O.E. broþ, from P.Gmc. *bruthan, from verb root *bhreue- "to heat, boil, bubble, liquid in which something has been boiled" (cf. O.E. breowan "to brew;" see brew). Picked up from Gmc. by the Romantic and Celtic languages.
Brew\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brewed; p. pr. & vb. n. Brewing.] [OE. brewen, AS. bre['o]wan; akin to D. brouwen, OHG. priuwan, MHG. briuwen, br?wen, G. brauen, Icel. brugga, Sw. brygga, Dan. brygge, and perh. to L. defrutum must boiled down, Gr. ? (for ??) a kind of beer. The original meaning seems to have been to prepare by heat. [root]93. Cf. Broth, Bread.]1. To boil or seethe; to cook. [Obs.] 2. To prepare, as beer or other liquor, from malt and hops, or from other materials, by steeping, boiling, and fermentation. "She brews good ale." --Shak. 3. To prepare by steeping and mingling; to concoct. Go, brew me a pottle of sack finely. --Shak. 4. To foment or prepare, as by brewing; to contrive; to plot; to concoct; to hatch; as, to brew mischief. Hence with thy brewed enchantments, foul deceiver! --Milton.