Cottage brewers flavor their beer with “gruit”—mixtures of aromatic plants like horehound, yarrow, and bog myrtle. These un-hopped ales became the signature brew style in Britain.

Ancient people collect wild grains in stone dishes. A careless cave person leaves them out in the rain. Wild yeasts waft through the air and settle in the mush. Magic happens: yeast ferments the grain’s sugars and a bubbly brew is born. Later, people get around to making bread. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) becomes one of the world’s first domesticated grains.