Table of Contents

Preface ix

Part 1 Grains and Yeast: A Mashup for the Ages

1 Beer, Nature, and People 3

2 Beer in the Ancient World 14

3 Innovation and an Emerging Industry 24

4 Beer-Drinking Cultures 38

Part 2 Elements of (Almost) Every Brew

5 Essential Molecules 55

6 Water 69

7 Barley 82

8 Yeast 97

9 Hops 112

Part 3 The Science of Gemütlichkeit

10 Fermentation 127

11 Beer and the Senses 138

12 Beer Bellies 152

13 Beer and the Brain 165

Part 4 Frontiers, Old and New

14 Beer Phylogeny 179

15 The Resurrection Men 198

16 The Future of Brewing 209

Annotated Bibliography 219

Index 233