History

The first records of beer brewing go back six-eight millennia to ancient Babylonians and Sumerians. King Hammurabi of Babylon among other things laid down the rules of beer consumption. One of his rules set a price limit for beer, while another made beer counterfeiters punishable by law. Other records suggest that at the time (around 1700 B.C.) all medicines were either dissolved in beer or washed down with it.

Ancient Egyptians also were experienced beer brewers, known for fancying sweet and strong beer. They attributed the discovery of wheat beer to the God Osiris. For centuries beer brewing was tax exempt. It was only a short time before the Common Era that the Egyptian Empress Cleopatra came up with another way to fill state coffers by introducing the first beverage tax.

Ancient Egyptians could make multiple beer sorts: common dark beer made of barley, light beer with a subtle aroma, a beer mix of 10 different malt types, you name it. At the time beer was made from malt bread fried or dried in the sun. Hence the still popular saying, "beer is liquid bread".

The beer brewing technology spread from the Middle East to Europe. Beer brewing was mastered by Greeks, Romans, and predecessors of modern-day Spaniards, Germanic tribes, Celts and Saxons, as well as Slavs. By the 1st Century A.D., at least 195 sorts of barley beer had existed in Europe.

The Middle Ages saw the arrival of a new beer ingredient, hops, that gave beer its special bitterness. As commerce evolved, many countries adopted laws permitting only professional brewers to make beer. Guilds were formed, uniting beer brewers within individual cities. This considerably improved beer quality. It was then that the famous Bavarian Beer Purity Law was passed, permitting water, malt and hops as the only ingredients that could be used in the production of beer. It also laid down special requirements for water, which had to be pure and good tasting.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the beer brewing process became more automated, and the discovery of refrigeration made it possible to brew beer in the summertime and store it for longer periods.