The origins of lagers date back to around 500 BC when brewers in China and Mesopotamia were making beers with rice and wheat grains. These beers were stored in ice houses during summers and fermented during colder seasons while they were kept cool. The first lager was brewed by Anton Dreher in 1842 in Vienna, Austria - he called his new style of beer "pilsner," after the Czech city where it is still made today.