大话啤酒历史
时间：2015-11-13 06:47:34
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（单词翻译）
The History of BeerOne of the world's oldest stories, The Epic1 of Gilgamesh, is a lively tale of heroism2 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, primitive3 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
beverage4 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
alcoholic5 drink in the world and is widely enjoyed.
Fermented6 beverages7 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
brew8. However, because they considered it the drink of
barbarians9 , 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
monks10 who introduced scientific
brewing11 techniques in an effort to produce a
nutritious12 beverage to supplement their
meager13 diets.
The monks were not restricted to only brewing the beer, and consumption of it within the
monasteries14 reached astonishing levels. One report from Belgium said that monks were drinking as much as five liters a day.
Monastery15 breweries16 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-tech17 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.
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