Beer 101: An Origin Story

With the huge hype revolving around superhero movies and prequels, I thought I’d take a step back and give you a different kind of origin story. This story doesn’t have mutants or visitors from other planets but instead is all about the beer. How was it made, who did it, who’s been doing it the longest? No need for 3D glasses, just sit back with a pint and read on my friends.

It appears that in ancient Mesopotamia, people were making beer from fermented barley approximately 7,000 years ago. Around the same time, it is believed ancient Egyptians were fermenting an ale-like beverage as well. Each culture obviously wasn’t using the same ingredients; the Egyptians used barley, while some used maize and others used wheat or rice. According to historians, beer may have been brewed in Europe about 5,000 years ago and was enjoyed by the Greeks in 450 B.C. It was believed that the best diet for Greeks consisted of meats, vegetables, bread and beer which coincidentally is a lot like my diet, excluding the veggies. Since most brewing was done in the home for personal consumption, the primary brewers were women, and in 2500 B.C. it was even brewed by priestesses for religious ceremonies. In more recent times (a few decades ago), when men would leave for work and the women stayed home, it was again the women who were brewing beer. If you look at our society today, there are quite a few female brewers who absolutely kick ass in what they do.

When we talk about breweries, however, there are a few that have been around for quite some time and are still brewing beer today in much the same way they always have. Weihenstephan Brewery in Germany has been around since the year 1040 and is the oldest brewery in the world. In 1050, Weltenburg Abbey Brewery in Kelheim Germany opened its doors and in 2012 won a gold medal in the World Beer Cup for their Dunkel Lager. Hop on a flight over to Ireland and you can visit Smithwick’s, Ireland’s oldest brewery. They have been in business since 1710, 49 years before Guinness and if you haven’t had it yet, make sure you try their strong ale, one of their most popular beers. Moving a little closer to home, Yuengling in Pottsville, PA has been in business since 1829 and is still family owned to this day. Yuengling may be the oldest brewery in America, but Molson takes the title for oldest brewery in North America. Molson Brewing, in Montreal, Canada, was founded in 1786 and is still one of Canada’s most popular beers. There are others you may have heard of like Stiegl (Austria), Grolsch (Netherlands), Victoria (Mexico) and Three Tuns (England) and many, many others that have paved the way for the incredible craft beer market we have today.

Written By: Shane Gibbs