www.nature.com article online. December 6, 2004. Prehistoric Dregs Pack a Punch.
Brewing may go back over 9,000 years according to research by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology.
Previously experts agreed that brewing dated to at least 3000 years ago based on evidence in what is now Iraq and elsewhere.
The research was conducted on vessels found in China and dated to 9,000 years ago. The researchers found analysis of chemical residues inside the pots could only have come from fermentation. Rice, Grape and Hawthore seeds as well as beeswax were found in the area. This leads the researchers to believe that Rice, Honey and Fruit were the key ingredients. Also that the flavor was either grape or hawthorne. (The Hawthorne is a bush in which the seed is used as an herb) Hawthorne link