Re: Raise a cold one...
Damn, I can't find the link now. It was a very interesting essay that made the arguement that agriculture was started with the purpose of brewing beer.
It had something to do with the detection of trace amounts of alcohol products on ancient pottery.
I'll keep looking.
UPDATE: Not exactly what I was looking for, but getting there: 9,000-Year History Of Chinese Fermented Beverages Confirmed