Alcohol has been with us since 10,000 BC, the ancient Egyptians had 17 types of beer
and 24 variates of wine.
In fact, beer was a dietary staple long before bread.
But what exactly is alcohol?
Alcohol what we call a special group of chemicals.
Ethanol is the only drinkable alcohol.
Ethanol is what you drink on a friday night.
But other types of alcohol include methanol and isopropanol, however I would highly recommend
against drinking these, they are used in many different fields, including medical.
The human body constantly produces small amounts of alcohol itself.
Alcohol is a drug, a depressant to be precise.
However in small doses it can act as a stimulant, it's only when you consume too much that it's
depressant effects kick in and you end up feeling like this.
Alcohol slows down your vital functions, causing slurred speech, unsteady movement, an ability
to react quickly and generally bad decisions.
But why do we get a hangover when we drink too much?
Well hangovers are pretty damn nasty, but what do you expect, alcohol is essentially
a poison.
I'm sure you're already well aware but let me remind you of the symptoms of a hangover:
Dehydration Dry mouth
Tiredness Headache
Nausea Weakness
Anxiety Irritability
Pessimism Reduced concentration
Sensitivity to light and noise Trouble sleeping
And a general feeling of "talk to me and you'll regret it"
But what is it about alcohol that causes these symptoms.
The biggest factor is dehydration, alcohol is a diuretic, this means you pee more and
dehydrate very fast.
This is exactly the reason you get a headache, whilst dehydrated your body takes water from
the brain to give to other parts of your body, causing your brain to literally shrink and
that can be very painful.
Alcohol is produced through the process of fermentation, were various foods are fermented
with yeast, during this process the yeast converts malt sugars into alcohol.
Beer is made of 4 basic ingredients: Barley, water, hops and yeast.
But the process of wine making is a bit more complicated.
Firstly the grapes are picked and hand sorted to remove things like sticks and rocks.
The grapes are then crushed and destemmed.
They are then mixed with yeast, various nutrients and acid.
The mixture is then fermented for a couple of weeks, a device called a hydrometer is
used to measure the alcohol vs sugar levels and determine when the wine is just right.
The mixture is then put into a big press and, you guessed it, pressed.
The resulting liquid is collected.
Oak chips are added for flavour and the wine is left to sit for months and months.
During this time the wine is transferred from bottle to bottle until the liquid is completely
clear.
Campden tablets are then added, this kills bacteria and stops any further fermentation.
The wine is then bottled, sealed with a cork or screw top and left to age for years until
it is finally consumed.
If a wine has "corked", it has reacted with the cork and spoiled inside the bottle.
The world's biggest consumer of alcohol, per person, is the Czech Republic, drinking an
astonishing 15 litres of alcohol per person, per year.
In fact as a continent Europe is by far the world's biggest alcohol consumer.
The top 13 countries for getting pissed are all European.
Shamefully the United Kingdom is only 15th on the list, guzzling down 11.7 litres of
alcohol per person, every year.
Way ahead of the United States at only 8.5 litres per person.
In most countries the legal drinking age is 18, only 12 countries have a drinking age
above 18 and there are 19 countries where there is absolutely no legal drinking age
at all.
Internationally, the average age when a person first tastes an alcoholic beverage is 12 and
shockingly more than 80% of people are regular drinkers by age 15.
In small amounts alcohol can have health benefits on your heart, although there are countless
harmful effects on the body when drunk regularly in large quantities.
But alcohol is fun and can leave you with many good memories or none at all.
So go out and enjoy yourself!
Just don't overdo it.