Beer: A Global Journey through the Past and Present

by John Wood Arthur

A fascinating exploration of beer, ancient and contemporary, and its role in shaping human society

Beer is and has always been more than an intoxicating beverage. Ancient beer produced in the Near East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas was a food that had a remarkable role in shaping the development of agriculture and some of the earliest state-level societies. Its invention 13,000 years
ago was one of the fundamental motivations for the domestication of grains around the world. In early states, the control over the technological knowledge and resources to produce beer contributed to social hierarchies. Beer even likely provided the capital to motivate laborers to construct the
ancient pyramids and other large-scale public works. The fermentation of beer also provided a healthy and safe alternative to the contaminated drinking water in early states and it continues to do so among rural Indigenous populations today. Beer is a social lubricant that brings people together
and, in many Indigenous societies both past and present, is a gift connecting people to their ancestors. The same innovations pioneered by ancient brewers are transforming the types of ingredients and flavors produced by the global craft beer industry.

In Beer, archaeologist John W. Arthur takes readers on an exciting global journey to explore the origins, development, and recipes of ancient beer. This unique book focuses on past and present non-industrial beers, highlighting their significance in peoples' lives through four themes: innovating new
technologies, ensuring health and well-being, building economic and political statuses, and imbuing life with ritual and religious connections. As this book amply illustrates, beer has shaped our world in remarkable ways for the past 13,000 years.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Food, Brewing, Beer

295 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2022

Reviews

[Rod Van Alyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating is 3.5 stars. Surprised to learn that beer has been around since 11,000 BCE. Interesting information on how beer was used as pay for laborers and the role of women in the production of beer. The biggest negative for me is that it read like a textbook.

[Dhaval · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly written; I’m not sure if the author actually conducted any research or just made shit up.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nice quick overview of the different places in the world and the types of beer that they have made throughout history.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very brief history and while the book had some interesting information the few grammar errors were a bit jarring and would have liked to have had a fuller history.

[Courtney Mosier Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of anthropology and history books about beer this semester, and I must say that this is one of the best.

[Katie Kaste · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a history of Beer. It was interesting to learn, but each section felt more like a thesis than a book for entertainment.

[Trent Hunsaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full of facts and equally full of the creative non-fiction phrases like "there could have been, one could imagine, and while there's no evidence that..."