Cheers to our beers
WE HAVE GALLONS OF HISTORIC-ALE FACTS
BEER WE GO: A thirst for beer could have been what convinced ancient humans to build civilisations. Archaeologist Patrick McGovern reckons our ancestors switched from hunting and gathering to farming in a quest to produce the drink. Evidence has shown early man was making the beverage at least 5,000 years ago with natural ingredients.
GRAIN ON ME: Early humans would have discovered how to create alcohol by accident – for example, eating a grain that had fermented by falling in a pool of water. Once consumed, those drops of alcohol juices would have hit the taster’s brain, causing them to wonder where they could get more and sparking humanity’s love affair with the beverage.
PYRAMID DREAM: The pyramids in Egypt were built on beer. It was a staple of life and given to the workers both for nutrition and refreshment and as payment. Labourers on the pyramids at Giza were given a ration of 10 pints a day each.
ALE AND HEARTY: In the Middle Ages, beer saved lives. Water sources could often be polluted or contaminated with sewage. But as the brewing process for beer involved boiling water and then fermentation, it was free from bacteria and safer to drink. In 16th century Britain, annual beer consumption was 530 pints for every man, woman and child.
LAGER BOUT: Beer even caused a war in Wroclaw, Poland, in 1380. The city made a lot of money from its brewery in the town hall basement until the local monks started making their own sups. The conflict over who raked in the most cash from their brews resulted in the bishop shutting down all religious services and troops on the other side attacking church sites.
GRIM DISCOVERY: When the Pilgrims set out from Plymouth to America in 1620, they planned to go to Virginia. But when the skipper realised they were running out of beer – safer to drink on long journeys than water – and didn’t have enough to get back to the UK, he landed the Mayflower in Massachusetts instead and that’s where the Pilgrims founded their colony.
BEER NECESSITY: French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur developed pasteurisation for beer more than 20 years before he did it for milk. He was conducting experiments on the tipple to see why it went off and worked out it was down to bacteria, which could also make humans ill. He came up with his process of killing bacteria through heating as a result.
COLD ONE: The first fridge was invented by a beer man. The brewing process involves keeping the liquid cold and previously ice caves were used. But in 1873 Carl von Linde, who worked for the Spaten brewery in Munich, Germany devised a machine which could keep things chilled, leading to today’s refrigerators.
TODAY is Beer Day Britain where ale lovers are encouraged to celebrate the top tipple.
But did you know there’s far more to beer than just a delicious thirstquenching drink? It’s actually played a significant role in history on several occasions, as NADINE LINGE reveals...