Global alcohol consumption

There are many varieties of beer, wine and liquor throughout the world

Burgundie
Main article: Culture in Burgundie § Alcohol

Kiravia
Alcoholic beverages play a central role in Kiravian culture, being used for nutritional, recreational, medicinal, and ritual purposes, among others. Kiravia is both a leading consumer and a leading producer of alcoholic beverages, with Kiravian beer, whiskey, cider, and other products marketed throughout Ixnay.

Beer is the most popular form of alcoholic beverage in Kiravia, and is an important fixture of the Kiravian diet. Brewing is done at the level of individual households and farmsteads, monasteries, and micro- and craft breweries with regional markets; as well as by large corporate operations with nationwide and international reach. Kiravian beer styles are extremely diverse, with the Corcoran Institution's Museum of Kiravian Brewing and Distillation Arts having catalogued 312 distinct styles of beer either native to Kiravia or thoroughly nativised before Kirosocialism, around half of which can be considered "heirloom" or "heritage" styles that are endemic to specific localities and may or may not be commercially available. However, there are a few major styles that account for the majority of commercially available Kiravian beer, namely porters and stouts (mainly from Northeast Kirav), red ales (mainly from the Mid-Continental region), and Kiravian Pale Ale in its several varieties. Barley is grown in nearly all arable parts of the island continent and Æonara, while the main hop-growing regions are the Eastern Highlands, the West Coast and wetter areas of the Western Highlands, and South Kirav. Hops cannot be reliably grown in the far northern fringes of Great Kirav or most parts of Koskenkorva, but this has not deterred denizens of these climes from brewing beer. Instead, they have turned to other botanicals to impart flavour and antiseptic properties to their beer, including conifer buds and needles, heather and elderberry. Spruce ale and pine ale have been adopted beyond their original range and are now produced even in hop-producing areas such as Trinatria and Kaskada.

Whiskey is by far the most popular hard liquor in Kiravia, and is both a cherished cultural institution and essential fixture of daily life for tens of millions of Kiravians. Consumed throughout the Federacy (but especially popular in the Highlands, regions with large Celtic populations, and the North Coast), whiskey is an extremely popular recreational beverage, and is also used medicinally to treat digestive issues and chronic pain. It features in many Kiravian cultural rituals, such as as a libation shared by the bride- and groom-to-be in betorthal ceremonies and as an offering (often burnt) at the graves of one's ancestors. There is a long history of whiskey being used as a medium of exchange in Kiravia that continues to the present day.

Wine has traditionally had a more marginal place in the (Great) Kiravian diet compared to whiskey and beer, though its popularity has been steadily growing for decades, especially among the affluent and those in coastal cities. Few parts of the Kiravian Federacy are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes, although a cold-hardy variety introduced by Burgundine immigrants is used to produce table wine in parts of central and southern Great Kirav. Wine is much more popular in Sydona, which alone accounts for over 90% of Kiravian wine production and 45% of Kiravian wine consumption.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, two drinking ages are used. Beer and wine can be bought from the age of 16, while spirits and liqueurs can only be consumed from the age of 20.

Beer remains popular in the United Kingdom, especially Light Ale is most often drunk. Liqueurs are the second most commonly drunk alcoholic beverage, especially fruit liqueurs are popular. Wine is in third place, but is slowly gaining popularity.

Urcea
In Urcea, the legal drinking age is 20, lowered from 24 in 1974 by the Alcoholic Commercial and Public Safety Act.

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in Urcea by a significant margin, and the most popular kind of beers are goldwheats and pilsners, and many of the best-selling beers are domestics, with hops and wheat grown in the province of Goldvale and brewed elsewhere. Wine, especially wines from southern Urcea and particularly from Canaery, is growing in popularity.

Corumm
Corumm has a history of alcohol consumption dating back hundreds of years. The predominant drink is 'Mijiu' which is liquor distilled from grains such as rice or wheat, crops that are a staple of the populations diet and readily available. The production of distilled spirits is heavily subsidized by the state and geared mostly for internal consumption although there have been recent efforts to ratchet up exports. Beer and wine are derided as foreigner drinks and consumption is quite low in comparison.

Ralvithja
The people in the near arctic lands of Ralvithja have had a long history of alcoholic consumption for the purpose of showing you are an adult as well as many other important parts of the culture of the Vithjan people.

Ralvithja does not have any limitation on drinking age, instead simply requiring a person to have ID that shows that they are an adult. These ID's require a test where an individual proves themselves mature, both physically and psychologically. This was once a problem for foreigners as they would have to go through these tests no matter what age they where, put since 1995 the legal drinking age for foreign adults in Ralvithja has been set at 15 years old.

Vithjans mostly prefer local liquor, as it is to a large degree cultural to drink the most local liquor available, but the younger generation has started to enjoy some great imported products, mostly from Kiravia and Diamavya.

Stenza
Stenzans have been consuming alcohol since ancient times, with tribal hooch and moonshine being very common in pre-colonial Stenza. Corummese colonization brought the mainstream alcohols to Stenza, staying around long after the Corummese left to be enjoyed by all.

Mellifera
The history of alcohol in Mellifera dates back to the arrival of the Jesuits in the 1600s. In the colonial period, the Jesuits imposed strict restrictions on the importation and production of alcoholic beverages into Mellifera, due to low tolerance among the native peoples. Members of the Society were strictly forbid drinking, with an exception for the sacramental wine during Communion. In the 19th century, with the beginning of large-scale immigration to Mellifera from Sarpedon and Levantia, Temperance gradually broke down and was eventually abolished by an act of the Temporal Courts in 1878. The long period of illegality strongly influenced Melliferan alcohol culture. To avoid detection and increase profits, and due to geographic and labor constraints, illegal alcohol was generally distilled as poteen via practices brought to Mellifera by Gaelic immigrants. It was primarily individually distributed by farmers, who made the alcohol with excess crop, but in urban areas a number of Gaelic-Melliferan crime syndicates rose to prominence through bootlegging. Poteen continues to be the spirit of choice for Melliferans, making up about half of all alcohol consumed by volume, but the popularity of wine and beer has grown in recent years, the former benefiting especially from Mellifera's rich soils and relatively warm climate. When compared to the states of Levantia and Sarpedon, Mellifera has elevated rates of alcohol consumption, alcohol related injuries and deaths, and public intoxication. Public consumption of alcohol is legal, and while laws against public intoxication exist in most regions, they are rarely enforced. The drinking age is 16, though this can be waived by parental permission. Home distillation is popular, legal, and largely unregulated, and has been responsible for a number of deaths in recent years.