BEER

A little more than 7,000 years ago, beer brewing began its development in Mesopotamia; it was women who mixed the grains of cereal with water and herbs. They cooked them… and from that intuitive mixture driven by the need for nutrition came a brew that fermented in a spontaneous manner. Learn more.

Beer is considered to come from the Latin infinitive bibere meaning “to drink.” ... Old English said beor meaning “strong drink, beer, mead.” Old Frisian said boar, Middle Dutch, Dutch and German said bier, and Old High German said bior.

There are more than 10,000 craft breweries worldwide. Of those, 86% are in the U.S. and Europe. And sorry, Europe actually squeaked past North America by three breweries. Even so, the U.S. has more than 4,000 breweries, which far exceeds any other individual country's count by thousands.

Why do people say 'Cheers!' before drinking? When many persons join together to celebrate, they raise a toast or cheer to show their oneness of feelings and to express that they are in it together. Another point of view is that in order to enjoy an experience wholly one would use all senses. But every country has its own toasting etiquette!