A brief history of beer

Since the birth of civilization, brewing and drinking beer seems to be a part of human activities. About 1 10,000 years ago, humans began to live far away from nomadic hunting and gathering, and began to settle in a place to cultivate land. Grain is an important part of beer brewing, which is cultivated by these new agricultural societies.

No one knows exactly how the brewing process of beer was discovered, and no one knows who discovered it first, but it is believed that some bread or grain became wet and fermented into intoxicating paste due to yeast in the air. People have to be curious about the thinking process of people who tasted the results for the first time-perhaps it was an adventure between boys in Mesopotamia … or more likely, until recently, no one dreamed of wasting any food, even rotten paste. If there is a way to make it delicious without killing you, people do it to avoid waste.

What we know is that the oldest written document about beer brewing can be traced back to Sumerian civilization at least 6000 years ago. A hymn called Song of the Ninja, which includes (translated):

Ninja, you poured the filtered beer out of the collection bucket. Like the running of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

This drink made the ancient Sumerians feel "excited, wonderful and happy"-no wonder beer was considered a gift from God.

At that time, beer was not well filtered because it contained residues that made it look cloudy. In order to avoid those bitter and smelly solids, Sumerians would drink beer through straws. This terrible bitter taste did not stop the popularity of beer. The ancient Babylonians were descendants of Sumerians. By 2000 BC, they had brewed at least 20 different kinds of beer. All citizens have the right to get a daily beer quota, which is calculated according to their social status. Beer is an important part of these ancient economies, and it is even used in barter transactions. Part of the wages of workers are paid by beer, effectively eliminating the need for intermediaries.

Egyptians inherited the tradition of beer brewing and changed their tastes as the date increased. The Greeks and Romans also brewed beer, but as wine became more and more popular, the Romans began to think that beer was a barbaric drink. Because wine is regarded as the nectar directly given to mankind by Bacchus, beer has never really existed in this field. Soon, beer was widely found only on the edge of the Roman Empire, where it was almost impossible to grow or import wine.

As early as 800 BC, some Germans brewed beer. The ancient historian Tacitus reported that,

Yes, Teutonic people have a terrible beer, which is fermented from barley or wheat and has very low similarity to wine.

After a long time, the Catholic Church also participated in beer brewing, and monasteries played an important role in refining brewing methods. Over time, many religious groups attributed their existence to beer, because the profits from beer sales kept many monasteries in the dark. It is believed that Charlemagne himself even trained some people to brew beer and regarded it as an important staple food. Like their ancestors, Christians believe that beer is a gift from God, which has only recently changed, especially because of the rampant alcoholism in the late19th century.

It's a little consolation that beer is highly regarded not only because it can get drunk. Considering the hard times of you ordinary people, it is inevitable that Europe will encounter this situation in the Middle Ages, but it is equally important that drinking beer is much safer than drinking water in the Middle Ages and beyond. Due to the extremely poor sanitary conditions, the water supply at that time was full of pathogenic bacteria. In addition to the alcohol content, beer has to go through the process of "cooking", which is of great help to eliminate any harmful substances in the brewing process. Therefore, people of different ages and classes drink beer. For centuries, beer and bread have become the staple food of most people's daily diet.

After hops were introduced into Germany (in some areas as early as the 9th century, hops slowly spread from Germany in the next few centuries), brewers set a set of standards for German beer and began to brew on a large scale, instead of brewing at home as many people did at that time. These mass production methods and guidelines quickly spread throughout Europe.

When you are not cooking at home, you may ask what's in your beer. So German brewers put forward the beer purity method, or Reinheitsgebot invented in 15 16. This kind of purity guarantee is the first kind of beer, which ensures that beer drinkers in the Middle Ages can reach a certain quality level when drinking German beer. The commitment also pointed out that all German beer must contain only a few basic ingredients: water, hops, malt and malt wheat, and yeast.

/kloc-in the 0/9th century, great progress has been made in beer brewing technology, including Louis Pasteur's discovery of the role of yeast in the fermentation process and the invention of pasteurization. The rise of automatic bottling, commercial refrigeration and railways has made it possible for large-scale production and distribution, covering a sparsely populated area like the United States. By 1880, there are about 3200 breweries in operation in the United States.

After that, it was a very dark day for American beer lovers and all those who like any form of alcohol. As a response to rampant alcoholism (sometimes fair, sometimes unfair), the chief culprit of most problems in the United States, the 18th Amendment ushered in the prohibition era, turning ordinary citizens who decided to brew beer at home into ordinary criminals.

Prohibition ended in 1933, but at least 10000 American citizens were killed before the atrocity of deliberately poisoning some alcohol supplies that they knew they would drink. In this regard, some congressmen advocate increasing this plan to eliminate more people who choose to drink, who are regarded as unwelcome people in civilized countries. (Eugenics is a popular concept in most developed countries at this time; Thanks to the Nazis and World War II: Look at the fascinating history of eugenics) By 1935, 50 years after there were more than 3,000 wineries in the United States, only 160 wineries were still operating.

During the Second World War, the shortage of food led to the brewing of a lighter beer, which was said to be more attractive to Rossi the Riveter than those strong beers that were loved in the war. After the war, these two kinds of beer were still very popular, and the surviving breweries quickly opened up this new market.

Nowadays, beer drinkers are undoubtedly spoiled, and there are almost unlimited choices when choosing which kind of beer. Beer connoisseurs also have the ability to create and brew high-quality beer, which is easy enough at home, and creating real customized brewing completely conforms to the preferences and tastes of winemakers. The revival of family brewing led to the revival of beer manufacturing industry, which improved the quality of finished products and maintained the original method of beer brewing. This also allows beer drinkers to play a complete circle-back to the earliest era of beer brewing, when most people brewed at home.

If you like this article, you may also like our new popular podcast, BrainFood Show(iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), and:

The history of cheese and the history of baking bread: medical oddities: you can brew beer in the digestive tract. What is malt? The origin of French fries and why they are called benefits are: "

The oldest brewery still in operation is Benedictine Weihenstephan Breeze Way in Bavaria, Germany. It is believed that the factory first opened around 768, and by 1040, it had obtained the official license to produce beer in Freising. "Bart, women like beer very much. They smell good and look good. You will persuade your mother to buy one. But you can't stay on one woman, you have to drink another woman! -Homer Simpson There is no doubt that the greatest invention in human history is beer. Oh, I admit that the wheel is also a good invention, but the wheel is different from pizza. Dave Berry A good beer may be judged by a sip, but it's best to be completely sure. Czech proverbs cite the history and development of beer.