This year it so happens that International Beer Day falls at the very end of a Bank Holiday for those living in Ireland.

That aside, August 5th is meant to be a day when you step out of you comfort zone and sample a range of beers from around the world as well as celebrating famous brewers and of course drink the liquid (in moderation).

Russians are more associated with vodka which remains the most popular drink in the country. But beer is also widely consumed. It is so popular in fact that it used to be classified as a foodstuff which put it in the same category as soft drinks and smoothies.

But on January 1st 2013 a new law came into force which reclassified beer as a form of liquor.

It is a bid to curb alcoholism in Russia where up to 20 per cent of deaths are alcohol-related.

Schorschbräu is the strongest beer ever made. While most beers are 4 - 6 per cent alcohol by volume, this 2011 brew weighs in at a potentially blackout-inducing 57.5 per cent.

However the most potent beer made by fermentation alone is said to be Ghost Deer (28 per cent) which was brewed by Scottish company BrewDog in 2011.

In the UK an estimated 93,000 litres of beer are lost in facial hair.

The oldest known recipe for beer is 4,000 years old and originates in Sumeria, in the area of Mesopotamia, where agriculture first took root. They even had a goddess of beer. Ironically this is an area which covers modern day Iran and Iraq where drinking is frowned upon for religious reasons.

Allegedly the men who built the pyramids did so while locked, having been given four litres of beer per day to keep them motivated. In fairness they did a pretty good job in the circumstances.

As ever German engineering produces fabulous feats. Bars near the Veltins-Arena (the home stadium of Gelsenkirckhen-based Schalke 04) are connected by a 5km-long beer pipeline to supply fresh produce to fans in the football-mad region of West Germany.