Pint-Sized History: Beer’s Frothy Journey Through the Ages

Long before it ever filled pint glasses or foamed over stadium celebrations, beer was bubbling away in clay pots and ceremonial chalices. In fact, this beloved brew has been a part of human life for more than 9,000 years, making it one of the oldest fermented beverages in the world.

From ancient grainy concoctions sipped with straws to today’s refined lagers, stouts, and sours, beer has come a long way. So, how did this age-old elixir evolve from prehistoric porridge to the pub staple we pour today? Time to crack it open.

Beer has been around for an astonishingly long time, longer than written language, in fact. Some of the earliest signs of fermented drinks come from China, where people were brewing a mix of rice, fruit, and honey as far back as 7000 BC. But the story doesn’t start there. In the Middle East, the Natufian people may have been making a kind of porridge-like beer for ceremonial feasts around 13,000 years ago.

As centuries passed, beer found its way into the daily lives of ancient civilisations. By around 3500 BC, it was already a staple in Mesopotamia, especially among the Sumerians, who even worshipped a goddess of beer named Ninkasi. In Egypt, it played a similar role – so much so that labourers building the pyramids were given beer each day as part of their pay, keeping them both fed and hydrated.

In classical Greece and Rome, beer seemed to take a permanent second place to wine. Known as ‘zythos’ in Greece and ‘cerevisia’ in Rome, it was brewed from grains like barley and wheat, sometimes sweetened with honey or spelt. Among the Greeks, beer was considered a drink for the lower classes – peasants, slaves, and those on the margins – while wine remained the prized symbol of civilisation and sophistication. Greek thinkers rarely praised beer, though figures like Sophocles acknowledged its dietary role and medicinal uses.

The Romans, inheriting much of this cultural disdain, viewed beer as a foreign drink, favoured by ‘barbarians’ and soldiers stationed on the empire’s fringes. Yet beer was practical: it sustained the working masses, was easier to produce in certain climates, and even formed part of a Roman soldier’s rations. Though scoffed at by the elite, beer quietly nourished daily life across the Greek and Roman worlds, especially far from the vineyards.

Fast forward to medieval Europe, and beer was widespread. In England, ale was a daily drink throughout society. Not only was it cheap and nutritious, but with the low alcohol content at the time, even children drank it regularly.

The production of beer also shifted from households to monasteries. Monks refined brewing techniques and introduced standardised recipes. This period also saw another major innovation with the introduction of hops to beer brewing. Possibly beginning in the 9th century, its use was in full force in Germany in the 11th century and would reach Britain in the 15th. Before this, beers were flavoured with herbs and were very different from those we know today. Not only did hops transform the taste, but also acted as a preservative, allowing beer to be stored longer and transported further.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, beer was booming. Scientific advances and new machinery transformed brewing into a large-scale operation. In Britain, innovation flourished. Brewers developed iconic styles such as porter, stout, pale ale, and India pale ale (IPA) – the latter crafted to survive long journeys to British colonies.

As the Empire expanded, so did British beer. It found homes in Australia, the Americas, and parts of Asia, laying the groundwork for global beer culture.

Meanwhile, German immigrants brought lager to the United States, where it quickly became a national staple. Brewing shifted from household kitchens and monastery cellars to sprawling city breweries, each pumping out barrels for a thirsty public.

Today, beer is brewed on every continent except Antarctica. It’s enjoyed at festivals, in back gardens, and across countless countries. From cloudy, home-brewed beginnings to sleek modern lagers, beer’s journey has spanned far and wide across human history, all wrapped up in a foaming glass.