Even if you are not particularly fond of the brew, or even detest it, the history of beer is fascinating.
It comes in many different flavors and dazzling colors, something for everyone. There is white, golden, wheat, stout or strong, porter or double bock or even this fabulous green shade reserved for St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
Alex flickr.com
It is thought that beer was probably brewed even before civilization learned how to bake bread, with Noah probably having his own stash upon the ark according to Professor Linda Raley of Texas Tech University.
In this picture taken from the World Encyclopedia of Beer by Brian Glover the King of Ur and his nobles raise their glasses at a banquet during 2,500 B.C. in toast with what was believed to be beer.
- Babylonian clay tablets dating back to 4300 BC detailed recipes for beer. There were around 20 varieties produced at that time.
- It has been a vital part of ancient Assyrian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese and Inca cultures also
- Records indicate that beer was sometimes used to pay workers for part of their wages
- In earlier cultures sometimes straws were fashioned for drinking to avoid the grain hulls left in the beverage
- Beer was brewed commercially by Egyptians and served in gold goblets to royalty, used for medicinal purposes and buried with the dead for their journey in afterlife
Different cultures favor different grains:
- Africa - millet, maize and cassava
- United States - persimmon
- Mexico - agave
- South America - corn
- Brazil - sweet potatoes
- Japan - rice (sake)
- China - wheat (samshu)
- Other Asian cultures - sorghum
- Russia - rye to make quass or kvass
- Egypt - barley
- Egyptian texts were found dating back to 1600 BC with 100 medical prescriptions requiring beer according to Professor Linda Raley, or over 600 prescriptions and remedies according to Brian Glover's research. Either way there were a lot of prescriptions including beer.
- At one time in Egypt if a gentleman offered a lady a sip of his beer it was considered a marriage proposal
- Much earlier flavors consisted of balsam, hay, dandelion, mint, wormwood seeds, horehound juice, crab claws and oyster shells
- Romans gave beer the name "Cerevisia" which translates to Ceres the goddess of agriculture and "vis" meaning strength in Latin
- Brewers who produced unfit beer in ancient Babylonia were sentenced to be drowned in their own beer
- In the 1st century A.D. the Roman historian stated that beer was the “usual drink of the Germans and Gauls”.
- Ale was regarded so highly that according to Norse mythology Vikings would spend their days happily drinking beer in the warriors resting place, Valhalla, after being slain in battle
- In their travels Columbus and his crew found Indians making beer from corn and black birch sap
For even more information regarding the history of beer visit: BeerHistory.com
George Washington's personal recipe
Our first president, George Washington penned the following recipe in 1757, which I found here.
"To Make Small Beer
Take a large Siffer [Sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste. -- Boil these 3 hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler put in 3 Gall[ons] Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Melasses into the cooler & St[r]ain the Beer on it while boiling Hot. let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of Yea[s]t if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank [et] & let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask -- leave the bung open till it is almost don[e] Working -- Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed."
Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both known to own their own breweries
The basics of brewing have not changed much over the centuries as shown pictured below. This woman brews beer for her family in Zambia.
The huge copper kettles pictured in Saku Brewery in Estonia accomplish the same goal, accept in greater quantities.
This article is not meant to extol the virtues of beer, while beer does contain properties which both lower cholesterol and provide us with antioxidants, it has been often time misused and consumed to the detriment of mankind. I would hope that anyone who enjoys an occasional drink both drinks in moderation and does not drive while drinking.
