啤酒是人类最古老的酒精饮料，是水和茶之后世界上消耗量排名第三的饮品。关于啤酒的起源你知道多少？最古老的啤酒又是如何酿造出来的呢？
Humans have had a long history of consuming alcohol.
人类饮酒的历史非常悠久。
It is believed the primitive cultures of Mesopotania could have been brewing malted barley scraps as far back as 10,000 BC but there are no records of it.
据称在美索不达米亚原始文明时期（公元前一万年），人类就已经开始用麦芽残渣酿酒，但并没有史料记载。
The earliest proof of beer-drinking dates back to Northern China 9,000 years ago.
人类饮用啤酒的最早证据出现在9000年前的中国北方。
This ancient brew was made using hawthorn fruit, Chinese wild grapes, rice and honey, and is the oldest known fermented beverage in history - older even than wine.
这种古老的啤酒是用山楂、中国野生葡萄、大米和蜂蜜制作的，是历史上已知最古老的酿造饮品，比葡萄酒的历史还要久。
To make it the corn was milled and moistened in the maker’s mouth to convert starches in the corn into fermentable sugars - before it was ‘spat’ into the beer.
为了酿造这种啤酒，人们把玉米碾碎，并放入水合器里弄湿，以使玉米中的淀粉转变为可发酵性糖，之后“吐”到啤酒中。
Throughout history, the consumption of alcohol may have helped people become more creative, advancing the development of language, art and religion.
在历史的长河中，饮酒或许帮助人们变得更有创造性，促进了语言、艺术和宗教的发展。
This is because alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes people feel more spiritual.
这是因为酒精使人们放下拘束，感到更有精神。
It is believed the Egyptians started brewing beer around 5,000 BC, according to the papyrus scrolls.
据纸莎草卷轴上的记载，埃及人在大约公元前5000年开始酿造啤酒。
They were brewing things like dates, pomegranates and other indigenous herbs.
他们使用大枣、石榴和其他本地植物酿造啤酒。
At around 3150 BC, the Egyptians used industrial-scale breweries to provide beer for the workers who built the pyramids of Giza.
在大约公元前3150年，埃及人建造了工业化酿酒厂，为修建吉萨金字塔的工人供应啤酒。
Eventually beer made its way from the Middle East to Europe where an abundance of barley crops provided lots of raw ingredient for brewers.
最终啤酒从中东传到了欧洲，那里有大量的大麦可用于酿酒。
Experts have now found evidence of brewing in Greece during the Bronze Age.
如今专家还发现了希腊人在青铜时代酿酒的证据。
Researchers believe that these prehistoric people enjoyed getting merry with alcoholic drinks for feasts all year-round and not just when the grapes were ripe.
研究人员认为，史前人类在全年的宴会中都会饮酒欢庆，而不仅仅是在葡萄成熟时。
Not only was it considered nutritional it was also a safe alternative to drinking water.
人们认为啤酒不仅营养丰富，还是饮用水的安全替代品。
It was in the Middle Ages that malted barley became the main source of fermented sugar and beer became the beverage we are familiar with today.
直到中世纪，大麦麦芽才成为发酵糖的主要来源，啤酒也就成为了我们今天熟悉的酒类。
小知识：“啤酒”名称由来
“啤酒”的名称是由外文的谐音译过来的，拿啤酒的“啤”字来说，中国过去的字典里是不存在的。后来，有人根据国外对啤酒的称呼如德国、荷兰称“Bier”；英国称“Beer”；法国称“Biere”；意大利称“Birre”；罗马尼亚称“Berea”等等，这些外文都含有“啤”字的音，于是创造了“啤”这个外来语文字，又由于具有一定的酒精含量，故翻译时用了“啤酒”一词，一直沿用至今。正因为啤酒以大麦芽为主要原料，所以日本人也称啤酒为“麦酒”。