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Home ferments; Ale and Beer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrewing

"Beer has been brewed domestically throughout its 7,000-year history, beginning in the Neolithic period in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), Egypt and China. It seems to have first developed as thick beers; during this time meads, fruit wines and rice wines were also developed.

Women brewers dominated alcohol production on every occupied continent until commercialization and industrialization of brewing occurred. The tradition of brewing being in the domain of women stemmed from the fact that brewing was a by-product of gathering, and often considered a part of baking. " (more at link!)

Malting barley took place in an Ost house. Harvested barley was lined in rows on stone floors and soaked in water to start germination and promote conversion of starch to sugar. The rows of barley were periodically turned for a day or so and were then turned and roasted on heated trays to stop germination and dry the barley. In some cases malted barley was roasted longer to caramelize the sugar to produce a darker beer.

In colonial times barley was not as common and involved additional steps--such as malting--so was not as commonly brewed. In the United States cider was something that was fermented on many farms as most farms had apple trees. Cider was used as drink or further fermented to make vinegar.

Some resources for brewing beer and cider at home! (Too much to post here! Some of this is pricey! )

https://www.northernbrewer.com/blogs/new-to-brewing-start-here/How-to-Brew-Beer-Homebrewing-101

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/

https://store.bellsbeer.com/pages/homebrewing (They have a store in Kalamazoo!)

Do a search to find more!