One of the world's oldest stories, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is a lively tale of heroism and sacrifice from ancient Sumer. It also contains one of the earliest references to beer. In the story, a female friend of the hero changes a wild, primitive beast into a cultured human being by giving him seven cups of beer.

    In reality, drinking that much beer is more likely to have the opposite effect. Nowadays, it is the beverage of choice among rowdy young people on a Saturday night out, and it has fueled acts of violence and destruction in more than a few societies. It is, nevertheless, the oldest known alcoholic drink in the world and is widely enjoyed.

    Fermented beverages made from various types of grain appeared independently in different locations all over the ancient world from Africa to China. The word beer itself comes from a Latin verb meaning "to drink", and the ancient Romans were certainly no strangers to the brew. However, because they considered it the drink of barbarians , the Romans generally preferred wine.

    In ancient times, people who made beer lacked the means to preserve and filter it properly, so the drink was cloudy and turned bad quickly. It was medieval European monks who introduced scientific brewing techniques in an effort to produce a nutritious beverage to supplement their meager diets.

    The monks were not restricted to only brewing the beer, and consumption of it within the monasteries reached astonishing levels. One report from Belgium said that monks were drinking as much as five liters a day. Monastery breweries in Europe also ran their own pubs and enjoyed a tax-free status that came to be resented by the growing merchant class.

    As the power and influence of the church declined, the art of brewing became an important commercial activity. Today, beer production is largely a high-tech process in the hands of huge corporations or government monopolies. However, recent years have seen a growth in the popularity of small-scale breweries, reflecting an increasing global demand for quality and variety. 

    《吉爾伽美什史詩》是世界上流傳最久的故事之一，栩栩如生地講述了古代蘇美爾地區（古代幼發拉底河下游的一個地區）的英勇事跡及壯烈犧牲的場面。史詩也涉及有關啤酒的最早傳說。在故事中英雄的一位女友用七杯啤酒將一頭野性，原始的野獸變成了一位文雅的男子。 

    事實上，飲用太多啤酒更可能產生相反的效果。啤酒是時下血氣方剛的年輕人在周六夜晚狂歡時必備的飲料，而啤酒也在為數不少的社群里激發了暴力和破壞行為。盡管如此，它仍是世界上公認為最古老的含酒精飲料，而且廣受喜愛。

    這些由多種谷類制成的發酵飲料，古時候從非洲到中國的世界各國都各自單獨生產。啤酒這個詞源自拉丁文動詞，意為“飲用”。古羅馬人對啤酒肯定不陌生，不過，由于他們認為啤酒是野蠻人的飲料，因此古羅馬人普遍偏好葡萄酒。

    古時的啤酒釀造者缺少良好的保存方法及過濾工具，所以啤酒混濁而且容易變質。正是中世紀歐洲的僧侶們引進科學的啤酒釀造技術，制造有營養的飲料， 從而補充了他們貧乏的飲食。

    僧侶們不只局限在釀造啤酒，而且還在修道院中大量飲用啤酒，消耗量實在驚人。一份來自比利時的報告指出，僧侶們每天喝五升多的啤酒。歐洲修道院的釀酒廠也經營自己的酒吧，并享有免稅的優惠，此項優待引起正在興起的商人階級的不滿。

    隨著教會權力和影響的衰落，釀制藝術也就轉變為一項重要的商業活動。今天，啤酒的制造在巨型企業或政府的壟斷下儼然成為一個高科技流程。然而近年來，小規模啤酒廠的倍受青睞也反映了全球對啤酒質量及多樣化日益增長的需求。