Beer is as old as pizza in human History. Maybe because both came from almost the same ingredients used to make bread. Historians believe that the ancient Mesopotamians and Sumerians were making beer as early as 6.000 years BC. Although the drink may have been different from today's beer it would be recognizable. The Egyptians and Chinese have also made beer for centuries, as well as the pre-Columbian civilizations in America, but they used corn instead of barley. In ancient Babylon, women were in charge of beer making. They were also priestesses and beer was used in many religious ceremonies.
Beer was popular among Romans and Greeks until the wine availability increased. In Rome, wine was believed to be the ambrosia from the god Bacchus soon beer became known as a barbarian drink and lost popularity. Beer was then brewed only in far away areas were wine was rare.
In the middle ages, monks in Europe were the guardians of literature, science and the art of beer making. They refined the process near to perfection and introduced the use of hoops as preservative and flavoring.
But it was only after Louis Pasteur's discovering of microorganism as fermentation agents that beer assumed today's aspect.
Until that time brewers depended on wild, airborne yeast for fermentation. Pasteur opened the way to accurate control of the conversion of sugar to alcohol.

Beer in America
Beer didn't go to America with Christopher Columbus. When he arrived, he noticed that the natives were making a brew "of maize resembling English beer". Beer was a main concern in the New World, even for the pilgrims.
It is said they landed in Plymouth Rock, instead of a southern position as planned, partly because they were out of beer.
Beer continued to grow in popularity until 1920 when the Prohibition took effect. Many breweries went out of business or started making soda pop. Gangsters sold thousands of litters of clandestine beer at that time.
Later in 1933, Congress passed the 21^st Amendment to the Constitution, which ended the unpopular law. Beer returned to popular preference quickly after that. President Jimmy Carter legalized home brewing, ushering in the age of microbreweries, beer hobbyists, and beer snobs.
As you see, beer has been around for many centuries in many different historical contexts. Next time you have a beer think about this and enjoy this delicious drink
Cheers!