How Beer Saved the World

The title of this post seems a little outrageous, doesn't it? You're probably thinking, "How could beer save the world? It's just beer!". Well, my friend, beer isn't just beer. Beer was probably one of the most key components in building the world as we know it. Let me explain.

     
It all started around the time that we were still living in caves. Humans were still very much nomadic and relied heavily on hunting and gathering for their food. As time went on they finally stumbled upon a little plant called barley. Barley, for the uninitiated, is a wheat like plant that was, and still is, used as a base for many beer products. When this plant was discovered, the no-longer-nomadic humans decided to gather it for its' nutrients. Some believe that the original purpose for gathering the barley was for making bread and other food like substances, but evidence shows that it was actually used to brew the first ever beer. Obviously these humans didn't have the knowledge or know-how to make this beer, so how did they stumble upon this fantastic ale? By pure accident. Unbeknownst to the early humans, if you are to leave barley in a container filled with rain water for a certain amount of time, a wonderful chemical reaction occurs creating alcohol and carbonation. This happy accident created what we now know is beer and started an "agricultural revolution" that would forever change the course of history.

Now that you have the back-story you're probably still wondering how this discovery "changed the course of history". Don't worry baby birds, I'll feed ya. Beer was a very well liked commodity, much like it is today. The only difference between now and then is availability. In this day and age we produce around 35 billion gallons of beer a year, leaving us with as much beer as we can possibly consume. When beer was new and still blossoming it wasn't anywhere near those numbers in production. This made beer a very highly sought-after commodity. With this high demand, beer was an excellent commodity to use as payment for other goods and services. It was a such a good bartering tool that it was used to pay the workers who built the pyramids! With daily wage of one gallon of beer per day, it is assumed that it took 231.414,717 gallons of beer to help fuel building the pyramids.

       Although there are a ton of other facts I can throw out here about beer, there's only one more that I would like to share. There's probably one more question that is really baffling your mind. That question, I'm assuming, is, "Why was beer so loved?". Besides the obvious reason that alcoholic beverages make you feel good, people back in those times knew that drinking beer was essential to their survival. "But Josh, beer can't be good for you. Shouldn't they just drink water to keep themselves hydrated and healthy?" No, they shouldn't drink water. Water was actually one of the leading killers for the longest time. Before they had the technology to purify water, water was very contaminated with pollutants and e coli. Beer, on the other hand, contained alcohol and was sometimes boiled, killing off any trace of e coli or other pollutants. That, combined with the nutrients from the barley, made beer a very nutritious and healthy choice in a typical person's life. Scientists today conducted an experiment where they took duck pond water, filled with e coli and duck poop and used it as the water for a beer they brewed. When comparing the beer and the pollutant filled water, beer had virtually no traces of e coli or any other harmful pollutants, unlike the plain water.

        Beer not only got us away from a nomadic way of life but it helped build the pyramids and saved millions of lives, changing the course of history. Here is an infographic of facts and the history of beer for those of you who are interested in finding out more about how beer saved the world. Also, if you get a chance, check out How Beer Saved the World! Cheers!