Alcohol and its Role in the Evolution of Human Society

Following a successful career in academia as a Senior Lecturer and Head of Microbiology at Anglia Ruskin University, Ian Hornsey decided to concentrate on brewing. He co-founded and directed the Nethergate Brewery from 1985 until in 1999 oral cancer forced him to retire and take to writing about the science behind the brewing industry. Now a regular contributor to The Brewer & Distiller International, What's Brewing, and other trade publications, he has also written several best selling books.

• The outline history of fermented beverages;Yeast structure and molecular biology;The process of fermentation;'Mainstream' beverages;Indigenous fermentations;Anthropological, archaeological, and sociological perspectives;Ethanol and the body;Health aspects of alcoholic beverages;Appendix: The physicochemistry of ethanol.

"gives a description of the science and social context of its production from the viewpoint of a former academic microbiologist and professional brewer."