Every time you drink your favourite beer, you are fulfilling your evolutionary destiny.

Historians have long known that drinking goes back thousands of years, but recent scientific studies suggest that alcohol played a significant role in human evolution by helping humans become big-brained and more social.

In primitive societies, feasting in circles around a fire, exchanging gossip, stories and experiences strengthened social bonds. Adding alcohol to the mix brought out endorphins, which caused humans to become more social and increased the size of the brain as a result of more frequent speech and interaction. This was crucial for human evolution and began about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, where the earliest evidence of brewing has been discovered.

Some scientists even argue that humans didn’t turn from hunting to farming because of food, but because of beer. Einkorn, the plant used for bread, supposedly made disgusting baked goods, but delicious beer. So you could say that hunter-gatherers got sick of hunting and gathering because they were ready to start drinking and farming.

Alcohol’s role in human evolution didn’t stop there. During the Middle Ages, drinking alcohol transformed from a relaxed social pastime into a necessity in polite society. Sharing a table with the upper class meant showing your allegiances by learning a strict code of toasting. If a guest didn’t toast properly, he seemed dangerous and could even be executed!

Drinking has played an important role in human history since the beginning of civilisation. Cheers to evolution!š