No one really knows when beer was first discovered. It was never invented but was likely discovered by accident, as any cereal-based product can potentially undergo spontaneous fermentation due to airborne natural yeasts, but records show that folks were drinking beer in China and Mesopotamia as far back as 7000 B.C. In fact, the oldest recipe ever discovered was for brewing a batch of beer, although this version of beer did not include hops and was sweetened with honey and dates, so it was much sweeter than what we’re used to throwing back today.The origins of the beer that we are used to consuming today has its roots in the German Beer Purity Laws of 1516, which dictated that beer can only contain water, barley, and hops. However, this was not the first law that regulated beer production.
"image via
wikipedia"
Rather, the first mention of a beer law was in the Code of Hammurabi set forth by the infamously harsh Babylonian leader. By the time the Code was set forth in the 2nd Century B.C., beer had become an extremely popular beverage in Mesopotamia and in the rest of the biblical world (although the Bible doesn’t mention beer specifically). Many brewers and bar owners at the time would water down their product or use inferior grains to maximize profit, which great disgusted the ancient ruler, so he put forth a law forbidding brewers or merchants from doing this. The punishment? The offending party was to be forcibly drowned in the swill that he created, in true Hammurabi fashion. Fortunately, there were no laws against public drunkenness!
(via
legendsofbeer)
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