The first archaeological vestiges of beer date back to the Neolithic period, when man first began to master farming techniques, more than 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Beer is believed to have been born in the Middle East. Historical references indicate that the Sumerians produced a pleasant drink resulting from the fermentation of cereals. There are also indications that suggest in China an equally fermented drink was produced at the same time from rice with healing properties, using beer as a medicine. For their part, the Egyptians displayed murals with references to beer. It was they who first cultivated barley precisely for the purpose of producing beer, using it as a commercial exchange or as payment of wages.

During the Middle Ages, the use of hops allowed the bitterness, freshness, taste and flavour of beer to come through, and, as such, the cultivation of hops intensified. The success of this drink was such that the consumption of beer was often higher than that of water.

Monasteries, too, played a decisive role in beer production. The studies that the monks devoted to it in the incessant search for new ingredients that would allow them to improve and intensify the flavour, gave rise to a more elaborate production that served two purposes: to show hospitality to the pilgrims who passed through, and to whom they offered it, and as a drink the monks treated themselves to during fasting periods. The success was such that the production went beyond the walls of the monasteries, and beer began to be produced and marketed simultaneously by monks and craft brewers, who were subjected to taxes on the profits obtained.

Later, scientific and technological developments in the 18th and 19th centuries catapulted the production and consumption of beer. Louis Pasteur discovered the formula for pasteurisation, which controlled and eliminated pathogenic microorganisms, whilst the evolution of transport took beer across borders.
The story served as inspiration for the development of hundreds of beers around the world, many of them now absorbed by large business groups that today dominate the beer market. Still, driven by an interest and passion for this drink, small producers continue to create hundreds of craft beers every year. At our Beer Museum, the spotlight is on the many excellent Portuguese craft beers, and most importantly… are all at your disposal.