This alcoholic drink has had many names, derived from different etymologies. Reference is often made to Dutch (the language of the Netherlands), with the term bier. The latter comes either from the Latin biber (which translates as drink) or from Germanic speech, with the word beuza (for effervescence). Another origin may be Germanic, referring to the drink as bera.

It wasn't until 1435 that the word beer appeared for the first time, in a royal decree. At the time, Charles VII wished to regulate the trade in this drink in the Kingdom of France, during the medieval period.

However, during the Middle Ages and during Antiquity, there were many ways of referring to beer: gruit, barley wine or cervoise but also sikaru in Akkadian. The literal translation is liquid bread, a reference to an invention of pure chance in a region of Mesopotamia (southern Iraq today).

What is the origin of beer ? What was beer called in the middle age ? ... Discover many informations about the history of this drink with Perfectdraft !