An Introduction to History and Beer-
Which came first, beer or bread? While this may sound like a tongue in cheek question, it bears to reason for several reasons.
The production of beer follows in hand with the production of bread. Both bread and beer making were found together in all forms of ancient civilizations. Both required good amounts of grain, water, and heat. These pushed the evolutionary marker of civilization.
Domestication of grain called for ingenuity in developing cultivation. Stone axes for clearing, hoes for breaking the ground, sickles for harvesting, grindstones for preparation of the domesticated grain. irrigation methods .
Pottery for storing and kilning methods were developed. The application of the wheel was first applied to pottery making before it was added as a form of transportation.
Two main reasons for subjecting food staples to fermentation was to: improve flavor and increase stability.
Both beer and bread rely on fermentation for the conversion of starches and for CO2 development.
While bread may be refered to as the staff of life, it was beer that brought life to social and economic factors of civilizations.
The first four thousand years 8000-4000 are marked primarily by pottery usage and copper.
Both forms were very malleable and archeologists used intrinsic designs and methods as a means to classify civilizations. While copper is followed by bronze and iron, the development of the written word (3000 bc) becomes just as strong as a method of defining culture and society as the working of metal.
Egypt was an early civilazation that recognized the value of grain. Brewing in particular was controlled by the state. This allowed rations to go out to all the population of Egypt and was a primary method of compensation to all classes of people. The production of bread and brewing of beer would have been taken on at a more local level. Regardless of the class beer was considered to be a very important commodity in Egypt. It is notable that the writers of the classical period would refer to Egyptian beer as bouza, this is a Latin and Greek term and not an Egyptian term for any of their own beers.
Pictographs, cuneiforms, and hieroglyphics reinforce the production of beer well before the time of the written form. While there are plenty of these to indicate an early industry of brewing Sumer is a region which has prolifically documented the production of beer.
As important as the production of beer was the development of trade. Temples became the redistribution centers of foodstuffs. The Tigris and Euphrates were the main transport routes of the Mesopotamia. Meanwhile, routes to northern and eastern Europe were being made, taking with them the process of beer making .
During the classical Greek time period Greek becomes the common tongue from the Mediterranean through the Indus Valley. Cycles of growth and reestablishments of new social systems developed. The practice of burying the dead with worldly goods accelerated the need for trade. This became an impetus to provide a regular supply of materials and labor. A series of laws were drawn up to control the flux of goods and labor. Perhaps one of the more well known law is the Law of Hammurabi. The Greeks were not as obsessed with writing codes as they were exploring and documenting their findings. It was not uncommon for Greeks who lived in a much warmer climate favorable to the cultivation of grapes to make unflattering records of those who produced or drank beer.
The growth of civilizations and the improvements of agriculture and trade bound exponentially over the next 2000 years. As the Romans went north to explore and conquer they would find cultures that were intrinsic to the area. By this time the bronze and iron ages were well established. Tribes would have their own attributes to the occasion of drink and festivals. Strong races of the north enjoyed riches by their own standards including strong drink.
No comments:
Post a Comment