Beer

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade October 2001

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"He was a wise man who invented beer", according to Plato. Although Plato was not the only one who was wise, the Germans too know their beer. Beer dates back to the beginnings of civilization. There are different types of beer, festivals for beer, and many German beer drinkers. Ale and lager, top fermented and bottom fermented, drank by millions across the world and perfected throughout the centuries. The Germans as a society value their world renowned beers. Oktoberfest is a famous annual celebration where beer drinking is a necessity.

The tradition of brewing beer started approximently six thousand years ago. The birth of the first known civilization on earth, the Sumerians beer evolved.. It is not known exactly, but the Sumerians found the fermentation process by chance. Probably by a piece of bread dough left out too long. It wasn't long after that they started brewing and offering their spoils to their gods and kings.

After the Sumerian empire fell, the Babylonians took over and brewed around twenty different styles of beers. They exported as far away as Egypt, which was over one thousand kilometers away.

The first beer brewed in Germany was dated back as far as eight hundred BC. A beer amphorae, also known as the "hallsstattzeit" was found near Kulmbach. The relic was dated back to that time.

At the turn of the millennium cloisters took up the art of brewing beer. Before that only women did that kind of work. In the beginning these monks wanted the scientific process of brewing. After that they just took advantage of it. Many painting from that time period descibes the cloister in a very lucrative business.

In the 14th centrury, with the rise of exports, Germany had "world famous beer cities."# The city of Bremen was the center...