Egyptians seem to have used barley to make malt and a type of wheat, emmer, instead of hops. They heated the mixture then added yeast and uncooked malt to the cooked malt. After adding the second batch of malt the mixture was allowed to ferment.

The yeast used was a naturally occurring variety to begin with, replete with moulds, bacteria and other impurities, which can't have improved the desired results. By the New Kingdom yeast cells were much more uniform in size resembling modern strains, and with fewer impurities, which has led scientists to believe that the Egyptians had mastered the making of pure yeast cultures.

Large scale beer production seems to have been a royal monopoly. Temples had their own breweries, while brewing in towns and villages was farmed out. One of the earliest breweries found operated at Hierakonpolis during the middle of the 4th millennium BCE and produced possibly more than 1000 litres of beer per day.

Beer, together with bread, oil and vegetables, was an important part of the wages workers received from their employers. The standard daily ration during pharaonic times was two jars containing somewhat more than two litres each. It was a healthier drink than water drawn from the river or some canal, which was often polluted.

The Egyptians liked their beer cool as can be learned from a complaint against some robbers who had stolen some food and drink: "They drew a bottle of beer which was [cooling] in water, while I was staying in my father's room.