An abreviated History of Beer

The invention of fermented beverages from grain has been attributed to both the Sumerians and the Egyptians. Both civilizations are known to have produced an alcoholic drink more than 5,000 years ago. According to Egyptian legend, Osiris, the god of agriculture, taught humans to prepare beer. Beer was often an essential ingredient in Sumerian and Egyptian medicine.

The Babylonians are thought to have made at least 16 types of beer from barley, wheat, and honey by 4000 BC. In South America, for centuries before the arrival of conquerors from Spain, the ancient Incas enjoyed a corn-based beer. There are ancient references to millet beers in China and Japan, and the similar African beer is a traditional beverage of Zaire and neighboring countries.

The most popular drink in the world after tea is beer, an alcoholic beverage made from grain by a brewing method that involves fermentation, a chemical process converting starch to alcohol. The origin of the word beer is obscure; it may come from the Hebrew word for grain (based on the root bre), the Saxon word for barley (bere), or the Latin bibere (meaning "to drink).

Alcoholic beverages differ in the way they are made and in the amount of alcohol they contain. Beer is distinguished from others in that it is made from a variety of cereal grains such as barley, wheat, oats, rice, millet, maize, and sorghum. Starchy roots such as sweet potatoes and cassava (the tropical plant from which tapioca is obtained) are also used to make some beers.