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The Egyptions invented beer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer
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Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BC — prior even to writing — and recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The world's oldest known recipe is for beer and some anthropologists believe that the beverage was probably a dietary staple before bread



Soren



I think it was the Sumerians that invented the beverage we now know as beer, but it was an Australian that coined the term "beer".

In 1798 at a location known as Kenthill (in Sydney), a brewer by the name of James Squire started to ferment a couple of local beverages called "brew". One of the problems with importing brew from the Old Dart was that it took over a year to be shipped to Australia.

Anyway, James also built Australia's first brewery on the site, which became known as the Kent Brewery.

Because the main beverage at the time was Rum, also known as "brew" or "rumbrew", old James overcame the naming convention and 'Australianised' the name to beer. Hence our claim to fame.

I know historically you will see many references to beer, but there were any number of names for the different beverages, and not one of them was known as beer, until old James Squire (aka The Whitbread of Australia), unshackled his convict past and wrote a page in fermented drink history.