seen that global professionals are drinking more of wine than any other alcoholic beverage because of health reasons, since drinking wine is considered healthy. Drinking a moderate amount of wine helps reduce weight as it cuts fat, reduces forgetfulness, boosts immunity and prevents bone loss. People have started drinking more wine also because of disposable income, availability of good quality New World wines at a price which is affordable amongst the masses. Wine consumption has also seen an increase due to the easy availability of it in online stores. Online wine industry is really doing good specially amongst the millennial generations as they are heavy internet users. According to an article in the Global Wines and Spirits, in the United States of America only 6% of the consumer had bought wine from the web site of a winery in the year 2003. In the year 2007 the percentage of online buying went to 17%. Wine is a very vast subject. Today people are drinking good wine as they are better educated about the subject then what people were about two decades back, hence the increase in consumption. Also with the opening of a lot of customer-friendly wine stores and well educated seller. Today there are a lot of expert wine making consultants who has helped in the production of good quality wines.
Ayanjit Phukan is a 3rd student at Insitute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad.
