Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have ever produced, with evidence of fermented grain drinks dating back over 13,000 years. Long before wine, whisky or spirits, our ancestors discovered that soaked grain would ferment into something warming, nourishing and — crucially — pleasantly intoxicating. From ancient Mesopotamia to medieval monasteries, beer has been central to human culture, economy and survival.
The story of craft beer, however, is really a story of reclaiming what was nearly lost. To understand the revolution happening in breweries and bars today, you first need to understand how beer nearly became just another industrial commodity.
Ancient Origins
The earliest known recipe for beer comes from a 3,900-year-old Sumerian poem called the Hymn to Ninkasi — the goddess of brewing. It describes the careful process of making beer from bread and grains, suggesting that brewing was already a well-established craft. In ancient Egypt, beer was a dietary staple, consumed by everyone from labourers building the pyramids to pharaohs. Workers were paid partly in beer.
Throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages, brewing was largely a domestic skill — predominantly practised by women. Monasteries became important centres of brewing knowledge from the early Middle Ages onwards, and many innovations in fermenting, hopping and conditioning can be traced to monastic brewers seeking to produce better beer for their communities and travellers.
The Industrial Revolution & Mass Production
The 19th century transformed brewing from a craft into an industry. Advances in chemistry, refrigeration and mechanisation allowed large-scale breweries to produce consistent beer at scale. The invention of the steam engine, the development of lager fermentation and the spread of railways that could distribute beer nationally all converged to favour big breweries over small ones.
By the mid-20th century, consolidation had dramatically narrowed the range of beers available. In the United States, thousands of small breweries had been wiped out first by Prohibition (1920–1933) and then by post-war industrial consolidation. By 1980, fewer than 50 breweries remained in the entire country, producing beers that were largely indistinguishable from one another — light, fizzy and aggressively marketed.
The Birth of Modern Craft Beer
The counterculture movement of the 1970s and 80s sowed the seeds of rebellion. In 1976, Jack McAuliffe opened New Albion Brewing in California, widely considered the first modern American microbrewery. In the UK, CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) had been founded in 1971 to fight the takeover of British pubs by large brewers pushing keg beer over traditional cask ale. These were small voices at first, but they would grow into a roar.
In 1978, US President Jimmy Carter signed legislation legalising home brewing, which proved to be a watershed moment. A generation of passionate home brewers began experimenting freely with ingredients, techniques and styles that the big breweries had abandoned. Many of those home brewers would go on to found the craft breweries that define the industry today.
The Craft Beer Revolution
Through the 1990s and 2000s, the number of craft breweries in the United States grew exponentially. Names like Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing and Anchor Steam became bywords for quality, creativity and passion. American craft brewers rediscovered forgotten styles, exaggerated familiar ones (the Double IPA was essentially an American invention), and introduced a new generation of drinkers to the idea that beer could be as complex, varied and interesting as wine.
The revolution spread globally. The UK, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia and Spain all developed vibrant local craft scenes. Brewers travelled, exchanged techniques and collaborated across borders. Beer festivals multiplied. Apps like Untappd created a community of enthusiastic tasters cataloguing thousands of beers. Craft beer was no longer a niche; it was a movement.
Craft Beer in Spain
Spain's craft beer scene — la cerveza artesana — came later than in northern Europe but has made up for lost time with extraordinary energy. From around 2005, a small number of pioneering Spanish brewers began producing ales, stouts and IPAs that challenged the dominance of light industrial lagers. Today, hundreds of small breweries operate across the country, from Galicia to Catalonia, from the Basque Country to Andalucía.
Spanish craft brewers have embraced both traditional European styles and the more experimental approach of American craft brewing, creating a scene that is genuinely diverse and exciting. The culture of the tapas bar, with its emphasis on small measures and social drinking, suits craft beer perfectly — and increasingly, you will find great artisanal beers alongside the vermouth and wine in bars across Spain.