A Brief History of Beer

©2012 Steve Hathcock

Recipe for making beer

The oldest records of beer brewing date back 6,000 years to the time of the Sumerians and the ancient cities of Babylon and Ur. Though they probably discovered the fermentation process by chance (perhaps a loaf of bread or sack of grain became wet and a short time later began to ferment), they quickly recognized the potential of the inebriating pulp. A 4,000-year-old Sumerian seal shows baked bread being crumbled into water to form a mash, and then made into a drink that is recorded as having made people feel “exhilarated, wonderful and blissful.” The Sumerians had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The Babylonians brewed more than 20 varieties of beer and the amber liquid was oftentimes supplied in lieu of wages. The golden brew was highly prized for both its nutritional value and its barter value. During the latter part of the Bronze Age, taxes were paid with sheaves of wheat and grain while tribute, a form of payment required by many rulers as a sign of submission, was preferred in a more liquid form. Beer is mentioned in the Old Testament. Noah was instructed to bring along beer in addition to food and water. He stocked the ark with many barrels of his favorite drink. There is no record of whether Noah and his son’s preferred a light or dark beer, but I’m sure they had plenty of time to debate the qualities of their favorite brewski while mucking the elephant stalls. Oddly enough, in ancient Egypt, brewing was not a sideline, but a major industry. Pharaohs rewarded their favorite subjects with tens of thousands of gallons of free beer! Surely they “walked like an Egyptian” while under the influence of that great bounty. Egyptians preferred their beer served in golden goblets. If a man offered a woman a sip of his beer it meant he was asking the maid’s hand in marriage. A form of that custom is still practiced today on New Year’s Eve and during October-Fest. Of course, a “quickie divorce” usually follows in short order. Priests routinely placed the equivalent of a couple of six packs in the king’s sarcophagus to quench the sun god’s thirst while on the last journey. One has to hope that a bottle of aspirin and a pair of dark sunglasses were included in the after-life survival kit. Caesar toasted his troops after they crossed the Rubicon River at the commencement of the great Roman Civil War. The Romans called their beer “cervesa,” after the Goddess of agriculture Ceres and the word “vis” meaning strength in Latin. As the Empire expanded, Roman legions brought the art of brewing hops to Europe and soon afterward to the shores of England and Ireland. Neither has been the same since. By the end of the 10th