Analysis Of Standage's Popular Drink

Beer, the first beverage appeared as a result of changed lifestyle for the early humans. Before, humans were nomads, who would follow their food (pg. 9). But starting about 12,000 years ago humans had picked up on a new lifestyle (pg. 9). These small bands of about 30 people were now settling down in more permanent areas and had abandoned their old ways of constantly traveling (pg. 9). This drastic turning point in human history seemed to primarily come from one reason, the discovery of beer (pg.11). As beer was basically formed from the gathering of barley and wheat, humans had to form some type of permanent residency, and abandon their old nomadic lifestyle (pg.11).

He was interested in describing, not only what happened, or where it happened but also why certain things occurred (Hoefferle, p. 17). This way of thinking would become “the foundation for history as it would be practiced in Western Civilization for the next two thousand years” (Hoefferle, p.

because it gave something to relate to from a historical event. The last sentence of the

2.) In the 18th century, how did spirits change the balance of power amongst the western

There are stories he incorporates to illustrate the point. In the middle we move to a more self-centered narrative. He tells of his story in New Jersey where he realized he could kill someone. He shares some of his thoughts of why people acted as they did towards him and others. This is an effective way he uses narrating and analyzing to work for the reader’s understanding.

an effort to stop the chaos of his society by bringing books back to life and

As beer started becoming a necessity, it showed the strong need for agriculture in society. People came together, to make an industry of beer, and creating civilizations.

Beer started out as gruel, and as the gruel fermented it turned into beer. Now it was not the first form of alcohol, but it was an important kind of alcohol. Beer was made from cereal crops, which were very abundant, and because it was so abundant it could be made whenever it was needed. They then found an even easier way to make beer by using beer-bread. Beer bread is basically everything needed to make beer in a loaf, making it convenient to store the raw beer materials. Beer started as just a social drink but then blossomed into a “hallmark of civilization”, as seen by the Mesopotamians. Grain was the basis of the national diet, it was

5. In Rome wine was seen as a necessity by the people and they felt like they needed to drink it while in Greece it was just seen as a leisure drink.

Beer: Beer was not invented, it was discovered. Exactly when the first beer was brewed is unknown but there was almost certainly no beer before 10,000 BCE. The rise of beer was closely associated with the domestication of the cereal grains rom which it is made and the adoption of farming. Beer originated in the Fertile Crescent in Egypt and Mesopotamia. To beer drinkers in the Neolithic period, beer’s ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered consciousness seemed magical. This caused them to believe beer was a gift from the Gods. Since it was a gift from the gods, it was presented as a religious offering in religious ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites, and in

People drank more alcohol during this time than any other era. Alcohol was a huge part of everyday life. They drank it for many reasons, fear of unsanitary water, its medicinal properties and to keep them warm. Average Americans drank 8oz of alcohol on a daily basis. They had it with breakfast, lunch, dinner and also in the evening. They drank many different types of alcohol such as beer, rum, wine and a mix of other concoctions. One explanation for drinking so much alcohol was that the English had claimed that water was bad for your health. They felt that it was unsanitary and this may have been true during this time period. A “healthy” substitute for water was beer which was thought of as a type of food. Beer often replaced water as a daily drink. Children consumed beer in place of water. Many believed only the very poor drank water. It was even believed that it was bad for your health to drink cold water on a hot day. It was better to drink warm beer on a hot day. There were signs posted to warn people of this belief. When the Pilgrims came to America they brought more beer than water. Settlers of the frontier began to turn corn into whiskey as a substitute for beer. They felt this gave them strength to endure the manual labor that was required of living in the wilderness. Ingredients found in beer did not grow well in some parts of the colonies and soon cider became a popular drink. Apple orchards were

devices throughout his narrative to show the reader why slavery was such a horrific time. He was very

Tom Standage’s A History of the World in Six Glasses discusses the importance of six beverages (beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, Coca-Cola), each of which define distinctive periods of civilization. The comparably minor, yet crucial role of water is also represented in support of Standage’s argument regarding not only the necessity of each drink as a requisite to life, but also the role of each drink as a stimulus for cultural diffusion and development. Various historical developments, ranging from water purification to convivia, are utilized to depict each beverage’s appeal and the contributions of each drink towards its respective era of prosperity, subsequently illustrating various historical themes that mark the progression of society

because through his first person narrative, the reader is drawn to his sensitive nature, his

From fancy beer to the lowest quality that you could receive, beer was presented in celebrations or events because this drink “brought people together since the dawn of civilization” and this bringing together allowed the exchange of cultures and traditions to be passed down from generation to generation just like wine (39). These interactions shaped the mind of man, and helped them have