Loved the article, learned something.

>>a black tar-like paste made from used brewers’ yeast.

Another Vegemite fan here. My understanding is that the Brits developed Marmite, using expended brewer's yeast, and Vegemite was developed as a substitute during WWI. I just looked at a jar and the first ingredient is yeast (grown on wheat and barley) then celery seed. Not clear it's brewer's yeast. I've also tried Marmite (both the UK and NZ versions) and prefer Vegemite - might be the 'baby duck' syndrome as Vegemite was my first.

For anybody who hasn't tried it, if you like umami and salty together you're gonna love it - just don't stick a spoonful of it in your mouth until you're used to it. Start with a thin smear along with butter.

>>Early beers didn’t preserve very well

Hops was a preservative, wasn't put into beers/ales until later. If you're wondering why IPAs are so 'hoppy' it's because English beer destined for India needed extra preservative to make the journey.