I agree with hornet. The concept of beer has probably morphed considerably over time. From what I have read, yeast was not identified as the cause for fermentation until 1857, by Pasteur. Prior to that, people just thought the alcohol was spontaneous through some kind of chemical reaction. The German purity laws "Reinheitsgebot" (thanks wiki) from the 1500's originally stated that beer must only contain Water, Barley, and Hops. It didnt even have yeast as one of the main ingredients until Pasteur confirmed it was the cause of the alcohol and they had to modify the laws.
I also remember reading something about the Brew spoons. Supposedly these spoons were used by a family for generations and they were a highly prized hand-me-down... many believe these spoons to be the source of the yeasties.
Good stuff, beer history rocks...