History of Craft Beer
Photo Taken by Jocelyn Stacia
How far back does beer really go?
Ancient Mesopotamia
It starts as far back as 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia modern day Iraq. Where archeologists found a hymn or a recipe written to the Goddess of Beer, Ninkasi. Ninkasi was known under a variety of names and in some cases paired with other gods and goddesses, however the hymn never changed. Below is the Hymn of Ninkasi translated by Miguel Civil:
“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 its 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.”
A hymn that was written thousands of years after the beer was produced meaning that by the time the hymn was written there were several alterations and varieties of beer in circulation.
Ancient Egypt
For a good majority of history it’s thought that Egypt was actually the inventors of beer, but that was simply because they were the ones to make it palatable. Greek and Rome talked highly of Egyptian beer and made much of their beer from that of the Egyptian recipe.
It is said that the God Osiris instructed the Egyptians to brew beer for the people to enjoy. Whichever class you were in identified if you drank beer or wine. Upper class had the luxury of drinking wine and the working class drank beer.
Ancient China
A 5,000 year old brewery was discovered in 2004 in Mijiaya in the Shaanaxi Province. Archeologists say that this brewery had all the steps that are still used to this day. National Geographic writer Adam Hoffman wrote that there were “pots and stoves for mashing and brewing, funnels for filtration, and storage vessels for the finished product.” Meaning that China had one of the oldest microbreweries to ever exist!
Barley is a Western grain which means that it was imported in order to make the beer that the Chinese would have been drinking. Jiajin Wang who was a doctoral student at Stanford University at the time of the study said some of “[t]he other ingredients–mainly the broomcorn millet, the Job’s tears, snake gourd root, yam, and lily–are indigenous to China. So it is a drink mixed with both traditions, Chinese and Western.”
Ancient Greece and Rome
Greeks and Romans would drink beer, but eventually became the wine connoisseur of the world. It’s written in many historical texts from famous writers at the time how unpalatable beer was. They were quick to abandon it, but if you continued to drink it you were considered the ‘other’ or less than those who drank wine.
Medieval Europe
It’s said that Bavarians were brewing beer as early as 800 BCE, but most of Europe hadn’t begun enjoying beer until 400 AD.
It spread through most of Europe as Dutchmen brought it to England, trade routes led to the widespread love of beer during the Middle Ages. However it is a myth that beer was drunk more than water. Water was still cheaper than beer and much more readily available as many towns and cities were built right along waterways and oceans to ensure access to water and supplies.
Hops were first introduced in 800 AD, but had a hard time getting traction as it was harder to find without the demand we have today. Now hops are one of the main ingredients for beers, but at the time it was mostly gruit. Before you think I spelt fruit wrong I promise that it’s gruit. Gruit was an herb mixture used to season and bitter the beer, but it did not have the same preserving properties as hops.
Early Modern Europe
It is true that sometime in the 13th century Germans took off with beer and were able to grow it at an expansively fast rate due to perfecting the hopped beer. If you want to learn more about German beer, you can check out Better Beer and Time Honored Traditions. (insert link to last months blog)
During the 14th & 15th centuries beer moved from being a German activity and something primarily done in the home to a pub and even monastery activity.
In the 16th century beer became bottom fermented whereas before it had been top fermented. This process was actually discovered by accident.
Asia
Asia, specifically China, continued to not only perfect their brewing, but also grow their thirst for beer through the last 5,000 years. As of 2020 they were the top consumers of beer in the world with the United States and Brazil in second and third.
Before perfecting their brew they used mostly malted barley, therefore resulting in a much shorter preservation time. As time went on like many other countries China replaced their barley with the more favorable counterpart hops. However what is still being used is the use of rice to make alcoholic beverages these are referred to as rice wine or sake in Asian cultures. They are not beer as the fermenting process is not using barley or hops, but sake can be used to describe all alcoholic beverages at times.
The Industrial Revolution
With the use of steam engines this changed the fermentation process once again. Until this point malt was primarily dried over wood, charcoal or even straw fires and brewers constantly struggled to mask the smoky taste in the fermentation process.
The steam engine didn’t just help in the fermentation process it also helped in so many other areas such as the thermometer, hydrometer, iron-making, mechanical refrigeration and of course in the transportation of the beer once in its final state.
The Industrial Revolution was a game changer to much of the way we now know beer.
Modern Beer
Beer after the steam engine became more streamlined, but still many other cultures held true to the original ways of making beer.
However if we are going to talk about modern beer we have to talk about prohibition. Prohibition in the United States lasted from 1920-1933 and was where thousands of breweries were sent to their graves. Sadly many of them closed and those that remained converted their businesses into soft serve drinks or other types of businesses all together.
Prohibition brought on what we know today as the light lager because bootlegged beer was watered down to make it spread further. With great marketing after WWII it has become some of the most popular beers over what Americans were accustomed to before prohibition.
Today Americans can enjoy craft brews from over 9,000 different breweries. While worldwide there are over 19,000 breweries to enjoy craft beer.
Conclusion
Modern craft beer has come so far, from clay pots and funnels to vats and cans. As well as from barley to hops and home brews to taprooms.
Craft beer has evolved as much as humans have in the last 7,000 years and at Berkley Beer Company were proud to be part of the revolution of craft brewers and beer to take the world by storm today.
Written by Jocelyn Stacia