A Quick Overview
Beer is one of the most archaic fermented beverages in the world. It goes back at least 6,000 years and might be as old as the domestication of grains. It’s no surprise beer is often called liquid bread!
Someone, somewhere, most likely in Mesopotamia, neglected soaked barley in a clay pot only to come back to it and discover the first beer – that’s all we know. What we do know is that beer recipes existed 3,900 years ago. Archeologists have found a few. The history of beer, though, is not well documented.
People enjoyed beer in all ancient civilizations, including the Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks. By the Middle Ages, after the fall of the Roman Empire, beer was widely known and consumed all around the known world.
Beer is more than fermented, malted barley. Hops, a vital ingredient typical in all beers, weren’t adopted by brewers until the early 800s, and it took several centuries for hopped beer to become the norm. Hops are critical in beer for their antiseptic, aromatic and bittering properties.
"Beer is one of the most archaic fermented beverages in the world. It goes back at least 6,000 years and might be as old as the domestication of grains. It’s no surprise beer is often called liquid bread!"
At first, making beer was a household chore, even before the first pubs and taverns popped up. Then, it was the Church that capitalized on the boozy brew — monasteries became famous for their strong beers. The Industrial Revolution between the mid-1700s and the mid-1800 changed all that. Beer became a commodity and one that could be produced massively at factories.
The quality of beer declined with industrialization, and entire beer styles were lost. It wasn’t until the Craft Beer Revolution of the 1970s and well into the 2000s in England and the US that traditional beer came back in full force. Today, we live in a golden era for beer. And, although the best-selling beers are still flavorless industrial lagers, we have more diversity than ever. Let’s have a toast to craft brewers worldwide!
Listen to our new episode at More than Rice and Beans Podcast. We’ll introduce you to Paul and Anthony Ramirez, successful business owners in the Bronx and founders of the exciting Bronx Beer Hall. Learn more about the thriving beer scene in NYC while enjoying a cold one.
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