Drink Beer, Conserve Water

Abstract

In ancient Mesopotamia, water was rarely safe to drink. Luckily, along with the cultivation of cereal crops came the discovery of beer. By 3000 BCE, Mesopotamians brewed over twenty kinds of beer. Integral in ancient culture, beer was thought to be a gift from the gods. Although water is safe to drink today, beer is still popular and still a part of our culture. As the world’s second largest producer, the United States has a substantial beer industry. In 2010, the United States produced 194,169,303 barrels of beer. Americans spent $167 billion on beer in 2009. The number of breweries increased considerably from 331 in 1933 to 1,693 in 2010. Today, the vast majority of beer companies are specialty and craft breweries.