Many theories exist about the origins of beer. I will discuss a few of the moor popular ones. Many people believe that beer was first originated in China and India. However, recent evidence shows us that brewing beer was started as far back as 10,000 B.C., when the Mesopotamians and Sumerians ruled the world. Archeologists tell us that barley was the first grain farmed. From that point, there is a debate whether bread or beer was made first. Some people think that while bread was being made, beer was created on accident. This makes sense because beer and bread share many common ingredients. There is also cuneiform writing that explains beer-making processes as far back as 8000 B.C. Whichever is true, man has shared most of its time on earth with beer.
In the early 1500's, a law was passed in Germany that said a beer maker could only use four ingredients in his process. These ingredients are barley, hops, yeast, and water. Many breweries in Europe still abide by this rule today. Most American breweries on the other hand, have added ingredients to their beer, for various reasons. This is mostly done to preserve freshness
__Many of our four founding fathers had a great appreciation for beer. Jefferson always had beer stocked in his cellar. We have dated records of Washington making his own beer. The America's were founded on beer. Rumor has it beer was the beverage of choice on the Mayflower

 

 
__The 1800's was a huge century for the progression of beer in America. Names like Anheuser-Busch, The Adolph Coors Golden Brewery and Fredrick Miller's Brewing Company all came from this era. It seemed like beer was becoming more and more popular until the early 1900's

The 1900's started off very rough for the beer industry because on January 16, 1920 US law prohibited consumption or distribution of alcoholic beverages. This stifled the beer industry for some time. Many even believe that prohibition had a small effect on causing The Great Depression. The drought lasted about 13 years. On December 5, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt repealed the 18th amendment and beer was once again allowed to be made.
In the 1950's the larger breweries started to produce most of the country's beer, and the US saw more breweries close in that decade then ever before. In 1973 Miller brewing company introduced the first light beer. Miller Lite rose to become the best selling beer in America. Beer is still a main part of today's culture Many new beers come out every year and new processes are still being formed.
There are two main types of beer Ale and Lager. All other beers stem from these two. Ales have faster fermentation than Lagers. Ale's has a distinct taste and are sometimes cloudy because of the warmer temperature used in making them. The properties and some examples of these types are listed below.

Ale
Top-fermented, 1-3 days brewing, Tastes Hoppy
Pale Ale

Motor City Pale Ale
Bitter
 Foster's Bitter
Lambic
 Sam Adams Cranberry
Stout
 Murphy's Irish Stout
White
 Sam Adams White
Porter
 Anchor Steam Porter

Lager
Bottom-fermented, 1-3 months, Clearer, Maltier
Bock

Sam Adams Double
Lager
 Miller Genuine Draft
Helles
 Atwater Helles
Red
 Leinekugal Red
Pilsner
 Miller Lite
Others
Malt Liquor- (Lag ales [a mix between Ale and Lager]) Smoky flavor with a large sweet presence
Steam beers- Produced in San Francisco during the 1800's this was done because in San Francisco the temperatures where much higher and they couldn't keep beer as cold. Beer was often made at temperatures in excess of 60 degrees. The beer was then pumped into kegs where beer continued to ferment and build up carbonation. When the process was finished, the cap from the keg was removed and a bolt steam shot out. This is where the process got its name. Anchor Steam Brewing also coined it's name from this era.
Ice beers - a process developed by Molson breweries in Canada in the early 90's. The beer is frozen, then the ice is removed and what is left is a beer with much higher alcohol content. These beers have water added to them in the US so that they don't exceed the legal limit of how much alcohol a "beer" can contain.
Some of the content on this page came from ©"Beer World" which is a division of "J" World
The clip art is property of ©Microsoft clipart online

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