The History of Beer

Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Patrick Woodward.

Voice 2

And I’m Megan Nollet. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Click here to follow along with this program on YouTube.

Voice 1

India Pale Ale. Lager. Stout. Hefeweisen. These are all different kinds of beer. No matter where you are from, you have probably heard of this grain-based alcoholic drink. Aside from tea and water, it is the most popular drink in the world.

Voice 2

But beer is not just another alcoholic drink. Beer was once a holy drink in many societies. In ancient Egypt, people were paid in beer. Experts have found evidence of beer in writing from ancient Iraq. This writing contained directions for making the drink. It also included a poem praising the god of beer. Some experts even think that beer helped create modern culture.

Voice 1

Today’s Spotlight is on beer. On this program, we will explore the history of this important drink. We will see how it shaped culture. We will explore its influence on the present day.

Voice 2

Beer is a very wide description of drink. Today, there are hundreds of different kinds of beer. People create new kinds every day. But there are two basic things that make a beer: grain and yeast.

Voice 1

All beer is made from grain. This includes plants like rice, barley, sorghum, and corn. Today, most people use barley to create beer. But other grains were more popular in the past.

Voice 2

To make beer, brewers place grain in warm water. This water breaks the grain down into sugars. Brewers call this mixture of water and grain a wort. Yeast is a special, very small form of life. There are many different kinds of yeast. But several turn sugar into alcohol. This is called fermentation. Brewers add yeast to a wort after it has cooled. This turns the sugary wort into an alcoholic beer. It also gives beer a special taste.

Voice 1

Beer is one of the oldest man-made drinks in the world. Experts have found evidence of beer as far back as 11,000 BCE. But people have probably been making beer for much longer.

Voice 2

Most likely, the discovery of beer was an accident. The Natufians were a group of ancient people from the Middle East. They lived in what is now Israel, Syria, and Egypt.

Voice 1

The Natufians did not live in one place. Instead, they hunted animals. They also gathered wild barley, a kind of grain. Experts believe that somehow this barley mixed with wild yeast and water. The Natufians must have tasted this mixture. They must have liked how it made them feel.

Voice 2

For many of these ancient people, the process of making beer must have seemed like magic. They did not know how it worked. Many seem to have believed it was the work of gods. As a result, beer became part of religious ceremonies. People drank beer to celebrate and mark special days. Brian Hayden is an expert on ancient peoples. He works at Simon Frasier University. In a story on Natufian beer, he wrote:

Voice 3

“Beer was an important part of getting people to celebrations. It made these gatherings better places for creating political structures and power within communities. It also encouraged people to produce food in ever-increasing amounts.” 

Voice 1

Some experts even believe that beer helped create farming. Instead of gathering grain, people started growing it for themselves. They began to stay in one place, instead of hunting and gathering. They created strong communities around celebration and meals. These communities may have been the start of modern towns and cities. Beer was one thing that brought people together to form complex communities.

Voice 2

As time passed, methods for making beer changed. In some places, beer continued to have religious importance. In others, people used beer as a special drink for workers. Drinking beer had many advantages for people working physical jobs. Early beer had much less alcohol than it does today, and much more sugar. It was like liquid bread. Beer kept workers energetic even if they did not have enough food. Beer was also safer to drink than some water. Willaim Bostwick is a beer reporter for the New York Times. He told National Public Radio:

Voice 4

“Beers then were richer and heartier than today. They were a way of providing something like food for the lower classes who did not have healthy food.”

Voice 1

The first major change in beer came with the discovery of the hop plant in the ninth century CE, in Europe. Adding this bitter plant to beer gives a special taste. But the oils from the hop plant are also natural preservatives. When added to beer, hops keep the drink from going bad.

Voice 2

Many people who made beer during this time were Christian monks. This special class of religious person lived in a group away from normal society. These monks spent much of their lives in prayer and thought. Time away from society also gave them space to develop methods for beer making. They passed their methods down to other monks, who built on them. Hops gave them better taste control. The beers the monks developed are responsible for today’s modern beers.

Voice 1

Soon, other people tried monastic beer methods. Beer taste became more complex. And hops became one of the most important elements in beer. William the fourth was the ruler of a part of Germany called Bavaria. In the 16^th century, he declared that people should only use three things to make beer: barley, water, and hops.

Voice 2

The next big discovery in beer was the identification of yeast. Humans had used yeast to make beer for thousands of years. But they did not know that yeast was what made beer. The discovery of this process gave people another chance to experiment. They could use different yeasts for a desired effect. This helped brewers control what their beer was like even more.

Voice 1

Today, beer is only a little like the drink the Natufians made. Modern beer has more alcohol. The taste of different beers are much more specialized. There are dark, sweet beers, like the Irish stout. The India pale ale is famous for its bitter hop taste. Rice wines like Japan’s sake are very similar to beer. These drinks have a cleaner taste than European beers. 

Voice 2

But modern beer does have one similarity to its ancient ancestor. For those who drink it, beer is a thing that brings people together. It encourages talking and celebration.

Voice 1

Drinking alcohol is not good for everyone. Too much alcohol can cause health issues, like liver disease and cancer. Some people reject it on religious grounds. But even then, it is difficult to deny beer’s historic importance. This ancient drink changed how many societies were formed. It may have even created them.

Voice 2

Beer holds much importance in many countries. Do people drink beer where you live? Why or why not? You can leave a comment on our website at www.spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on Youtube, Facebook, TikTok, and X. You can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

Voice 1

The writer and producer was Dan Christmann. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. This program is called, ‘The History of Beer’.

Voice 2

We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

Question:

Do people drink beer where you live? Why or why not?