The Remarkable History of Beer – Part 1
The Remarkable History of Beer – Part 1
In the early 2000s, ‘ancient ales’ had a bit of a comeback when an archaeologist and a beer company worked together to recreate a 2,700-year-old beer.
When you think about the history of beer and when beer was first starting to be made, 2,700 years ago may come as a surprising number.
Afterall, 2,700 years ago brings us back to the year 680 B.C.E.
As a bit of a world history refresher, that’s when Islam was first getting up and running, when Japan broke off from Korea and officially became its own country, and when the Church of England was formed.
And guess what. Beer was there during it all (well, most of it). Actually, beer has been an incredibly popular drink since 7,000 B.C.E. That’s over 9,000 years ago!
So, when we think about the history of beer, we’re thinking about 9,000 years of history. Beer is so intertwined with civilization, that learning about beer history is actually a pretty good way to learn about human history. Maybe reading this article to study for a history test won’t help much, but hey, it won’t hurt either.
What Happened 9,000 Years ago?
How did this culture of beer drinking start? Like most great inventions, beer was created for the first time as an accident.
Yes, one small accident 9,000 millennia ago led to the formation of the giant beer industry that we know today, and created the drink that wins the award for most popular drink in the world.
What happened was, a woman (most likely) in Babylonia was making a grain porridge with barley. She let it sit out for so long that it fermented, and the porridge actually became beer. Once the Babylonians realized that they could get a buzz from fermented porridge, beer never went out of style.
Nobody can tell if this is exactly how it happened, since nobody from that time is around to tell us the details, so we have to presume. In fact, the very first creation of beer is not known and probably won’t ever be known to us, because archaeological discoveries relating to the history of beer are always being unearthed and discovered.
Around the same time period as the Babylonians’ first ventures in beer-making, China, Sumer, and Syria were making their own beers, too. Surprisingly, a recipe for ancient Chinese beer was found, dating back to the 7,000 B.C.E.s, making it the oldest beer recipe ever written. The recipe called for rice, honey, grape, hawthorn, and water.
This may be the oldest recipe that is known to us, but it doesn’t mean that beer wasn’t being made beforehand. In fact, it isn’t too much of a stretch to say that beer might have been around for dozens of thousands of years, or even hundreds. We may never know for sure.
Ancient Egypt and the Beginnings of Beer Culture
Ancient Egypt and the Beginnings of Beer Culture
So, What About Light Beer?
There is even a quote from the Instruction of Ani, an ancient Egyptian wisdom text, that reads, “[Your mother] sent you to school when you were ready to be taught writing, and she waited for you daily at home with bread and beer.”
Yet, people weren’t drunk all the time. So, it is thought that their beer was not very intoxicating. However, there were many festivals at that time that involved getting drunk and dancing around, so whether their beer was left to ferment for longer, or they just drank way more beer than normal, the ancient Egyptians did know how to get buzzed and have a good time.
The Goddesses of Beer
The Goddesses of Beer
The Hymn to Ninkasi and Other Mentions of Beer in Literature
The Hymn to Ninkasi and Other Mentions of Beer in Literature
In other parts of the poem, water is mentioned as being drunk by people when doing their daily tasks, but beer was drunk as a sign of merriment and for celebration. To the Sumerians, knowing about and drinking beer was one of the main facets of human life.
Making its Way to Europe
Maybe modern beer brewers should take inspiration from the beers of our ancestors and start getting creative with it. It would be a welcome change to the dare I say, monotonous choices of beer on the market now.
Now that we got that cleared up, let’s talk about the Middle Ages.
As people began traveling over greater distances, beer became just as widespread as people and civilizations did. Europe was especially good at producing beers because of its moderate climate and ability to grow abundant cereal crops. Because of this, parts of Europe, including Ireland, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Austria, the Czech Republic, Serbia, and Albania are called ‘Beer Belt Countries.’
Similarly, Southern European countries, including Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Georgia, and Portugal are called ‘Wine Belt Countries’ because of their propensity to grow vineyards.
Beer in the Middle Ages
Beer in the Middle Ages
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