n. 1. a. A fermented alcoholic beverage brewed from malt, usually flavored with hops. b. A fermented beverage brewed by traditional methods that is then dealcoholized so that the finished product contains no more than 0.5 percent alcohol. c. A carbonated beverage produced by a method in which the fermentation process is either circumvented or altered, resulting in a finished product having an alcohol content of no more than 0.01 percent. 2. A beverage made from extracts of roots and plants: birch beer. 3. A serving of one of these beverages. [Middle English ber, from Old English bēor, from West Germanic, probably from Latin bibere, to drink; see pō(i)- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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