This is Part 5 of The Story of Beer, our journey through the people, ingredients, discoveries, and traditions that put beer in our glass.

Why is beer called beer?

We use the word so casually that we rarely stop to wonder where it came from.

Beer.

Four letters. Thousands of years of linguistic confusion.

Ale Came First

In early English and Scandinavian languages, the common word for a malt based fermented drink was related to the word we now know as ale.

The word beer followed a different path.

Old English used the word bēor, while related words appeared in Germanic languages, including the ancestors of modern German and Dutch bier and Old Norse bjórr.

Exactly where the word originated is still debated.

Several Possibilities

Scholars have proposed several possible roots.

One theory connects beer to an ancient term related to brewer’s yeast or beer dregs.

Another suggests a connection to barley.

A third proposes a relationship with the Latin bibere, meaning “to drink.”

That last possibility certainly gets straight to the point.

Beer Wasn’t Always Beer

Here’s where things get interesting.

In Old English and Old Norse, the beverage called beer may not have resembled modern beer very much.

It appears to have referred to a sweet, strong drink made with honey and fruit juices other than grapes.

That sounds closer to something between mead and cider than the lager or ale we’d order today.

Meanwhile, in German speaking regions, the meaning of beer expanded to include malt based beverages similar to ale.

Hops Change the Vocabulary

As hopped beer from continental Europe became increasingly popular in England during the late Middle Ages, English speakers adopted the German influenced meaning.

For a time, the distinction was fairly straightforward.

Ale was unhopped.

Beer contained hops.

Eventually hopped brewing became common enough that beer became the broader word.

Today ale sits underneath the beer umbrella rather than beside it.

Language changes.

Beer changes.

And apparently the two have been confusing each other for centuries.

Next Pour

With beer firmly established across Europe, brewing began developing strong regional traditions.

Monasteries became important brewing centers, and eventually Bavaria decided beer was important enough to regulate by law.

That’s where we’re headed next.

 

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