12 Fun Facts About Some of Our Favorite Beers

In case you hadn't noticed, mental_floss loves beer. (A lot.) So in our quest to drink more of it—and to learn some new stuff in the process—we've been cracking open old favorites and fresh brews every afternoon and sharing what we're drinking (plus an interesting tidbit about it) over on Untappd.

Here are just a few we've tried recently:

1. SCHLENKERLA'S AECHT SCHLENKERLA RAUCHBIER

The majority of deliciously smoky German rauchbiers take their flavor from the smoke of cured beechwood.

2. VICTORY BREWING COMPANY'S DIRTWOLF DOUBLE IPA

Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski, the founders of Victory Brewing, first met on the school bus in the fifth grade.

3. HALF ACRE BEER COMPANY'S AKARI SHOGUN PALE WHEAT ALE

Half Acre founder Gabriel Magliaro named this brew after a cat he had in the '90s. He later found out that "Akari" is Japanese for "light." (The beer is not.)

4. BAYERISCHE STAATSBRAUEREI WEIHENSTEPHAN'S WEIHENSTEPHANER HEFEWEISSBIER DUNKEL

Germany's beer purity law, the Reinheitsgebot, turned 500 in 2016. It originally decreed that beer could contain only barley, water, and hops.

5. SWEETWATER BREWING COMPANY'S SQUEEZE BOX AMERICAN IPA

Georgia-based Sweetwater takes its name from a creek that serves as one of its founders' favorite kayaking spots.

6. LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY'S IPA

The pit bull on Lagunitas labels was inspired by The Little Rascals's canine companion, Petey.

7. OTHER HALF BREWING COMPANY'S DOUBLE DRY HOPPED STACKS ON STACKS DOUBLE IPA

According to Urban Dictionary's definition, one "stack" is the equivalent of $1000.

8. GOOSE ISLAND BEER CO.'S BOURBON COUNTY BRAND AMERICAN IMPERIAL STOUT

From 1919 until 2014, Bourbon County, Kentucky was home to zero distilleries.

9. SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO.'S TROPICAL TORPEDO AMERICAN IPA

Sierra Nevada, which opened in 1980, is still 100 percent owned and operated by founder Ken Grossman and his family.

10. BROUWERIJ DE BRABANDERE'S WITTEKERKE WITBIER

Wittekerke was created for (and served on) a Flemish soap opera of the same name, which ran from 1998 to 2008.

11. CIGAR CITY BREWING'S VANILLA HAZELNUT MARSHAL ZHUKOV'S IMPERIAL STOUT

President Dwight Eisenhower once gave Georgy Zhukov a fishing reel as a gift. The marshal used it for the rest of his life.

12. BOSTON BEER COMPANY'S SAMUEL ADAMS HOPSCAPE

The great-great-grandfather of Sam Adams' Jim Koch ran a St Louis brewery in the 1800s. His neighbor: Adolphus Busch of Anheuser-Busch fame.

Have a suggestion for something else we should try? Leave us a comment below or on our Untappd page.