Every beer taster can recognize the bitter snap of hops on the palate, the caramel-to-roasty spectrum of malt aromas, and occasionally the spicy, fruity signatures of certain yeast strains. We love beer’s boldness, and in recent years the volume has definitely been turned up. Amid all the hubbub it’s easy to overlook one of its most unique charms: mouthfeel.
From the glass on the table to the smells of the beer frothing up, to the sights and sounds of the barroom and beyond, our world usually feels solid and reliable enough. It is an illusion, however—nothing more than a projection created by our highly fallible perceptions. Ancient wisdom makes a point of it; modern science increasingly verifies this unsettling truth.
This is a beer history timeline I put together for my book Mastering Homebrew. Divisions within the line show when hopped beer, lager and modern craft beers made their mark.
This graphic was created for a talk, entitled “(Almost) Everything You Know About Beer History is Wrong,” at the American Homebrewers Association National Conference in San Diego.