The history of beer

Beer has been one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the
world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea, it`s made from grain,
hops, yeast, and water
Frederick Louis "Fritz" Maytag former owner of Anchor Brewing Company said Beer
does not make itself properly by itself. It takes an element of mystery and of things that
no one can understand.”
Like wine, beer has a long history, one that is longer than we will ever be able to trace.
There are some theories that beer brewing happened as early as 10,000 BCE but the
first solid proof of beer production comes from the period of the Sumerians around
4,000 BCE. During an archeological excavation in Mesopotamia, a tablet was
discovered that showed villagers drinking a beverage from a bowl with straws.
Archeologists also found an ode to Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing, she is the
goddess of alcohol. Legends says that she was born of "sparkling fresh water" also she
is the goddess made to "satisfy the desire" and "sate the heart." And for that she would
prepare the beverage daily for everyone. If she is looking for a priest or something like
that count me in.
This ode or poem also contained the oldest known recipe for making beer using barley
from bread.
The Babylonians

Babylonians produced over 20 different types of beer around 3,000 BCE.

Beer was also considered divine in Babylon, a true gift from the Gods. It was also a sign
of wealth.

They created The Code of Hammurabi, it was one of the first sets of laws, and in this
code they decreed a daily beer ration to their citizens, therefore, every citizen had his
daily dose of beer, depending on his wealth. A good period to live I think

The beer was so respected that people were sometimes paid for work in beer, instead
of money.

The Egyptians

Although Sumerians and Babylonians both considered beer sacred, there was hardly a
civilization that adored beer as much as the ancient Egyptians did around 1500 BCE.

According to the myth, the god Osiris himself gave humanity the gifts of culture and
taught them the art of agriculture; at this same time, he also instructed them in the craft
of brewing beer.
The Egyptians like the Sumerians had a goddess of beer, her name was Tenenet. She
was the goddess of pregnancy, childbirth, and beer, considering that, women were the
first brewers in Egypt and Tenenet watched over brewers and made sure that the recipe
was observed for the best quality beer.

Men, women, and children all drank beer as it was considered a source of nutrition, not
just an intoxicant. Beer was often used throughout Egypt as compensation for labor.
The workers received beer rations three times a day.

Greece

Beer brewing techniques made its way from Egypt to Greece but was not a huge hit
right away.

The northern Europeans, in particular, had embraced the beverage and this played a
part in the beverage being shunned in Greece. They considered the northern
Europeans to be culturally inferior to them and since this beverage was associated with
them, many in ancient Greece would not drink it. Therefore, beer was considered a
barbaric drink and only fit for lower classes.

The Middle Ages

And then came the Middle Ages. During this period beer was mostly produced in
monasteries all across Europe.

With its high nutritional value, beer was a perfect beverage for monks during times of
fasting. I don’t know why they didn’t consider beer as food but apparently worked for
them

Since monks liked the beverage so much, in some monasteries, monks could drink up
to five liters of beer per day.

They became masters of the beer production and that helped the monasteries to
survive the Dark Ages, as they made enough money to live from selling their beer.

The Renaissance Period

During the Renaissance period, beer production also had its “Renaissance” because
the German people took beer as theirs and wrote The Reinheitsgebot

This was the world’s first consumer protection law as it regulated the ingredients which
could legally be used in brewing beer.

The Germans, like the Egyptians, also instituted a daily beer ration and considered beer
a necessary staple of their diet. that’s why the big bellies
The modern Ages

Breweries were emerging one after another in the colonies of North America. The first
brewery on the New Continent was in New Amsterdam 

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were producing beer and George

Washington himself wrote a recipe on how to brew beer.

11 years later in Illinois where the first settlements of europeans started, the french built
a brewery, it was the first brewery outside the 13 colonies

Jorge found out about this and said hold my American beer

In 1810, Oktoberfest was first held in Munich. Over two hundred years later, it’s now the
world’s largest beer festival. Munich traditionally hosts millions of beer lovers who all
gather annually to enjoy the finest German beer.

Prohibition

And then the Dark Ages hit again. But this time, they were dark only for ones who
enjoyed a nice cold drink.

Prohibition started in Portland, Maine, with the so-called Maine Law penned by Neal
Dow in 1851. The new law forbids the manufacture and sale of all types of alcohol
statewide. It took time but prohibition took effect in all the United States in 1920, and
suddenly everyone who enjoyed a cold beer was considered a criminal.

The Prohibition ended in 1933, but it has a huge impact. From the almost 3000
breweries before these laws, there were only 160 still operating after the era of
Prohibition.

Beer today

beer has been part of the culture in many countries for so many years so we must be
thankful because we live in an era where you can drink beer when or how ever you
want, and there are so many marks, types, or even you can brew it yourself.