FOOD HISTORY: BEER( (Part 1: In the Beginning)
Prolog
All beer can be broken down into two categories: Ale and
Lager. All beer is made from grains that are grown and allowed to ferment in
barrels. Ales are fermented at warm temperatures at the top of the barrel, by
top fermenting yeasts while Lager is beer which ferments at the bottom of the
barrel by bottom fermenting yeast species under cold temperatures. Because of
these fermentation differences, among others, Ales are usually full-bodied,
nutty, and somewhat bitter while, Lagers are mild, fruity, and crisp
With the above in mind, I will continue to the history of
beer.
How did beer appear? Nobody really knows. When the
pre-historic people changed from hunters to gatherers, they collected wild
grain to use as food or to make bread. As new grains were discovered - wheat,
rice, barley, and corn – these new varieties were planted, cultivated, and
stored. The domestication of these crops spread west to Europe, east to Asia
and, eventually south to African countries i.e., Sudan and Egypt. Perhaps
rainwater formed a pool in some warm area where a grain was stored, became
contaminated with wild yeasts, fermented, and formed into a new liquid.
Alternatively, it could have been a bowl of dough prepared for making bread
being placed in a warm place, getting wet with water, being forgotten, becoming
contaminated with wild yeast and fermenting. Whatever the case may be, when the
new liquid was tasted by a curious person, who like the taste and effect it
had, they decided to try to replicate it, and “beer” arrived on the scene. Not
knowing about yeasts, early brewers thought that fermentation was “magic” or
“spiritual”, a gift from the gods. Be
that as it may, the oldest known record of beer consumption is anywhere from
11,700 - 13,000 years old. It was previously believed that agriculture came
about because ancient cultures needed the grains for food, but more recent
evidence suggests that these cultures needed to plant more grains to use for
brewing. Sumerian clay tablets from Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Babylonia show
that beer making was an honorable profession at that time. The
thousand-year-old Sumerian poem, “Epic of Gilgamesh” mentions beer. Beer making
became more widespread in regions where cereal and other grains were
domesticated and cultivated. Beer is mentioned in the bible: Proverbs 31:4 -9;
Isiah 24:9; Isiah 56 and 12; Micah 2:11) A 13.000-year-old “brewery” was
recently discovered in Israel. Ancient brewers used mixtures of herbs called
“gruits” to give flavor and bitterness to their beer. They also possessed
antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Later, they were replaced using the
herb,” hops”. (More about that later). Beer brewed in these times were more
like porridge than beer made later. Because of their thick consistency, straws were
used to avoid the bitter “sediment” left from fermentation and brewing. In
Egypt beer making was a vital industry. Egyptians were the first persons to
start state owned breweries. It became so popular that it was taxed, used as
partial payment for workers building the Pyramids, and, as a symbol of wealth,
buried in the tombs of the wealthy. Eventually, beer made its way to Europe
where an abundance of barley crops provided lots of raw ingredients for
brewers. Egyptian beer was talked about
in other countries; the ancient Greeks and Romans wrote about it in their
texts. While Greeks and Romans brewed beer, it was never as popular as wine. Roman soldiers consumed beer in the northernmost areas of the Empire;
incidentally, the same regions where great beers are made today; Germany,
Austria, Belgium, etc. Beer brewed at that time were Ales. After the fall of
the Roman Empire, Europe was left to its own devices being broken up to small
countries. This era was called the “Dark Ages” where was mostly brewed at home
or in monasteries.
