Some Interesting Facts about Beer

I started reading A History of the World in 6 Glasses a few weeks back. It's a very interesting read looking at how six drinks (beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, coke) have defined different ages. Here are several facts about beer that I found interesting:

1. Around 4300 BC, the first cities began to be developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt. This was the time when beer really took off.
2. Beer was accidentally discovered when grain soaked in water produced malt and when gruel left out became fizzy and alcoholic.
3. It was safer to drink than water because it was made using boiling water.
4. The earliest written documents were Sumerain wage lists and tax receipts that contained the symbol for beer, since it was a used as a form of currency.
5. It was consumed together from the same vessel.
6. The world's oldest recipe is for the making of beer.
7. The phrase "bread and beer" was used as an everyday greeting much like people today saying "good luck."