When mankind stopped wandering the plains of Africa and developed agriculture he also discovered beer.

Records show that a staggering 40% of all the grain the Ancient Egyptians harvested went into making it. They even gave beer its own god - Hathor, who saved mankind from the wrath of Ra by getting him drunk and allowing Ra in a drunken stupor to think that man wasn't a bad sort after all.

Beer's popularity down the centuries is partly due to the fact that the quality of drinking water in past times could never be assured. It's hardly surprising then that by the 15th Century drinking water was being looked down upon as "lowly" whereas beer drinking was a sign of aspiration.

Monks themselves were allowed to drink and many of the master breweries around Europe - such as Becks - were formed by them. And as much of the beer they were drinking was around 8% alcohol it seems that much of medieval Europe was in a permanent state of inebriation!

Beer has also played its part in historical events. The records of the Mayflower for example state that one reason that the Pilgrim Fathers decided to land on Plymouth rock and not further south in the West Indies, as they had intended, was because "our rations of beer were nearly spent."

Captain Cook in 1768 took four tonnes of beer with him when he sailed to Australia, yet only a month later the beer was almost gone causing Cook to write "we served wine to the ship's company, the Beer being all expended to two casks which I wanted to keep some time longer." Presumably for himself!

Most nations are proud of their beers and guard the brewing recipes zealously. Breweries such as Belhaven in Scotland became world renowned, and the Emperor of Austria confessed that "Bavaria cannot produce their like." However Bavaria and the Czech Republic have been the greatest innovators in beer production - they invented lager, the drink that has swept the world with its popularity.

A group of Bavarian 15th Century Bavarian monks discovered that certain types of yeast float during brewing while others sink. By isolating the bottom sinking yeast the monks single-handedly invented lager. However this "lager" was brown - the golden lager that is the norm today was invented by the Czechs in the town of Pilsner in 1842, when the Czechs on a whim decided to air dry the malts instead of heavy roasting them.

In America the growth of beer drinking was immense. By 1880 there were 2,300 breweries producing beer for the growing population. But the Temperance Movement put a stop to that. Around 33 out of the 48 states became alcohol free, and then came Prohibition - a "dry" state that lasted several years and created a huge crime wave as gangsters such as Al Capone cashed in on millions of dollars of bootleg liquor.

Today, the beer industry is a major part of the global economy. Young Japanese see it as a "cool" alternative to Saki, drunk by their parents. In Japan the magnificent Sapporo dome pays testimony to another beer phenomena, namely beer and sports.

In the image conscious 21st Century brewers around the world are spending millions on advertising that portrays beer as sexy, healthy, sporty and fun. It's a little known fact but as much as 50% of the cost of your beer goes towards advertising. In the 21st century beer is not a just drink but is a statement about who you are.