History of Beer & Brewing

A brief History of Beer and Brewing

• The earliest official record of brewing dates back around 6000 years to Sumerian clay tablets, but it is likely that beer was first enjoyed long before, in Neolithic times when cereal harvesting began.

• Cooking and fermenting grain produced a nutritious, thirst quenching drink that didn’t deteriorate too quickly. It’s little wonder that ale became known as ‘liquid bread'.

• Brewing grew in all corners of the globe and, whilst wine gained in popularity due to its association with religion, the monasteries remained, quite literally, the spiritual home of beer.

• Monks honed their brewing techniques over the centuries achieving two key milestones in the history of brewing; the introduction of hops and the Bavarian bottom fermenting technique that gave rise to pilsner-style lager beers.

• It was the 1800s that next saw big changes in brewing. Improved lower temperature bottom fermenting saw the rapid rise of paler European pilsners. Scientific discoveries by the likes of Louis Pasteur introduced yeast fermentation and devised better hygiene standards.

• The introduction of pasteurisation prevented beer from deteriorating thus opening the door to a much wider distribution.