Beer Nuts is a brand of snack food

Snack food

A snack is a portion of food oftentimes smaller than that of a regular meal, that is generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged and processed foods and items made from fresh ingredients at home....

 building on the original product, peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

s with a "unique" sweet-and-salty glazing

Glaze (cooking technique)

A glaze in cooking is a coating of a glossy, often sweet, sometimes savoury, substance applied to food typically by dipping, dripping, or with a brush. Egg whites and basic icings are both used as glazes...

 made to a "secret recipe

Recipe

A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...

". According to the manufacturer's website, the ingredients comprise "Peanuts, Vegetable Oil (Peanut and/or Coconut), Corn Syrup and Salt".

In spite of their name, Beer Nuts do not contain any beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

; the name is intended to suggest to customers that they go well with beer.

History

The official company history starts in 1937 when Edward Shirk and his son Arlo took over the Caramel Crisp confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 store in Bloomington, Illinois

Bloomington, Illinois

Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...

, USA, which amongst others sold a product called Redskins, glazed peanuts with their red skins intact. Beginning in 1950, this product was sold packaged as Shirk's Glazed Peanuts in local National Liquor Stores.

Due to the business acumen of a local food distributor named Eldridge Brewster, in 1953 the product was gradually expanded to a national brand, and the Beer Nuts trademark was registered. The trademark is officially spelled with all capital letters: BEER NUTS.

Their product line has since expanded to feature other nuts such as cashew

Cashew

The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...

s and almond

Almond

The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...

s.

The company is still family owned; their only production site is still based in Bloomington.

In Australia

In Australia, "beer nuts" is used as a generic description of roasted, salted peanuts sold shelled but unhusked. A famous brand is Nobby's

Nobby's

Nobby's is Australia's largest producer of pre-packaged nuts. Crisps are also sold under the Nobby's brand. The company is owned by The Smith's Snackfood Company. Nobby's products are typically sold in supermarkets as well as pubs....

. Australian beer nuts are not sweetened. The "Beer Nuts" brand is not sold.