1. Ancient China
It is impossible to know how long beer has been produced in Chinese territory, but the artifacts found over the centuries seem to indicate that the Chinese have been drinking beer for at least 7,000 years. In ancient times, the beverage was called Lao Li and was an important element of worship, being used in funerals and other celebration rituals.
Produced in a way relatively similar to other ancient civilizations, such as those of Egypt and Mesopotamia, Chinese beer had local ingredients that gave it its own nuances. Primarily, rice was the main cereal used in its production, sometimes along with corn and wheat. To these, ingredients such as honey, grapes, or hawthorn berries were added.
After the Han dynasty (202 BC to 220 AD), beer lost importance to rice wine and was only reintroduced into Chinese society in the 19th century, with the construction of several breweries by Russian, Polish, Czech, and German immigrants.
2. Sumer
In the poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, which gathers several Mesopotamian writings from the 7th century BC, the hero Enkidu becomes civilized after contact with the gods who teach him to drink beer. Many of the legends and poems included in the work originate from Sumer (3300 BC to 1200 BC), one of the peoples who most promoted beer in this region of the current Middle East.
Beer was consumed by men and women of all social classes, who drank from a communal jar using cane straws designed specifically for this purpose. The beer was probably still fermenting at the time, so the straws were essential for consumption, acting as a filter.
The two main ingredients of Sumerian beer were malted barley and bappir, a barley bread baked twice before being incorporated into the process. Hops were not yet used, and the beer was likely thick, with a porridge-like consistency. Curiously, although there are thousands of references to beer on clay tablets found in present-day Iraq and Syria, the only recipe is found in the song Hymn to Ninkasi, dedicated to the Sumerian goddess of beer.
It is through this work that we can today recreate the beer that was consumed for millennia at the gates of Europe. The accounts describe a warm, sour, milky, and sometimes unpleasant beer. The recreation is far from perfect but provides a sensory link to the past—and to the ancestor of modern beer.
Other peoples in this region, the Babylonians, produced various beer styles, classifying them into twenty categories, each with distinct characteristics. In this civilization, beer became a commercial good and a commodity in internal and external trade (for example, with Egypt, where beer was very popular).
The beverage began to be produced on a large scale, which motivated three paragraphs in the Code of Hammurabi, a set of laws written and published in 1772 BC. One of them punished tavern keepers who served small measures of beer to customers in exchange for money instead of grain. Different times.
3. Ancient Egypt
There is an episode, already in the final phase of Ancient Egypt (3100 BC to 30 BC), that demonstrates the passion of that people for beer. To pay for the war against the Romans, Queen Cleopatra implemented the first beer tax, a measure that provoked waves of discontent greater than the political instability itself.
In fact, the ancient Egyptians were so renowned as brewers that their fame eclipsed that of the Sumerians, who had, in fact, preceded them in beer production. This is the highest praise for the relationship of the ancient Egyptians with beer, which fit perfectly into this advanced civilization known for enjoying life.
The Egyptians modified the brewing methods of the Sumerians, creating a smoother and lighter beverage to drink in cups or glasses. In this sense, Egyptian beer can almost be considered the world’s first modern beer, since it shares more characteristics with today’s beer than the recipe from Mesopotamia.
Women were the first master brewers of Egypt, and production was closely overseen by the goddess of beer, Tenenet. Being a very popular beverage among everyone, beer was used as compensation for labor—workers on the Giza Pyramids, for example, received three daily rations of beer. In fact, some types of beer served as food rather than just a beverage. Unfiltered beer was an excellent source of amino acids and vitamin B.
There were various beer styles, with different ingredients, flavors, and alcohol contents. Even so, ABV did not exceed 3% to 4%. The beer drunk at festivals and religious ceremonies had a higher alcohol content and was generally considered of higher quality.
Beer contained only barley or a mixture with emmer wheat. It is even believed that a special type of bread or dough was used as a base, later mixed with water. This bread was made from raw grain flour or malt and yeast, meaning this civilization already had rudimentary knowledge of malting and fermentation.
4. Vikings
Before falling in love with beer, the Vikings and other Nordic peoples drank mead, a fermentation of sugars from honey. When the first cereals arrived in the cold lands of Northern Europe, beer began to be part of the lives of these peoples, as exemplified in the poem collection Hávamál, published in the 8th century, which mentions beer as part of society.
Another example can be found in Finland’s national epic, Kalevala, in which beer has a central and even more relevant role than the creation of the world itself. In the work, beer is considered a magical beverage through which the gods offered humans health, calm, and happiness.
As with their Germanic neighbors, in Viking society, beer was produced mostly by women. In fact, it was a perfect beverage to take on long sea journeys, ensuring fewer stops due to its longevity. Finally, beer was an important source of calories for Nordic warriors, providing extra energy for the harsh battles that built their reputation.
It is possible that there were hundreds or even thousands of different beers throughout the region, as each village would have its own production process. This is due to the diverse knowledge the Vikings brought from contact with peoples in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, which led them to discover new cereals and beer-making techniques.
DID YOU KNOW...
Traces of sahti, a Finnish beer containing hops, malted barley, rye, and juniper, have been found on Viking ships still at the bottom of the sea.
5. Celts
Originating from Central Europe but reaching the farthest points of the continent, the Celts were avid and renowned brewers, although each tribe and region had particularities in how they made the beverage. In the Iberian Peninsula, for example, the tribes used malted grains to brew beer, from an ancient variety of wheat, knowledge brought by the Phoenicians and likely not shared with the Celts of Central Europe.
When they came into contact with the barbarian tribes, the Celts modified the way they brewed their beer. They began by soaking the cereals, then grinding them and mixing with water, leaving the liquid to ferment in the open air. To improve the beer’s flavor, different plants and honey were added.
Over time, the Celts developed techniques to build wooden vessels to store beer and mystify its consumption. Thus, just like in the well-known stories of Asterix, the Druids had the mission of creating special recipes to give courage to warriors before battles.
Contact with the Romans led these peoples to adopt wine as the main beverage, and beer lost prominence in all regions except the British Isles.
When you drink a beer today, you savor not only the best version of a beverage perfected by thousands of people over the centuries, but also the stories and events that brought it here. Let us then toast to History with all our senses awakened.
