Fresh from a conference on Beeronomics, David Zilberman wrote about the role that beer has played in our history:

• Humans may have learned to make beer from grain and water before learning how to make bread.
• We can thank beer for the Pyramids. Ancient Egyptian labourers were paid with the beverage.
• Holland and Belgium owe their independence to beer. When fighting Spain, they used a tax on beer to raise revenues, while Spain used a tax on silver. Beer won.
• Between 1870 and 1950 the poor in the United States drank local unpasteurized beers while the rich enjoyed uniform brews. Nowadays the opposite is true with the rich increasingly opting for craft brews.

Read more about the history of beers and the science of beeronomics over here.

Source: The Berkeley Blog

Via: Chris Blattman, Marginal Revolution