So to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the freedom to drink, we present 10 great moments in the history of beer.

December 5, 1933 was a great day in American history. It was the day Congress ratified the 21st amendment and ended the Noble Experiment, Prohibition.

The word beer comes from the Latin word 'bibere' meaning 'to drink'.

The Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres, is the root of the Spanish word for beer, cerveza.

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.

Great Moment 1: Beer Discovered!



6 Century Mesopotamia : Ancient Samarians are the first civilized culture (that we know) to brew beer.

They called it a "Divine Drink" and offered it to their gods.

They were very smart.



Great Moment 2: Spaten!



1363 : SPATEN-FRANZISKANER Brewery opens in Germany.

The "modern- day" brewing tradition in Munich began in 1807.



Great Moment 3: It's good for you!



May 1769 : Guinness exports the first 6 1/2 barrels of their soon to be legendary Stout.

The beer drinkers world would never be the same again.



Great Moment 4: Big Break Through



1770 : Hydrometer invented: The hydrometer transformed how beer was brewed. Before its introduction beers were brewed from a single malt: brown beers from brown malt, amber beers from amber malt, pale beers from pale malt.

Using the hydrometer, brewers could calculate the yield from different malts.

Way to go beer science!



Great Moment 5: Oktober is Munich



October 1810 : The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich. It began to commemorae the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. (November 1993: Baierman enters Hofbräu brewery for first time. Exits with 3 large steins and 2 medium steins hidden in his baggy jeans.)



Great Moment 6: Historic brewery opens



1829 : David G. Yuengling opens a brewery in Pottsville, PA.

Today it's the oldest operating brewery in the United States.



Great Moment 7: Horse become Icon



April 7, 1933 : The Budweiser Clydesdales were first introduced to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.

They proceeded to carry the first case of post-Prohibition beer from the St. Louis brewery in a special journey down Pestalozzi Street in St. Louis.



Great Moment 8: Home Brew lives



October 14, 1978 : President Jimmy Carter signs a bill that removes the restrictions on home brewing. This allowed beer to be made in smaller quantities at home and allowed many of the craft brewers of today to get their start.

(Billy Beer among them.)



Great Moment 9: Beer + Festival = Genius



September 1982 : First ever Great American Beer Festivals held in Boulder, Colorado.

Thousands flock to pay tribute to beer every year since.



Great Moment 10: 'Forties' rule



1990s : Although Malt Liquor had been around for a few decades, it's 90s Hip Hop music that brings the '40 ounce' to the forefront of pop culture.

Drinking 40 ounces of malt liquor becomes a right of passage for American youth (including yours truly), regardless of the harsh taste.



Soon to be great moment:

January 1-5, 2009: World Series of Beer Pong.