EARLY BEERS
The two main grains used by ancient peoples in brewing and baking were
barley and a kind of wheat known as "emmer". The
original first beers made from raw grain were very low in alcohol, using
the small amount of natural sugars available in the grain.
Sometimes the water used wasn't always potable, so low-alcohol beers
became the drink of choice; the low alcohol content killed any pathogens
that might harm a person. It was safer to drink the beer than the
water!
A big step ahead came (around 3,000 B.C.) when the brewers in
Mesopotamia learned to turn barley into malt--probably accidental at
first. Raw grain was wetted then left to dry in the sun. The
grain would swell in anticipating of sprouting, then it was dried while
it still retained its rich sugar and starches. Now the fermented
beverages made were much higher in alcohol. The process of making
malt became more sophisticated, and the Mesopotamians were able to
produce dark and light beers; a darker malt was made by slightly
scorching the malt over a fire.
Early brewers knew nothing of yeast; they did know that when they made
beer, the deposits from previous brews left in their clay pots would
turn the liquid into alcohol. Wild yeasts also contributed.
Hops weren't used at this time--the plant was not known. The
brewers made "beer bread", and poured heated water over the
bread, which was filtered and left to ferment spontaneously.
EGYPTIAN BEER-MAKING
The Egyptians used all malted grain and produced only dark beers.
Certain plants (such as mandrake) and salt were added. Brewing in
this ancient culture was not a sideline, but a major industry; pharaohs
gave their favorite subjects tens of thousands of litres of free beer.
Modern beer-makers have sought the answer to: what did the
Egyptian's beer taste like? The owner of the Anchor Brewery in San
Francisco, Fritz Maytag, contacted scholars all over the world; he
utilized ancient recipes, which included such ingredients as honey and
dates, for sweetening. The resultant beer was about 5% alcohol, an
orange-red color. Though it contained no hops, the brew was dry
and refreshing, and clearly and definitely beer.
THE END OF BREWING IN EGYPT
The Islamic invasion of the 8th century ended the practices of brewing
in Egypt--the Koran forbade the use of alcohol. But, word was
out. The Phoenicians had taken grains and brewing techniques to
other countries, and brewing continued in Bohemia, Bavaria, and in the
land of the Celts. The conquering Romans were still partial to
their wines--but grapes were finicky to cultivate in many parts of
Europe. Grains would grow widely, and when Roman troops ran out of
wine, they gladly turned to the local beers to quench their thirst.
"Coopers"
The skill of brewers came to exceed that of winemakers. Cooperage
- making storage casks out of wood - allowed brewers to store their beer
in large, air tight containers. In 21 AD, Greeks and Romans noted
seeing wooden "pithoi" in northern Europe, during a time when
they were still putting their wine in clay vessels. "The
Celts are fine coopers," it is noted, "their casks are as
large as houses." In Britain, the Celts made a beer called 'curmi'
and also made hard cider and mead from honey--and also blends from all
three, utilizing other fruits as well. While the Romans preferred
their wine, recent excavations in England suggests that Romans
brewed there on a regular basis.
EUROPEAN HISTORY OF BEER
Brewing was originally in the domain of the woman of the house--as was
bread-making, which utilized the same ingredients. A good ale wife
was held in high esteem. Men often married, not based on a woman's
good looks or dowry, but on her ability to brew good ale. Over
time, the best ale wives became so celebrated amongst their community
that people would go to their houses to drink, and then to buy, their
good ale.
Nordic peoples called their beer ol or ealu, from which comes the term
"ale". Another Saxon term for beer was woet, which
survives today as wort, the sweet malt liquid that is fermented into
beer. For centuries, ale meant a fermented barley-water flavored
with herbs, spices and other plants--but not hops. Beer, from the
German word bier, came much later and was ale used with hops.
Today all modern beer is made with the addition of hops.
In early Europe, a small commercial brewing movement started and spread,
basically based on inns and taverns where the owners brewed. These
brewers soon found a major competitor - the Christian church. The
archbishops and clerics stepped in to 'cure the excesses' of the
Anglo-Saxons -- and to corner the market in ale. Ale was brewed
for the monks and was for a time considered 'liquid bread' - you could
fast but not break your fast by drinking ale! The Benedictines
were the largest brewers, but in medieval Germany there were as many as
400 to 500 monastic breweries. Hey, remember some of these guys
were responsible for translating the bible....
MONASTIC BREWHOUSES
Beer making was big business for the monasteries for centuries.
Monastic brewhouses were generally located near moving bodies of water,
where grain mills were set up powered by the water. Many old type
brewhouses from the 13th and 14th centuries were still intact until
destroyed by the bombs of WWII. Old time beer making had
variability; the first "sparging" (washing of the malted grain
to remove sugar and starches) would produce the strongest ale, then
repeated spargings would produce weaker ales out of the same
batch. The first spargings would be the strongest tasting and the
highest in alcohol. The lightest batch would generally be less
than 3% alcohol and was called "small beer", suitable for
light drinkers, and women and children (according to the prescripts of
the day). But folks didn't just toddle around drunk all the time.
Life was not easy in the 'old days'. People worked hard and lived
on poor diets. Beer was able to provide calories, B vitamins, and
some respite with a meal or at the end of a hard day of labor.
Monastic brewing thrived until Henry VIII destroyed the monasteries of
England, in his contempt for the Roman Catholic Church. The
beginning of the decline of the monastic breweries was the beginning of
the rise of commercial brewers.
Utilizing hops in beer was very
unpopular with some brewers--and countries. Hops have a natural,
anti-bacterial effect, and allow beer to be stored longer or be
transported over long distances without souring or spoiling. In
the early 1500's, Flemish traders brought the hop to England, where some
brewers welcomed it, and some condemned it as "causing unhealthy
conditions in the body". Eventually brewers realized the
benefits to storage and flavor that hops provided, and now virtually all
commercial beers utilize hops. Before hops, other adjuncts
included juniper berries, various herbs, fruits, and even spruce buds.
SUBMITTED BY Chris Daum, of
German-American ancestry and beer drinker, quoting from and utilizing
several good books about beer, including "The New Complete Joy of
Home Brewing" book by Charlie Papazian, and "The Ultimate
Encyclopedia of Beer" by Roger Protz.
|
