The everywhere drink
After water and tea, beer is consumed around the world more than any other drink. It is also one of the world's oldest drinks. People may have been making it for more than 5,000 years. China's first beer was maybe just as old. It was made with rice.
Beer can be made with many things. But most beer today is made with barley - a grain that is also used as food for animals. Hops are also used. They are a kind of flower. They provide beer's slightly bitter taste.
Since the dawn of time
Many of mankind's earliest written records talk about beer. Some ancient societies had laws about who could make it and sell it. Archaeologists have found mugs that were used for drinking beer from around 2,000 BC.
Some archaeologists at the University of Cambridge in Britain found beer-making equipment near the pyramid where Egyptian king Tutankhamen was buried. It took them six years to find out how the beer was made. They sold the first bottle for GBP5,000 (HK$62,113) in 1996.