Ales and Beers—and related Stout, Porter, and Weiss—are the yeast fermented products of various grains like malted barley and/or wheat, which was most common. All four of these very similar products are lumped together and referred to simply as "Ales & Beers" in this gallery. Beer brewing began in the United States during early colonial days when beer was consumed in large quantities on all sorts of occasions and during almost all meals. However, using bottles to contain beer was uncommon during that time as beer was dispensed from kegs in taverns and inns and bottles were relatively rare and expensive.