Mechanical refrigeration reaches the brewery

What was going on around it

An event on its own is a date. These are the periods it belongs to, where the argument about what changed is actually made.

• Lager and the conquest of cold

  Lager was a beer you could only make in cold places at cold times of year, until it was not — and the technology that removed the constraint is why most of the world now drinks it.

Why it matters

Made lager brewable year-round and anywhere, which is why a Bavarian cellar technique became the world’s default beer.

How well this is established

Traditions

• Bavarian lager brewing — Cold fermentation and extended cold storage, developed in Bavarian cellars long before refrigeration and later exported worldwide.