Brewing beer may be an older craft than we realized in some places

Science News ^ | May 7, 2020 | Maria Temming

[SunkenCiv]

Microscopic signatures of malting could help reveal which prehistoric people had a taste for beer.

Ancient beer is difficult to trace, because many of beer’s chemical ingredients, like alcohol, don’t preserve well (SN: 9/28/04). But a new analysis of modern and ancient malted grain indicates that malting’s effects on grain cell structure can last millennia. This microscopic evidence could help fill in the archaeological record of beer consumption, providing insight into the social, ritual and dietary roles this drink played in prehistoric cultures, researchers report online May 7 in PLOS ONE.

Malting, the first step in brewing beer, erodes cell walls in an outer layer of a grain seed, called its aleurone layer. To find out whether that cell wall thinning would still be visible in grains malted thousands of years ago, Andreas Heiss, an archaeobotanist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, and colleagues simulated archaeological preservation by baking malted barley in a furnace. Using a scanning electron microscope, the researchers observed thinned aleurone cell walls in the resulting malt residue. Heiss’s team found a similar pattern of thinning in residues from 5,000- to 6,000-year-old containers at two Egyptian breweries.

The researchers then inspected grain-based remains from similarly aged settlements in Germany and in Switzerland. These sites didn’t contain any tools specifically associated with beer-making. But grain-based residues from inside containers at the settlements did show thin aleurone cell walls, like those in the Egyptian remains — offering the oldest evidence of malting in central Europe, the researchers say.

[SunkenCiv]

A.G. HEISS ET AL/PLOS ONE 202

[wastedyears]

[Ouchthatonehurt]

Brewing beer was probably the first thing Adam did after he took a bite of the apple.
Well, maybe second thing.

[Equine1952]

To beer or not to beer, that is the question?

I gotta get a beer. I’ll be back for the answer.

[rightwingcrazy]

I read and enjoyed “A History of the World in 6 Glasses”. The story it tells is that the Ice Age gave way to fields full of grain in the Levant, and people there took to softening what they gathered by soaking it in water. If left out too long, the resulting gruel would sometimes accidentally turn into bread or beer, and they liked that even better.

[Lurker]

https://vimeo.com/359888327

Beer saved humanity countless times.

L

[Deaf Smith]

I liked Mike Rowe’s How Booze Built America.

[ctdonath2]

Thag: “Throg, I dare you to drink that gross, stinking, bubbling, weeks-old puddle in the granary.”

Throg: “OK ... yuck ... THAT WAS AWESOME!!!”

[henkster]

Brewing beer was the first thing Adam did after taking a bite of the apple. The other thing was the second thing. That has been the sequence ever since.

[Honest Nigerian]

Second oldest profession. Cause how can you have a working economy if there is only one profession?

[Equine1952]

I’m sure this is at least partially true. Nobody said they were beautiful. They all look better at closing time. Beer just helps get you there. That may have been the apple curse. The garden was Eden. Maybe the rest was a little less so. Especially with the asshole bartender snake.

[SunkenCiv]

the rest of the Zymurgy keyword, chrono sorted:

• Archaeologists uncover hundreds of old beer bottles in Leeds [2020]
• 9 Things You May Not Know About the Ancient Sumerians [2020]
• 1970s Hamms Beer Commercial [2020]
• Price of Wine Expected to Drop to Lowest Level in Years Due to California Grape Surplus [2020]
• French winemakers demand €300 million compensation over US tariffs [2020]
• Secret 'piggy bank' of 1,200-year-old gold coins discovered in Israel [2020]
• Science Says Doing This One Thing Can Lead to Holiday Depression [2019]
• Eat Like The Ancient Babylonians: Researchers Cook Up Nearly 4,000-Year-Old Recipes [2019]
• Scandinavian Wine? A Warming Climate Tempts Entrepreneurs [2019]
• Divers salvage 900 bottles of rare French cognac and liqueur from Swedish shipwreck [2019]
• Bordeaux wine fired into space to test ageing [2019]
• Trump talks up 'special relationship' with Macron, hours after threat to slap tariffs on French wine [2019]
• Paul Mabray: wine's biggest problem? Consumers don't care about wine [2019]
• France urges Trump: 'Don't mix digital taxes and wine tariffs' [2019]
• Defense Department to ban beer and pizza? Mandatory keto diet may enhance military performance [2019]
• Ancient DNA from Roman and Medieval Grape Seeds Reveal Ancestry of Wine Making [2019]
• Israeli scientists brew beer with revived ancient yeasts [2019]
• Medieval beer is brewed for the first time in 220 years (tr) [2019]
• The Guy Who Broke Wine [2019]
• The Secret to a Stable Society? A Steady Supply of Beer Doesn't Hurt [2019]
• "Baghdad Battery" : Possible Beer Purification? [2019]
• 'Round A Table of Wines and Wars: Agricultural Practices of the Etruscans [2019]
• Greaco-Roman winery discovered in Egypt's Beheira [2019]
• Happy National Beer Day 2019 [2019]
• A 5,000-year-old barley grain discovered in Finland changes understanding of livelihoods [2019]
• Ancient grape seeds may link Sri Lankan trading port to Roman world [2018]
• Oldest whisky still in the world dating back to 1494 is discovered at a medieval abbey in [tr] [2018]
• Beer and the Wheel [2018]
• World's oldest brewery discovered, was making beer 13,000 years ago [2018]
• ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER 13,000-YEAR-OLD BREWERY IN THE CARMEL [2018]
• A prehistoric thirst for craft beer [2018]
• The Speyer Wine Bottle: the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world [2018]
• This Beer Is from 500 BC, and Now Scientists Are Trying to Brew It [2018]
• Swedes have been brewing beer since the Iron Age, new evidence confirms [2018]
• Prehistoric wine discovered in inaccessible caves forces a rethink of ancient Sicilian culture [2018]
• The 900 Billion dollar fungus [2018]
• We are evolving an 'ultimate hangover' gene that may stop us from becoming addicted to alcohol [2018]
• Ben Franklin made up 200 terms for being wasted [2018]
• Massive Scribal Hangovers: One Ninth Century Confession [2017]
• World's earliest evidence of wine-making found in Georgia [2017]
• Ancient Beverage Brewed In Milwaukee [2016]
• Earliest Roman Restaurant Found in France: Night Life Featured Heavy Drinking [2016]
• Builders stumble on Russian beer tavern that has lain untouched for 300 years (tr) [2016]
• Now that really would be vintage vodka!Builders stumble on Russian beer tavern that has lain untouch [2016]
• The world's oldest paycheck was cashed in beer [2016]
• Wine Used In Ritual Ceremonies 5000 Years Ago In Georgia, The Cradle Of Viticulture [2016]
• 5,000-Year-Old Beer Recipe Had Secret Ingredient [2016]
• Winston Churchill's Doctor's Note Allowing Him to Drink "Unlimited" Alcohol in Prohibition America [2016]
• Venezuela Runs Out of Beer [2016]
• Venezuela's Empresas Polar May Have to Stop Making Beer Because of Dollar Shortage [2016]
• Is wine good for you or is it not? [2016]
• Archaeobeer (Brewers and Vintner's thread) [2016]
• When vineyards bloomed in Sudan... [2016]
• How lager conquered the world: Food historian argues it globally dominated because it's 'clean' [2016]
• How Pompeii brought ancient Roman wine back to life [2016]
• Liquor: the Poetic Truth (What's Behind the the Sacred) [a translation from an Arabic article] [2016]
• 3,400-year-old Canaanite Fort to Be Incorporated Into High-rise [2016]
• The first inter-cultural ‘party’ in Europe? [2015]
• Tequila Regulates Insulin-Like Signaling and Extends Life Span in Drosophila melanogaster [2015]
• Israel Aims to Recreate Wine That Jesus and King David Drank [2015]
• Now That’s What I Call On The Rocks! 107-Y/O Crates Of Whisky Found Frozen In Antarctica [2015]
• Buzzkill: Obamacare Regulation May Put Craft Breweries Out of Business [2015]
• Ancient winery discovered in central Israel region during storm [2015]
• Boozy comet leaves '500 bottles of wine per second' trail in its wake [2015]
• New diversity for lager beers [2015]
• Firenado! 800,000 gallons of Jim Beam [2015]
• Booze Sent to Space to Explore 'Mellow' Mechanism [2015]
• 250 Year-Old Shipwreck Could Hold Thousands of Litres of Rum [2015]
• 170-year-old champagne recovered from shipwreck still delicious, tasters say [2015]
• What would Jesus drink? Experts guess what wine was like in ancient times and what modern ones ... [2015]
• Determining recipes for some of the world's oldest preserved beers [2015]
• Letter from Ireland: Mystery of the Fulacht Fiadh [2015]
• ...Why was the wine of the Negev so renowned in the Byzantine Empire... [2015]
• How Archaeologists Recreate Ancient Booze (interview with Patrick McGovern) [2015]
• Human Ancestors Were Consuming Alcohol 10 Million Years Ago [2014]
• Virginia brewery taps 300-year-old beer recipe [2014]
• Remembering the Deadly London Beer Flood of 1814 [2014]
• Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking [2014]
• Archaeologists discover 'industrial scale' wine production at ancient site [2014]
• Pabst Is Sold to Russian Beverage Company [2014]
• 200-year-old booze found in shipwreck -- and it's still drinkable [2014]
• Tomb of ancient Egyptian beer brewer unearthed [2014]
• 'Paleo Ale' Brewed From Yeast Found On A 40-Million-Year-Old Whale Fossil [2014]
• What's the most expensive ingredient in beer? Taxes! (VIDEO) [2014]
• Beer brewers push back against proposed FDA rule restricting use of old grains [2014]
• Researchers find marinading meat in beer before grilling can reduce cancer-causing chemicals [2014]
• Guarding grapes and other tales from papyri [2014]
• China Drinks the Most Red Wine in the World: Report [2014]
• Nordic Grog Is Latest of Dogfish Head's Ancient Brews [2013]
• Did BEER create modern society? Ancient man developed agriculture to brew alcohol and not to bake... [2013]
• Beer Domesticated Man [2013]
• Neolithic Death Ritual Includes Earliest Evidence for European Beer [2013]
• Wine Cellar, Well Aged, Is Revealed in Israel [2013]
• The Physics is Clear on Foamy Beer [BOTH HUGH AND SERIES!] [2013]
• Bulgaria archaeologists find ancient wine cellar [2013]
• Archaeologists make startling discovery at ancient Sussita: A beer bottlecap [2013]
• Italian archaeologists have grape expectations of their ancient wine [2013]
• Scientists Invent Hydrating, Hangover-Free Beer [2013]
• Archaeologists Virtually Recreate Ancient Egyptian Brewery [2013]
• Abandoned Anchors From Punic Wars Found Near Sicily [2013]
• French wine 'has Italian origins' [Etruscans] [2013]
• Beer's taste triggers dopamine release in brain [2013]
• What Would John Adams Drink? [2013]
• Beer Science: If Yeast Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy [2013]
• Explorer's rare Scotch returned to Antarctic stash [2013]
• Humans have been drinking beer for 11,500 years [2013]
• Paphos excavation reveals Bronze Age malting kiln [2012]
• DNA sleuth hunts wine roots in Anatolia [2012]
• Saxon find in Lyminge has historians partying like it's 599 [Remains of great hall] [2012]
• It's Beer Thirty FReepers! Time For The Homebrewing/Wine Making Thread #7 Sept 7, 2012 [2012]
• Brewing Stone Age beer [2012]
• It's Beer Thirty FReepers! Time For The Homebrewing/Wine Making Thread #8 July 20, 2012 [2012]
• How Scottish Scientists Re-Created a Hundred-Year-Old Whisky (Shackleton's Antartica Scotch) [2012]
• Bartending Tips From Days of Old (1800s Recipes ... Hot Gin Sling & Hot Irish Whiskey Punch) [2012]
• The fermented cereal beverage of the Sumerians may not have been beer [2012]
• Moderate beer drinking could have the same health benefits as wine [2011]
• Fort find adds to potted history of Romans' boozing [2011]
• Could this be the oldest pub in Scotland? [2011]
• 500 years ago, yeast's epic journey gave rise to lager beer [2011]
• Lager Beer's Mystery Yeast [2011]
• 14 Household Uses for Beer (It's Earth Friendly!) [2011]
• George Washington's beer recipe [2011]
• Ancient beer may serve as future model [2011]
• Mead, drink of vikings, comes out of the Dark Ages [2010]
• 'World's oldest champagne' uncorked [2010]
• Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma [2010]
• Did the Ancient Israelites Drink Beer? [2010]
• Ancient Shipwrecks Found Off Central Italy's Coast [2010]
• Digs may throw more light on ancient wine production [ Malta ] [2010]
• Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover Ancient Winery [2010]
• New Zealand museum thaws 100-year-old whisky [2010]
• Dionysian ecstatic cults in early Rome [2010]
• Home Away From Rome: Excavations of villas where Roman emperors escaped the office... [2010]
• World's oldest malt whisky ($15,000 a bottle) goes on sale [2010]
• Scotch Whisky Meant To Warm Antarctic Explorers Retrieved After Century Locked In Ice [2010]
• Shackleton's whisky recovered [2010]
• Explorers' century-old whisky found in Antarctic [2010]
• Gozo rock holds ancient wine presses [ Malta ] [2010]
• Alcohol's Neolithic Origins: Brewing Up a Civilization [2009]
• Team drills for century-old Scotch whiskey in Antarctica [2009]
• Preserved in ice for 100 years, the whisky Shackleton used to keep out the cold. [2009]
• Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France, Cambridge study reveals [Prof Paul Cartledge] [2009]
• Whisky on (Antarctic) ice: Ernest Shackleton...left a stash at the bottom of the world. [2009]
• Ancient ale: Prehistoric yeast takes beer drinkers back millions of year [2009]
• Beer could stop bones going brittle [2009]
• 9,000-year-old brew hitting the shelves this summer [2009]
• Making merry at Knossos [2009]
• Beer lovers say there's nothing better than making it yourself [2009]
• Grog of the Greeks [ barley beer, honey mead, retsina wine ] [2008]
• Ancient Christian "Holy Wine" Factory Found in Egypt [2008]
• In a rich corner of antiquity: gold, wine, plenty of luxury [Colchis, the Vani] [2007]
• Did early Southwestern Indians ferment corn and make beer? [2007]
• Chinese archaeologists discover ancient red wine [2007]
• Ancient Beer Pots Point To Origins Of Chocolate [2007]
• California Draft Gore Poised to Put Gore's Name on Ballot [2007]
• A serving of Philistine culture: Boar, dog and fine wine [2007]
• Wine grape genome decoded, flavour genes found [2007]
• How Bronze Age man Enjoyed His Pint [2007]
• Ancients Mashed Grapes Found In Greece (6,500 YA) [2007]
• Fidel Castro for Stroh's Light (ALL-TIME GREATEST BEER COMMERCIAL) [2007]
• Deluge of fine wine dismays the French [2006]
• Europe's glut of wine to be turned into disinfectant [2006]
• Italy owes wine legacy to Celts, history buffs say [2006]
• Italy owes wine legacy to Celts, history buffs say [2006]
• Rare Pre-Greek Site To Be Explored (Italy) [2006]
• Tutankhamen Liked His White Wine [2006]
• Wine Drinkers Have Healthier Diets Than Beer Drinkers [2006]
• Researchers Shed New Lights On Origin Of Ancient Chinese Civilization [2006]
• Ancients Rang In New Year With Dance, Beer [2005]
• Message in a Bottle [History of wine snobbery] [2005]
• Eggnog: A Colonial Christmas Tradition (Gen. Washington's Recipe) [2005]
• Scientists discover Neolithic wine-making [2005]
• The art of wine in ancient Persia [Shiraz] [2005]
• King Tut liked Red Wine Best [2005]
• King Tut Drank Red Wine, Researcher Says [2005]
• Fine French wine has new use: Fueling cars [2005]
• Czech Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Greek Town Flattened By Bohemian Celts [2005]
• 9000 Years Old Oriental Wine Found [2005]
• Ancient Beer, Wine Jars Found in Egypt [2005]
• Cyprus 'first to make wine' [2005]
• Is beer less fattening than wine? [2005]
• Waiter, There's a Fish in My Wine! [2005]
• French Wine Growers Protest Weak Market [2004]
• Hints of 9,000-year-old wine found in China [2004]
• China Was Drinking Wine 9,000 Years Ago [2004]
• King Midas' Modern Mourners [2004]
• The Claim: Alcohol Kills Brain Cells [2004]
• Mummy Hair Reveals Drinking Habits [2004]
• Beer has same benefits as red wine, study finds; moderation advised [2004]
• Ancient Brewery Discovered On Mountain Top In Peru [2004]
• Schools get call to save French wine makers (SCHADENFREUDE UPDATE) [2004]
• First Wine? Archaeologist Traces Drink To Stone Age [2004]
• King Tut Liked Red Wine [2004]
• Wine drinkers walk, beer drinkers walk to pub [2003]
• Local Beer Only at Oktoberfest, Unless It's Belgian, of Course [2003]
• National beer hall of fame might be on tap for A.C. [2003]
• Beer Church; The Largest Unorganized Religion in the World! [2003]
• Member of Stroh beer family plummets to death in Texas hotel (Hold Muh Beer) [2003]
• Was 0 A Good Year? [2003]
• French Wine Sales Still Dropping in United States [2003]
• Archaeological Discovery in Bulgaria Clue to Ancient Mystery [2003]
• Researchers say red wine reduces risk of Alzheimer's Disease - Beer doubles risk [2002]
• PLEASE! STOP POSTING SAME MESSAGE ON ALL BOARDS! [2002]
• Brewers concoct ancient Egyptian ale. [2002]
• Women to Worship Goddess of Beer [2002]
• Brewers Concoct Ancient Egyptian Ale ("..tastes very different from today's beer.") [2002]
• Key To An Ancient Tongue [2002]
• Chemistry Used to Unlock Secrets in Archeological Remains [2002]
• History of Drinking - Uncorking the Past [2002]
• Archaeologists Rewrite Timeline Of Bronze And Iron Ages, Alphabet [2001]
• 3,800-year-old Babylonian tablets contain recipe! [2001]

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

In the Stone Age, they probably didn't have restaurants per se, but all of the places where men drank beer would have been like Hooters. That's what we've lost, thanks to pesky civilization.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Yeah, but no wings then.

Beer is ok but you have got to have wings.

And pretzels.

[Equine1952]

Aah a nice rack is nice to feel on and smooze on, but don’t give me no plastic saddle. I like me to feel the leather when I ride :)

[Buckeye McFrog]

Scientists find 6000 year old container of beer.

And some kid posts a YouTube video of himself drinking it.

[zeugma]

One of the oldest surviving documents we have is a Sumerian recipe for beer.

Proof that not only does God exist, but he loves us:

1. Coffee
2. Chocolate
3. Beer

[M1903A1]

Tagging this for review later....

[SunkenCiv]

Three Pints Shy - The Barley Mow