The history of beer

Today, there are lots of beer companies, and a look at the history of beer would help appreciate the origin and the evolution of beer with time and how these companies came to be. A look at reviews of the specific companies such as beer52 review will help identify reputable beer companies that one can purchase from. Consumption of beer should always be accompanied by a fitness routine and a healthy diet, looking at reviews related to healthy diets will help one select the best fitness and diet companies to shop from. Man has practised beer brewing from the earliest known period. Ancient Babylonians and Egyptians cultivated grains of barley from as early as 6000BC. At first, brewing happened by accident when barley loaves that had been left on the rain fermented. The brew was then flavoured with honey before it was drunk. Ancient Egyptians even utilized beer as a currency. The spread of Islam at around 800AD would abolish the brewing of beer in Egypt. This article gives the evolution of the beer in the UK.

Before it became a lucrative trade that monks in abbeys and monasteries took advantage of beer in Britain was brewed in people’s households. When monks started brewing, beer, it became more intricate, especially when flavours and preservatives were incorporated. In this early days, beer was a safer option to drink than water, and thus the primary function of beer consumption was to hydrate the body.

Today’s fast forward move to the British beer industry shows dramatically different aspects from those of the beer brewed traditionally. For an extended period, beer was a functional beverage that has now evolved into segments such as the craft category. Beer accounts for about half of the sales of trademark drinks, then spirit follows at about 25%, champagne and wine at 16.9%and the cider at 7.5%. The beer category is hugely dominated by lager at 69%.

Beer over the ages

8000BC

Hunter-and gathers in the Middle East learnt beer brewing from wild barley and wheat that grew in foothills. They would then start to grow it actively for beer brewing purposes, and are accredited by some historian as the inventors of civilization and farming.

4500BC

This time marked the initial brewers and farmers arrival in Britain. Though what the farmers brewed was recognized as beer, the invention differed significantly from today’s.

1520 AD

English brewers had been relying on imported hop. Growing of hop would then start in Kent, and a local supply was finally available. By 1577 the cultivation of hop had spread to reach Herefordshire.

1570 AD

Beer brewing had spread in the country, and there were 31 beer breweries and 58 ale breweries by this time. The period was also marked by an increase of more potent brews and beers throughout the country. In fact, in 1588, 14 people were arraigned before the mayor and charged for brewing ale that was extraordinarily strong.

1600 AD

Most of the beer in this period was brewed by Alehouse, inn and homebrewers. The weather influenced the percentage of beer in a drink. For example, from October to March, brewers ensured that the beer they brewed would withstand the summer months. The key to ensuring this was having a higher concentration of hops of about 7 to 12%.

1842 AD  
A brewer named Josef Groll drawing his motivation from English malting methods prepared the initial pale lager in the town of Pilsen, Bohemia which was the forerunner of all pilsner beers. However, it would take about 50 more years for the novel darker lager to be replaced by a new pale lager style.

1933 AD

By this time bottled beer had gained popularity. There was a call upon British brewers to reduce beer prices and to use British grown barley.

1980 AD

Here there was a second wind in the country’s taste for lagers. There was a surge in both imported and UK-brewed lagers which saw lagers dominate the country’s beer sectors by 1989.

2008 to today

Here, Chancellor Alastair Darling introduced the beer duty escalator, which saw an increase in beer prices by about 2% annually. This had risen to by 42% by 2013, which was about ten times what other European counterparts were paying. The rise was highly criticized. Today in Britain, you can find almost every type of beer you want from the simplest one to the most complex ones.

In conclusion, beer has a long and varied history. With this article, the history of beer in Britain has been captured.