History of Microbrewing

A lot of historians think that the ancient Sumerians and Mesopotamians were brewing as early back as 10,000 B.C. Although this product would have been different from the bottles assortments of nowadays, it would have still been recognizable.

The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese brewed their beer, as did civilizations in America, where they used corn rather than barleycorn. Back then, thousands of years ago, microbrews were very popular and on their way to what we know and enjoy today.

In the middle ages, European monks were the guardians of literature and science and also of the art of making beer. They refined the procedure to perfection, and even institutionalized the use of hops as both flavoring and a preservative.

It was not however, until Louis Pasteur came along that a last, important development was determined. Until this time, beer makers had to depend on the wild yet airborne yeast for fermentation. By founding that yeast is actually a living organism, he opened the gates for controlling the transition of sugar into alcohol.

Grapevines grow good in warmer climates, while barleycorn grows better in cool climates. This is why the northern areas of Germany and England first became famous for their beers.

Beer in America
Everything in America went dim until the dark day of 1920, when prohibition took effect. Many breweries got out of business or changed their product to soda pop. Not everybody quitted drinking, but gangster related products were not known for high quality.

As Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, he rapidly appealed the really unpopular law. The new breeds of now famous beer came after World War 2 were mostly mass produced and very flavourless.