Ask any college student and they are most likely to tell you that beer is great. It is cheap and a good way to drink, reminds us of some of our favorite past times like tailgating and barbecues. But there is little talk about the significance of beer to human development.
In Joshua Mark’s article, Beer, he talks about how beer has been found in the oldest civilizations of Mesopotamia. He writes, “Sumerians loved beer so much they ascribed the creation of it to the gods and beer plays a prominent role in many of the Sumerian myths” (Mark). Beer brewing also helped the health of the cities as through the brewing process, the boiling of the water and the fermentation of the alcohol purified the water. This helped prevent waterborne illness.
Beer did not maintain its popularity however once the technology of beer-making spread to the Greeks and Romans who preferred their wines and considered beer, “an inferior drink of barbarians” (Mark).
Early Sumerian beers were made from barley and water. It was not until the Germans started making beer that hops were added. Nowadays, the four main ingredients of most beers are hops, water, yeast, and some form of grain such as wheat or barley.
For anyone interested in learning how to make their own beer there are several sites that provide information. One site is https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/
This site provides tutorials, information on ingredients and equipment, seminars, and recipes.
Or for an article on the Beer Archaeologist, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-beer-archaeologist-17016372/
Also, if there is anyone interested in learning about new beers and styles of beers there is a podcast called The Beerists who try beers from around the world and talk about them. http://thebeerists.com/
Daniel Cissel (Word Count 284)