We all know the effects of too much beer and that it lowers blood sugar and it contains huge amounts of ‘hollow’ carbs AND it poisons the liver. . .
But was there ever a positive purpose for beer? Why did people bother -just to feel different? Does beer have any beneficial effects on the body that cannot be found more easily in other foods?
Sure, beer is what you drink when you can’t trust the water, and can’t afford wine or mead.
If we omit esthetic purposes and concentrate on the practical, there’s the point that beer represents a food that keeps well. When starch is turned into alcohol you have a substance in which microorganisms can’t thrive, but which is wholesome (and even tasty) months after it’s made.
From what I’ve read, it’s pretty difficult to “poison the liver” with beer. The Average Joe would have to drink a case of beer a day for something like 10 years.
If a beer or two a week relaxes you, and de-stresses you, then that is an inherent benefit. Stress reduction has huge benefits to all aspects of your life, starting with your immune system and even your blood pressure.
Alcohol can quickly become bad when over consumed, of course, but a few per week can be part of a healthy lifestyle.
It’s well documented in human history, as well as animal observation - intoxication is…fun. I suppose you can create a quasi-genetic evolutionary explanation of why we choose to spend some of our time in altered states (I’m not talking about Alabama, now), but the fact is that through history we have done exactly that. And cats do, intentionally, go back to the catnip plant and take a little nibble. That IS the reason. We like being intoxicated from time to time. That’s its “purpose.” References to marijuana and beer, in addition to all sorts of other potions, are thousands of years old. Yes, they considered them to be medically virtuous as well, but clearly they weren’t unmindful, excuse the expression, of the effects on our perceptions of reality.
I drink copious amounts of strong (tasting) beer when I’m forced to eat seafood. It overwhelms the flavor of the food. I like shrimp alright, but even with that I prefer to have beer to neutralize the aftertaste. I have a friend who takes sake (not the same thing, I know) after sushi to kill any lingering bacteria.
Plus, it tastes good. Why do you think people drink soda? It’s not for any practical purpose, with the exception of the more highly-caffeinated varieties for college students cramming–but No-Doz is better anyway, and you can snort it for faster effects. It doesn’t feel as good in the nose as coke, nasal spray, or any of the other things people snort more commonly, but hell, it works and I didn’t have any nosebleeds or drying problems when I did it for a final last Fall.
The first people who drank beer didn’t have wine. I don’t think you can grow grapes easily in Mesopotamia. In any case, beer predates wine, as far as I’m aware.
Would beer have really kept that long before modern storage methods?
Once I had a cat AND a catnip cat. The plant was growing outside, my cat when let out would often go straight for the plant, nibble a bit then pass out under the plant.
If that helps you any.
There’s a thread about this phenomenon, BTW.
Beer has been called “liquid bread” for a reason.
The first beer was probably spoiled barley soup, likely brewed in Mesapotamia.
HERE is a History Of Beer. 
Beer also has a long history as a means to secure labour.
So next time you offer someone a case of beer to help you move, remember – that’s what it’s for, man. 
Is there any other reason?
Beer has been enabling the mating of ugly people for centuries. 
I was wondering the same thing. I recall seeing a show on The History Channel about the history of booze which claimed that hard liquor was favored in the old west because the beer makers on the east coast couldn’t keep the beer fresh during the trip to the west. That’s not to say beer was non-existant in the west, but it was expensive.
Then I read from dear uncle Cecil that the pilgrims stopped early 'cause they ran out of beer. So, beer could make a month long voyage across the sea, but not across the states (or whatever the hell they were called back then)?
Of course, I’ve been imbibing in so cabernet tonight, so my recollection of what I saw in that history channel show may be a bit off.
Jeff
(I just like to type is all.)
There’s two issues here, sterility and foaminess. The alcohol in beer keeps nasty bacteria from growing in it, still a cowboy might turn down a perfectly drinkable, yet flat, beer.
I doubt that anyone knows whether Babylonian beer had a frothy head.
Not even a cowboy myself -------but flat beer ain’t half bad. Neither is warm beer.
Just takes a little getting used to.
Could it be because Western US is much warmer than the north Atlantic?
“Malt does more than Milton can
To justify God’s ways to man.”
– A.E. Housman