This episode of Brews and Bevs traces the surprising and profound 10,000-year history of beer, arguing that this seemingly simple drink has been a driving force for human civilization. The hosts explore its ancient origins in Neolithic China (Jiahu, 7th millennium BC) and its foundational role as currency, daily pay, medicine (including a discussion of snake remedies), and a "civilizing agent" in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.The discussion covers the challenges of early spontaneous fermentation, the cultural prejudice against beer held by the Greeks and Romans, and the pivotal shift that occurred with the rise of Monastic brewing—highlighting the massive scale of operations like those depicted in the Plan of Saint Gallen. The episode details the move from Gruit (taxed, sometimes psychoactive herbal mixes) to the use of hops for preservation, the rise of powerful brewers’ guilds, and the Hanseatic League’s innovation of stable, hopped beer for international trade.The hosts then examine the dual paths of industrialization, from Britain's mass-produced Porter and gravity-fed breweries (leading to the London Beer Flood) to Germany's focus on quality, the famed Reinheitsgebot (purity law), and the development of stable lager. The scientific revolution, driven by figures like Louis Pasteur and the invention of artificial refrigeration, is shown to have enabled global consistency. Finally, the episode discusses the impact of German immigrants bringing lager to the US, the disruptive force of Prohibition (which decimated the industry but spurred consolidation), and how this ancient beverage became the globally scaled commodity of today.

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