15,000 B.C. Humans give up nomadic lifestyle and domesticate grain
12,000 B.C. First evidence of intentional fermentation
6000 B.C. First written records of brewing by Sumerians
3500 B.C. First chemical evidence of beer
1900 B.C. Hymm to Ninkasi
Ninkasi is the Sumerian goddess of brewing, as well as brewmaster for the other gods. This hymn found on clay tablets combines a prayer to the lady with one of the oldest recorded recipes for beer. Because of that, it's more practical than lyrical — "The filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound,you place appropriately on a large collector vat." Amen.
1700 B.C. Hammurabi regulates taverns
Beer got a mention in the famous Code of Hammurabi. Apparently, this Babylonian king was an early consumer advocate, since he fixed a fair price for beer and tough laws for taverns. Punishment for skimping on your pours? Drowning. Now that should be a ballot initiative!
1600 B.C. Egyptian texts list over 100 medicinal uses for beer
55 B.C. Romans introduce beer to Northern Europe
Then, just six years later, Caesar crosses the Rubicon River with his army, announcing his intentions to take Rome by force. After the crossing, he toasted his men with beer.
350 Saint Nicholas becomes bishop of Myra
Sure, the white-bearded glad-hander was known for his charitable activities — and became the Christian face of Santa Claus — but he's also one of three Catholic patron saints of beer.
500-1000 Brewing becomes regular practice in European monasteries
1000 First evidence of hops used in the brewing process
First evidence, maybe, but people had been throwing everything from citrus peels to puppy dog tails in the drink for hundreds of years, if only to make the poorly made stuff taste better.
1200 Large-scale commercial brewing starts in Germany, Austria and England
1420 Germans develop the process for brewing lagers
1516 German Reinheitsgebot purity laws passed
Reinheitsgebot prohibited all ingredients in beer except for barley, water and hops. You can't make beer from those ingredients, but it wasn't until the 1800s that scientists figured out that yeast was more than just god-given magic foam. The laws were dismantled in 1993 to allow cane sugar, wheat and other ingredients.
1587 First New World beer brewed at Sir Walter Raleigh's colony in Virginia
1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock because beer supplies were running low
According to CL's own Straight Dope, the pilgrims missed their allotted landing site and wandered around the coast of Cape Cod. They only decided to land in Plymouth Harbor when, according to a colonial document, "we could not now take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beer."
1810 Munich establishes Oktoberfest as an official celebration
1817 Invention of the drum roaster allows for the creation of very dark, roasted malts
And, eventually, the burnt coffee served at Starbucks.
1876 Louis Pasteur discovers the function of yeast in the fermentation process
We may remember him most as the guy who taught doctors to wash their hands, but Pasteur was the father of both modern wine- and beer-making thanks to his research. Better beer or fewer germs? Apparently they go hand in hand.
1933 Prohibition ends for beer
1935 The beer can is introduced
Which paved the way for shotgunning, forehead bruises and "Just Married" shenanigans for decades to come.
1965 Fritz Maytag buys and revives Anchor Brewing
The washing machine magnate heir ushered in the modern craft-beer era by proving that anyone with a trust fund can find a market niche for small-batch beers.
1966 Budweiser is first to top 10 million barrels per year
1983 Mendocino Brewing opens brewpub in California
Only the second modern brewpub in the country and the first in California since prohibition, Mendocino's Hopland started the brew-pub gold rush. Although the past five years have been tough on the market, there are still almost 1,000 US brewpubs in operation. Thanks for sticking it out, Tampa Bay Brewing Company.
2007 U.S. Beer Stats
• Percentage of alcohol retail sales: 52%
• Percentage of alcohol consumption, by volume: 85%
• Total barrels sold: Over 211 million
• Dollar volume: $97 billion
• Number of craft breweries: 1,420
• Craft breweries barrels sold: Over 8 million
• Craft breweries dollar volume: Almost $6 billion
• Craft brew growth in 2007: 12%
• Beers position in grocery store consumables sales: 4th
• Anheuser-Busch share of the beer market: 48.2%
• Percent of population who drink beer at least once per month: 40%
Sources: progressivegrocer.com, beertown.org
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2008.