Beer history

Recent evidence suggests that Sumerians were making beer for home and ritual consumption almost 4000 years ago. More recently, beer is known to have played a part in ceremonies of Central American and Anglo-Saxon cultures. In short, people have been home brewing for thousands of years. With the rise of cities and poor waste treatment facilities, beer became one of the few safe drinks available.

The pub brewery was one of the first social institutions in colonial America. As such, brewing is one of the oldest industries in America. This industry flourished with the development of hundreds of small breweries throughout the United States. Then came prohibition. Only the larger breweries survived prohibition due to diversification to other malt products and near beer. World War II caused a shortage of raw products for brewing, so brewers had to resort to more common grains like rice and corn. Consequently the beer being produced was a lighter, less flavorful product. Today these are referred to as American Lagers and are still by far the most popular beers in America.