History of Beer

Beer has a long and fascinating history. From ancient Egypt to medieval monks, from Australian Governors encouraging the establishment of breweries to (for a time) being outlawed by the U.S. Constitution, beer has come a long way. Today beer is one of the most common and popular beverages the world over.

Fun Facts about Beer

What does beer and your honeymoon have in common?
About 4000 years ago, it was the accepted practice in Babylonia that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know to day as the "Honey moon"

The Rule of the Thumb

Before invention of the thermometer, brewers used to check the temperature by dipping their thumb, to find whether appropriate for adding Yeast. Too hot, the yeast would die. This from where we get the phrase "The Rule of the Thumb"

Mind your own P's and Q's

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender used to yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. From where we get "mind your own P's and Q's".

Types of Beer

All beer can be classified as being either a Larger or an Ale. The differences begin during the brewing process. Beer gets defined as a lager or an ale by the type of yeast used in the brew & the temperature at which fermentation takes place. Lagers are brewed with bottom-fermenting yeast, which ferments more slowly and at colder temperatures. Ales are brewed with top-fermenting yeast, which allows for rapid fermentation at warmer tempeatures. Lagers and Ales are further divided into several styles of beer depending on the locations in which the brews were produced and the variations in the process of brewing.