Select a topic on the left to browse through our articles about the history of beer and the role that beer has played in human history.
The Origins of Beer
The Hymn to Ninkasi
In the 1950's, Robert Braidwood of the University of Chicago proposed a link between breadmaking and the domestication of grains nearly 10,000 years ago. In response, Jonathan Sauer of the University of Wisconsin suggested that perhaps these grains were used for beer rather than bread.
It has also been postulated that beer was an accidental discovery. Stored barley seeds may have sprouted after becoming moist. With exposure to airborne yeast and more moisture, the sweeter barley sprouts could ferment, making the first beer.
We do know from ancient texts that the earliest beers are Sumerian, from ancient Mesopotamia. Beer appears to have been an important part of Sumerian culture: the word "beer" appears in many contexts relating to religion, medicine and myth. The code of Hammurabi from the 18th c BC details stiff penalties for owners of ancient "brewpubs" who overcharge customers or fail to inform authorities of criminals in their bar.
The artifact shown here, dating to 1800 BC, is etched with a hymn to Ninkasi, the goddess of brewing. (Not to be confused with our own Goddess @ Beer Church.) Its translation (below) describes how bappir, Sumerian bread, is mixed with "aromatics" to ferment in a big vat. It is interesting to note that bappir is a bread stored for long periods of time and is eaten only during food shortages. Yet it is a primary ingredient in the brewing process that supplies the necessary starches for sugar production. This is an effective way of storing raw materials for the brewing of beer. So which came first, the bread or the beer?
The Hymn to Ninkasi
Borne of the flowing water,
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,
Borne of the flowing water,
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,
Having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished its great walls for you,
Ninkasi, having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished it's walls for you,
Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.
Ninkasi, your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.
You are the one who handles the dough [and] with a big shovel,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with sweet aromatics,
Ninkasi, you are the one who handles the dough [and] with a big shovel,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with [date] - honey,
You are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,
Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,
You are the one who waters the malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates,
Ninkasi, you are the one who waters the malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates,
You are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.
Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.
You are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes,
Ninkasi, you are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes,
You are the one who holds with both hands the great sweet wort,
Brewing [it] with honey [and] wine
(You the sweet wort to the vessel)
Ninkasi, (...)(You the sweet wort to the vessel)
The filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound,
You place appropriately on a large collector vat.
Ninkasi, the filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound,
You place appropriately on a large collector vat.
When you pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat,
It is [like] the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates.
Ninkasi, you are the one who pours out the filtered beer of the collector vat,
It is [like] the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates.
Time Line of Beer History
Ever wonder about the role that beer has played in human history? To lend perspective to the historical importance of beer, we present this timeline of Beer History. For more information about the important and interesting place that beer has in history, visit the Beer Church Strange Brew page.
The following is a concise timeline of beer history by Prof. Linda Raley, Texas Tech University.
Ancient History
Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain & water before learning to make bread.
Beer became ingrained in the culture of civilizations with no significant viticulture.
Noah's provisions included beer on the Ark.
4300 BC, Babylonian clay tablets detail recipes for beer.
Beer was a vital part of civilization and the Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, and Inca cultures.
Babylonians produced beer in large quantities with around 20 varieties.
Beer at this time was so valued that it was sometimes used to pay workers as part of their daily wages.
Early cultures often drank beer through straws to avoid grain hulls left in the beverage.
Egyptians brewed beer commercially for use by royalty served in gold goblets, medical purposes, and as a necessity to be included in burial provisions for the journey to the hereafter.
Different grains were used in different cultures:
a) Africa used millet, maize and cassava.
b) North America used persimmon although agave was used in Mexico.
c) South America used corn although sweet potatoes were used in Brazil.
d) Japan used rice to make sake.
e) China used wheat to make samshu.
f) Other Asian cultures used sorghum.
g) Russians used rye to make quass or kvass.
h) Egyptians used barley and may have cultivated it strictly for brewing as it made poor bread.
1600 BC Egyptian texts contain 100 medical prescriptions calling for beer.
If an Egyptian gentleman offered a lady a sip of his beer they were betrothed.
Early brewers used herbals like balsam, hay, dandelion, mint, and wormwood seeds, horehound juice, and even crab claws & oyster shells for flavorings.
Romans brewed "cerevisia" (Ceres the goddess of agriculture & vis meaning strength in Latin).
55 BC Roman legions introduce beer to Northern Europe.
49 BC Caesar toasted his troops after crossing the Rubicon, which began the Roman Civil War.
Before the Middle Ages brewing was left to women to make since it was considered a food as well as celebration drink.
23 BC Chinese brewed beer called "kiu"
500-1000 AD the first half of the Middle Ages, brewing begins to be practiced in Europe, shifting from family tradition to centralized production in monasteries and convents (hospitality for traveling pilgrims).
During Medieval times beer was used for tithing, trading, payment and taxing.
1000 AD hops begins to be used in the brewing process.
1200 AD beer making is firmly established as a commercial enterprise in Germany, Austria, and England.
a) German's preferred cold temperature lagers (bottom-fermentation) stored in caves in the Alps.
b) English preferred mild temperature ales (top-fermentation) stored in cellars.
1295 King Wenceslas grants Pilsen Bohemia brewing rights (formerly Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia & Czech Republic).
1420 German brewers develop the lager method of brewing.
1489 Germany's first brewing guild, Brauerei Beck, was established.
1490's Columbus found Indians making beer from corn and black birch sap.
Renaissance History
1516 Bavarian brewing guilds push for the Reinheitsgeobot purity laws make it illegal to use any ingredients but water, barley, and hops in the brewing of beer (they didn't know yeast existed).
1553 Beck's Brewery founded & still brewing today.
Late 1500's Queen Elizabeth I of England drank strong ale for breakfast.
1587 the first beer brewed in New World at Sir Walter Raleigh's colony in Virginia--but the colonists sent requests to England for better beer.
1602 Dr. Alexander Nowell discovers that ale can be stored longer in cork sealed, glass bottles.
1612 the first commercial brewery opened in New Amsterdam (NYC, Manhattan) after colonists advertised in London newspapers for experienced brewers.
1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock because the beer supplies were running low.
1674 Harvard College has its own brewhouse.
1680 William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania) operated commercial brewery.
1757 Washington wrote his personal recipe "To Make Small Beer."
1786 Molson brewery is founded in what is today Canada.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had their own private brewhouses.
Samuel Adams operated commercial brewery.
Soldiers in the revolutionary army received rations of a quart of beer a day.
1789 James Madison proposes that Congress levy a low 8-cent duty per barrel on malt liquors to encourage "the manufacture of beer in every State in the Union."
Beer and bread were the mainstays of the ordinary person's diet for centuries.
Yeasts during this time were exactly the same as those used in bread.
Modern History
Before the 1800's most beer was really "Ale."
1810 Munich establishes Oktoberfest as an official celebration.
1830's Bavarians Gabriel Sedlmayr of Munich and Anton Dreher of Vienna developed the lager method of beer production.
1842 the first golden lager is produced in Pilsen, Bohemia.
In the mid-19th Century (1850's) German immigrant brewers introduced cold maturation lagers to the US (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Coors, Stroh, Schlitz, and Pabst roots begin here).
The modern era of brewing in the US began in the late 1800's with commercial refrigeration (1860), automatic bottling, pasteurization (1876), and railroad distribution.
1870's Adolphus Busch pioneers the use of double-walled railcars, a network of icehouses to make Budweiser the first national brand.
1876 Pasteur unraveled the secrets of yeast in the fermentation process, and he also developed pasteurization to stabilize beers 22 years before the process was applied to milk.
1880 there are approximately 2,300 breweries in the US.
1890s Pabst is the first US brewer to sell over 1 million barrels in a year.
1909 Teddy Roosevelt brought over 500 gal. of beer on safari in Africa.
1914 commercial competition drives the number of operating breweries down to 1,400.
1933 Prohibition ends for beer (April 7).
1935 only 160 breweries survive Prohibition.
1935 the beer can is introduced (American Can Co. & Kreuger Brewing).
1938 Elise Miller John heads Miller Brewing for 8 years as the first and only woman ever to run a major brewing company.
1965 Fritz Maytag purchases Anchor Brewing Co.
1966 Budweiser is the first brand to sell 10 million barrels in a year.
1976 New Albion is the first in the rebirth of brewpubs and microbreweries in the US opening in California.
1988 Asahi Super Dry (Japan) introduces new beer category (soon to follow is Michelob Dry).
1991 the US produces 20% of the world beer volume (world's largest).
1992:
1) The US beer industry produced & sold 2.62 billion cases of beer.
2) Estimated per capita consumption was 22.7 gallons (ranked 13th worldwide).
3) Beer drinkers consumed 5.89 Billion gallons, enough to fill the Houston Astrodome over 12 times or 330 oil tankers.
4) Five brewers produced 89.4% of domestic product:
a) Anheuser-Busch (A-B), 44.5%
b) Miller Brewing, 21.8%
c) Coors, 10.4%
d) Stroh, 7.4%
e) G. Heileman, 5.3%
5) The world's largest combined-site brewer was A-B, at 1.166 Billion cases.
6) The world's largest single-site brewery was Coors Brewing, Golden, Colorado, at 272 Million cases.
1993 US retail beer sales exceed $45 Billion.
First half of the 1900's beer was associated with men, blue-collar workers, college students, and mainstream sports enthusiasts.
Late 1900's beer had a different image and cultural function, with growth in popularity among a more diverse share of the population.
Beer and the Catholic Church
In the Middle Ages, brewers didn't understand the phenomena of brewing. They mixed the ingredients and somehow it turned into beer. Nobody questioned why or how it happened, they were just thankful that it did. Since they knew so little about the process, there was a great chance that something might go wrong along the way. In Europe during the middle ages, with the influence that the Catholic Church had on life in those days, there could only be two possible explanations for the phenomena of brewing beer -Devine Intervention or Demonic Intervention.
In general, in the Middle ages, when people could not explain something it was considered to be the work of the Devil. However, people liked beer. Not only was it tasty and intoxicating, it was also much safer to drink than water was in those days. Nothing resembling sanitation had been invented yet and most towns and villages had poisonous, if not toxic, water supplies. People were encouraged to drink beer in lieu of water. St. Arnold actually earned his sainthood because of this. Beer was good. Fermentation was considered a miracle.
Problem was, sometimes a batch of beer would not turn out right. When you don't understand the fermentation process, the possibility of something going wrong is very high. In the minds of our Mid-Evil progenitors, a bad batch of beer meant the Devil got is dirty hands into the brew kettle and interfered with God's miracle.
There were several practices employed to control or avoid the intervention of the devil. The posting of Christian icons in the brew house was (and still is) a common practice. Even today, in most Belgian brew houses you can find a crucifix or a statue of a Saint. Other symbols used were the six-pointed star or the sign of Solomon. Another common practice of the old brewers was to stick to certain rituals, like reciting ritual phrases at certain specific moments, or to try to do everything exactly the same way.
The most certain way to avoid demonic interference in the brewing process was to have the local priest preside over the brewing. Of course, a priest's time was very valuable in those days. There were lots of demons running around the countryside, towns and villages meddling with the lives of peasants and nobles alike. So, the priest had to be paid. Normal compensation for a priest was four pints of beer per blessing. The blessing of the beer was a service known as "The Right of Signage." Some priests were a bit crooked and began blackmailing breweries, demanding greater payment for their service. To control these excesses, local rulers created laws that defined how much would be paid to priests for their blessing. To keep the clergy happy, they also created rules that required that breweries have this blessing for every batch of beer they produced. This was an early and effective form of taxation. The law created and enforced by the ruler insured that the Church would continue to support that leader's divine right to rule.
This is a primitive example of The Man sticking it to The People.
Not long after the laws were created requiring payment to the Church for each batch of beer, the Church decided that it really wasn't necessary for a priest to be present at the time of brewing. As long as payments were made on time, the church would bless the brewery from afar. It was now a tax and not a ritual, a fee and not a rite, a levy and not service.
When the French Revolution spread through Europe at the end of the 18th century, and Europe finally started to truly revolt against such ancient ways of thinking, this practice of local priests getting paid a compensation for each batch of beer halted. The blessing of the brew kettles was soon replaced by the placing of candles before the statue of a Saint, or by the posting of a crucifix in the brew-house.
In the 19th century, science made such progress that the brewing process and the function of the yeast was fully understood. From then on, the priest had to pay for his beer. Unless, of course, he was a monk and was living in a beer-brewing Abbey.
At the very least you should know how to pronounce it.
"Rine-Hites-gaBoat"
Most Americans are probably familiar with the "German Beer Purity Law" only because it has been mentioned in Samuel Adams beer commercials. Not long ago, it was completely irrelevant to the American beer scene, but the current popularity of micro and craft brews in the U.S. and Canada has made "Reinheitsgebot" a meaningful term in discussions about North American beer.
So what is this Reinheitsgebot thing all about?
First of all, it should be understood that the Reinheitsgebot is the oldest food regulation in the world and that it still exists today. Translated to English, the word "Reinheitsgebot" essentially means "purity law." The complete, original text of The Rineheitsgebot is included below.
In the middle ages brewing beer was a primitive science, but by the 15th Century it was also becoming a very lucrative industry. Brewers looking to make greater profit often used cheaper ingredients of mixed variety to achieve their financial goals. Unscrupulous brewers would add fruit, herbs, eggs, tree bark, fish bladders and who knows what else to their beer. As a result, beer was frequently foul tasting and occasionally poisonous. In a beer-loving country like Bavaria a purity law was desperately needed.
The first regulation appeared in Augsburg, Bavaria sometime in the 1490's. Establishments that served bad beer or dishonest amounts of beer would be fined and their beer destroyed. In 1516, Bavaria's reigning Duke Wilhelm IV expanded the Augsburg regulation to cover all of Bavaria, creating the world’s first Pure Food & Beverage Law. The "Reinheitsgebot." Thanks to the regulation, Bavarian beers quickly became renowned for their superior quality. Eventually all the lands of Germany enforced the regulation.
The Reinheitsgebot stated, in brief, that only pure and essential ingredients be used in beer. The only ingredients allowed were barley, hops and water. Today, of course, yeast is also recognized as a vital ingredient. Yeast was a brewing element whose effect was not understood at the time the law was written. In the 1500’s, brewers utilized naturally occurring, airborne yeast and attributed fermentation to the will of God. In fact, lambic beers are still produced this way.
The Reinheitsgebot Today
As a result of the Reinheitsgebot, German beer became world renowned for its quality and consistency. Germany beer still enjoys the reputation to this day. There are more than 900 breweries in Germany and they all adhere to the purity law. In the German beer tax law, which regulates beer production, it states: "For the preparation of beer, only malt, hops, yeast and water can be used." The Reinheitsgebot lives!
Because of the free movement of goods within the European Union, the sale of imported beers which are not brewed in conformity with the Purity Law has recently been permitted in Germany. They can contain other raw materials (such as unmalted barley, maize, rice or millet) or additives, although they must be clearly labeled. These impure, imported beers have not sold well in Germany because of poor consumer acceptance.
Although the United States Food and Drug Administration would not allow a brewer to produce an unsafe product, they do nothing to prevent the use of non-traditional ingredients in beer. Truth be told, there are plenty of American craft and micro brewers which use non-essential ingredients go give their beer a distinctive character or a marketing advantage. Although many popular craft and micro brews do not meet the German purity standard, they are admirable, "real" beers in their own right.
Other American brewers, who manufacture their product on a massive scale, use ingredients that are not traditionally associated with beer. Although many of the ingredients may be untraditional or even inorganic, they are not immediately poisonous and produce no noticably nasty taste. One could argue that the goal is to use unessential ingredients to give the beer as little flavor as possible.
The Complete Reinheitsgebot Text Translated
We hereby proclaim and decree, by Authority of our Province, that henceforth in the Duchy of Bavaria, in the country as well as in the cities and marketplaces, the following rules apply to the sale of beer:
From Michaelmas to Georgi, the price for one Mass [Bavarian Liter 1,069] or one Kopf [bowl-shaped container for fluids, not quite one Mass], is not to exceed one Pfennig Munich value, and
From Georgi to Michaelmas, the Mass shall not be sold for more than two Pfennig of the same value, the Kopf not more than three Heller [Heller usually one-half Pfennig].
If this not be adhered to, the punishment stated below shall be administered.
Should any person brew, or otherwise have, other beer than March beer, it is not to be sold any higher than one Pfennig per Mass.
Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail.
Should, however, an innkeeper in the country, city or markets buy two or three pails of beer (containing 60 Mass) and sell it again to the common peasantry, he alone shall be permitted to charge one Heller more for the Mass of the Kopf, than mentioned above. Furthermore, should there arise a scarcity and subsequent price increase of the barley (also considering that the times of harvest differ, due to location), WE, the Bavarian Duchy, shall have the right to order curtailments for the good of all concerned.
Saint Arnold - Patron Saint of Brewers
Saint Arnold was born to a prominent Austrian family in the year 580. Even back in those days the Austrians were famous for their love of beer, and admired for their brewing prowess. Beer was a proud Austrian tradition that was not wasted on young Arnold.
As a young man, Arnold entered the priesthood and began moving his way up that earliest of all career ladders. At the age of 32, he was given the title Bishop, and in 612 was named "Arnold, Bishop of Metz." (Metz is in France.)
He is said to have spent his life warning peasants about the health hazards of drinking water. Water was not necessarily safe to drink during the dark ages, especially around towns and villages. Nasty stuff. Arnold always had the well-being of his followers close at heart.
Beer, on the other hand, was quite safe. Arnold frequently pointed this out to his congregation. He is credited with having once said, "From man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world." It goes without saying that the people loved and revered Arnold.
In 627, Saint Arnold retired to a monastery near Remiremont, France, where he died and was buried in 640.
In 641, the citizens of Metz requested that Saint Arnold's body be exhumed and carried from the monastery to the town of Metz for reburial in their local church - The church where Arnold had so frequently preached the virtues of beer. Their request was granted.
It was a long and thirsty journey, especially since they were carrying a dead bishop. As the ceremonial procession passed through the town of Champignuelles, the tired processionals stopped for a rest and went into a tavern for a drink of their favorite beverage - Beer. Much to their dismay, they were informed that there was only one mug of beer left, and that they would have to share it. That mug never ran dry and the thirsty crowd was satisfied.
Every Saint needs a miracle. That's how the Church decides you are a Saint. The story of the miracle mug of beer spread and eventually Arnold was canonized by the Catholic Church for it.
Saint Arnold is recognized by the Catholic Church as the Patron Saint of Brewers. He is recognized by Beer Church as a top-notch, supernatural beer stud. |