Archeological Foundations
After WW II, there is a lot of archeological
focus on the transition from food gathering
to food cultivating and its relationship to
the development of human civilization.
 1952 - Robert Braidwood, Univ. of
Chicago, notes that grain found in
excavations is always charred, never raw
Archeological foundations (cont)
Jonathon Sauer, Univ. of Wisconsin botanist
“Bread or beer?” Why did man harvest wild grains?

pre-plow era, plus the fragility of the rachis
of cereal grain makes would make the
collection of grain for mere food very labor
intensive, especially if other food is more
readily available
 a more rewarding product might, however,
prompt interest in this effort
Archeological foundations (cont)

Significant argument that the charred grain
was not malted grain, so the question has
never been satisfactorily resolved
 Consequently, more work has established
some time frames that enable us to give
some sort of historical perspective to beer
Beer “pre-history”

17,000 BCE - earliest traces of Hordeolum
spontaneum (wild barley) evolve on the
south shore of the Sea of Galilee
 7750 BCE - earliest domesticated barley, H.
distichum in Jericho area (mixed with wild
barley)
 6000 BCE - H. hexastichum appears at Ali
Kosh (Iraq), domesticated barley
Beer “pre-history” (cont)

clay pottery appears
– 7500 BCE in northern Iraq
– 6000-5500 BCE in Syria
This pottery is very porous and more suitable for dry
storage rather than wet storage. Techniques for
making suitable liquid storage vessels will not come
until much later
Beer pre-historical sites

Ali Kosh (Iraq)
– 6 row barley cultivated
Turkey

Syria
Iraq
Egypt
– 2 row barley cultivated
Iran
Saudi Arabia
Netiv Hagdud
(Israel)

Godin Tepe (Iraq)
– shard with beerstone
“Beer makes Civilization”?
1986 - Solomon Katz/ Mary Voigt (University of Pennsylvania)
propose that beer making led to the domestication of wild
cereals. They argue that:

Beer is a better source of calories compared
to the wild grain itself
 incorporation into the social & religious
structure was integral to formalizing a
brewing process
“Beer & Civilization”? (cont)
Katz & Voigt suggest a scenario that would
lead to brewing

gruel left overnight that accidentally sprouts
(malts)
 discovery of the sweet taste of the malt
 heating of the malted gruel to improve taste
 subsequent spontaneous fermentation of
heated malt gruel by wild yeast
“Beer & Civilization”? (cont)
1994 - Tom Kavanaugh, Indiana University publishes
article refuting the premise of beer being the primary
driver of grain domestication

absence of good water-tight vessels
 lack of adequate temperatures for enzyme
production without heating, again the
problem of a lack of suitable vessels
Some more beer history:

6000 BCE- Sumarian tablets with poetry to
brewing goddesses Ninkasi and Osiris establish a
basis that brewing was likely relegated to women.
This is considered to be the best earliest
source of documentation for established brewing!
 Calcium oxalate (“beerstone”) residue found in
clay jug shards found in western Iraq
Ode to Ninkasi
19th century BC Sumaria– earliest known beer recipe

Partially baked bread called bappir (made
from barley)
 Soaked in water
 Flavored with dates, honey
 Spontaneously fermented
 Filtered and consumed immediately
Beer & Society

Beer becomes intertwined with politics,
religion & the economy by the middle ages
with the Catholic Church controlling all
aspects of brewing via monasteries
 The rise of artisans & trading guilds help
spawn independent brewing efforts outside
the Church.
Beer & the military
Beer has been part of military rations for
centuries.
 Greek army
 Roman army
 Germanic armies that conquered Rome!
 Fredrich the Great expounded on the virtues
of armies fed on beer
Regulations evolve

Sanitation becomes a major issue as water is
often contaminated; it becomes common
practice to drink beer as both a food & in
place of water.
 Government attempts to utilize alcohol as a
source of revenue and wrest the control of
brewing from the Catholic church as the
Reformation sweeps across Europe
Example of regulation

1156- Fredrick I issues the Justitia Civitatis
in Augsburg (prohibiting short pours)
 1447 - Munich ordinance; beer can only be
brewed with barley, hops, & water
 1516 - Reinheitsgebot (Bavarian Beer Purity
Act); beer can only have barley, hops, &
water
It ain’t about quality!
Reinheitsgebot insured:
 protection for the barley farmers
 maintained price supports for beer (insures
steady tax revenue)
 that wheat would be available for bread
making
Beer continues to evolve:

Hops, long used by continental brewers for
stability finally gains acceptance in Britain
around mid-1700's.
 Taxation limits strength & gravity of British
beers, particularly in Scotland.
 The isolation of yeast by Pasteur helps
foster the advent of Lagers.
Beer in America

Settlers arriving in America are forced to drink
water as critical brewing ingredients are withheld
for sailors.
 Enterprising Americans find new adjuncts to
counter the limits on supply & taxation by the
British Crown.
 Taverns become the focus of all business & legal
activity, as well as political gatherings.
 The American Revolution threatens essential beer
production.
Some more beer history:

German immigrants bring brewing practices
to America & abroad, significantly
threatening ale production.
 Refrigeration creates opportunity for massproduction of Lagers but doesn't become
popular till after the Civil War.
Dark clouds on the horizon

The Rise of Temperance through the ealy
20th century begins to affect public opinion
on consumption.
 1916 - August Busch introduces Bevo to the
market, a non-alcoholic beer
 1919 - Volstead Act (18th Amendment)
passes Congress
 Jan 29, 1920 - Prohibition begins
“Survival of the fittest”

Prohibition kills more than 200 domestic
breweries, but homebrewing gains in popularity
 Top 10% corporate breweries struggle to diversify
into other markets:
– Coors to Ceramics
– A-B to malt products
– Schlitz to candy & chocolate
– Miller to cereals.
Relief at last?





FDR repeals Prohibition in 1932 & raises the limit
of alcohol in beer to 3.2%.
Apr 7, 1933 - Brewing ban ends
Dec 5, 1933 - Prohibition completely ends
Clerical error in the drafting of the signed bill
allows home wine making but continues to
prohibit home brewing.
WWII - women become part of the American
workforce; shortage of grains force the use of
adjuncts such as corn & rice which become a
common feature for the American Lager grain bill.
Diversity becomes possible

1975 - Fritz Maytag (of laundry machine fame)
introduces Anchor Steam Beer and starts the
Microbrew Revolution
 Mid-1970s – Charlie Papazian leads efforts to get
home brewing legalized; founds the American
Hombrewer Association
 1978 – President Jimmy Carter signs legislation
permitting home brewing (if allowed by the state)
Today

There are now as many, if not more, small
breweries than prior to Prohibition
 Home brewing starting to re-emerge as a
popular hobby as costs of commercially
available craft beer (ingredient costs and
taxes) continue to rise
 Consumers become more sophisticated in
their preferences for all types of alcohol