The History of Beer

This is clearly going to be an extremely large project. I start with a serious lack of knowledge and it’s obvious that I’m going to need to get up to speed. Where should I begin?

The first steps for me must be about looking at the basics of beer – what it’s made from, the different varieties and the history of this fine drink. Wikipedia seemed a good place to start – here’s what I’ve found out so far:

Beer lays claim to being the oldest and most popular form of alcoholic drink. Taking figures from 2003, it seems that the average adult in the UK consumed almost 100 litres of beer during the calendar year. It seems that I’m not the only person who loves to drink the stuff!

Looking at the world as a whole, it seems that the people of the Czech Republic drink more beer per head than any other nation. Germany, Denmark, Austria, Ireland and Belgium are all also ahead of the UK on the list.

The history of the drink is surprisingly lengthy, with it having been mentioned in the writings of the ancient Egyptians. Some suggest that it was first brewed 8,000 years ago. I find that astonishing, but also uplifting. If people could brew this drink 8,000 years ago, then surely I should be able to replicate the process?

Wikipedia has plenty of information on the brewing process – I decided to use it as a starting point to try and get an overview of what is actually involved in the whole process.