How did ancient civilizations brew beer? - Malcolm Purinton

Louis Pasteur’s Études sur la bière or Studies on fermentation: The Diseases of Beer, Their causes, and the means of preventing them (1876 in French, 1879 in English) was groundbreaking in understanding the microbiology of fermentation and the life cycles of yeast. It helped bring about the Pure Yeast Revolution in 1883 at the Carlsberg Laboratory.

Emil Hansen revolutionized modern brewing when he isolated and propagated single yeast cells at his laboratory at the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1883 when he attempted to understand and fix bad batches of beer that year. With this he ushered in the Pure Yeast Revolution that made it possible to produce beer from the same yeast types of yeast every time. This led to safer and more consistent beer production and flavor. He is who we can thank for the modern, scientifically developed beers of today.

Some small breweries have attempted to produce ancient beer styles over the last few decades. These include Dogfish Head Brewery out of Delaware that collaborated with the University of Pennsylvania archaeologist Patrick McGovern to produce several “ancient ales” including Midas Touch based off sediment found in pottery containers in the Tomb of Midas on the Anatolian Peninsula, present day Turkey. Others have attempted to produce beers from Roman-controlled Egypt in the fourth century Common Era.

TED-Ed has many other great lessons to enjoy about the history and science of alcohol its effects on the human body. These include:
A brief history of alcohol
What happened when the United States banned alcohol
How does alcohol make you drunk?
How does alcohol cause blackouts?
How does alcohol cause hangovers?