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ABOUT
A LIQUOR STORE
Encino Park
Liquor, Encino, California
A liquor
store or bottle shop is a store that sells alcohol in
bottles to the public, but where the public is forbidden from consuming
alcohol on the premises.
In the American
and Canadian liquor
store is a name for a type of convenience
store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic
beverages in the countries where its consumption is strongly
regulated. In alcoholic
beverage control (ABC) states, liquor stores often sell only
distilled
spirits or sometimes sell distilled spirits and wine
but not beer. ABC-run stores
may be called ABC stores or State Stores. In Connecticut
and Georgia,
liquor stores are also known as "package stores" because purchased
liquor must be in a sealed container and/or removed from the premises
in a bag or other package.
In the UK
and Ireland the corresponding
term is Off-licence,
or offie for short, which refers to the fact that the alcohol may
be purchased on the premises but must be consumed off of the premises.
Interior
of a liquor store.
Oceania
- Australia
- Regulation of alcoholic beverage sales is a state
responsibility. Generally, beer, wine and spirits must be purchased
at a bottle shop, colloquially known as a bottle-o
in some states. These may be a separate section of a supermarket
or an individual store - major retail corporations usually have
their own bottle shop franchises located in close proximity to
their supermarket operations. Drinking
establishments may also sell liquor for off-site consumption.
Drive
thru alcoholic retail outlets are common. The state of Victoria
and the Australian
Capital Territory permit the sale of alcoholic beverages from
supermarkets
and convenience
stores; however, this is rare in practice due to a prohibition
on the serving of alcohol by persons under the age of 18. In other
states, attempts have been made to make alcoholic beverages available
from a greater variety of retail outlets, but these have been
repeatedly defeated, primarily due to the lobbying
of the clubs, hotels, and pubs industry (which have vast gambling
revenues), as well as the pressure of lobby groups who perceive
that a more widespread availability of alcoholic beverages will
increase the opportunity for harmful levels of alcohol consumption.
Nordic countries
- Note:
All Nordic countries, except Denmark,
have government-owned alcohol monopolies.
- Finland
- Grocery stores may sell beer and other alcoholic beverages of
less than 4.7% alcohol
by volume (ABV), if the alcohol is produced by fermentation.
All other alcohol must be purchased in the Alko
store.
- Iceland
- Can only be bought at hard-liquor stores. Vínbúđ
stores.
- Norway
- Alcoholic beverages above 4.8% ABV can only be bought at Vinmonopolet
stores.
- Sweden
- Grocery stores may sell beer less than 3.5% ABV. All other alcohol
must be purchased in the state-run Systembolaget
stores.
- Faroe
Islands - Alcoholic beverages above 1.8% ABV can be bought
in "Rúsdrekkasřla Landsins", also known as "Rúsan"
Poland
- Poland
- All Supermarkets, convenience stores, and gas stations may sell
beer, wine, and liquors.[citation
needed]
United States
- See: Alcohol
laws of the United States by state
The Twenty-First
Amendment to the United
States Constitution allows states to regulate the sale and consumption
of alcoholic beverages.
State regulations vary widely. The majority of the U.S.
states have laws specifying which alcoholic beverages must be
sold in specialty liquor stores, and which may be sold in other
venues. In five states (Colorado,
Kansas, Minnesota,
Oklahoma, and Utah),
only low-point
beer may be sold in supermarkets or gas stations. In eighteen
alcoholic
beverage control states, the specialty liquor stores are run
exclusively by the state government. In Louisiana,
Missouri and Nevada,
however, all alcoholic beverages can be sold practically anywhere,
including drug stores and gas stations.
ABOUT
BEER
Beer
is the world's oldest
and most widely consumed
alcoholic
beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water
and tea.
It is produced by the brewing
and fermentation
of starches, mainly derived
from cereal grains—most
commonly malted barley,
although wheat, maize (corn), and rice are widely used. Most beer
is flavoured with hops, which
add bitterness and act as a natural preservative,
though other flavourings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally
be included.
Some of humanity's
earliest known writings refer to the production and distribution
of beer: the Code
of Hammurabi included laws regulating beer and beer parlours,
and "The Hymn to Ninkasi,"
a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, served as both a prayer
and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture
with few literate people.
Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of
several dominant multinational
companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from
brewpubs
to regional
breweries.
The basics of
brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries.
Beers are commonly categorized into two main types—the globally
popular pale lagers,
and the regionally distinct ales,
which are further categorised into other varieties
such as pale ale,
stout and brown
ale. The strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol
by volume (abv.)
though may range from less than 1% abv., to over 20% abv. in rare
cases.
Beer forms part
of the culture of beer-drinking nations and is associated with social
traditions such as beer
festivals, as well as a rich pub
culture involving activities like pub
crawling and pub
games such as bar
billiards.
History
Beer is one
of the world's oldest prepared beverages, possibly dating back to
the early
Neolithic or 9000 BC, and is recorded in the written history
of ancient Egypt
and Mesopotamia.
The earliest Sumerian writings contain references to a type of beer.
A prayer to the goddess Ninkasi,
known as "The Hymn to Ninkasi", serves as both a prayer as well
as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with
few literate people.
A beer made from rice, which, unlike sake, didn't use the amylolytic
process, and was probably prepared for fementation by mastication
or malting,
was made in China around 7,000 BC.
As almost any
substance containing carbohydrates,
mainly sugars or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it
is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among
various cultures throughout the world. The invention of bread and
beer has been argued to be responsible for humanity's ability to
develop technology and build civilization.
The earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to circa 3500–3100
BC from the site of Godin
Tepe in the Zagros
Mountains of western Iran.
Beer was spread
through Europe by Germanic
and Celtic tribes as far
back as 3000 BC,
and it was mainly brewed on a domestic scale.
The product that the early Europeans drank might not be recognised
as beer by most people today. Alongside the basic starch source,
the early European beers might contain fruits, honey, numerous types
of plants, spices and other substances such as narcotic
herbs.
What they did not contain was hops,
as that was a later addition first mentioned in Europe around 822
by a Carolingian Abbot
and again in 1067 by Abbess Hildegard
of Bingen.
Beer produced
before the Industrial
Revolution continued to be made and sold on a domestic scale,
although by the 7th century AD, beer was also being produced and
sold by European monasteries.
During the Industrial Revolution, the production of beer moved from
artisanal manufacture
to industrial
manufacture, and domestic manufacture ceased to be significant
by the end of the 19th century.
The development of hydrometers
and thermometers
changed brewing by allowing the brewer more control of the process
and greater knowledge of the results.
Today, the brewing
industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational
companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs
to regional
breweries.
As of 2006, more than 133 billion liters (35 billion gallons), the
equivalent of a cube 510 metres on a side, of beer are sold per
year, producing total global revenues of $294.5 billion (Ł147.7
billion).
Brewing
The process
of making beer is known as brewing. A dedicated building for the
making of beer is called a brewery,
though beer can be made in the home and has been for much of its
history. A company that makes beer is called either a brewery or
a brewing
company. Beer made on a domestic scale for non-commercial reasons
is classed as homebrewing
regardless of where it is made, though most homebrewed beer is made
in the home. Brewing beer is subject to legislation and taxation
in developed
countries, which from the late 19th century largely restricted
brewing to a commercial operation only. However, the UK government
relaxed legislation in 1963, followed by Australia in 1972 and the
USA in 1979, allowing homebrewing to become a popular hobby.
The purpose
of brewing is to convert the starch source into a sugary liquid
called wort
and to convert the wort into the alcoholic
beverage known as beer in a fermentation process effected by
yeast.
The first step,
where the wort is prepared by mixing the starch source (normally
malted barley) with hot water, is known as "mashing".
Hot water (known as "liquor" in brewing terms) is mixed with crushed
malt or malts (known as "grist")
in a mash
tun.
The mashing process takes around 1 to 2 hours,
during which the starches are converted to sugars, and then the
sweet wort is drained off the grains. The grains are now washed
in a process known as "sparging". This washing allows the brewer
to gather as much of the fermentable liquid from the grains as possible.
The process of filtering the spent grain from the wort and sparge
water is called wort separation. The traditional process
for wort separation is lautering,
in which the grain bed itself serves as the filter medium. Some
modern breweries prefer the use of filter frames which allow a more
finely ground grist.
Most modern breweries use a continuous sparge, collecting the original
wort and the sparge water together. However, it is possible to collect
a second or even third wash with the not quite spent grains as separate
batches. Each run would produce a weaker wort and thus a weaker
beer. This process is known as second (and third) runnings. Brewing
with several runnings is called parti gyle brewing.
The sweet wort
collected from sparging is put into a kettle, or "copper", (so called
because these vessels were traditionally made from copper)
and boiled, usually for about one hour. During boiling, water in
the wort evaporates, but the sugars and other components of the
wort remain; this allows more efficient use of the starch sources
in the beer. Boiling also destroys any remaining enzymes left over
from the mashing stage. Hops
are added during boiling as a source of bitterness, flavour and
aroma. Hops may be added at more than one point during the boil.
The longer the hops are boiled, the more bitterness they contribute,
but the less hop flavour and aroma remains in the beer.
After boiling,
the hopped wort is now cooled, ready for the yeast. In some breweries,
the hopped wort may pass through a hopback, which is a small vat
filled with hops, to add aromatic hop flavouring and to act as a
filter; but usually the hopped wort is simply cooled for the fermenter,
where the yeast
is added. During fermentation, the wort becomes beer in a process
which requires a week to months depending on the type of yeast and
strength of the beer. In addition to producing alcohol, fine particulate
matter suspended in the wort settles during fermentation. Once
fermentation is complete, the yeast also settles, leaving the beer
clear.
Fermentation
is sometimes carried out in two stages, primary and secondary. Once
most of the alcohol has been produced during primary fermentation,
the beer is transferred to a new vessel and allowed a period of
secondary fermentation. Secondary
fermentation is used when the beer requires long storage before
packaging or greater clarity. When the beer has fermented, it is
packaged either into casks for cask ale
or kegs, aluminum cans, or bottles
for other sorts of beer.
Ingredients
The basic ingredients
of beer are water; a starch source, such as malted
barley, able to be fermented
(converted into alcohol); a brewer's
yeast to produce the fermentation; and a flavouring such as
hops.
A mixture of starch sources may be used, with a secondary starch
source, such as maize (corn), rice or sugar, often being termed
an adjunct,
especially when used as a lower-cost substitute for malted barley.
Less widely used starch sources include millet,
sorghum and cassava
root in Africa, potato in Brazil, and agave
in Mexico, among others.
The amount of each starch source in a beer recipe is collectively
called the grain
bill.
Water
Beer is composed
mostly of water. Regions have water with different mineral components;
as a result, different regions were originally better suited to
making certain types of beer, thus giving them a regional character.
For example, Dublin has
hard water well
suited to making stout,
such as Guinness;
while Pilzen
has soft water well suited to making pale
lager, such as Pilsner
Urquell.
The waters of Burton
in England contain gypsum,
which benefits making pale
ale to such a degree that brewers of pale ales will add gypsum
to the local water in a process known as Burtonisation.
Starch
source
Main
articles: Malt and Mash
ingredients
The starch source
in a beer provides the fermentable material and is a key determinant
of the strength and flavour of the beer. The most common starch
source used in beer is malted grain. Grain is malted by soaking
it in water, allowing it to begin germination,
and then drying the partially germinated grain in a kiln. Malting
grain produces enzymes that convert starches in the grain into fermentable
sugars.
Different roasting times and temperatures are used to produce different
colours of malt from the same grain. Darker malts will produce darker
beers.
Nearly all beer
includes barley malt as the majority of the starch. This is because
of its fibrous husk, which is not only important in the sparging
stage of brewing (in which water is washed over the mashed
barley grains to form the wort),
but also as a rich source of amylase,
a digestive enzyme
which facilitates conversion of starch into sugars. Other malted
and unmalted grains (including wheat, rice, oats, and rye,
and less frequently, corn and sorghum) may be used. In recent years,
a few brewers have produced gluten-free
beer made with sorghum with no barley malt for those who cannot
consume gluten-containing
grains like wheat, barley, and rye.
Hops
Flavouring beer
is the sole major commercial use of hops.
The flower of the hop
vine is used as a flavouring and preservative agent in nearly
all beer made today. The flowers themselves are often called "hops".
Hops were used
by monastery breweries, such as Corvey in Westphalia, Germany, from
822 AD,
though the date normally given for widespread cultivation of hops
for use in beer is the thirteenth century.
Before the thirteenth century, and until the sixteenth century,
during which hops took over as the dominant flavouring, beer was
flavoured with other plants; for instance, Glechoma
hederacea. Combinations of various aromatic herbs, berries,
and even ingredients like wormwood
would be combined into a mixture known as gruit
and used as hops are now used.
Some beers today, such as Fraoch' by the Scottish Heather Ales company
and Cervoise Lancelot by the French Brasserie-Lancelot company,
use plants other than hops for flavouring.
Hops contain
several characteristics that brewers desire in beer. Hops contribute
a bitterness that balances the sweetness of the malt; the bitterness
of beers is measured on the International
Bitterness Units scale. Hops contribute floral, citrus, and
herbal aromas and flavours to beer. Hops have an antibiotic
effect that favours the activity of brewer's
yeast over less desirable microorganisms, and hops aids in "head
retention",
the length of time that a foamy head created by carbonation will
last. The acidity of hops is a preservative.
Yeast
Yeast is the
microorganism
that is responsible for fermentation in beer. Yeast metabolises
the sugars extracted from grains, which produces alcohol
and carbon
dioxide, and thereby turns wort
into beer. In addition to fermenting the beer, yeast influences
the character and flavour.
The dominant types of yeast used to make beer are ale yeast (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae) and lager yeast (Saccharomyces
uvarum); their use distinguishes ale
and lager.
Brettanomyces
ferments lambics,
and Torulaspora
delbrueckii ferments Bavarian weissbier.
Before the role of yeast in fermentation was understood, fermentation
involved wild or airborne yeasts. A few styles such as lambics
rely on this method today, but most modern fermentation adds pure
yeast cultures.
Clarifying
agent
Some brewers
add one or more clarifying
agents to beer, which typically precipitate
(collect as a solid) out of the beer along with protein solids and
are found only in trace amounts in the finished product. This process
makes the beer appear bright
and clean, rather than the cloudy appearance of ethnic and older
styles of beer such as wheat
beers.
Examples of
clarifying agents include isinglass,
obtained from swimbladders
of fish; Irish
moss, a seaweed; kappa carrageenan,
from the seaweed Kappaphycus
cottonii; Polyclar
(artificial); and gelatin.
If a beer is marked "suitable for Vegans", it was clarified either
with seaweed or with artificial agents.
Varieties
Kriek,
a variety of beer brewed with cherries
While there
are many types of beer brewed, the basics of brewing beer are shared
across national and cultural boundaries.
The traditional European brewing regions—Germany,
Belgium,
the United
Kingdom, Ireland,
Poland,
the Czech
Republic, Scandinavia,
the
Netherlands and Austria—have
local varieties of beer. In some countries, notably the USA,
Canada,
and Australia,
brewers have adapted European styles to such an extent that they
have effectively created their own indigenous types.
Michael
Jackson, in his 1977 book The World Guide To Beer, categorised
beers from around the world in local style groups suggested by local
customs and names.
Fred Eckhardt
furthered Jackson's work in The Essentials of Beer Style
in 1989.
The most common
method of categorising beer is by the behaviour of the yeast used
in the fermentation process. In this method, beers using a fast-acting
yeast which leaves behind residual sugars are termed "top-fermented",
while beers using a slower-acting yeast, fermented at lower temperatures,
which removes most of the sugars, leaving a clean, dry beer, are
termed "bottom-fermented".
Ale
Cask ale
hand pumps
with pump clips detailing the beers and their breweries
Ales are normally
brewed with top-fermenting
yeasts (most commonly Saccharomyces cerevisiae), though
a number of British brewers, including Fullers
and Weltons,
use ale yeast strains that have less-pronounced top-fermentation
characteristics.
Ale is typically
fermented at temperatures between 15 and 24°C
(60 and 75°F).
At these temperatures, yeast produces significant amounts of esters
and other secondary flavour and aroma products, and the result is
often a beer with slightly "fruity" compounds resembling apple,
pear, pineapple, banana, plum, or prune, among others.
A pint of
Real Ale in a dimpled glass jug
or mug.
Typically ales
have a sweeter, fuller body
than lagers.
Before the introduction
of hops into England from the Netherlands in the 15th century, the
name ale was exclusively applied to unhopped fermented beverages,
the term beer being gradually introduced to describe a brew
with an infusion of hops. This distinction no longer applies.
The word ale may come from the Old
English ealu, in turn from the Proto-Indo-European
base *alut-, which holds connotations of "sorcery, magic,
possession, intoxication".
Real
ale is the term coined by the Campaign
for Real Ale (CAMRA) in 1973
for "beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary
fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and
served without the use of extraneous
carbon dioxide". It is applied to bottle
conditioned and cask
conditioned beers.
Bitter
Bitter
is a British term for pale
ale.
It varies in strength from Boys Bitters under 3% abv
to 7% abv
strong bitters and in appearance from dark amber to golden
ales.
By 1830, the
expressions bitter and pale ale were synonymous in England
where breweries would tend to designate beers as pale ale, though
customers in the pub would commonly refer to the same beers as bitter.
Stout
Stout
and porter are styles of dark ale made using roasted malts or roast
barley, and brewed with top-fermenting ale yeast. There are a number
of variations including Baltic porter, dry stout, and Imperial stout.
The name Porter was first used in 1721 to describe a dark ale popular
with street and river porters of London that had been made with
roasted malts. This same beer later also became known as stout,
though the word stout had been used as early as 1677. The history
and development of stout and porter are intertwined.
Lager
Lager
is the English name for cool fermenting beers of Central European
origin. Pale lagers
are the most commonly consumed beers in the world. The name lager
comes from the German lagern for "to store", as brewers around
Bavaria stored beer in cool cellars and caves during the warm summer
months. These brewers noticed that the beers continued to ferment,
and to also clear of sediment, when stored in cool conditions.
Lager yeast
is a cool bottom-fermenting yeast (Saccharomyces
pastorianus) and typically undergoes primary fermentation
at 7–12 °C (45–54 °F) (the fermentation phase), and then
is given a long secondary fermentation at 0–4 °C (32–39 °F)
(the lagering phase). During the secondary stage, the lager clears
and mellows. The cooler conditions also inhibit the natural production
of esters and other byproducts,
resulting in a "cleaner"-tasting beer.
Modern methods
of producing lager were pioneered by Gabriel Sedlmayr the Younger,
who perfected dark brown lagers at the Spaten
Brewery in Bavaria, and Anton
Dreher, who began brewing a lager, probably of amber-red colour,
in Vienna
in 1840–1841. With improved modern yeast strains, most lager breweries
use only short periods of cold storage, typically 1–3 weeks.
Wheat
Wheat
beer is brewed with a large proportion of wheat although it
often also contains a significant proportion of malted
barley. Wheat beers are
usually top-fermented
(in Germany they have to be by law).
The flavour of wheat beers varies considerably, depending upon the
specific style.
Hybrid
Hybrid beers
include Altbier and
Kölsch from the Rhineland,
both of which are top fermented before being cold conditioned, i.e.
lagered, and steam
beer invented by German immigrants living in California and
made with a type of bottom-fermenting yeast that can ferment at
warmer temperatures.
Lambic
Lambic,
a beer of Belgium,
is naturally fermented using wild yeasts, rather than cultivated.
Many of these are not strains of brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae) and may have significant differences in aroma and
sourness. Yeast varieties such as Brettanomyces
bruxellensis and Brettanomyces
lambicus are common in lambics. In addition, other organisms
such as Lactobacillus
bacteria produce acids which contribute to the sourness.
Colour
Beer colour
is determined by the malt.
The most common colour is a pale amber produced from using pale
malts. Pale lager and pale ale are terms used for
beers made from malt dried with coke.
Coke was first used for roasting malt in 1642, but it was not until
around 1703 that the term pale ale was used.
Paulaner
dunkel - a dark lager
In terms of
sales volume, most of today's beer is based on the pale lager brewed
in 1842 in the town of Pilsen
in the present-day Czech
Republic.
The modern pale lager is light in colour with a noticeable carbonation
(fizzy bubbles) and a typical alcohol
by volume content of around 5%. The Pilsner
Urquell, Bitburger,
and Heineken
brands of beer are typical examples of pale lager, as are the American
brands Budweiser,
Coors,
and Miller.
Dark beers are
usually brewed from a pale malt or lager malt base with a small
proportion of darker malt added to achieve the desired shade. Other
colourants—such as caramel—are also widely used to darken beers.
Very dark beers, such as stout,
use dark or patent malts that have been roasted longer. Some have
roasted unmalted barley.
Alcoholic
strength
Beer ranges
from less than 3% alcohol
by volume (abv) to almost 30% abv. The alcohol content of beer
varies by local practice
or beer style. The pale
lagers that most consumers are familiar with fall in the range
of 4–6%, with a typical abv of 5%.
The customary strength of British ales is quite low, with many session
beers being around 4% abv.
Some beers, such as table
beer are of such low alcohol content (1%–4%) that they are served
instead of soft drinks
in some schools.
The alcohol
in beer comes primarily from the metabolism of sugars that are produced
during fermentation. The quantity of fermentable sugars in the wort
and the variety of yeast used to ferment the wort are the primary
factors that determine the amount of alcohol in the final beer.
Additional fermentable sugars are sometimes added to increase alcohol
content, and enzymes are often added to the wort for certain styles
of beer (primarily "light" beers) to convert more complex carbohydrates
(starches) to fermentable sugars. Alcohol is a byproduct of yeast
metabolism and is toxic to the yeast; typical brewing yeast cannot
survive at alcohol concentrations above 12% by volume. Low temperatures
and too little fermentation time decreases the effectiveness of
yeasts and consequently decreases the alcohol content.
Exceptionally
strong beers
The strength
of beers has climbed during the later years of the 20th century.
Vetter 33, a 10.5% abv (33 degrees
Plato, hence Vetter "33"), doppelbock,
was listed in the 1994 Guinness
Book of World Records as the strongest beer at that time,
though Samichlaus,
by the Swiss brewer Hürlimann, had also been listed by the Guinness
Book of World Records as the strongest at 14% abv.
Since then,
some brewers have used champagne
yeasts to increase the alcohol content of their beers. Samuel
Adams reached 20% abv with Millennium
and then surpassed that amount to 25.6% abv with Utopias.
The strongest beer brewed in Britain was Baz's Super Brew by Parish
Brewery, a 23% abv beer.
The beer that is claimed to be the strongest yet made is Tactical
Nuclear Penguin, a 32% abv Imperial
Stout made by BrewDog
using the eisbock
method of freeze
distilling - in November 2009 the brewery freeze distilled a
10% ale, gradually removing the ice until the beer reached 32% abv.
The German brewery Schorschbräu's Schorschbock—a 31% abv eisbock,
and Hair
of the Dog's Dave—a 29% abv barley
wine made in 1994, both used the same freeze distilling method.
Related
beverages
Around the world,
there are a number of traditional and ancient starch-based beverages
classed as beer. In Africa,
there are various ethnic beers made from sorghum
or millet, such as Oshikundu
in Namibia and Tella in
Ethiopia.
Kyrgyzstan also
has a beer made from millet; it is a low alcohol, somewhat porridge-like
drink called "Bozo".
Bhutan, Nepal,
Tibet and Sikkim
also use millet in Chhaang,
a popular semi-fermented rice/millet drink in the eastern Himalayas.
Further east in China are
found Huangjiu and
Choujiu—traditional
rice-based beverages related to beer.
The Andes
in South America
has Chicha, made from
germinated maize (corn); while the indigenous
peoples in Brazil have Cauim,
a traditional beverage made since pre-Columbian times by chewing
manioc
so that enzymes present in human saliva can break down the starch
into fermentable sugars;
this is similar to Masato in Peru.
Some beers which
are made from bread, which is linked to the earliest forms of beer,
are Sahti in Finland,
Kvass in Russia
and the Ukraine, and
Bouza in Sudan.
Brewing
industry
Cropton,
a typical UK microbrewery
The brewing
industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational
companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from
brewpubs to regional
breweries.
More than 133 billion liters (35 billion gallons) are sold per year—producing
total global revenues of $294.5 billion (Ł147.7 billion) in 2006.
A microbrewery,
or craft brewery, is a modern brewery which produces a limited amount
of beer.
The maximum amount of beer a brewery can produce and still be classed
as a microbrewery varies by region and by authority, though is usually
around 15,000 barrels (18,000 hectolitres/ 475,000 US gallons) a
year.
A brewpub is a type of microbrewery that incorporates a pub
or other eating
establishment.
SABMiller
became the largest brewing company in the world when it acquired
Royal Grolsch, brewer of Dutch premium beer brand Grolsch.
InBev was the second-largest
beer-producing company in the world,
and Anheuser-Busch
held the third spot, but after the merger
between InBev and Anheuser-Busch, the new Anheuser-Busch
InBev company is the largest brewer in the world.
Serving
Draught
Draught beer
keg fonts at the Delirium Café in Brussels
Draught beer
from a pressurised keg is the
most common method of dispensing in bars around the world. A metal
keg is pressurised with carbon
dioxide (CO2) gas which drives the beer to the dispensing
tap or faucet. Some
beers may be served with a nitrogen/carbon dioxide mixture. Nitrogen
produces fine bubbles, resulting in a dense head
and a creamy mouthfeel.
Some types of beer can also be found in smaller, disposable kegs
called beer
balls.
In the 1980s,
Guinness introduced the beer
widget, a nitrogen-pressurised ball inside a can which creates
a dense, tight head, similar to beer served from a nitrogen system.
The words draft and draught can be used as marketing
terms to describe canned
or bottled beers
containing a beer widget, or which are cold-filtered rather than
pasteurised.
Cask-conditioned
ales (or cask ales) are unfiltered and unpasteurised beers. These
beers are termed "real
ale" by the CAMRA
organisation. Typically, when a cask arrives in a pub, it is placed
horizontally on a frame called a "stillage"
which is designed to hold it steady and at the right angle, and
then allowed to cool to cellar temperature (typically between 12–14 °C
/ 54–57 °F),
before being tapped and vented—a tap is driven through a (usually
rubber) bung at the bottom of one end, and a hard spile
or other implement is used to open a hole in the side of the cask,
which is now uppermost. The act of stillaging and then venting a
beer in this manner typically disturbs all the sediment, so it must
be left for a suitable period to "drop" (clear) again, as well as
to fully condition—this period can take anywhere from several hours
to several days. At this point the beer is ready to sell, either
being pulled through a beer line with a hand pump, or simply being
"gravity-fed" directly into the glass.
Packaging
Most beers are
cleared of yeast by filtering
when packaged in bottles and cans.
However, bottle
conditioned beers retain some yeast—either by being unfiltered,
or by being filtered and then reseeded with fresh yeast.
It is usually recommended that the beer be poured slowly, leaving
any yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottle. However, some drinkers
prefer to pour in the yeast; this practice is customary with wheat
beers. Typically, when serving a hefeweizen,
90% of the contents are poured, and the remainder is swirled to
suspend the sediment before pouring it into the glass. Alternatively,
the bottle may be inverted prior to opening. Glass bottles are always
used for bottle conditioned beers.
Many beers are
sold in cans, though there is considerable variation in the proportion
between different countries. In Sweden in 2001, 63.9% of beer was
sold in cans.
People either drink from the can or pour the beer into a glass.
Cans protect the beer from light (thereby preventing "skunked"
beer) and have a seal less prone to leaking over time than bottles.
Cans were initially viewed as a technological breakthrough for maintaining
the quality of a beer, then became commonly associated with less
expensive, mass-produced beers, even though the quality of storage
in cans is much like bottles.
Plastic (PET)
bottles are used by some breweries.
Serving
temperature
The temperature
of a beer has an influence on a drinker's experience; warmer temperatures
reveal the range of flavours in a beer; however, cooler temperatures
are more refreshing. Most drinkers prefer pale
lager to be served chilled, a low- or medium-strength pale
ale to be served cool, while a strong barley
wine or imperial
stout to be served at room temperature.
Beer writer
Michael
Jackson proposed a five-level scale for serving temperatures:
well chilled (7 °C/45 °F) for "light" beers (pale lagers);
chilled (8 °C/46 °F) for Berliner
Weisse and other wheat beers; lightly chilled (9 °C/48 °F)
for all dark lagers, altbier
and German wheat beers; cellar temperature (13 °C/55 °F)
for regular British ale, stout
and most Belgian
specialities; and room temperature (15.5 °C/59.9 °F)
for strong dark ales (especially trappist
beer) and barley
wine.
Drinking chilled
beer is a social trend that began with the development of artificial
refrigeration
and by the 1870s, was spread in those countries that concentrated
on brewing pale lager.
Chilling below 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) starts to reduce taste
awareness
and reduces it significantly below 10 °C (50 °F);
while this is acceptable for beers without an appreciable aroma
or taste profile, beers brewed with more than basic refreshment
in mind reveal their flavours more when served unchilled—either
cool or at room temperature.
Cask
Marque, a non-profit UK beer organisation, has set a temperature
standard range of 12°-14°C (53°-57°F) for cask ales to be served.
Vessels
Main
article: Beer
glassware
Beer is consumed
out of a variety of vessels, such as a glass, a beer
stein, a mug, a pewter
tankard, a beer bottle
or a can. The shape of the glass from which beer is consumed can
influence the perception of the beer and can define and accent the
character of the style.
Breweries offer branded
glassware intended only for their own beers as a marketing promotion,
as this increases sales.
The pouring
process has an influence on a beer's presentation. The rate of flow
from the tap or other
serving vessel, tilt of the glass, and position of the pour (in
the centre or down the side) into the glass all influence the end
result, such as the size and longevity of the head, lacing (the
pattern left by the head as it moves down the glass as the beer
is drunk), and turbulence
of the beer and its release of carbonation.
Beer
and society
Social
context
Inside a
tent at Munich's Oktoberfest—the
world's largest beer festival
Various social
traditions and activities are associated with beer drinking, such
as playing cards, darts, bags,
or other pub games; attending beer
festivals, or visiting a series
of different pubs in one evening; joining an organisation such
as CAMRA;
or rating
beer.
Various drinking
games, such as beer
pong, flip cup
and quarters are also
popular.
International
consumption
Beer is considered
to be a social lubricant in many societies,
and is consumed in countries all over the world. There are breweries
in Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, as
well as African countries (see African
beer). Sales of beer are four times that of wine, the second
most popular alcoholic beverage.
In Russia, consumption is on the rise as younger generations are
choosing beer over vodka.
In most societies, beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.
Health
effects
The main active
ingredient of beer is alcohol, and therefore, the health effects
of alcohol apply to beer. See Short-term
effects of alcohol and Long-term
effects of alcohol.
Brewer's
yeast is known to be a rich source of nutrients; therefore,
as expected, beer can contain significant amounts of nutrients,
including magnesium,
selenium, potassium,
phosphorus, biotin,
and B vitamins.
In fact, beer is sometimes referred to as "liquid bread".
Some sources maintain that filtered beer loses much of its nutrition.
A 2005 Japanese
study found that low
alcohol beer may possess strong anti-cancer
properties.
Another study found nonalcoholic beer to mirror the cardiovascular
benefits associated with moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages.
However, much research suggests that the primary health benefit
from alcoholic beverages comes from the alcohol they contain.
It is considered
that overeating and lack of muscle tone is the main cause of a beer
belly, rather than beer consumption. A recent study, however,
found a link between binge
drinking and a beer belly. But with most overconsumption, it
is more a problem of improper exercise and overconsumption of carbohydrates
than the product itself.
Several diet books quote beer as having the same glycemic
index as maltose,
a very high (and therefore undesirable) 110; however, the maltose
undergoes metabolism
by yeast during fermentation so that beer consists mostly of water,
hop oils and only trace amounts of sugars, including maltose.
ABOUT
WINE
Three
glasses of the three wine colors (from left to right), white,
rosé and red.
Wine
is an alcoholic
beverage typically made of fermented
grape juice.
The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment
without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients.
Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types
of yeast. Yeast consumes
the sugars found in the grapes and converts them into alcohol.
Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending
on the type of wine being produced.
Although other
fruits such as apples and berries can also be fermented, the resultant
wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced
(for example, apple
wine or elderberry
wine) and are generically known as fruit
wine or country
wine (not to be confused with the French
term vin de pays).
Others, such as barley
wine and rice wine
(i.e., sake), are made from
starch-based materials and resemble beer
and spirit
more than wine, while ginger
wine is fortified
with brandy. In these
cases, the use of the term "wine" is a reference to the higher alcohol
content, rather than production process.
The commercial use of the English
word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected
by law in many jurisdictions.
Wine has a rich
history dating back to around 6000 BC and is thought to have
originated in areas now within the borders of Georgia
and Iran.
Wine probably appeared in Europe
at about 4500 BC in what is now Bulgaria,
Macedonia and Greece,
and was very common in ancient
Greece, Thrace and
Rome.
Wine has also played an important role in religion throughout history.
The Greek
god Dionysos
and the Roman
equivalent Bacchus
represented wine, and the drink is also used in Christian
and Jewish
ceremonies such as the Eucharist
(also called the Holy
Communion) and Kiddush.
The word "wine"
derives from the Proto-Germanic
"*winam," an early borrowing from the Latin
vinum, "wine" or "(grape) vine,"
itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European
stem *win-o- (cf. Hittite:
wiyana ,Lycian:
Oino, Ancient
Greek ????? - oînos,
Aeolic Greek
?????? - woinos).
History
Archaeological
evidence suggests that the earliest production of wine, made by
fermenting grapes, took place in sites in Georgia
and Iran, from as early as
6000 BC.
These locations are all within the natural area of the European
grapevine Vitis
vinifera.
A 2003 report
by archaeologists
indicates a possibility that grapes were used together with rice
to produce mixed fermented beverages in China
as early as 7000 BC. Pottery jars from the Neolithic
site of Jiahu, Henan
were found to contain traces of tartaric
acid and other organic compounds commonly found in wine. However,
other fruits indigenous to the region, such as hawthorn,
could not be ruled out.
If these beverages, which seem to be the precursors of rice
wine, included grapes rather than other fruits, these grapes
were of any of the several dozen indigenous wild species of grape
in China, rather than from Vitis vinifera, which were introduced
into China some 6000 years later.
The oldest known
evidence of wine production in Europe is dated to 4500 BC and
comes from archaeological sites in Greece.
The same sites also contain the world’s earliest evidence of crushed
grapes.
In Ancient Egypt,
six of 36 wine amphoras
were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun
bearing the name "Kha'y", a royal chief vintner.
Five of these amphoras were designated as from the King's personal
estate with the sixth listed as from the estate of the royal house
of Aten.
Traces of wine have also been found in central
Asian Xinjiang,
dating from the second and first millennia BC.
In medieval
Europe, the Roman
Catholic Church was a staunch supporter of wine since it was
necessary for the celebration of Mass.
Monks in France
made wine for years, storing it underground in caves to age.
There is an old English recipe which survived in various forms until
the nineteenth century for refining white wine using Bastard—bad
or tainted bastardo
wine.
Wine was forbidden during the Islamic
Golden Age, until Geber
and other Muslim
chemists pioneered its distillation
for cosmetic and
medical
uses.
Grape varieties
Wine is usually
made from one or more varieties
of the European species
Vitis vinifera,
such as Pinot
Noir, Chardonnay,
Cabernet
Sauvignon, and Merlot.
When one of these varieties is used as the predominant grape (usually
defined by law as a minimum of 75% or 85%), the result is a varietal,
as opposed to a blended, wine. Blended wines are not necessarily
considered inferior to varietal wines; some of the world's most
expensive wines, from regions like Bordeaux
and the Rhone
Valley, are blended from different grape varieties of the same
vintage.[citation
needed]
Wine can also
be made from other species of grape or from hybrids,
created by the genetic crossing of two species. Vitis
labrusca (of which the Concord
grape is a cultivar),
Vitis
aestivalis, Vitis
rupestris, Vitis
rotundifolia and Vitis
riparia are native North
American grapes usually grown for consumption as fruit or for
the production of grape juice, jam, or jelly, but sometimes made
into wine.
Hybridization
is not to be confused with the practice of grafting.
Most of the world's vineyards are planted with European V. vinifera
vines that have been grafted onto North American species rootstock.
This is common practice because North American grape species are
resistant to phylloxera,
a root louse that eventually kills the vine. In the late 19th century,
most of Europe's vineyards (only excluding some of the driest vineyards
in Southern Europe) were devastated by the bug, leading to massive
vine deaths and eventual replanting. Grafting is done in every wine-producing
country of the world except for Argentina,
the Canary
Islands and Chile, which
are the only ones that have not yet been exposed to the insect.
In the context
of wine production, terroir
is a concept that encompasses the varieties of grapes used, elevation
and shape of the vineyard, type and chemistry of soil, climate and
seasonal conditions, and the local yeast cultures. The range of
possibilities here can result in great differences between wines,
influencing the fermentation, finishing, and aging processes as
well. Many wineries use growing and production methods that preserve
or accentuate the aroma
and taste influences of their unique terroir.
However, flavor differences are not desirable for producers of mass-market
table wine or
other cheaper wines, where consistency is more important. Such producers
will try to minimize differences in sources of grapes by using production
techniques such as micro-oxygenation,
tannin filtration, cross-flow filtration, thin film evaporation,
and spinning cones.
Classification
Regulations
govern the classification and sale of wine in many regions of the
world. European wines tend to be classified by region (e.g. Bordeaux
and Chianti), while
non-European wines are most often classified by grape (e.g. Pinot
Noir and Merlot).
More and more, however, market recognition of particular regions
is leading to their increased prominence on non-European wine labels.
Examples of non-European recognized locales include Napa
Valley in California,
Willamette
Valley in Oregon,
Columbia
Valley in Washington,
Barossa Valley
and Hunter
Valley in Australia,
Central
Valley in Chile, Vale
dos Vinhedos in Brazil,
Hawke's
Bay and Marlborough
in New Zealand,
Okanagan
Valley and Niagara
Peninsula in Canada.
Some blended
wine names are marketing terms, and the use of these names is governed
by trademark law
rather than by specific wine laws. For example, Meritage
(sounds like "heritage") is generally a Bordeaux-style blend of
Cabernet
Sauvignon and Merlot, and may also include Cabernet
Franc, Petit
Verdot, and Malbec.
Commercial use of the term "Meritage" is allowed only via licensing
agreements with an organization called the "Meritage Association".
European
classifications
France has various
appellation
systems based on the concept of terroir, with classifications ranging
from Vin
de Table ("table wine") at the bottom, through Vin
de Pays and Appellation
d'Origine Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (AOVDQS) up to
Appellation
d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) or similar, depending on the region.
Portugal has something
similar and, in fact, pioneered this technique back in 1756 with
a royal charter which created the "Demarcated Douro Region" and
regulated wine production and trade.
Germany did likewise in 2002, although their system has not yet
achieved the authority of those of the other countries'.
Spain, Greece
and Italy have classifications
which are based on a dual system of region of origin and quality
of product.
Beyond Europe
New
World wine—wines from outside of the traditional wine growing
regions of Europe tend to be classified by grape rather than by
terroir or region of origin, although there have been non-official
attempts to classify them by quality.
Vintages
A "vintage wine"
is one made from grapes that were all or mostly grown in a particular
year, and labeled as such. Most countries allow a vintage wine to
include a portion that is not from the labeled vintage. Variations
in a wine's character from year to year can include subtle differences
in color, palate, nose, body and development. High-quality red table
wines can improve in flavor with age if properly stored.
Consequently, it is not uncommon for wine enthusiasts and traders
to save bottles of an especially good vintage wine for future consumption.
In the United
States, for a wine to be vintage dated and labeled with a country
of origin or American
Viticultural Area (AVA) (such as "Sonoma
Valley"), it must contain at least 95% of its volume from grapes
harvested in that year.
If a wine is not labeled with a country of origin or AVA the percentage
requirement is lowered to 85%.
Vintage wines
are generally bottled in a single batch so that each bottle will
have a similar taste. Climate can have a big impact on the character
of a wine to the extent that different vintages from the same vineyard
can vary dramatically in flavor and quality.
Thus, vintage wines are produced to be individually characteristic
of the vintage and to serve as the flagship wines of the producer.
Superior vintages, from reputable producers and regions, will often
fetch much higher prices than their average vintages. Some vintage
wines, like Brunellos,
are only made in better-than-average years.
Non-vintage
wines can be blended from more than one vintage for consistency,
a process which allows wine makers to keep a reliable market image
and maintain sales even in bad years.
One recent study suggests that for normal drinkers, vintage year
may not be as significant to perceived wine quality as currently
thought, although wine connoisseurs continue to place great importance
on it.
Tasting
Main
article: Wine
tasting
Judging color
is the first step in tasting a wine
Wine tasting
is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. Wines are made
up of chemical compounds which are similar or identical to those
in fruits, vegetables, and spices.
The sweetness
of wine is determined by the amount of residual sugar in the
wine after fermentation, relative to the acidity present in the
wine. Dry
wine, for example, has only a small amount of residual sugar.
Inexperienced wine drinkers often tend to mistake the taste of ripe
fruit for sweetness when, in fact, the wine in question is very
dry.
Individual flavors
may also be detected, due to the complex mix of organic molecules
such as esters and terpenes
that grape juice and wine can contain. Tasters often can distinguish
between flavors characteristic of a specific grape (e.g., Chianti
and sour cherry) and flavors that result from other factors in wine
making, either intentional or not. The most typical intentional
flavor elements in wine are those that are imparted by aging in
oak casks; chocolate, vanilla, or coffee almost always come from
the oak and not the grape itself.
Banana flavors
(isoamyl
acetate) are the product of yeast metabolism, as are spoilage
aromas such as sweaty, barnyard, band-aid (4-ethylphenol
and 4-ethylguaiacol),
and rotten egg (hydrogen
sulfide).
Some varietals can also have a mineral flavor, because some salts
are soluble in water (like limestone), and are absorbed by the wine.
Wine aroma comes
from volatile compounds in the wine that are released into the air.
Vaporization of these compounds can be sped up by twirling the wine
glass or serving the wine at room temperature. For red wines that
are already highly aromatic, like Chinon
and Beaujolais,
many people prefer them chilled.
Collecting
Outstanding
vintages from the best vineyards may sell for thousands of dollars
per bottle, though the broader term fine wine covers bottles
typically retailing at over about $US 30-50.
"Investment wines" are considered by some to be Veblen
goods—that is, goods for which demand increases instead
of decreases as its price rises. The most common wines purchased
for investment include those from Bordeaux,
Burgundy,
cult
wines from Europe
and elsewhere, and Vintage
port. Characteristics of highly collectible wines include:
- A proven
track record of holding well over time
- A drinking
window plateau (i.e., the period for maturity and approachability)
that is many years long
- A consensus
amongst experts as to the quality of the wines
- Rigorous
production methods at every stage, including grape selection and
appropriate barrel-aging
Investment in
fine wine has attracted fraudsters who prey on their victims' ignorance
of this sector of the wine market. Wine
fraudsters often work by charging excessively high prices for
off-vintage or lower-status wines from famous wine regions, while
claiming that they are offering a sound investment unaffected by
economic
cycles. Like any investment, proper research is essential before
investing.
Production
Wine production by country 2006
| Rank |
Country
(with link to wine article) |
Production
(tonnes) |
| 1 |
France |
5,349,333 |
| 2 |
Italy |
4,711,665 |
| 3 |
Spain |
3,643,666 |
| 4 |
United
States |
2,232,000 |
| 5 |
Argentina |
1,539,600 |
| 6 |
Australia |
1,410,483 |
| 7 |
China |
1,400,000 |
| 8 |
South
Africa |
1,012,980 |
| 9 |
Chile |
977,087 |
| 10 |
Germany |
891,600 |
|
Wine production by country 2007
| Rank |
Country
(with link to wine article) |
Production
(tonnes) |
| 1 |
Italy |
5,050,000 |
| 2 |
France |
4,711,600 |
| 3 |
Spain |
3,645,000 |
| 4 |
United
States |
2,300,000 |
| 5 |
Argentina |
1,550,000 |
| 6 |
China |
1,450,000 |
| 7 |
South
Africa |
1,050,000 |
| 8 |
Australia |
961,972 |
| 9 |
Germany |
891,600 |
| 10 |
Chile |
827,746 |
|
Wine grapes
grow almost exclusively between thirty and fifty degrees north or
south of the equator.
The world's southernmost vineyards are in the Central
Otago region of New Zealand's South
Island near the 45th parallel,
and the northernmost are in Flen,
Sweden, just north of
the 59th parallel.
Exporting countries
|
*
Unofficial figure. ** May include official, semi-official
or estimated data.
|
|
The UK was the
world's biggest importer of wine in 2007.
Uses
Per
capita annual wine consumption: less
than 1 litre. from
1 to 7 litres. from
7 to 15 litres. from
15 to 30 litres. More
than 30 litres.
Wine is a popular
and important beverage
that accompanies and enhances a wide range of European
and Mediterranean-style
cuisines, from the simple
and traditional to the most sophisticated and complex. Wine is important
in cuisine not just for its value as a beverage, but as a flavor
agent, primarily in stocks
and braising, since
its acidity lends balance to rich savory
or sweet
dishes. Red, white, and sparkling wines are the most popular, and
are known as light wines because they are only 10–14% alcohol-content
by volume. Apéritif
and dessert wines
contain 14–20% alcohol, and are sometimes fortified to make them
richer and sweeter.
Some wine labels
suggest opening the bottle and letting the wine "breathe" for a
couple of hours before serving, while others recommend drinking
it immediately. Decanting—the
act of pouring a wine into a special container just for breathing—is
a controversial subject in wine. In addition to aeration, decanting
with a filter allows one to remove bitter sediments that may have
formed in the wine. Sediment is more common in older bottles but
younger wines usually benefit more from aeration.
During aeration,
the exposure of younger wines to air often "relaxes" the flavors
and makes them taste smoother and better integrated in aroma, texture,
and flavor. Older wines generally fade, or lose their character
and flavor intensity, with extended aeration.
Despite these general rules, breathing does not necessarily benefit
all wines. Wine should be tasted as soon as it is opened to determine
how long it should be aerated, if at all.
Health effects
Although excessive
alcohol consumption has adverse health effects, epidemiological
studies have consistently demonstrated that moderate consumption
of alcohol and wine is statistically
associated with a decrease in death due to cardiovascular
events such as heart
failure.
In the United
States, a boom in red wine consumption was initiated in the
1990s by the TV show 60
Minutes, and additional news reports on the French
paradox.
The French paradox refers to the comparatively lower incidence of
coronary
heart disease in France despite high levels of saturated
fat in the traditional French diet. Some epidemiologists suspect
that this difference is due to the higher consumption of wines by
the French, but the scientific evidence for this theory is limited.
The average moderate wine drinker is more likely to exercise more,
to be more health conscious, and to be of a higher educational and
socioeconomic class, evidence that the association between moderate
wine drinking and health may be related to confounding
factors.
Population studies
have observed a J curve
association between wine consumption and the risk of heart disease.
This means that heavy drinkers have an elevated risk, while moderate
drinkers (at most two five-ounce servings of wine per day) have
a lower risk than non-drinkers. Studies have also found that moderate
consumption of other alcoholic beverages may be cardioprotective,
although the association is considerably stronger for wine. Also,
some studies have found increased health benefits for red wine over
white wine, though other studies have found no difference. Red wine
contains more polyphenols
than white wine, and these are thought to be particularly protective
against cardiovascular disease.
A chemical in
red wine called resveratrol
has been shown to have both cardioprotective and chemoprotective
effects in animal studies.
Low doses of resveratrol in the diet of middle-aged mice has a widespread
influence on the genetic levers of aging and may confer special
protection on the heart. Specifically, low doses of resveratrol
mimic the effects of what is known as caloric
restriction - diets with 20-30 percent fewer calories than a
typical diet.
Resveratrol is produced naturally by grape skins in response to
fungal infection, including exposure to yeast during fermentation.
As white wine has minimal contact with grape skins during this process,
it generally contains lower levels of the chemical.
Other beneficial compounds in wine include other polyphenols,
antioxidants,
and flavonoids.
Red wines from
the south of France and from Sardinia
in Italy have been found to have the highest levels of procyanidins,
which are compounds in grape seeds suspected to be responsible for
red wine's heart benefits. Red wines from these areas have between
two and four times as much procyanidins as other red wines. Procyanidins
suppress the synthesis of a peptide called endothelin-1
that constricts blood vessels.
A 2007 study
found that both red and white wines are effective anti-bacterial
agents against strains of Streptococcus.
Also, a report in the October 2008 issue of Cancer Epidemiology,
Biomarkers and Prevention, posits that moderate consumption
of red wine may decrease the risk of lung
cancer in men.
While evidence
from laboratory and epidemiological
(observational) studies suggest a cardioprotective effect, no controlled
studies have been completed on the effect of alcoholic drinks on
the risk of developing heart disease or stroke. Excessive consumption
of alcohol can cause cirrhosis
of the liver and alcoholism;
the American
Heart Association cautions people to "consult your doctor on
the benefits and risks of consuming alcohol in moderation."
Wine's effect
on the brain is also under study. One study concluded that wine
made from the Cabernet
Sauvignon grape reduces the risk of Alzheimer's
Disease.
Another study concluded that among alcoholics, wine damages the
hippocampus to a greater degree than other alcoholic beverages.
Sulphites
are present in all wines and are formed as a natural product of
the fermentation process, and many wine producers add sulfur
dioxide in order to help preserve wine. Sulfur dioxide is also
added to foods such as dried apricots
and orange juice.
The level of added sulfites varies, and some wines have been marketed
with low sulfite content.
Sulphites in wine can cause some people, particularly those with
asthma, to have adverse
reactions.
Professor Valerie
Beral from the University of
Oxford and lead author of the The
Million Women Study asserts that the positive health effects
of red wine are "an absolute myth." Professor Roger Corder, author
of The Red Wine Diet, counters that two small glasses of
a very tannic, procyanadin rich wine would confer a benefit, although
"most supermarket wines are low procyanadin and high alcohol."
Packaging
Most wines are
sold in glass bottles
and are sealed using corks
(50% of production comes from Portugal).[citation
needed] An increasing number of wine producers have
been using alternative
closures such as screwcaps,
or synthetic plastic
"corks". In addition to being less expensive, alternative closures
prevent cork taint,
although they have been blamed for other problems such as excessive
reduction.[citation
needed]
Some wines are
packaged in heavy plastic bags within cardboard boxes, and are called
box wines,
or cask wine. These wines are typically accessed via a tap on the
side of the box. Box wine can maintain an acceptable degree of freshness
for up to a month after opening, while bottled wine will more rapidly
oxidize,
and is considerably degraded within a few days.
Environmental
considerations of wine packaging reveal benefits and drawbacks of
both bottled and box wines. Glass used to make bottles has a decent
environmental reputation, as it is completely recyclable, whereas
plastics as used in box wines are typically considered to be much
less environmentally friendly. However, wine bottle manufacturers
have been cited for Clean
Air Act violations. A New York Times editorial suggested that
box wine, being lighter in package weight, has a reduced carbon
footprint from its distribution. Boxed wine plastics, even though
possibly recyclable, can be more labor-intensive (and therefore
expensive) to process than glass bottles. And while a wine box is
recyclable, its plastic wine bladder most likely is not.
Storage
Wine
cellars, or wine rooms if they are above-ground,
are places designed specifically for the storage and aging of wine.
In an active wine cellar, temperature and humidity are maintained
by a climate control system. Passive wine cellars are not
climate-controlled, and so must be carefully located. Wine is a
natural, perishable food product; when exposed to heat, light, vibration
or fluctuations in temperature and humidity, all types of wine,
including red, white, sparkling, and fortified, can spoil. When
properly stored, wines can maintain their quality and in some cases
improve in aroma, flavor, and complexity as they age. Some wine
experts contend that the optimal temperature for aging wine is 55 °F
(13 °C).,
others 59 °F (15 °C) ,
Wine refrigerators offer an alternative to wine cellars. They are
available in capacities ranging from small 16-bottle units to furniture
pieces that can contain 400 bottles.
Related professions
| Name |
Description |
| Cooper |
Craftsman
of wooden barrels and casks. A cooperage
is a company that produces such casks. |
| Garagiste |
An amateur
wine maker, or a derogatory term used for small scale operations
of recent inception, usually without pedigree and located in
Bordeaux. |
| Négociant |
A wine
merchant, most specifically those who assemble the produce of
smaller growers and winemakers and sells them under their own
name. |
| Oenologist |
Wine scientist
or wine chemist; a student of oenology.
A winemaker
may be trained as oenologist, but often hires a consultant instead. |
| Sommelier |
A restaurant
specialist in charge of assembling the wine
list, educating the staff about wine, and assisting customers
with their wine selections. |
| Vintner,
Winemaker |
A wine
producer; a person who makes wine. |
| Viticulturist |
A person
who specializes in the science of grapevines. Can also be someone
who manages vineyard pruning, irrigation, and pest control. |
In popular culture
- Falcon
Crest, USA 1981–1990: A popular CBS
primetime soap opera about the fictional Falcon Crest winery and
the family who owned it, set in a fictional "Tuscany Valley" in
California. A wine named "Falcon Crest" even went on the market.
- A
Walk in the Clouds 1995. A love story set in a Mexican-American
family's traditional vineyard showcasing different moments in
the production of wine.
- Mondovino,
USA/France 2004. A documentary film directed by American film
maker Jonathan
Nossiter, exploring the impact of globalization
on various wine-producing regions.
- Sideways,
2004. A comedy/drama film, directed by Alexander
Payne, with the tagline: "In search of wine. In search of
women. In search of themselves." Wine, particularly Pinot
Noir, plays a central role. The film caused the Pinot Noir
sales to rise in the USA, known as 'the Sideways Effect'.
- A
Good Year, 2006. Ridley Scott directs Russell Crowe in
an adaptation of Peter
Mayle's novel.
- Oz
and James's Big Wine Adventure, UK 2006–7. "Wine ponce"
Oz Clarke tries
to teach motor head James
May about wine. The first series saw them traveling through
the wine regions of France, and the second series saw them drive
throughout California.
- Crush,
USA 2007. Produced and directed by Bret
Lyman, this is a documentary short that covers the 2006 grape
harvest and crush in California's wine country. It also features
winemaker Richard Bruno.
- Bottle
Shock (USA 2008) tells a story centered around the Paris
Wine Tasting of 1976, in addition to portraying the birth
of the Napa wine industry.
- The Judgment
of Paris (in production, USA 2010) is to based on journalist
George
M. Taber's account of the same Paris Wine Tasting of 1976
that was fictionalized in Bottle Shock.
- Red
Red Wine is a song written by Neil
Diamond, and made popular in the 1980s by UB40.
ABOUT
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Some typical
alcoholic beverages
An alcoholic
beverage is a drink that contains ethanol
(commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided
into three general classes: beers, wines,
and spirits.
Alcoholic beverages
are consumed in most sovereign
states. Each nation has laws that regulate their production,
sale, and consumption. In particular, such laws specify the minimum
age at which a person may legally buy or drink them. The minimum
age varies between 16 and 25 depending on the nation and the type
of drink. Most nations set it at 18 years of age.
The production
and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world,
from hunter-gatherer peoples to
nation-states.
Alcoholic beverages are often an important part of social events
in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking
plays a significant role in social interaction — mainly because
of alcohol’s neurological effects.
Alcohol is a
psychoactive drug that has a depressant
effect. A high blood alcohol content
is usually considered to be legal drunkenness
because it reduces attention and slows
reaction speed. Alcoholic beverages can be addictive, and the state
of addiction to alcohol is known as alcoholism.
Types
Alcoholic beverages
that have a lower alcohol content (beer and wine) are produced by
fermentation of sugar- or starch-containing
plant material; beverages of higher alcohol content (spirits) are
produced by fermentation followed by distillation.
Beer
Main
articles: Beer, Brewery,
Brewing, and Mashing
Beer
is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage
and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It
is produced by the brewing and fermentation
of starches which are mainly derived from
cereal grains — most commonly malted
barley although wheat, maize (corn), and
rice are also used. Alcoholic beverages which are distilled
after fermentation, fermented from non-cereal sources such as grapes
or honey, or fermented from un-malted cereal
grain, are not classified as beer.
Most beer is
flavored with hops, which add bitterness and
act as a natural preservative. Other
flavorings, such as fruits or herbs, may also be used. The alcoholic
strength of beer is usually 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (abv),
but it may be less than 1% or more than 20%.
Beer is part
of the culture of various nations
and has acquired social traditions such as beer
festivals and pub culture, which
involves activities such as pub crawling
and pub games.
The basics of
brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries.
The two main types of beer are lager and ale,
which is further classified into varieties such
as pale ale, stout,
and brown ale. The beer-brewing industry
is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational
companies and thousands of smaller producers, which range from
brewpubs to regional
breweries.
Wine
Wine
involves a longer (complete) fermentation process and a long aging
process (months or years) that results in an alcohol content
of 9%–16% ABV. Sparkling
wine can be made by adding a small amount of sugar before bottling,
which causes a secondary fermentation to occur in the bottle.
Spirits
Unsweetened,
distilled, alcoholic beverages that have an alcohol content of at
least 20% ABV are called
spirits. Spirits are produced
by distillation of a fermented product;
this process concentrates the alcohol
and eliminates some of the congeners.
Spirits can
be added to wines to create fortified
wines, such as port and sherry.
Alcohol
content of beverages
The concentration
of alcohol in a beverage is usually stated as the percentage of
alcohol by volume (ABV)
or—in the United States—as proof.
In the U.S.A., proof is twice the percentage of alcohol by
volume at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (e.g., 80 proof = 40% ABV). Degrees
proof were formerly used in the United Kingdom, where 100 degrees
proof was equivalent to 57.1% ABV. Historically, this was the most
dilute spirit that would sustain the combustion
of gunpowder.
Ordinary distillation
cannot produce alcohol of more than 95.6% ABV (191.2 proof) because
at that point alcohol is an azeotrope
with water. Alcohol of this high level of purity is commonly called
neutral grain spirit.
Most yeasts
cannot reproduce when the concentration of alcohol is higher than
about 18%, so that is the practical limit for the strength of fermented
beverages such as wine, beer,
and sake. Strains of yeast have been developed
that can reproduce in solutions of up to 25% ABV.
Flavoring
Alcohol is a
moderately good solvent for many fatty substances
and essential oils. This attribute facilitates the use of flavoring
and coloring compounds in alcoholic beverages, especially distilled
beverages. Flavors may be naturally present in the beverage’s
base material. Beer and wine may be flavored before fermentation.
Spirits may be flavored before, during, or after distillation.
Sometimes flavor
is obtained by allowing the beverage to stand for months or years
in oak barrels, usually American or French oak.
A few brands
of spirits have fruit or herbs inserted into the bottle at the time
of bottling.
Uses
In many countries,
people drink alcoholic beverages at lunch
and dinner.
At times and
places of poor public sanitation (such as Medieval
Europe), the consumption of alcoholic drinks
was a way of avoiding water-borne diseases such as cholera.
Small beer and faux
wine, in particular, were used for this purpose. Although alcohol
kills bacteria, its low concentration in these beverages would have
had only a limited effect. More important was that the boiling of
water (required for the brewing of beer)
and the growth of yeast (required for fermentation
of beer and wine) would tend to kill dangerous microorganisms.
The alcohol content of these beverages allowed them to be stored
for months or years in simple wood or clay containers without spoiling.
For this reason, they were commonly kept aboard sailing vessels
as an important (or even the sole) source of hydration
for the crew, especially during the long voyages of the early
modern period.
In cold climates,
strong alcoholic beverages such as vodka are
popularly seen as a way to “warm up” the body, possibly because
alcohol is a quickly absorbed source of food
energy and because it dilates peripheral blood vessels (peripherovascular
dilation). This is a misconception because the perception of warmth
is actually caused by the transfer of heat from the body’s core
to its extremities, where it is quickly lost to the environment.
History
Alcohol has
been used by people around the world, in the standard diet, for
hygienic/medical reasons, for its relaxant
and euphoric effects, for recreational
purposes, for artistic inspiration,
as aphrodisiacs, and for other reasons.
Some drinks have been invested with symbolic or religious significance
suggesting the mystical use of alcohol, e.g. by Greco-Roman
religion in the ecstatic rituals
of Dionysus (also called Bacchus), god
of wine and revelry; in the Christian
Eucharist; and on the Jewish
Shabbat and festivals (particularly Passover).
Fermented
beverages
Chemical analysis
of traces absorbed and preserved in pottery jars from the Neolithic
village of Jiahu, in Henan province, Northern
China, have revealed that a mixed fermented
beverage of rice, honey, and fruit was being produced as early as
9,000 years ago. This is approximately the same time that barley
beer and grape wine were beginning to be made in the Middle East.
Recipes have been found on clay tablets and art in Mesopotamia
that show individuals using straws to drink beer
from large vats and pots. The Hindu Ayurvedic
texts describe both the beneficent uses of alcoholic beverages and
the consequences of intoxication and alcoholic diseases. Most of
the peoples in India and China, have continued,
throughout, to ferment a portion of their crops and nourish themselves
with the alcoholic product. However, devout adherents of Buddhism,
which arose in India in the 5th and 6th centuries BC and spread
over southern and eastern Asia, abstain to this day, as do devout
Hindus and Sikhs.
In Mesopotamia and Egypt, the birthplace of beer and wine, Islam
is now the predominant religion, and it also prohibits the drinking
and even the handling of alcoholic beverages.
Wine was consumed
in Classical Greece at breakfast
or at symposia, and in the 1st century
BC it was part of the diet of most Roman
citizens. However, both Greeks and Romans generally consumed diluted
wine (with strengths varying from 1 part wine and 1 part water to
1 part wine and 4 parts water). The transformation of water into
wine at the wedding
at Cana is the first of the miracles attributed to Jesus
in the New Testament, and His use
of wine in the Last Supper led to it
becoming an essential part of the Eucharist
rite in most Christian traditions (see
Christianity and alcohol).
In Europe
during the Middle Ages, beer was consumed
by the whole family, thanks to a triple fermentation process—the
men had the strongest, then women, then children. A document of
the times mentions nuns having an allowance
of six pints of ale a day. Cider and pomace
wine were also widely available, while grape wine was the prerogative
of the higher classes.
By the time
the Europeans reached the Americas in the
15th century, several native
civilizations had developed alcoholic beverages. According to a
post-Conquest Aztec document, consumption
of the local "wine" (pulque) was generally
restricted to religious ceremonies, but freely allowed to those
over 70 years old. The natives of South
America manufactured a beer-like product from cassava
or maize (cauim,
chicha), which had to be chewed before
fermentation in order to turn the starch
into sugars. This chewing technique was also used in ancient Japan
to make sake from rice
and other starchy crops.
The medicinal
use of alcohol was mentioned in Sumerian and Egyptian texts dated
from 2100 BC or earlier. The Hebrew Bible
recommends giving alcoholic drinks to those who are dying or depressed,
so that they can forget their misery (Proverbs
31:6-7).
Distilled
beverages
The distillation
of alcohol can be traced back to China, Central
Asia and the Middle East. In particular,
Muslim chemists
were the first to produce fully purified distilled alcohol. It later
spread to Europe in the mid-12th century, and by the early 14th
century it had spread throughout the continent. It also spread eastward,
mainly due to the Mongols,
and began in China no later than the 14th
century. Paracelsus gave alcohol its
modern name, taking it from the Arabic word which means "finely
divided", a reference to distillation.
Alcoholic
beverages in American history
In the early
19th century, Americans had inherited a hearty drinking tradition.
Many different types of alcoholic beverages were consumed. One reason
for this heavy drinking was an overabundance
of corn on the western frontier.
This overabundance encouraged the widespread production of cheap
whiskey. It was at this time that alcoholic beverages became an
important part of the American diet. In the mid 1820s, Americans
drank seven gallons of alcohol per capita annually.
During the 19th
century, Americans drank an abundance of alcohol and drank it in
two distinctive ways.
One way was
to drink small amounts daily and regularly, usually at home or alone.
The other way consisted of communal
binges. Groups of people would gather in a public place for
elections, court sessions, militia musters, holiday celebrations,
or neighborly festivities. Participants would typically drink until
they became intoxicated.
The
raw materials of alcoholic beverages
The names of
some beverages are determined by the source of the material fermented.
In general, a beverage fermented from a starch-heavy source (grain
or potato), in which the starch must first be broken down into sugars
(by malting, for example), will be called a
beer; if the mash is distilled, the end product
is a spirit. Wine
is made from fermented grapes.
Brandy and wine
are made only from grapes. If an alcoholic beverage is made from
another kind of fruit, it is distinguished as fruit
brandy or fruit wine. The variety of fruit must be specified,
as (for example) "cherry brandy" or "plum wine".
In the USA and
Canada, cider often means unfermented apple juice
(see the article on cider), while fermented
cider is called hard cider. Unfermented cider is sometimes
called sweet cider. In the UK, cider refers to the
alcoholic drink; in Australia the term is ambiguous.
Beer
is generally made from barley, but can sometimes contain a mix of
other grains. Whisky (or whiskey) is sometimes made from
a blend of different grains, especially Irish
whiskey which may contain several different grains. The style
of whisk(e)y (Scotch, rye, Bourbon, corn) generally determines the
primary grain used, with additional grains usually added to the
blend (most often barley, and sometimes oats).
As far as American whiskey is concerned, Bourbon (corn), and rye
whiskey, must be at least 51% of respective constituent at fermentation,
while corn whiskey (as opposed to Bourbon) must be at least 81%—all
by American law similar to the French A.O.C (Appellation
d'Origine Controlée).
Two common distilled
beverages are vodka and gin.
Vodka can be distilled from any source of agricultural origin (grain
and potatoes being the most common), but
the main characteristic of vodka is that it is so thoroughly distilled
as to exhibit less of the flavors derived from its source material.
Some distillers and experts, however, may disagree, arguing that
potato vodkas display a creamy mouthfeel,
while rye vodkas will have heavy nuances of rye. Other vodkas may
display citrus notes. Gin is a similar distillate which has been
flavored by contact with herbs and other plant products—especially
juniper berries,
but also including angel root, licorice, cardamom, grains of paradise,
Bulgarian rose petals, and many others.
Applejack
is an example of a drink originally made by freeze
distillation, which is easy to do in cold climates. Although
both distillation and freeze distillation reduce the water content,
they are not equivalent, because freeze distillation concentrates
poisonous higher alcohols rather than reducing them like distillation.
Ingredients
Grains
| Source |
Name of
fermented beverage |
Name of
distilled beverage |
| barley |
beer,
ale, barley wine |
Scotch
whisky, Irish whiskey, sho-chu-
(mugijo-chu-) (Japan) |
| rye |
rye
beer, kvass |
rye
whiskey, vodka (Poland), roggenkorn
(Germany) |
| corn |
chicha,
corn beer, tesguino |
Bourbon
whiskey; and vodka (rarely) |
| sorghum |
burukutu
(Nigeria), pito (Ghana), merisa (southern
Sudan), bilibili (Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon) |
maotai,
gaoliang, certain
other types of baijiu (China). |
| wheat |
wheat
beer |
vodka,
wheat whisky, weizenkorn (Germany) |
| rice |
Ruou gao
(Vietnam), huangjiu, choujiu
(China), sake (Japan), sonti
(India), makgeolli (Korea), tuak
(Borneo Island), thwon (Nepal) |
aila
(Nepal),rice baijiu (China), sho-chu-
(komejo-chu-) and awamori (Japan),
soju (Korea) |
| millet |
millet
beer (Sub-Saharan Africa), tongba
(Nepal, Tibet) |
| buckwheat |
|
sho-chu-
(sobajo-chu-) (Japan) |
Juice
of fruits
| Source |
Name of
fermented beverage |
Name of
distilled beverage |
| juice
of grapes, |
wine |
brandy,
Cognac (France), Vermouth,
Armagnac (France), Branntwein
(Germany), pisco (Chile and Peru), Rakia
(The Balkans, Turkey), singani (Bolivia),
Arak (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan), törkölypálinka
(Hungary) |
| juice of
apples |
cider
(U.S.: "hard cider"), apfelwein |
applejack (or apple brandy),
calvados, cider |
| juice of
pears |
perry,
or pear cider; poire
(France) |
Poire
Williams, pear brandy, Eau-de-vie
(France), pálinka
(Hungary) |
| juice of
plums |
plum
wine |
slivovitz,
tzuica, palinca,
umeshu, pálinka |
| juice of
pineapples |
tepache
(Mexico) |
|
| bananas
or plantains |
Chuoi hot
(Vietnam), urgwagwa (Uganda, Rwanda), mbege
(with millet malt; Tanzania), kasikisi (with sorghum malt; Democratic
Republic of the Congo) |
| gouqi |
gouqi
jiu (China) |
gouqi
jiu (China) |
| coconut |
arrack,
lambanog (Sri Lanka, India, Philippines) |
Old arrack,
Special, (Sri Lanka) |
| ginger
with sugar, ginger with raisins |
ginger
ale, ginger beer, ginger
wine |
| Myrica
rubra |
yangmei
jiu (China) |
yangmei
jiu (China) |
| pomace |
pomace
wine |
Raki/Ouzo/Pastis/Sambuca
(Turkey/Greece/France/Italy), tsipouro/tsikoudia
(Greece), grappa (Italy), Trester (Germany),
marc (France),
zivania (Cyprus), aguardente
(Portugal), tescovina( (Romania), Arak
(Iraq) |
Vegetables
| Source |
Name of
fermented beverage |
Name of
distilled beverage |
| juice of
ginger root |
ginger
beer (Botswana) |
|
| potatoes
or grain |
potato
beer |
vodka:
Potatoes are mostly used in Poland and
Germany, otherwise grain or potatoes.
A strong drink called akvavit, popular
in Scandinavia, is made from potatoes or grain. In Ireland,
poitín (or poteen) is a traditional liquor
made from potatoes, which was illegal from 1661 to 1997. |
| sweet
potato |
|
sho-chu-
(imojo-chu-) (Japan), soju (Korea) |
| cassava/manioc/yuca |
nihamanchi
(South America), kasiri (Sub-Saharan Africa),
chicha (Ecuador) |
| juice of
sugarcane, or molasses |
basi,
betsa-betsa (regional) |
rum
(Caribbean), pinga or cachaça
(Brasil), aguardiente, guaro |
| juice of
agave |
pulque |
tequila,
mezcal, raicilla |
Other
LIST
OF COCKTAILS
A
cocktail is a mixed drink typically made with a distilled beverage
(such as gin, vodka, whiskey, tequila, or rum) that is mixed with
other ingredients. If beer is one of the ingredients, the drink
is called a beer cocktail.
Cocktails contain
one or more types of liqueur, juice, fruit, sauce, honey, milk or
cream, spices, or other flavorings. Cocktails may vary in their
ingredients from bartender to bartender, and from region to region.
Two creations may have the same name but taste very different because
of differences in how the drinks are prepared.
Cocktails
with absinthe
Cocktails
with brandy or cognac
Cocktails
with cachaça
Cocktails
with gin
Cocktails
with rum
Cocktails
with sake
Cocktails
with tequila
Cocktails
with vodka
Cocktails
with whiskey/whisky or bourbon
Spelling: the
Irish spell "whiskey" with an "e", but the Scottish spell "whisky"
without the "e" (often simply referred to as "Scotch" outside
of Scotland). Americans generally spell whiskey with an "e", but
distinguish between Tennessee whiskey and Bourbon whiskey. Canadians
generally spell "whisky" without the "e".
Cocktails
with wine, sparkling wine, or port
The following
drinks are not technically cocktails unless wine is secondary by
volume to a distilled beverage, since wine is a fermented beverage
not a distilled one.
Cocktails
with a liqueur as the primary ingredient
Coffee
liqueurs
Coffee-flavored
drinks
Cream
liqueurs
A liqueur
containing cream, imparting a milkshake-like flavor
Crčme
liqueurs
- Creme
de almond
A creamy,
almond-flavored liqueur
- Mai
Tai
- Pink
Squirrel
- Scorpian
- Zombie
|
- Creme
de Banane
A creamy,
banana-flavored liqueur
- Banshee
- Chocolate
Covered Banana
|
- Crčme
de cacao - Brown
A brown-colored,
chocolate-flavored liqueur
- Brandy
Alexander
- Chocolate
Covered Banana
|
- Crčme
de cacao - White
A colorless
chocolate-flavored liqueur
- Banshee
- Cricket
- Golden
Cadillac
- Grasshopper
- Locust
- Pink
Squirrel
|
- Crčme
de menthe - Green
An
intensely green, mint-flavored liqueur
- Cricket
- Grasshopper
- Green
Hornet
- Orion
Slave Girl
|
- Crčme
de menthe - White
A colorless
mint-flavored liqueur
|
Fruit
liqueurs
Orange-flavored
One of several
orange-flavored liqueurs, like Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
- Cosmopolitan
- Creamsicle
- Golden
Dream
- Iguana
Margarita
- Kamikaze
- Lemon
Drop
- Long
Beach Iced Tea
- Long
Island Iced Tea
- Margarita
- Nuclear
Iced Tea (aka Tokyo Tea)
- Strawberry
Margarita
- Zombie
|
- Curaçao
- Blue
A clear,
blue-colored, orange-flavored liqueur
- Adios
M.F.
- Blue
Eyes
- Blue
Margarita
- Electric
Martini
- Pornstar
|
Other
fruit flavors
- Midori
A clear,
bright-green, melon-flavored liqueur
- Green Eyes
- Iguana
Margarita
- Midori
Sour
- Melon Ball
- Nuclear
Iced Tea (aka Tokyo Tea)
- Nuclear
Martini
- Pixie Stick
Licorice-flavored
liqueurs
Other
herbal liqueurs
Tazer
Tequila, jagermeister, and lime juice
Nut-flavored
liqueurs
- Almond-flavored
liqueurs
Other
liqueurs
Cocktails
with less common spirits
Bitters
(as a primary ingredient)
Schnapps
Other
Historical
classes of cocktails
- Bishop
- Cobbler
— a traditional long drink that is characterized by a glass
3/4 filled with crushed or shaved ice that is formed into a
centered cone, topped by slices of fruit
- Collins
— a traditional long drink stirred with ice in the same glass
it is served in and diluted with club soda, e.g. Tom Collins
- Crusta
— characterized by a sugar rim on the glass (e.g. Irish Coffee),
brandy, maraschino liqueur, aromatic bitters, lemon juice, curacao,
with an entire lemon rind as garnish
- Daisy
— a traditional long drink consisting of a base spirit, lemon
juice, sugar, grenadine. The most common daisy cocktail is the
Brandy Daisy. Other commonly known daisies are the Whiskey Daisy,
Bourbon Daisy, Gin Daisy, Rum Daisy, Lemon Daisy (the non-alcoholic
variant), Portuguese Daisy (port and brandy), Vodka Daisy, and
Champagne Daisy.
- Fix — a
traditional long drink related to Cobblers, but mixed in a shaker
and served over crushed ice
- Fizz
— a traditional long drink including acidic juices and club
soda, e.g. Gin Fizz
- Flip
— a traditional half-long drink that is characterized by inclusion
of sugar and egg yolk
- Julep —
base spirit, sugar, and mint over ice. The most common is the
Mint
Julep. Other variations include Gin Julep, Whiskey Julep,
Pineapple Julep, and Georgia Mint Julep.
- Negus
- Punch
- Sangaree
- Sling —
a traditional long drink prepared by stirring ingredients over
ice in the glass and filling up with juice or club soda
- Smash
- Sour
- Toddy
- Shrub -
a cocktail made with a fruit syrup, usually with a vinegar base.
ABOUT
HUNTINGTON BEACH
| City
of Huntington Beach |
| — City — |
|
Huntington
Beach Pier |
| Nickname(s):
Surf City USA |
|
Location
of Huntington Beach within Orange
County, California. |
| Country |
United States |
| State |
California |
| County |
Orange |
| Incorporated |
February
17, 1909 |
| Government |
| - Type |
Council-Manager |
| - City
Council |
Cathy Green,
Mayor
Keith Bohr
Joe Carchio
Gil Coerper
Don Hansen
Jill Hardy
Devin Dwyer |
| - City
Treasurer |
Shari L.
Freidenrich, CCMT,
CPFA,
CPFIM |
| - City
Clerk |
Joan L.
Flynn |
| Area |
| - Total |
81.7 km2 (31.6 sq mi) |
| - Land |
68.3 km2 (26.4 sq mi) |
| -
Water |
13.4 km2 (5.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation |
12 m
(39 ft) |
| Population
(2000) |
| - Total |
189,594 |
| - Density |
2,773.9/km2 (7,184.4/sq mi) |
| Time
zone |
PST
(UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) |
PDT
(UTC-7) |
| ZIP
codes |
92605,
92615, 92646-92649 |
| Area
code(s) |
714 |
| FIPS
code |
06-36000 |
| GNIS
feature ID |
1652724 |
| Website |
surfcity-hb.org |
Huntington
Beach
is a seaside city in Orange
County in southern California,
United States. According to the 2000
census, the city population was 189,594. It is bordered by the Pacific
Ocean on the southwest, by Seal
Beach on the northwest, by Costa
Mesa on the east, by Newport
Beach on the southeast, by Westminster
on the north, and by Fountain
Valley on the northeast.
It is known
for its long 8.5-mile (13.7 km) beach, mild climate, and excellent
surfing. The waves are a unique natural
effect caused by edge-diffraction of ocean swells by the island
of Catalina, and
waves from distant hurricanes.
History
Huntington
Beach, pre-incorporation, 1904.
The area was
originally occupied by the Tongva people.
European settlement can be traced to a Spanish
soldier, Manuel Nieto, who in 1784
received a Spanish land grant of 300,000 acres (1,200 km2),
Rancho Los Nietos, as a reward
for his military service and to encourage settlement in Alta
California. Nieto's western area was reduced in 1790 because
of a dispute with the Mission
San Gabriel, but he retained thousands of acres stretching from
the hills north of Whittier,
Fullerton and Brea,
south to the Pacific Ocean, and from today's Los
Angeles River on the west, to the Santa
Ana River on the east.
The main thoroughfare
of Huntington Beach, Beach Boulevard, was originally a cattle route
for the main industry of the Rancho. Since its time as a parcel
of the enormous Spanish land grant, Huntington Beach has undergone
many incarnations. One time it was known Shell Beach, the town of
Smeltzer, and then Gospel Swamp for the revival meetings that were
held in the marshland where the community college Golden
West College can currently be found. Later it became known as
Fairview and then Pacific City as it developed into a tourist destination.
In order to secure access to the Red Car lines that used to criss-cross
Los Angeles and ended in Long Beach, Pacific City ceded enormous
power to railroad magnate Henry
Huntington, and thus became a city whose name has been written
into corporate sponsorship, and like much of the history of Southern
California, boosterism.
Huntington Beach
incorporated on February 17, 1909 under its first mayor, Ed Manning.
Its original developer was the Huntington Beach Company (formerly
the West Coast Land and Water Company), a real-estate development
firm owned by Henry Huntington. The Huntington Beach Company is
still a major land-owner in the city, and still owns most of the
local mineral rights.
An interesting
hiccup in the settlement of the district occurred when an encyclopedia
company gave away free parcels of land, with the purchase of a whole
set for $126, in the Huntington Beach area that it had acquired
cheaply. The lucky buyers got more than they had bargained for when
oil was discovered in the area, and enormous development of the
oil reserves followed. Though many of the old wells are empty, and
the price of land for housing has pushed many of the rigs off the
landscape, oil pumps can still be found to dot the city.
Huntington Beach
was primarily agricultural in its early years with crops such as
celery and sugar beets. Holly Sugar
was a major employer with a large processing plant in the city that
was later converted to an oil refinery.
The city's first
high school, Huntington
Beach High School was built in 1906. The school's team, the
Oilers, is named after the city's original natural resource.
Meadowlark
Airport, a small general aviation airport, existed in Huntington
Beach from the 1950s until 1989.
Geography
Huntington
Beach at Sunset
According to
the United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 81.7 square kilometres
(31.5 sq mi). 68.3 km2 (26.4 sq mi)
of it is land and 13.4 km2 (5.2 sq mi)
of it (16.38%) is water.
The entire city
of Huntington Beach lies in area
codes 657 and 714, except for small parts of Huntington Harbour
(along with Sunset Beach, the unincorporated community adjacent
to Huntington Harbour), which is in the 562
Area Code.
Climate
Huntington Beach
has a Mediterranean climate
(Köppen climate classification
Csb). The climate is generally sunny, dry and cool, although
evenings can be excessively damp. In the morning and evening, there
are often strong breezes, 15 mph (24 km/h). Ocean water
temperatures average 55 °F (13 °C) to 65 °F (18 °C).
In the summer, temperatures rarely exceed 85 °F (29 °C).
In the winter, temperatures rarely fall below 40 °F (4 °C),
even on clear nights. There are about 14 inches (360 mm)
of rain, almost all in mid-winter. Frost occurs only rarely on the
coldest winter nights. The area is annually affected by a marine
layer caused by the cool air of the Pacific Ocean meeting the
warm air over the land. This results in overcast and foggy conditions
in May and June.
| Weather data for Huntington
Beach |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F (°C) |
64
(18) |
64
(18) |
64
(18) |
66
(19) |
66
(19) |
68
(20) |
71
(22) |
73
(23) |
73
(23) |
71
(22) |
68
(20) |
64
(18) |
68
(20) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
48
(9) |
50
(10) |
51
(11) |
54
(12) |
57
(14) |
60
(16) |
63
(17) |
64
(18) |
63
(17) |
59
(15) |
52
(11) |
48
(9) |
56
(13) |
| Precipitation
inches (mm) |
2.60
(66) |
2.54
(64.5) |
2.25
(57.2) |
.70
(17.8) |
.18
(4.6) |
.08
(2) |
.02
(0.5) |
.09
(2.3) |
.30
(7.6) |
.28
(7.1) |
1.02
(25.9) |
1.59
(40.4) |
11.65
(295.9) |
| Source:
Weather Channel 2009-03-29 |
Natural resources
Bolsa Chica
Wildlife Refuge
Construction
of any kind on the beach is prohibited without a vote of the people,
allowing Huntington Beach to retain its natural tie to the ocean
rather than having the view obscured by residential and commercial
developments.
Between Downtown
Huntington Beach and Huntington Harbour lies a large marshy wetland,
much of which is protected within the Bolsa
Chica Ecological Reserve. A $110 million restoration of the
wetlands was completed in 2006. The Reserve is popular with bird
watchers and photographers.
South of Downtown,
the Talbert and Magnolia Marshes lie on a strip of undeveloped land
parallel to Huntington State Beach and are in the process of restoration,
as well.
The northern
and southern beaches (Bolsa
Chica State Beach and Huntington
State Beach, respectively) are state parks. Only the central
beach (Huntington City Beach) is maintained by the city. Camping
and RVs are permitted here, and popular campsites for the Fourth
of July and the Surfing Championships must be reserved many
months in advance. Bolsa Chica State Beach is actually a sand bar
fronting the Bolsa Bay and Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve.
Huntington
Harbour from the air
The Orange County
run Sunset Marina Park next to Huntington Harbour is part of Anaheim
Bay. It is suitable for light craft, and includes a marina, launching
ramp, basic services, a picnic area and a few restaurants. The park
is in Seal Beach, but is
only reachable from Huntington Harbour. The Sunset/Huntington Harbour
area is patrolled by the Orange
County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol.
The harbor entrance
for Anaheim Bay is sometimes restricted by the United
States Navy, which loads ships with munitions at the Seal
Beach Naval Weapons Station to the north of the main channel.
Demographics
| Historical
populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1910 |
815 |
|
—
|
| 1920 |
1,687 |
|
107.0% |
| 1930 |
3,690 |
|
118.7% |
| 1940 |
3,738 |
|
1.3% |
| 1950 |
5,237 |
|
40.1% |
| 1960 |
11,492 |
|
119.4% |
| 1970 |
115,960 |
|
909.0% |
| 1980 |
170,505 |
|
47.0% |
| 1990 |
181,519 |
|
6.5% |
| 2000 |
189,594 |
|
4.4% |
As of the census
of 2000, there were 189,594 people, 73,657 households, and 47,729
families residing in the city. The population
density was 2,773.9/km˛ (7,183.6/mi˛). There were 75,662 housing
units at an average density of 1,107.0/km˛ (2,866.8/mi˛). The racial
makeup of the city was 79.22% White,
0.81% Black
or African
American, 0.65% Native
American, 9.34% Asian,
0.24% Pacific
Islander, 5.81% from other
races, and 3.94% from two or more races. 14.66% of the population
were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 73,657
households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 50.7% were married couples living
together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 35.2% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up
of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average
family size was 3.08.
In the city
the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.4%
from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years.
For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males.
According to
a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was
$81,112, and the median income for a family was $101,023. Adult
males had a median income of $52,018 versus $38,046 for adult females.
The per capita income for the
city was $36,964. About 4.3% of families and 6.6% of the population
were below the poverty
line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those
age 65 or over.
The 2009 population
estimated by the California
Department of Finance was 202,480.
The unemployment
rate in Huntington Beach is one of the lowest among large (over
100,000) cities in the United States at 1.9%.
Economy
According to
Huntington Beach's 2008 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the
top employers in the city are:
| # |
Employer |
# of Employees |
| 1 |
Boeing |
4,352 |
| 2 |
Quiksilver |
1,337 |
| 3 |
Cambro
Manufacturing |
909 |
| 4 |
Verizon |
723 |
| 5 |
Hyatt Regency
Huntington Beach |
670 |
| 6 |
C &
D Aerospace |
600 |
| 7 |
Huntington
Beach Hospital |
503 |
| 8 |
Fisher
& Paykel |
441 |
| 9 |
Rainbow
Disposal |
408 |
| 10 |
Home Depot
(including Expo) |
386 |
Huntington Beach
sits above a large natural fault structure containing oil. Although
the oil is mostly depleted, extraction continues at a slow rate,
and still provides significant local income. There are only two
off-shore extraction facilities left, however, and the day is not
far off when oil production
in the city will cease and tourism will replace it as the primary
revenue source for resident industry.
The city is
discussing closing off Main Street to cars from PCH through the
retail shopping and restaurant areas, making it a pedestrian zone
only. Other shopping centers include Bella
Terra, built on the former Huntington Center site, and Old World
Village, a German-themed center.
Huntington Beach
has an off-shore oil terminus for the tankers that support the Alaska
Pipeline. The terminus pipes run inland to a refinery in Santa
Fe Springs. Huntington Beach also has the Gothard-Talbert terminus
for the Orange County portion of the pipeline running from the Chevron
El Segundo refinery.
Several hotels
have been constructed on the inland side of Pacific
Coast Highway (State Route 1) within view of the beach, just
southeast of the pier.
Huntington Beach
contains a major installation of Boeing,
formerly McDonnell-Douglas.
A number of installations on the Boeing campus were originally constructed
to service the Apollo
Program, most notably the production of the S-IVB
upper stage for the Saturn IB and Saturn
V rockets, and some nearby telephone poles are still marked
"Apollo Dedicated Mission Control Line."
Huntington Beach
contains the administrative headquarters of Sea
Launch, a commercial space vehicle launch enterprise whose largest
stockholder is Boeing.
Huntington Beach
contains a small industrial district in its northwest corner, near
the borders with Westminster and Seal Beach.
Surf City
USA trademarks
While Huntington
Beach retains its 15-year trademark of Surf City Huntington Beach,
the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau filed four applications
to register the Surf City USA trademark
in November 2004. The idea was to market the city by creating an
authentic brand based on Southern California's beach culture and
active outdoor lifestyle while at the same time creating a family
of product licensees who operate like a franchise family producing
a revenue stream that could also be dedicated to promoting the brand
and city. A ruling by the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office released on May 12, 2006 awarded
three trademark registrations to the Bureau; nine additional trademark
registrations have been granted since this time and ten other Surf
City USA trademarks are now under consideration. One of the first
products the Bureau developed to promote its brand was the Surf
City USA Beach Cruiser by Felt Bicycles in 2006. The product has
sold out every year in markets worldwide and created demand for
a second rental bicycle model that will be marketed to resort locations
across the globe starting in 2009. The Bureau now has dozens of
other licensed products on the market from Surf City USA soft drinks
to clothing to glassware. As of April 2008, the Bureau had more
than 20 licensing partners with over 50 different products being
prepared to enter the market over the next 18 months. Four of the
Bureau's registrations of the trademark are now on the principal
register and the remaining ten trademark applications are expected
to follow. The Bureau is actively considering registration of the
Surf City USA trademark in several different countries and anticipates
a growing market for its branded products overseas in coming years.
An ongoing dispute
between Huntington Beach and Santa
Cruz, California over the trademark garnered negative national
publicity in 2007 when a law firm representing Huntington Beach
sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Santa Cruz t-shirt vendor. A
settlement was reached in January, 2008, which allows the Huntington
Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau to retain the trademark.
Tourism
The downtown
district includes an active art center, a colorful shopping district,
and the International Surfing Museum. This district was also once
the home of the famous restaurant and music club "The Golden Bear."
In the late 1960s and 1970s it hosted many famous bands and acts.
The Huntington Beach Pier
stretches from Main Street into the Pacific Ocean. At the end of
the pier is a Ruby's Diner.
The Surf Theatre, which was located one block north of the pier,
gained fame in the 1960s and 1970s for showing independent surf
films such as The Endless Summer
and Five Summer Stories.
The Surf Theatre was owned and operated by Hugh Larry Thomas from
1961 until it was demolished in 1989. A newer version of The Surf
Theatre is now closed, but the International Surf Museum has preserved
its memory with a permanent exhibit featuring vintage seats and
screening of surfing movies once shown at a Huntington Beach theater.
Arts and culture
Special events
Many of the
events at Huntington Beach are focused around the beach during the
summer. The U.S. Open of Surfing
and Beach Games are featured on the south side of the pier. Huntington
Beach is a stop on the AVP
beach volleyball tour. A biathlon (swim/run) hosted by the Bolsa
Chica & Huntington State Beach Lifeguards takes place in July,
early at dawn. The race begins at the Santa
Ana River Jetties and ends at Warner Avenue, Bolsa
Chica State Beach. Huntington Beach Junior Lifeguard day
camps are held which teaches preadolescents and adolescents
ocean swimming, running, and first-aid medical knowledge.
In addition
to the beach-focused events, the Fourth
of July parade has been held since 1904. The SoCal Independent
Film Festival takes place every September.
During the winter
the annual Cruise of Lights Boat Tour is held in the Huntington
Harbour neighborhood. This is a parade of colorful lighted boats
as well as boat tours to view the decorated homes. The annual Kite
Festival is held just north of the pier in late February.
Huntington Beach
hosts car shows such as the Beachcruiser Meet and a Concours
d'Elegance. The Beachcruiser Meet is held in March, attracting
over 250 classic cars displayed along Main Street and the Pier parking
lot. A Concours d'Elegance is held at Central Park in June and benefits
the public library.
Surf City Nights
is held during the entire year. The community-spirited event features
a farmer's market, unique entertainment, food, kiddie rides and
a carnival atmosphere, each Tuesday evening. Surf City Nights is
presented by the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement
District (HBDBID) and the City of Huntington Beach. The event takes
place in the first three blocks of Main Street from Pacific Coast
Highway to Orange Avenue.
Sports
Surfers abound
near Huntington City Pier
Huntington
Beach during the day.
Huntington Beach
is the site of the world surfing championships,
held in the summer every year. The city is often referred to as
"Surf City" because of this high profile event, its history and
culture of surfing. It is often called the "Surfing Capital of the
World", not for the height of the waves, but rather for the consistent
quality of surf. Gordon Duane established the city's first surf
shop, Gordie's Surfboards, in 1955.
Surf and beaches
Apart from sponsored
surf events, Huntington Beach has some of the best surf breaks in
the State of California and that of the
United States. Huntington Beach has
four different facing beaches: Northwest, West, Southwest, and South.
Northwest consists of Bolsa
Chica State Beach with a length of 3.3 miles (5.3 km),
the West consist of "The Cliffs" or "Dog Beach", Southwest is considered
everything north of the pier which is operated by the City of Huntington
Beach. South consists in everything south of the pier which primarily
focuses on Huntington State Beach
(2.2 Miles), which almost faces true South.
Bolsa
Chica State Beach is operated by the State of California,
Dept. Parks & Recreation, and the Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguards.
The beach is very narrow and the sand is very coarse. Bolsa Chica
tends to have better surf with NW/W swells during the winter season.
During the summer months the beach picks up south/southwest swells
at a very steep angle. Due to the bottom of the beach, surf
at Bolsa Chica tends to be slowed down and refined to soft shoulders.
Longboards are the best option for surfing in the Bolsa Chica area.
"The Cliffs"
or "Dog Beach" is also another popular surf spot. This segment of
Huntington Beach obtains these names because dogs are allowed around
the cliff area. Beach is very restricted and often is submerged
with high tides. Surf at this location tends to be even bigger than
Bolsa Chica during the winter and often better. During the summer
most of the South/Southwest swells slide right by and often break
poorly. The best option is to take out a longboard, but shortboards
will do at times. Dolphins have also been sighted in this area.
Just north and
south of the Huntington Beach Pier are some well defined sandbars
that shift throughout the year with the different swells. Southside
of the Pier is often a popular destination during the summer for
good surf, but the Northside can be just as well during the winter.
Around the Pier it all depends on the swell and the sandbars. Shortboard
is your best option for surfing around the Pier.
South Huntington
Beach, also known as Huntington
State Beach, is where all the south swells impact the coastline.
Huntington State Beach is operated by the State of California, Department
of Parks & Recreation, and Huntington State Beach Lifeguards.
This beach is very wide with plenty of sand.
Sandbars dramatically
shift during the spring, summer and fall seasons, thus creating
excellent surf conditions with a combination South/West/Northwest
swell. Due to the Santa Ana River
jetties located at the southern most end of the beach, large sandbars
extend across and upcoast, forcing swells to break extremely fast
and hollow. Best seasons for surfing at this beach is the summer
and fall. The best option for surfing in this area is a shortboard.
Huntington Beach
is also a popular destination for kite
surfing, and this sport can be viewed on the beach northwest
of the pier.
Huntington Beach
is the host city of the National
Professional Paintball League Super 7 Paintball Championships.
The NPPL holds its first event of the year traditionally between
the dates of March 23 through March 26.
Huntington Beach
also hosts the annual Surf City USA Marathon and Half-Marathon,
which is usually held on the first Sunday of February.
Parks and recreation
Huntington Beach
has a very large Central Park, located between Gothard and Edwards
Streets to the east and west, and Slater and Ellis Avenues to the
north and south. The park is vegetated with xeric
(low water use) plants, and inhabited by native wildlife. Thick
forests encircling the park are supplemented with Australian
trees, particularly eucalyptus, a high
water use plant.
The Huntington
Beach Public Library is located in Central Park in a notable
building designed by Richard Neutra
and Dion Neutra. It houses almost a
half-million volumes, as well as a theater, gift shop and fountains.
The library was founded as a Carnegie
library in 1914, and has been continuously supported by the
city and local activists, with new buildings and active branches
at Banning, Oak View, Main Street, and Graham. The library has significant
local historical materials and has a special genealogical
reference collection. It is independent of the state and county
library systems.
The park is
also home of Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, a top class
boarding facility that also offers horse rentals to the public,
with guided trail rides through the park. There is also a "mud park"
available for kids. The world's second oldest disc golf course is
available in the park, as are two small dining areas, a sports complex
for adult use, and the Shipley Nature Center.
The Bolsa
Chica Wetlands, which are diminishing rapidly due to development,
contains numerous trails and scenic routes. The wetlands themselves
have recently been connected with the ocean again, in effort to
maintain its previous, unaltered conditions.
Government
Local Government
According to
the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the
city’s various funds had $295.6 million in Revenues, $287.7 million
in expenditures, $1,046.6 million in total assets, $202.8 million
in total liabilities, and $87.1 million in cash and investments.
The structure
of the management and coordination of city services is:
| City Department |
Director |
| City Manager |
Fred Wilson |
| Deputy
City Administrator |
Paul Emery |
| Deputy
City Administrator |
Robert
Hall |
| Community
Relations Officer |
Laurie
E. Payne |
| Director
of Library Services |
Stephanie
Beverage |
| Director
of Human Resources |
Michele
Carr |
| Director
of Building and Safety |
Ross D.
Cranmer |
| Director
of Community Services |
Jim B.
Engle |
| Director
of Planning |
Scott Hess |
| Director
of Public Works |
Travis
Hopkins |
| Director
of Information Services |
Jack Marshall |
| Fire Chief |
Duane S.
Olson |
| Police
Chief |
Kenneth
W. Small |
| Director
of Economic Development |
Stanley
Smalewitz |
| Director
of Finance |
Dan T.
Vilella |
Politics
In the state
legislature Huntington Beach is located in the 35th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Tom Harman, and in the 67th Assembly
District, represented by Republican Jim Silva.
Federally, Huntington Beach is located in California's
46th congressional district, which has a Cook
PVI of R +6 and is represented by Republican Dana
Rohrabacher.
Education
Huntington Beach
is the home of Golden West College,
which offers two-year associates of arts degrees and transfer programs
to four year universities.
Huntington Beach
is in the Huntington
Beach Union High School District, which includes Edison
High School, Huntington
Beach High School, Marina High
School, and Ocean View High
School in the city of Huntington Beach, Fountain
Valley High School in the city of Fountain
Valley, and Westminster
High School in the city of Westminster.
The district
also has an alternative school, Valley Vista High School, and an
independent study school, Coast High School.
Huntington
Beach High School, which is the district's flagship school,
celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2006.
The city has
two elementary school districts: Huntington Beach City with 9 schools
and Ocean View with 15. A small part of the city is served by the
Fountain Valley School District.
Media
Huntington Beach
was selected for the 24th season of MTV's Real World Series.
The city was
featured in the TruTV series Ocean Force:
Huntington Beach. Also, the city is mentioned in the Beach
Boys song Surfin' Safari
and in Surfer Joe by The Surfaris.
A live camera
is set up at the Huntington Beach
Pier and shown on screens at the California-themed Hollister
apparel stores.
The public television
station KOCE-TV operates from the Golden
West College campus, in conjunction with the Golden West College
Media Arts program.
Two weekly newspapers
cover Huntington Beach: The Huntington Beach Independent and The
Wave Section of The Orange
County Register.
Ashlee
Simpson's music video for La La
was filmed in Huntington Beach.
Notable
natives and residents
Musicians
- The metal
band Avenged Sevenfold grew
up and currently reside here. Lead guitarist Synyster
Gates has said he enjoys nothing more than cruising Huntington
Beach on his chopper.
- The punk
rock band The Offspring was formed
here in 1984.
- Dean
Torrence, from the 1960s Pop group, Jan
and Dean, who co-authored the famous song "Surf City" (#1
in 1963) said that Huntington Beach embodies the song's spirit
of freedom and California fun.
- Christian
Jacobs, The MC Bat Commander of The
Aquabats, resides in Huntington Beach.
- Matt
Costa, the folk pop singer, was born in Huntington Beach.
- The
Vandals, a punk rock band formed in Huntington Beach
- David
Silveria from the rock band Korn resides
in Huntington Beach and owns two restaurants in downtown Huntington
Beach (Silvera's Steakhouse and Tuna Town)
- Scott
Weiland, of the Stone Temple
Pilots and Velvet Revolver,
attended Edison
High School.
Sandy West,
the drummer for the 70s band The Runaways, grew up and went to school
in Huntington Beach. She attended Edison High School.
Athletes
- Huntington
Beach is the home to pro skateboarders like: Geoff
Rowley, Arto Saari, Tosh
Townend, Mark Appleyard, Brian
Sumner, Greg Lutzka and Ed
Templeton.
- Former NHL
hockey player John
Blue is from Huntington Beach, as is professional soccer player
Sasha Kljestan.
- It is also
home of MMA fighters Tito
"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz, Kimo
Leopoldo, and David
"Tank" Abbott.
- New
York Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy
was born in Huntington Beach.
- Former Seattle
Mariners pitcher Bob Wolcott was
born in Huntington Beach.
- Roller Derby
Blonde Amazon Joan Weston.
- Tony
Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons
grew up in Huntington Beach and attended Huntington Beach High
School.
- Jeff
Kent, retired baseball player and recipient of the 2000 MVP
Baseball award was raised in Huntington Beach and attended Edison
High School.
- Jessie
Godderz - A professional bodybuilder with the World Natural
Body Building Federation that was also a contestant on Big
Brother 10 and Big
Brother 11
- Hank
Conger - a professional baseball player for the Los
Angeles Angels of Anaheim and attended Huntington
Beach High School
- Collin
Balester - a professional baseball player for the Washington
Nationals, attended Huntington
Beach High School
- Juergen
Klinsmann - a former international professional soccer player,
former soccer team coach and a former coach of the German
national soccer team. Has left Huntington Beach with his family
in 2008 to Munich, Germany
to become the coach of FC Bayern
Munich.
- Wayne
Carlander - a former basketball player at Southern
California (USC)
Actors
Safety
Huntington
Beach Police Department MD520N
helicopter
Fire protection
in Huntington Beach is provided by the Huntington
Beach Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the Huntington
Beach Police Department. Huntington Beach Marine Safety Officers
and its seasonal lifeguards are recognized as some of the best in
the world with a top notch safety record. It has an active Community
Emergency Response Team training program, that trains citizens
as Disaster Service Workers certified by Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a part of a free program
run by the fire department's Office of Emergency Services.
Emergency services
are also provided at State Beach locations. Peace Officers and lifeguards
can be found at Bolsa Chica and Huntington State Beach. Such services
consist of: aquatic rescues, boat rescues, first aid and law enforcement.
All services are provided by the State of California, Dept. Parks
& Recreation.
In 1926, the
Santa Ana River dam failed, and
flash-flooded its entire delta. The
southern oceanic terminus of this delta is now a settled area of
Huntington Beach. The distant dam is still functional, but silting
up, which is expected to reduce its storage volume, and therefore
its effectiveness at flood-prevention. The flood and dam-endangered
areas are protected by a levee, but lenders require expensive flood
insurance in the delta. There have been serious discussions to eliminate
the need for flood insurance and this requirement has already been
waived in some areas and may one day no longer be considered a credible
threat.
Since it is
a seaside city, Huntington Beach has had tsunami
warnings, storm surge (its pier
has been rebuilt three times), sewage spills, tornadoes and waterspouts.
The cold offshore current prevents hurricanes. The Pier that was
rebuilt in the 1990s was engineered to withstand severe storms or
earthquakes.
Large fractions
of the settled delta are in earthquake
liquefaction zones above known active faults. Most of the local
faults are named after city streets.
Many residents
(and even city hall) live within sight and sound of active oil extraction
and drilling operations. These occasionally spew oil, causing expensive
clean-ups. Large parts of the developed land have been contaminated
by heavy metals from the water separated from oil.
The local oil
has such extreme mercury contamination that metallic mercury is
regularly drained from oil pipelines and equipment. Oil operations
increase when the price of oil rises. Some oil fields have been
approved for development. The worst-polluted
areas have been reclaimed as parks. At least one Superfund
site, too contaminated to be a park, is at the junction of Magnolia
and Hamilton streets, near Edison High School.
Sister cities
Huntington Beach
has the following sister
city relationships, according to the Huntington Beach Sister
City Association:
Huntington Beach
also has youth exchange programs with both cities, sending four
teenagers on an exchange student basis for two weeks in order to
gather different cultural experiences.
ABOUT
FOUNTAIN VALLEY
Fountain
Valley
is a city in Orange County,
California, United
States. The population was 58,309 according to the 2009 estimate
by the California Department
of Finance. A classic bedroom community,
Fountain Valley is a middle-class residential area.
History
The area encompassing
Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva
people. European settlement of the area began when Manuel
Nieto was granted the land for Rancho
Los Nietos, which encompassed over 300,000 acres (1,200 km2),
including present-day Fountain Valley. Control of the land was subsequently
transferred to Mexico upon independence from
Spain, and then to the United
States as part of the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The city was
incorporated in 1957, before which it was known as Talbert (also
as Gospel Swamps by residents). The name of Fountain Valley refers
to the very high water table in the
area at the time the name was chosen, and the many corresponding
artesian wells in the area. Early
settlers constructed drainage canals to make the land usable for
agriculture, which remained the dominant use of land until the 1960s,
when construction of large housing tracts accelerated.
Geography
Fountain Valley
is located at
(33.708618, -117.956295). The elevation of the city is approximately
twenty feet above sea level, slightly lower than surrounding areas.
This is especially noticeable in the southwest area of the city,
where several streets have a steep grade
as they cross into Huntington
Beach.
The city is
located southwest and northeast of the San
Diego Freeway (Interstate 405), which diagonally bisects the
city, and is surrounded by Huntington
Beach on the south and west, Westminster
and Garden Grove on the
north, Santa Ana on the northeast,
and Costa Mesa on the southeast.
Its eastern border is the Santa Ana
River.
According to
the United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.1 km2
(8.9 sq mi) 0.11% of which is water.
Demographics
According to
the census of 2009, there were 58,309 people,
18,162 households, and 14,220 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,382.4/km˛
(6,167.8/mi˛). There were 18,473 housing units at an average density
of 800.5/km˛ (2,072.4/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 64.02%
White, 1.11% Black
or African American, 0.46% American
Indian or Alaskan Native, 25.76% Asian,
0.40% Native Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander, 3.95% from other
races, and 4.30% from two or more races. 10.68% of the population
were Hispanic
or Latino of any race.
There were 18,162
households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 63.4% were married couples living
together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 21.7% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up
of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average
family size was 3.35. More than 1/3 of all the housing units in
the city are those other than single-family homes, such as condominiums
or apartments.
In the city
the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.9%
from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.3%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years.
For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income
for a household in the city was $78,729, and the median income for
a family was $90,335. Males had a median income of $60,399 versus
$43,089 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $48,521. About 1.6% of families and
2.3% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those
age 65 or over.
Politics
In the state
legislature Fountain Valley is located in the 35th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Tom Harman, and in the 68th Assembly
District, represented by Republican Van Tran.
Federally, Fountain Valley is located in California's
46th congressional district, which has a Cook
PVI of R +6 and is represented by Republican Dana
Rohrabacher.
Fountain Valley
is home to Mile Square Regional
Park, a 640 acres (2.6 km2) park containing
two lakes, three 18-hole golf courses, playing fields, picnic shelters,
and a 20-acre (81,000 m2) urban nature area planted
with California native plants,
a 55-acre (220,000 m2) recreation center with tennis
courts, basketball courts, racquetball courts, a gymnasium, and
the Kingston Boys & Girls Club; also a community center and
a new senior center that opened in June, 2005. A major redevelopment
of the recreation center and city-administered sports fields was
completed in early 2009.
Fire protection
and emergency medical services are provided by two stations of the
Fountain Valley Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by
the Fountain Valley Police Department. Ambulance service is provided
by Care Ambulance Service.
The Orange County
Sanitation District's primary plant is located in Fountain Valley
next to the Santa Ana River. The agency is the third-largest sanitation
district in the western United States. This location is also home
to the agency's administrative offices, as well as the offices of
the Municipal Water District of Orange County, a member of the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California
Fountain Valley
has two fully accredited major medical centers: the Fountain Valley
Regional Hospital with 400 beds available, and Orange Coast Memorial
Hospital with 230 beds and a medical clinic. Orange Coast Memorial
recently announced plans for a six-story outpatient
center to be added. The project was initially met by some opposition
due to its height and location next to residences, but was eventually
approved unanimously by the city council.
The city also
has 18 churches, one Reform synagogue,
a mosque and a public library.
Fountain Valley
has its own newspaper, the Fountain Valley View, operated by the
Orange County
Register.
Education
There are three
high schools, three middle
schools, nine elementary schools,
one K-12 school, and two K-8 schools. However, some students who
live in the city of Fountain Valley actually attend schools in other
cities.
Fountain Valley
is also home to Coastline
Community College and a campus of the University
of Phoenix. Community colleges in the area include Orange
Coast College or Golden West
College, located nearby in the cities of Costa Mesa and Huntington
Beach, respectively.
High schools
in Huntington
Beach Union High School District
High schools
in Garden Grove
Unified School District
Middle schools
in Fountain Valley School
District
Middle schools
in Ocean View Middle School District
Elementary schools
in Garden Grove Unified School District
- Allen Elementary
School
- Monroe Elementary
School
- Northcutt
Elementary School
Elementary schools
in Fountain Valley School District
- Courreges
Elementary School
- Cox Elementary
School
- Gisler
Elementary School
- Moiola
Elementary School (K-8)
- Plavan
Elementary School
- Tamura
Elementary School
- Newland
Elementary School
Private schools
- Carden School
of Fountain Valley (K-8)
- First Southern
Baptist Christian School (K-12)
Business
As a suburban
city, most of Fountain Valley's residents commute to work in other
urban centers. However in recent years, the city has seen an increase
in commercial jobs in the city, with the growth of a commercial
center near the Santa Ana River
known as the "Southpark" district.
Although the
economy of the area was once based mainly on agriculture, the remaining
production consists of several fields of strawberries
or other small crops, which are gradually being replaced by new
office development.
Fountain Valley
is home to the national headquarters of Hyundai
Motor Company and D-Link Corporation,
the global headquarters of memory chip manufacturer Kingston
Technologies, and the corporate headquarters of Surefire,
LLC, maker of military and commercial flashlights. The Southpark
commercial area is also home to offices for companies such as D-Link,
Starbucks, Satura and the Orange County
Register. There are also a limited number of light industrial companies
in this area. In addition, Fountain Valley is the location for Noritz,
a tankless water heater manufacturer.
The increasing
commercial growth can be evidenced by the frequent rush-hour traffic
bottlenecks on the San Diego (405) Freeway through Fountain Valley.
Transportation
In addition
to the San Diego Freeway, which bisects the city, Fountain Valley
is served by several bus lines operated by the Orange
County Transportation Authority. Bus routes 33, 35, 37, 70,
72, 74, and 172 cover the city's major streets.
Most of the
major roads are equipped with bicycle lanes,
especially around Mile Square Park, which offers wide bike paths
along the major streets that mark its boundary. Dedicated bike paths
along the Santa Ana River run from
the city of Corona to the Pacific
Ocean.
ABOUT
WESTMINSTER
Westminster
is a city in Orange County,
California, United
States. It was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian
temperance colony. Its name
is taken from the Westminster Assembly
of 1643, which laid out the basic tenets of the Presbyterian faith.
For several years of its early history, its farmers refused to grow
grapes because they associated grapes with alcohol.
Westminster
was incorporated in 1957, at which time it had 10,755 residents.
Originally, the city was named Tri-City because it was the
amalgamation of three cities: Westminster, Barber City, and Midway
City. Midway City ultimately
turned down incorporation, leaving Barber City to be absorbed into
the newly incorporated Westminster. The former Barber City was located
in the western portion of the current City of Westminster.
Westminster
is landlocked and bordered by Seal
Beach on the west, by Garden
Grove on the north and east, and by Huntington
Beach and Fountain Valley
on the south.
Westminster
surrounds the unincorporated area of Midway City, except for a small
portion where Midway City meets Huntington Beach to the south.
A large number
of Vietnamese refugees came
to the city in the 1970s, settling largely in an area now officially
named Little Saigon. As of the 2000
census, the city had a total population of 88,207. Westminster won
the All-America City Award
in 1996.
Demographics
As of the census
of 2000, there were 88,207 people, 26,406 households, and 20,411
families residing in the city. The population
density was 3,368.6/km˛ (8,724.2/mi˛). There were 26,940 housing
units at an average density of 1,028.8/km˛ (2,664.5/mi˛). The racial
makeup of the city was 45.79% White,
0.99% African
American, 0.61% Native
American, 38.13% Asian,
0.46% Pacific
Islander, 10.19% from other
races, and 3.84% from two or more races. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 21.70% of the population.
There were 26,406
households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 58.4% were married couples living
together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 22.7% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up
of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 3.32 and the average
family size was 3.71.
In the city
the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.8%
from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.2%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years.
For every 100 females there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.
The median income
for a household in the city was $49,450, and the median income for
a family was $54,399. Males had a median income of $37,157 versus
$28,392 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $18,218. About 10.7% of families and
13.5% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those
age 65 or over.
Geography
Westminster
is located at (33.752418, -117.993938). According to the United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.2 km˛
(10.1 mi˛), all land.
Government
In the state
legislature Westminster is located in the 34th, Senate
District, represented by Democrat
Lou Correa and Republican
Tom Harman respectively, and in the 67th
and 68th Assembly District,
represented by Republicans Jim Silva and
Van Tran respectively. Federally, Westminster
is located in California's 40th
and 46th
congressional districts, which have Cook
PVIs of R +8 and R +6 respectively and are represented by Republicans
Ed Royce and Dana
Rohrabacher respectively.
Education
Four different
school districts have boundaries that overlap parts or more of the
City of Westminster:
Notable
natives and residents
- Harrod
Blank, documentary filmmaker
- Jeromy
Burnitz, MLB player
for the New York Mets, Cleveland
Indians, Milwaukee Brewers,
Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado
Rockies, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh
Pirates
- Mike
Burns, MLB player
for the Milwaukee Brewers
- Mark
Eaton, former Utah Jazz player
- Ken
Hoang, professional video gamer and contestant on Survivor
Gabon
- Ryan
Klesko, former MLB
first baseman
- Carlos
Palomino, Boxer Former Welterweight Champion
- Vang
Pao, Hmong Former Major General
of the Royal Lao Army
- Bud Hare,Tuner
Bonneville,Drags record holder inventor
- Barry Seevers
Engine builder record holder innovator
- Michael "Gill"
Orgillon Musician for the Industrial music band S.E.M;I
Landmarks
- A memorial
and final resting place for the victims of the Pan Am plane involved
in the Tenerife
Disaster March 27 1977 is located in Westminster.
- The Vietnam
War Memorial is located Sid Goldstein Freedom Park, next to the
Westminster Civic Center. The project was initiated by Westminster
City Councilman Frank G. Fry in 1997 and completed in 2003.
Shopping
The city's major
shopping mall is Westminster
Mall, which contains more than 180 stores.
ABOUT
NEWPORT BEACH
Newport Beach,
incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange
County, California, United States 10 miles (16 km)
south of downtown Santa Ana.
As of January 1, 2009, the population was 86,252. The current OMB
metropolitan designation for Newport Beach lies within the Santa
Ana-Anaheim-Irvine area. The city is currently one of the wealthiest
communities in California and consistently places high in United
States rankings.
History
In 1870 a steamer
named "The Vaquero" made its first trip to a marshy lagoon for trading.
Ranch owners in the Lower Bay decided from then on that the area
should be called "Newport."
In 1905 city
development increased when Pacific
Electric Railroad established a southern terminus in Newport
connecting the beach with downtown Los
Angeles. In 1906 with a population of 206 citizens, the scattered
settlements were incorporated as the City of Newport Beach.
Settlements
filled in on the Peninsula, West Newport, Balboa
Island and Lido
Isle. In 1923 Corona
del Mar was annexed and in 2002 Newport
Coast was annexed.
Annexations
Geography
Newport Beach
extends in elevation from sea level to
the 1161 ft (354 m.) summit of Signal Peak in the San
Joaquin Hills, but the official elevation is 25 feet (8 m) above
sea level at a location of
(33.616671, -117.897604).
The city is
bordered to the west by Huntington
Beach at the Santa Ana River,
on the north side by Costa Mesa,
John Wayne Airport, and Irvine
(including UC Irvine),
and on the east side by Crystal
Cove State Park.
According to
the United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 103.2 km˛ (39.8 mi˛).
38.3 km˛ (14.8 mi˛) of it is land and 64.9 km˛ (25.1 mi˛)
of it (62.91%) is water.
Areas of Newport
Beach include Corona
del Mar, Balboa
Island, Newport
Coast, San
Joaquin Hills, and Balboa
Peninsula (also known as Balboa).
Harbor
The Upper
Newport Bay was carved out by the prehistoric flow of the Santa
Ana River. It feeds the delta that
is the Back Bay, and eventually
joins Lower Newport Bay, commonly referred to as Newport Harbor.
The Lower Bay includes Balboa
Island, Bay Island, Harbor Island, Lido
Isle and Linda Isle.
Climate
Newport Beach
has a Mediterranean climate
(Köppen climate classification
Csb). Like many coastal cities in Orange and Los Angeles
Counties, Newport Beach exhibits weak temperature variation, both
diurnally and seasonally, compared to inland cities even a few miles
from the ocean. The Pacific Ocean greatly moderates Newport Beach's
climate by warming winter temperatures and cooling summer temperatures.
| Weather data for Newport
Beach |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F (°C) |
64
(18) |
64
(18) |
64
(18) |
66
(19) |
66
(19) |
68
(20) |
71
(22) |
73
(23) |
73
(23) |
71
(22) |
66
(19) |
64
(18) |
68
(20) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
48
(9) |
50
(10) |
51
(11) |
54
(12) |
57
(14) |
60
(16) |
63
(17) |
64
(18) |
63
(17) |
59
(15) |
52
(11) |
48
(9) |
56
(13) |
| Precipitation
inches (mm) |
2.60
(66) |
2.54
(64.5) |
2.25
(57.2) |
.70
(17.8) |
.18
(4.6) |
.08
(2) |
.02
(0.5) |
.09
(2.3) |
.30
(7.6) |
.28
(7.1) |
1.02
(25.9) |
1.59
(40.4) |
11.65
(295.9) |
| Source:
Weather Channel March 29, 2009 |
Demographics
| Historical
populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1910 |
445 |
|
—
|
| 1920 |
895 |
|
101.1% |
| 1930 |
2,203 |
|
146.1% |
| 1940 |
4,438 |
|
101.5% |
| 1950 |
12,120 |
|
173.1% |
| 1960 |
26,564 |
|
119.2% |
| 1970 |
49,582 |
|
86.7% |
| 1980 |
62,556 |
|
26.2% |
| 1990 |
66,643 |
|
6.5% |
| 2000 |
70,032 |
|
5.1% |
As of the census
of 2000, there were 70,032 people, 33,071 households, and 16,965
families residing in the city. The population
density was 1,829.5/km˛ (4,738.8/mi˛). There were 37,288 housing
units at an average density of 974.1/km˛ (2,523.1/mi˛). The racial
makeup of the city was 92.22% White,
0.53% African
American, 0.26% Native
American, 4.00% Asian,
0.12% Pacific
Islander, 1.13% from other
races, and 1.74% from two or more races. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 4.71% of the population.
There were 33,071
households out of which 18.0% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 42.5% were married couples living
together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 48.7% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up
of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average
family size was 2.71.
In the city
the population was spread out with 15.7% under the age of 18, 6.5%
from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.6%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years.
For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.
According to
a 2008 US Census estimate, the median income for a household in
the city was $110,511, while the median family income was $162,976.
Males had a median income of $73,425 versus $45,409 for females.
The per capita income for the
city was $63,015. About 2.1% of families and 4.4% of the population
were below the poverty
line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those
age 65 or over.
Housing prices
in Newport Beach ranked eighth highest in the United States in a
2009 survey.
Politics
As of October
2008, there were 35,870 registered Republicans and 13,850 registered
Democrats.
In the state
legislature Newport Beach is located in the 35th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Tom Harman, and in the 68th and 70th
Assembly District, represented
by Republicans Van Tran and Chuck
DeVore respectively. Federally, Newport Beach is located in
California's
48th congressional district, which has a Cook
PVI of R +8 and is represented by Republican John
Campbell.
Economy
North
Newport Beach from the air
Before its dissolution
Air California was headquartered
in Newport Beach.
The city is
also the home of the Pacific
Investment Management Company, which runs the world's largest
bond fund.
Several semiconductor
companies, including Jazz Semiconductor,
have their operations in Newport Beach.
Education
Balboa
beach one of the popular beaches of Newport.
Points
of interest
Attractions
Attractions
include beaches on the Balboa
Peninsula (featuring body-boarding hot-spot The
Wedge), Corona del Mar
State Beach and Crystal
Cove State Park, to the south.
The Catalina
Flyer, a giant 500 passenger catamaran, provides daily transportation
from the Balboa
Peninsula in Newport Beach to Avalon,
California located on Santa
Catalina Island. The historic Balboa
Pavilion, established in 1906, is Newport Beach's most famous
landmark.
The Orange
County Museum of Art is a museum that exhibits modern and contemporary
art, with emphasis on the work of California artists.[citation
needed].
Balboa
Island is an artificial island
in Newport Harbor that was dredged and filled right before World
War I. The Balboa Fun Zone is
home to the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum.
The Pelican
Hill area has two golf courses, both of which were recently reopened
after extensive remodeling and the construction of a new hotel and
clubhouse.
Popular
culture
The city has
figured into several television shows and movies.
Notable
natives and/or residents
External
links
ABOUT
COSTA MESA
Costa Mesa
is a suburban city
in Orange County, California,
United States. The population was
116,479 as of January 1, 2009 . Since its incorporation in 1953,
the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840
to a suburban city with an economy based
on retail, commerce and light manufacturing.
History
Members of the
Gabrieleńo/Tongva
and Juaneńo/Luiseńo
nations long inhabited the area. After the 1769 expedition of Gaspar
de Portolŕ, a Spanish expedition
led by Father Junípero Serra named
the area Vallejo
de Santa Ana (Valley of Saint Anne). On November 1, 1776, Mission
San Juan Capistrano became the area's first permanent European
settlement in Alta California, New
Spain.
In 1801, the
Spanish Empire granted 62,500 acres
(253 km2) to Jose
Antonio Yorba, which he named Rancho San Antonio. Yorba's great
rancho included the lands where the cities of Olive,
Orange, Villa
Park, Santa Ana, Tustin,
Costa Mesa and Newport Beach
stand today.
After the Mexican-American
war, California became part of the
United States and American settlers
arrived in this area and formed the town of Fairview in the 1880s
near the modern intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue.
An 1889 flood wiped out the railroad
serving the community, however, and it shriveled.
To the south,
meanwhile, the community of Harper had arisen on a siding of the
Santa
Ana and Newport Railroad, named after a local rancher. This
town prospered on its agricultural goods. On May
11, 1920, Harper changed
its name to Costa Mesa, which literally means "coastal table" in
Spanish. This is a reference to
the city's geography as being a plateau by the coast.
Costa Mesa surged
in population during and after World War
II, as many thousands trained at Santa
Ana Army Air Base and returned after the war with their families.
Within three decades of incorporation, the city's population had
nearly quintupled.
Commerce
and culture
Costa Mesa's
local economy relies heavily on retail and services. The single
largest center of commercial activity is South
Coast Plaza, a shopping
center noted for its architecture and size. The volume of sales
generated by South Coast Plaza, on the strength of 322 stores, places
it among the highest volume regional shopping centers in the nation.
It generates more than one billion dollars per year. Some manufacturing
activity also takes place in the city, mostly in the industrial,
southwestern quarter, which is home to a number of electronics,
pharmaceuticals and plastics firms.
The commercial
district surrounding South Coast Plaza, which contains parts of
northern Costa Mesa and southern Santa Ana, is sometimes called
South Coast Metro.
The Orange
County Performing Arts Center and South
Coast Repertory Theater are based in the city. A local newspaper,
the Daily Pilot, is owned, operated, and printed by the Los
Angeles Times.
The commercial
district within the triangle that is formed by Highways 405, 55
& 73 is sometimes called SoBeCa,
which stands for "South On Bristol, Entertainment, Culture &
Arts".
Costa Mesa offers
26 parks, a municipal golf course, 26 public schools and 2 libraries.
It is also home to the Orange
County Fairgrounds, which hosts one of the largest fairs in
California, the Orange
County Fair, each July. The Fair receives more than one million
visitors each year. Adjacent to the Fairgrounds is the Pacific
Amphitheater, which has hosted acts such as Madonna,
Bill Cosby, Jessica
Simpson, Steppenwolf, Kelly
Clarkson and many more.
Government
Local
A general law
city, Costa Mesa has a council-manager form of government. Voters
elect a five-member City Council, all at-large seats, who in turn
select a mayor who acts as its chairperson and head of the government.
Day to day, the city is run by a professional city manager and staff
of approximately 600 full-time employees.
Management of
the city and coordination of city services are provided by:
| Office |
Officeholder |
| City Manager |
Allan L. Roeder |
| Assistant City Manager |
Thomas R. Hatch |
| City Attorney |
Kimberly Hall Barlow |
| Director of Administrative Services |
Steven N. Mandoki |
| Director of Development Services |
Donald D. Lamm |
| Director of Finance |
Vacant |
| Director of Public Works |
Peter Naghavi |
| Fire Chief |
Michael F. Morgan |
| Police Chief |
Christopher Shawkey |
The 9.5 acre
(38,000 m˛) Costa Mesa Civic Center is located at 77 Fair Drive.
City Hall is a five-story building where the primary administrative
functions of the City are conducted. Also contained in the Civic
Center complex are Council Chambers, the Police facility, Communications
building and Fire Station No. 5.
Emergency
services
Fire protection
is provided by the Costa
Mesa Fire Department. Law enforcement is the responsibility
of the Costa Mesa Police Department. Emergency Medical Services
are provided by the Costa
Mesa Fire Department and Care Ambulance Service.
State
and federal
In the state
legislature Costa Mesa is located in the 35th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Tom Harman, and in the 68th Assembly
District, represented by Republican Van Tran.
Federally, Costa Mesa is located in California's
46th congressional district, which has a Cook
PVI of R +6 and is represented by Republican Dana
Rohrabacher.
Transportation
Costa Mesa is
served by several bus lines of the Orange
County Transportation Authority (OCTA), but most transportation
is by automobile. Two freeways terminate
here, State Route 73 and
State Route 55 (also known
as the Costa Mesa Freeway). The San
Diego Freeway, Interstate 405, also runs through the city.
Geography
Costa Mesa is
located at (33.664969, -117.912289). Located 37 miles (60 km)
southeast of Los
Angeles, 88 miles (142 km) north of San
Diego and 425 miles (684 km) south of San
Francisco, Costa Mesa encompasses a total of 16 square
miles (41 km2) with its southernmost border only
1-mile (1.6 km) from the Pacific Ocean. According to the United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.6 km˛
(15.7 mi˛). 40.5 km˛ (15.6 mi˛) of it is land and
0.2 km˛ (0.1 mi˛) of it (0.38%) is water.
Climate
Costa Mesa has
a Mediterranean climate (Köppen
climate classification Csb).
| Weather data for Costa
Mesa |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F (°C) |
64
(18) |
64
(18) |
64
(18) |
66
(19) |
66
(19) |
68
(20) |
71
(22) |
73
(23) |
73
(23) |
71
(22) |
68
(20) |
64
(18) |
68
(20) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
48
(9) |
50
(10) |
51
(11) |
54
(12) |
57
(14) |
60
(16) |
63
(17) |
64
(18) |
63
(17) |
59
(15) |
52
(11) |
48
(9) |
56
(13) |
| Precipitation
inches (mm) |
2.60
(66) |
2.54
(64.5) |
2.25
(57.2) |
.70
(17.8) |
.18
(4.6) |
.08
(2) |
.02
(0.5) |
.09
(2.3) |
.30
(7.6) |
.28
(7.1) |
1.02
(25.9) |
1.59
(40.4) |
11.65
(295.9) |
| Source:
Weather Channel 2009-03-29 |
Demographics
As of the census
of 2000, there were 108,724 people, 39,206 households, and 22,778
families residing in the city. The population
density was 2,685.8/km˛ (6,956.3/mi˛). There were 40,406 housing
units at an average density of 998.1/km˛ (2,585.2/mi˛). The racial
makeup of the city was 69.48% White,
1.40% Black
or African
American, 0.78% Native
American, 6.90% Asian,
0.60% Pacific
Islander, 16.57% from other
races, and 4.27% from two or more races. 31.75% of the population
were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 39,206
households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 42.8% were married couples living
together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 41.9% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up
of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average
family size was 3.34.
In the city
the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.2%
from 18 to 24, 39.0% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.4%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years.
For every 100 females there were 105.0 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 103.9 males.
The median income
for a household in the city was $50,732, and the median income for
a family was $55,456. Males had a median income of $38,670 versus
$32,365 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $23,342. About 8.2% of families and
12.6% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those
age 65 or over.
Education
Institutions
of higher learning located in Costa Mesa include Orange
Coast College, Vanguard
University (affiliated with the Assemblies
of God), Whittier Law School
(a satellite of Whittier College)
and National University (a private
university based in La Jolla, California).
Costa Mesa has
two high schools, Costa Mesa
High School and Estancia High
School. Costa Mesa has two public middle schools; Tewinkle Middle
School, which was named after Costa Mesa's first mayor, and Costa
Mesa Middle School which shares the same campus as Costa Mesa High
School. Costa Mesa also has two alternative high schools that share
the same campus, Back Bay High School and Monte Vista High School.
Costa Mesa High School's sports programs have been very successful,
and Costa Mesa graduates include 2008 Olympic high jumper Sharon
Day.
Notable
natives and residents
External
links
ABOUT
SEAL BEACH
Seal Beach
is a city in Orange County,
California. As of 2000, its population
was 24,157. The city was incorporated on October
25, 1915.
Seal Beach is
located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest,
just across the border with Los
Angeles County, lies the city of Long
Beach and the adjacent San
Pedro Bay. To the southeast are Huntington Harbour, a neighborhood
of Huntington Beach,
and the unincorporated
community of Sunset Beach.
To the east lie the city of Westminster
and the neighborhood of West
Garden Grove, part of the city of Garden
Grove. To the north lie the unincorporated community of Rossmoor
and the city of Los Alamitos.
History
Early on, the
area that is now Seal Beach was known as "Anaheim Landing", as the
boat landing and seaside recreation area named after the nearby
town of Anaheim.
By the 20th
century, it was known as Bay City, but there was already a Bay City
located in Northern California. When the time came to incorporate
on 25
October 1915, the town was named Seal Beach. The town
became a popular recreation destination in the area, and featured
a beach-side amusement park long before Disneyland was founded inland.
The United
States Navy's Naval
Weapons Station Seal Beach was originally constructed during
World War II for loading, unloading,
and storing of ammunition for the Pacific
Fleet, and especially those US Navy warships home-ported in
Long Beach and San
Diego, California. With closure of the Concord
Naval Weapons Station in Northern California, it has become
the primary source of munitions for a majority of the U.S. Pacific
Fleet.
Geography
Seal Beach is
located at
(33.759283, -118.082396).
According to
the United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.2 km˛ (13.2 mi˛).
29.8 km˛ (11.5 mi˛) of it is land and 4.5 km˛ (1.7 mi˛)
of it (13.01%) is water.
Climate
Seal Beach has
a Mediterranean climate
| Weather data for Seal
Beach |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Average high °F (°C) |
68
(20) |
68
(20) |
69
(21) |
73
(23) |
74
(23) |
78
(26) |
83
(28) |
85
(29) |
83
(28) |
79
(26) |
73
(23) |
69
(21) |
75
(24) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
46
(8) |
48
(9) |
50
(10) |
53
(12) |
58
(14) |
61
(16) |
65
(18) |
66
(19) |
64
(18) |
58
(14) |
50
(10) |
45
(7) |
55
(13) |
| Precipitation
inches (mm) |
2.95
(74.9) |
3.01
(76.5) |
2.43
(61.7) |
.60
(15.2) |
.23
(5.8) |
.08
(2) |
.02
(0.5) |
.10
(2.5) |
.24
(6.1) |
.40
(10.2) |
1.12
(28.4) |
1.76
(44.7) |
12.94
(328.7) |
| Source:
Weather Channel 2009-03-29 |
Neighborhoods
Seal Beach encompasses
the Leisure
World retirement gated community
with roughly 9,000 residents. This was the first major planned
retirement community of its type in the U.S. The small gated community
of Surfside
Colony southwest of the Weapons Station is also part of Seal
Beach.
The main body
of Seal Beach consists of many neighborhoods.
-Old Town is
the area on the ocean side of California
State Route 1(PCH).
-"The Hill"
is the neighborhood on the north side of PCH thats borders end at
Gum Grove Park.
-College Park
West is a small neighborhood bordering Long Beach. Its streets are
named after colleges.
-College Park
East is another small neighborhood bordering Garden Grove. Its streets
are named after plants.
Demographics
Seal Beach
amusement park, 1920.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 24,157 people, 13,048 households, and 5,884
families residing in the city. The population
density was 810.3/km˛ (2,099.5/mi˛). There were 14,267 housing
units at an average density of 478.6/km˛ (1,240.0/mi˛). The racial
makeup of the city was 88.91% White,
1.44% African
American, 0.30% Native
American, 5.74% Asian,
0.18% Pacific
Islander, 1.28% from other
races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 6.43% of the population.
There were 13,048
households, out of which 13.8% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 38.2% were married couples
living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 54.9% were non-families. 48.8% of all households were made up
of individuals and 34.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 1.83 and the average
family size was 2.65.
In the city
the population was spread out with 13.3% under the age of 18, 4.0%
from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 37.5%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years.
For every 100 females there were 78.3 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 75.4 males.
The median income
for a household in the city was $42,079, and the median income for
a family was $72,071. Males had a median income of $61,654 versus
$41,615 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $34,589. About 3.2% of families and
5.5% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those
age 65 or over.
Economy
The major employer
in Seal Beach is the Boeing Company, employing
roughly 2,000 people. Their facility was originally built to manufacture
the second stage of the Saturn
V rocket for NASA's Apollo
manned space flight missions to the Moon and
for the Skylab program. Boeing Homeland
Security & Services (airport security, etc.) is based in
Seal Beach and Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems (satellite
systems and classified programs) is headquartered in Seal Beach.
Boeing is the world's largest satellite
manufacturer.
Arts
and culture
"Anaheim
Landing" on an 1875 map.
Anaheim Landing
(now Seal Beach), 1891.
Annual
cultural events
The Lions
Club Pancake Breakfast in April, and their Fish Fry (started
in 1943) in July are two of the biggest events in Seal Beach. There
has been a Rough Water Swim the same weekend as the Fish Fry since
the 1960s. The Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce sponsors many events,
including: a Classic Car Show in April, a Summer Concert series
in July & August, the Christmas Parade
in December along with Santa & the Reindeer. Also in the fall
is the Kite Festival
in September.
Other
points of interest
On Electric
Avenue where the railroad tracks used to run, there is the Red Car
Museum [1]
which features a restored Pacific
Electric Railway Red Car. The Red Car trolley tracks once passed
through Seal Beach going south to the Balboa
Peninsula in Newport Beach.
Going north into Long Beach you could then take the Red Cars through
much of Los Angeles County.
Seal Beach is
also home to the Bay
Theatre, a popular venue for independent film and revival screenings.
The Seal
Beach National Wildlife Refuge
is located on part of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Much
of the refuge's 911 acres (3.69 km2) is the
remnant of the saltwater marsh in the Anaheim
Bay estuary (the rest of the marsh became
the bayside community of Huntington Harbour, which is part of Huntington
Beach). Three endangered species, the light-footed Clapper
Rail, the California Least
Tern, and the Belding's Savannah
Sparrow, can be found nesting in the refuge. With the loss and
degradation of coastal wetlands in California, the remaining habitat,
including the Bolsa Chica
Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach and Upper Newport Bay
in Newport Beach, has
become much more important for migrating and wintering shorebirds,
waterfowl, and seabirds. Although the refuge is a great place for
birdwatching, because it is part of the weapons station, access
is limited and usually restricted to once-a-month tours.
Recreation
Seal Beach
on a crowded summer afternoon
The second longest
wooden pier in California (the longest is in
Oceanside) is located in Seal
Beach and is used for fishing and sightseeing.
There is also a restaurant (Ruby's) at the end of the pier. The
pier has periodically suffered severe damage due to storms and other
mishaps, requiring extensive reconstruction. A plaque at the pier's
entrance memorializes Federal Emergency Administration of Public
Works, 1938, Project No. Calif. 1723-F, a rebuilding necessitated
by storms in 1935. Another plaque honors the individuals, businesses,
and groups who helped rebuild the pier after a storm on March
2, 1983, tore away several sections. Most prominent was
a "Save the Pier" group formed in response to an initial vote by
the City Council not to repair the pier. The ensuing outcry of dismay
among residents caused the City Council to reverse its stance while
claiming the city lacked the necessary funds. Residents mobilized
and eventually raised $2.3 million from private and public donors
to rebuild the pier.
Surfing
locations in Seal Beach include the Seal Beach pier and "Stingray
Bay" (or Ray Bay—the surfer's nickname for the mouth of the San
Gabriel River—the stingrays are attracted by the heated water
from several upstream powerplants).
Classic longboard builders in the area include Harbour Surfboards
established in 1959 in Seal Beach and Bruce Jones Surfboards in
Sunset Beach. The classic surf trunks of Kanvas
by Katin in nearby Sunset Beach are world famous.
The USA Water
Polo National Aquatic Center, where the men's and women's US
Olympic water polo teams train, is located on the US Military Joint
Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, adjacent to Seal Beach. The
facility is also used for major water polo
tournaments, swim classes, and swim teams.
A marina for
recreational craft operated by the City of Long Beach is adjacent
to Seal Beach.
Government
The city is
administered under a council-manager form of government, and is
governed by a five-member city council serving four-year alternating
terms.
In the state
legislature Seal Beach is located in the 35th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Tom Harman, and in the 67th Assembly
District, represented by Republican Jim Silva.
Federally, Seal Beach is located in California's
46th congressional district, which has a Cook
PVI of R +6 and is represented by Republican Dana
Rohrabacher.
Education
Seal Beach is
currently under the Los Alamitos School District. Younger students
(K-5) go to McGaugh Elementary School or Hopkinson Elementary School.
Students in grades 6-8 attend either Oak Middle School or McAuliffe
Middle School. High school students go to Los
Alamitos High School. Until 2000, the Orange
County High School of the Arts was part of Los Alamitos High
School. In 2000, the school district suffered a major blow when
the community lost the Orange County High School of the Arts to
Santa Ana, where it is now located.
Media
In the 2001
film American Pie 2, the beach
town the gang drives through is Main Street in Seal Beach. The same
street was used for the 1967 motorcycle-gang film The
Born Losers which introduced the Billy
Jack character.
The short-lived
afternoon television soap
opera, "Sunset Beach",
was named after the unincorporated community of Sunset
Beach just south of Seal Beach. All the still house shots were
of houses in Seal Beach. They also filmed almost all of the beach
scenes in Seal Beach.
Moses parted
the "Red Sea" for Cecil
B. DeMille's 1923 version of The
Ten Commandments on the flat seashore of Seal Beach. (Cecil
B. DeMille's 1956 epic color version
with Charlton Heston as Moses
has no connection to Seal Beach.)
The TV show
"Greek" filmed its 2nd season finale at this beach, renaming it
"Myrtle Beach".
The episode
"Summer Song" from the popular television series "The Wonder Years"
used Seal Beach and the Seal Beach Pier for the scenes on the sand
and under the pier.
Local news
and events coverage is provided by the weekly Seal Beach Sun
newspaper.
Famous
natives and residents
- Robert
August, one of the two surfers in Bruce
Brown's classic surf
flick The Endless Summer
grew up in Seal Beach.
- Juliette
Brewer actor who played Marianne in the
Little Rascals
Film and many others.
- Steve
Goodman, singer-songwriter and author of "City
of New Orleans", "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" and "You
Never Even Call Me By My Name" made Seal Beach his home from 1980
until his death in 1984.
- Jack
Haley, former NBA
player
- Bill Henderson,
film director and MTV video director[citation
needed]
- Pat
McCormick, a two-time Olympic platform
and springboard gold
medal diver (1952
& 1956).
- Clayton
Snyder actor who played Ethan Craft
in the Lizzie McGuire TV show and
film.
- Randy
Stonehill Grammy nominated singer/songwriter resides in Seal
Beach with wife Sandi
- Chad
Wackerman, Rock and Jazz
drummer who has worked with Frank Zappa,
Barbra Streisand, James
Taylor and many others
- Bill
Ward, drummer and occasional lead vocalist of hard
rock/heavy
metal band, Black Sabbath. Bill
is also a solo artist.
- The ska
and alternative rock band RX
Bandits were formed in Seal Beach.
External
links
ABOUT
ORANGE COUNTY
Orange
County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county
seat is Santa Ana. According to the 2000 Census, its population
was 2,846,289, making it the second most populous county in the
state of California, and the fifth most populous in the United States.
The state of California estimates its population as of 2007 to be
3,098,121 people, dropping its rank to third, behind San Diego County.
Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange County; the
newest is Aliso Viejo.
Unlike many other large centers of population in the United States,
Orange County uses its county name as its source of identification
whereas other places in the country are identified by the large
city that is closest to them. This is because there is no defined
center to Orange County like there is in other areas which have
one distinct large city. Five Orange County cities have populations
exceeding 170,000 while no cities in the county have populations
surpassing 360,000. Seven of these cities are among the 200 largest
cities in the United States.
Orange County is also famous as a tourist destination, as the county
is home to such attractions as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm,
as well as sandy beaches for swimming and surfing, yacht harbors
for sailing and pleasure boating, and extensive area devoted to
parks and open space for golf, tennis, hiking, kayaking, cycling,
skateboarding, and other outdoor recreation. It is at the center
of Southern California's Tech Coast, with Irvine being the primary
business hub.
The average price of a home in Orange County is $541,000. Orange
County is the home of a vast number of major industries and service
organizations. As an integral part of the second largest market
in America, this highly diversified region has become a Mecca for
talented individuals in virtually every field imaginable. Indeed
the colorful pageant of human history continues to unfold here;
for perhaps in no other place on earth is there an environment more
conducive to innovative thinking, creativity and growth than this
exciting, sun bathed valley stretching between the mountains and
the sea in Orange County.
Orange County was Created March 11 1889, from part of Los Angeles
County, and, according to tradition, so named because of the flourishing
orange culture. Orange, however, was and is a commonplace name in
the United States, used originally in honor of the Prince of Orange,
son-in-law of King George II of England.
|
|
Incorporated:
March 11, 1889
Legislative Districts:
* Congressional: 38th-40th, 42nd & 43
* California Senate: 31st-33rd, 35th & 37
* California Assembly: 58th, 64th, 67th, 69th, 72nd & 74
County Seat: Santa Ana
County Information:
Robert E. Thomas Hall of Administration
10 Civic Center Plaza, 3rd Floor, Santa Ana 92701
Telephone: (714)834-2345 Fax: (714)834-3098
County Government Website: http://www.oc.ca.gov |
CITIES OF ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA:
City
of Aliso Viejo,
92653, 92656, 92698
City of Anaheim, 92801,
92802, 92803, 92804, 92805, 92806, 92807, 92808, 92809, 92812,
92814, 92815, 92816, 92817, 92825, 92850, 92899
City of Brea, 92821,
92822, 92823
City of Buena Park,
90620, 90621, 90622, 90623, 90624
City of Costa Mesa,
92626, 92627, 92628
City of Cypress,
90630
City of Dana Point,
92624, 92629
City of Fountain
Valley, 92708, 92728
City of Fullerton,
92831, 92832, 92833, 92834, 92835, 92836, 92837, 92838
City of Garden
Grove, 92840, 92841, 92842, 92843, 92844, 92845, 92846
City of Huntington
Beach, 92605, 92615, 92646, 92647, 92648, 92649
City of Irvine,
92602, 92603, 92604, 92606, 92612, 92614, 92616, 92618, 92619,
92620, 92623, 92650, 92697, 92709, 92710
City of La Habra,
90631, 90632, 90633
City of La Palma,
90623
City of Laguna Beach,
92607, 92637, 92651, 92652, 92653, 92654, 92656, 92677, 92698
City of Laguna
Hills, 92637, 92653, 92654, 92656
City of Laguna
Niguel, 92607, 92677
|
City
of Laguna Woods,
92653, 92654
City of Lake Forest,
92609, 92630, 92610
City of Los Alamitos,
90720, 90721
City of Mission Viejo,
92675, 92690, 92691, 92692, 92694
City of Newport
Beach, 92657, 92658, 92659, 92660, 92661, 92662, 92663
City of Orange,
92856, 92857, 92859, 92861, 92862, 92863, 92864, 92865, 92866,
92867, 92868, 92869
City of Placentia,
92870, 92871
City of Rancho Santa Margarita,
92688, 92679
City of San Clemente,
92672, 92673, 92674
City of San Juan
Capistrano, 92675, 92690, 92691, 92692, 92693, 92694
City of Santa Ana,
92701, 92702, 92703, 92704, 92705, 92706, 92707, 92708, 92711,
92712, 92725, 92728, 92735, 92799
City of Seal Beach,
90740
City of Stanton,
90680
City of Tustin, 92780,
92781, 92782
City of Villa Park,
92861, 92867
City of Westminster,
92683, 92684, 92685
City of Yorba Linda,
92885, 92886, 92887
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Noteworthy
communities Some of the communities that exist within city
limits are listed below:
* Anaheim Hills, Anaheim * Balboa Island, Newport Beach *
Corona del Mar, Newport Beach * Crystal Cove / Pelican Hill,
Newport Beach * Capistrano Beach, Dana Point * El Modena,
Orange * French Park, Santa Ana * Floral Park, Santa Ana *
Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest * Monarch Beach, Dana Point *
Nellie Gail, Laguna Hills * Northwood, Irvine * Woodbridge,
Irvine * Newport Coast, Newport Beach * Olive, Orange * Portola
Hills, Lake Forest * San Joaquin Hills, Laguna Niguel * San
Joaquin Hills, Newport Beach * Santa Ana Heights, Newport
Beach * Tustin Ranch, Tustin * Talega, San Clemente * West
Garden Grove, Garden Grove * Yorba Hills, Yorba Linda * Mesa
Verde, Costa Mesa
Unincorporated communities These communities are outside
of the city limits in unincorporated county territory:
* Coto de Caza * El Modena * Ladera Ranch * Las Flores * Midway
City * Orange Park Acres * Rossmoor * Silverado Canyon * Sunset
Beach * Surfside * Trabuco Canyon * Tustin Foothills
Adjacent counties to Orange County Are: * Los Angeles
County, California - north, west * San Bernardino County,
California - northeast * Riverside County, California - east
* San Diego County, California - southeast
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