The earliest known chemical evidence of beer in the world dates to c. 3500–3100 BC from the site of

Godin Tepe Godin Tepe is an archaeological site in western Iran, located in the valley of Kangavar in Kermanshah Province. Discovered in 1961, the site was excavated from 1965 to 1973 by a Canadian expedition headed by T. Cuyler Young Jr. and sponsored by ...

in the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgro ...

of western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and there is evidence of beer-drinking over a long period in the Median Empire. Since the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

of 1979, production, possession or distribution of any alcoholic beverages is illegal and punishable under Islamic law. However, members of legally tolerated non-Muslim religious minorities – Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians – are allowed to produce alcoholic beverages for consumption at home and use in religious rituals. While non-alcoholic beers are the only ones available from legal outlets, illegal alcoholic beers are smuggled into the country and consumed.

Production companies

As of 2010, alcoholic beers remain illegal, yet

non-alcoholic beer Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol content and aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating (or at least reducing) the inebriating effects of standard alcoholic brews. Most low-alcohol beers are lagers, but there are some ...

s are well developed and established due to the active performance of the local industrial brewers. Shams beer or in the Persian language known as " نوشیدنی مالت شمس" is one of the oldest beers in Iran. Forced out of business by the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, it re-opened 40 years later, selling only non-alcoholic beer.

Statistics

In 2008, the sale of non-alcoholic beers in Iran continued its high performance with double-digit growth rates in both value and volume and it was expected to more than double its total volume sales between 2008 and 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beer In Iran Beer in the Middle East Alcohol in Iran

Production companies

Statistics

See also

References