Beer in Romania comes from the long tradition of Romanian brewing, being introduced in Transylvania by the German colonists (Transylvanian Saxons) and in Moldavia by cultural connections with Poland.
A national association of beer with mititei came into existence during the 1877 Independence War of Romania and after that it saw a spread of beer pubs throughout the Romanian Kingdom. The beer pubs (berării) became a place of social and business meetings for the Romanian urban middle-class. Currently, Romanians are amongst the heaviest beer drinkers in the world, with an annual consumption of over 100 litres per capita in 2007.[1]
Romanian law considers beer and wine to be foodstuffs and therefore they are not subject to the usual tariffs and restrictions imposed upon alcoholic beverages.
The word "beer" in Romanian (bere) is derived from German Bier (itself an early loan from Latin biber), but there is also an obsolete regional word "olovină", of Nordic origin (ole).
Some of the most appreciated Romanian beers are: Ursus (Latin for "bear"), Timişoreana (named after the city of Timişoara), Stejar (Romanian for "oak") - all owned by SABMiller, Bergenbier - owned by Interbrew, Ciuc (named after Miercurea Ciuc) and Silva (Latin for "forest") - owned by Heineken. Silva and Ursus have also a dark lager variety.
Some international brands are brewed locally, being very popular but sometimes more expensive than the traditional ones: Heineken, Carlsberg, Stella Artois, Beck's, Tuborg, Holsten, Peroni and Skol.
Also, there are a large number of beers usually sold in 2-liter PET bottles and targeting the low-end market. Examples are: Ciucaş, Golden Bräu, Bürger, Neumarkt, Bucegi, Gambrinus, Azuga, Noroc.
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