Beer style Alcoholic beverages made from the fermentation of sugars derived from non-grain sources are generally not called "beer," despite being produced by the same yeast-based biochemical reaction. Fermented honey is called "mead", fermented apple juice is called "cider", fermented pear juice is called "perry" (sometimes, "pear cider"), fermented plum juice is called "plum jerkum", and fermented grape juice is called "wine". Chinese "jiu" and Japanese "sake" are made using much the same process as beer with one additional step in the fermentation as well as using rice instead of primarily barley malt. Most beer styles fall into types roughly according to
History of alcoholic drinks "Gandhara stills" were only capable of producing very weak liquor, as there was no efficient means of collecting the vapors at low heat. While the art of wine making reached the Hellenic peninsula by about 2000 BC, the first alcoholic beverage to obtain widespread popularity in what is now Greece was mead, a fermented beverage made from honey and water. However, by 1700 BC, wine making was commonplace. During the next thousand years wine drinking assumed the same function so commonly found around the world: It was incorporated into religious rituals. It became important in hospitality, used for medicinal purposes,