People have been drinking beer for centuries, and historians believe that the art of brewing is as old as agriculture itself. Shortly after people invented bread, they invented beer—which only goes to show what our priorities are. 
Interestingly, beer was developed independently across different cultures. The earliest known records of brewing dates to over five thousand years ago, from China. The drink was called “Kui”. Across the ocean, the Mesopotamians not only had their own version of beer, but so venerated it as an art that it was considered one of the highest professions. And there was no gender discrimination either—the best brewers were women!
In Babylon, brewing was the responsibility of the priestesses, and they even had goddesses of beer: Siris and Nimkasi. Records show that they had several types of beers: the pale beer, the dark beer, the red beer, and something called “three fold beer”.
And with beer, came the fine tradition of beer drinking. There are beer mugs dating back to over 3,000 years, the time of King David. (And the Old Testament talks about how much trouble his intoxication got him into!). There is also evidence that Noah included beer among his provisions (what else do you do when you’re stuck in a boat for several months?). Beer was also considered a staple part of the Egyptian diet, and people often gathered in the first prototype of today’s bar: “the house of beer”. It was such a beloved part of society that it was considered proper for guests to present the Pharaoh with a keg of beer.
The Greeks had a beer god they called Dionysis, while the Greek writer Sophocles urged readers to follow a diet of “bread, meat, green vegetables and zythos (beer)”. The Greeks introduced brewing to the Romans, who then taught the art to the British tribes. Beer became such a big part of early English society that brides would even sell it to cover the costs of the wedding (hence the word bride-ale or bridal).
Today beer is enjoyed throughout the world, and is considered (next to water) the highest selling drink. There are hundreds of different kinds of beers, with certain “house formulas” passed down from generation to generation.
