Beer

As the World’s human population gained the intelligence to harvest cereal grains, a new invention, or, to be better put, a new discovery was made. While attempting to store the cereal grains for use when food was short, the Mesopotamians and Egyptians found that their storage system was not completely water proof. When the water seeped into the storage area the sugars in the grains would ferment and eventually turn into alcohol. This would later come to be known as beer.

Beer could only be made where cereal grains grew, since beer was first noted in history around 10,000 BC we can look back in to history to see where the first beer would have been made. This area is known as the Fertile Crescent. It covered most of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian areas. Before the ancient people began brewing beer they used the grains in soups to thicken it considerably. They were also used as a food supply when other food sources were limited.

As Beer became more popular and people began to perfect the art of brewing beer different strengths and sweetness levels were added to create a variety of beer. The different beers had their own names like fresh beer, dark beer, fresh-dark beer, strong beer, red-brown beer, light beer, and pressed beer. The darker the beer the stronger the alcohol while the lighter beers, and the pressed beer were more watery and less alcoholic.

Since, beer was supposedly a gift from the gods it was most often used in religious ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites, and funerals. It also became custom to raise a glass of beer to wish someone good health, a happy marriage, or a safe passage into the afterlife.
While the ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians didn’t have the amount of knowledge as we do today they still were able to discover one of the most influential drinks there is today. That one drink is now common in almost every country in the world.