Beer Before Bread

How Neolithic, alcohol-fueled raves gave rise to civilization

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Two-pints-beer-main.jpg

We have traditionally been told that the discovery of alcohol was an accidental by-product of agriculture. Once early farmers were systematically producing crops, they’d often end up with surpluses. These could be stored for the off-season, or as insurance against a future bad harvest. At some point, though, people noticed that if…