Drink 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. Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. Cider is a fermented alcoholic drink made from fruit juice, most commonly and traditionally apple juice, but also the juice of peaches, pears ("Perry" cider) or other fruit. Cider may be made from any variety of apple, but certain cultivars grown solely
Cider stores in Sweden cannot sell cider with less than 15 percentage juice by volume under the name Cider. "Cider" with none or less than 15% juice is instead usually sold as ""Apple/Pear beverage of cider character"" (Swedish: ""Äpple-/Pärondryck med Ciderkaraktär""). Brands of cider in Sweden include Rekorderlig, Kivik, Herrljunga and Kopparberg. In Switzerland cider is called "Suure Most" or "Saft" in the German-speaking part, "Cidre" in the Romandy, and "Sidro" in the Italian-speaking regions. The drink was made popular in the 19th century when apple production increased due to progress in pomology. At the turn of the century, cider consumption