People have been making beer since time immemorial. This drink is loved all over the world for its light character, pleasant taste and soft action. Its many varieties and brands indicate a rich history and vast geography. Finnish writers, historians and beer connoisseurs Mika Rissanen and Juha Tahvanainen explore the links between beer and world politics, economics and culture. They managed to trace its path from the Sumerian civilization (4000 BC) to the present day. And it turned out that the drink, from which the refined Romans turned up their noses at first, was appreciated not only by ordinary monks and soldiers, but also by great people, such as Peter the Great and Catherine the Second, Martin Luther and Peter Brueghel the Elder, Louis Pasteur and Fridtjof Nansen, and many other. You will learn how beer influenced the course of history, how it contributed to the strengthening of friendship, what legends were associated with it and what properties were attributed to it at different times. You will also delve into the features of modern brewing and, of course, learn to understand beer perfectly.