Beer has been brewed and drunk for 10,000 years, but those earliest beers would've been unrecognizable to modern lager drinkers expecting something bright, effervescent, and golden. As Mark Dredge points out, lager is a relative newcomer, ostensibly first brewed around 500 years ago. Diving into a surprising history, Dredge explains what, exactly, a lager is; how it was first brewed and how it would have tasted; what beer was like before the birth of lager; and what role was played by German monks and kings in the creation of the drink we know so well today.