Brewery

Beer has been a part of human civilization for thousands of years, and of course, in order to make beer, one needs a brewery. Throughout most of history, these breweries were most often small-scale operations. In fact, most beer over the centuries has been produced and enjoyed at home.

The brewery as we know it today was largely developed by the Christian monasteries of Europe during The Middle Ages. The introduction of hops as a preservative had a significant impact on the process of brewing, and eventually a host of beer purity laws would eventually lead to the beers we enjoy today. The most famous of these laws, the Reinheitsgabot of 1516, stated that the only ingredients to be used in beer should be water, hops, malted barley, and malted wheat.

The modern brewery is more sophisticated operation than in any other time in history. Temperature can be precisely controlled through pressurized steam systems and giant cooling jackets, allowing brewers to more accurately control their quality. Fermenting and conditioning are usually done in monstrous vats that can are regularly inspected by the brewmeister, and the final bottling process is always done by machine.