The Incredible Story of Beer - From Prehistory to the Present Day, 15,000 Years of Adventure | Benoist Simmat

From prehistory to the present day, 15,000 years of adventure.

Cereal beer is the oldest common drink of humanity. It was born at the end of the Upper Paleolithic, 15,000 years ago, a "food" as precious as bread. Ancient beers rival wine; they may not have the same prestige, but they equally allow communication with the gods. The Han China, the Mayan America experience a golden age of this fermented drink. The Germanic peoples revolutionize when they learn to add hops to their beers: becoming transportable, preservable, they travel and finish conquering the world. Belgium reinvents its abbey beers and turns them into global bestsellers. At the end of the 20th century, the revival of craft beer artisans, first in the United States and then worldwide, gives nobility to this golden beverage now called craft beer. Today, in France, two or three "artisanal" breweries are created every week. There are now tens of thousands of neighborhood beers, alongside well-known brands of powerful multinationals. After The Incredible Story of Wine and The Incredible Story of Cuisine, author Benoist Simmat completes his successful trilogy. He is accompanied in the illustrations by a new generation illustrator: Lucas Landais. The duo tells us the millennial saga of this major drink in 200 pages, informed and tinged with humor.