Beer and bread may have been instrumental in kick-starting civilization, but I suspect beer played a bigger role. Once those hunter-gatherers got a little alcohol in them, you likely had arguments about who should lead the hunt the next day. Voilà — Politics! And then fights must have broken out, which probably led to Law. Some epicanthic genius must have figured out how to refine the brewing process — Science. When one guy realized he made better brew than the schmo down at the end of the cave, he realized he could charge two hunks of bison instead of one for a cup — Commerce. And, of course, once you have beer, you have to have … Sports.

Eight thousand years ago, our evolutionary ancestors were knocking back lukewarm brewskis and determining the course of civilization for millennia to come. We're still doing it, for better or for worse, but even with our sophisticated culture, amazing refrigeration techniques and advanced marketing campaigns, few of us know more about beer than our Cro-Magnon forebears.

This issue (like CL's Beer Fest on Oct. 18) is for those folks who drink without comprehension — the beer funnelers, the bargain drinkers, the Eric Sniders of the world. And even beer geeks who know the difference between imperial and milk stout might learn a thing or two about their beloved brew.

Beer may be the most important discovery in the history of man. It's time you understood it.

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