The History of Beer

I went to a presentation at the Sault Brewery on Wednesday, May 1^st hosted by the Lake Superior Elders and I learned about some interesting tidbits so I thought I would do more research.  For example, ancient pottery was chemically tested and it was determined that beer has been in existence for approximately 7,000 years in modern day Iran, Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ale is the oldest beverages humans ever produced. It was discovered that a Sumerian tablet dating back 6,000 years depicted beer being drunk through reed straws from a communal bowl. Beer was used instead of milk in baby bottles because it was safer than drinking water a long time ago.  Fermentation of beer and the making of bread were two of the first known biological engineering tasks and these discoveries are being linked to being responsible for humanity’s ability to develop technology and build civilizations.  In Neolithic Europe beer has been known for approximately 5,000 years.  Today, the brewing business occurs globally and amounts to $294.5 billion in global revenues in 2006. It’s probably more today. More than 133 billion liters are sold per year. 

The monks during the rise of Christianity were the first to brew beer as a trade.  The monks built breweries to provide financial resources to enable them to provide food, shelter, and drink to various travelers and pilgrims.

Concerning early beers, any cereal containing certain sugars can undergo the fermentation process due to the wild yeasts in the air.  It may be possible that tribal cultures came across the development of beer when they domesticated cereal.  Recent archaeological findings revealed that the Chinese villagers were brewing fermented beverages as far back as 7,000 BC on an individual basis with a similar production process as Egypt and Mesopotamia.  A 3,900 year old Sumerian poem was written to honor Ninkasi the matron goddess of brewing.  In contrast to the Egyptians and Sumerians, beer never played an important role among the drinking customs in Israel. 

During the middle ages, beer was the most common drinks.  It was consumed daily by all social classes.  The upper classes would prefer wine if wine was readily available.  Beer remained a woman’s responsibility and it was made in the home.  A breakfast may have consisted of beer, cheese and bread. 

The use of hops in beer was written about in 822 b Carolingian Abbot.  There were difficulties making determinations of how much to use.  Hop beer was perfected in the medieval town of Bohemia in the Czech Republic during the 13^th Century.  Before hops was introduced a mix of various herbs were used.  Herbs are still used today.

Following the invention of the steam engine in 1765, industrialization of beer became a reality.  Further innovations such as the thermometer in 1760 and hydrometer in 1770 improved the brewing process and enabled brewers to increase efficiency and the quality of the product. The invention of the hydrometer permitted the brewers to expand to the usage of various types of malts.  Brewers were able to calculate the yield from different malts. Wood smoked malts were introduced which improved the flavor.  The invention of the drum roaster in 1817 by Daniel Wheeler permitted brewers to create very dark, roasted malts.

In modern times many European nations have maintained brewing traditions dating back to ancient times. Beer has been a prominent beverage in countries such as Belgium, Germany, Austria, Ireland, UK, France, the Scandinavian countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and others.  Each country have their own brewing methods and styles of beer. Today, modern breweries produce many different types of beers ranging from the ancient styles, lagers, golden ales, wheat beers, dark beers, pale ales, bitters, to new modern American creations such as Chili Beer, Cream Ale, and Double India Pale Ales.

During the presentation, Ray Bauer, manager of the Sault Brewery, explained the process he goes through to brew a batch of beer.  He uses 55 Ib. bags of barley for each batch and he buys his barley from Germany and other parts of the world including the U.S. depending on what kind of beer he wants to brew and what kind of beer is suitable for the season. I didn’t know beers had seasons.  He explained the cleaning process after each style of beer is brewed, the uses for the various machines, and the other dimensions associated with brewing beer. It was quite interesting.