Now and Then: The History of Beer

Beer is the oldest alcoholic drink ever consumed by humans, at more than 5,500 years old.  The recipe came from the ancient Summer Civilization in around 3500 BC. It was made from barely bread baked twice and fermented. The Egyptians made a much more smooth, light beer similar to today’s beer in 4300 BC, Egyptians used beer as currency to pay workers — it was also used as medicine.

Before the middle ages, women were responsible for brewing it, because it was a food or celebration drink made in the home. Early brewers used herbs like balsam, mint, wormwood seeds and crab claws to flavor the beer.

In the middle ages, beer was used to improve moods, but it wasn’t until 1200 AD that beer was actually sold to people in Europe. And in 1602, it started to be bottled and corked to last longer. Before the 1800s, beer was mostly ale, but then a lager was created in Bavaria, which changed up the game.

In the 1860s, commercial refrigeration started, and the beer can was created years after that to cut costs down. Today, beer is an art form and a way of life for some. It comes in scads of different varieties and can be considered quite posh, depending on what kind you’re drinking. Who knows how it’ll evolve in the future, but it’s come a long way.