Beer: the catalyst for civilization - BUMP
Posted on 09/14/2002 4:19:09 PM PDT by blam
Stone age man invented beer before making bread, says expert
Archaeologists have found that man first discovered alcohol in 9000 BC, more than 5,000 years earlier than previously thought.
According to The Sun they reckon pottery was invented because man needed a mug to hold his beer.
Until now researchers have assumed the first human settlements, which appeared in the Middle East, were built around farming and growing corn for food.
But archaeologist Merryn Dinely, of Manchester University, told the paper that corn was turned into malt, the main ingredient for making beer.
Dr Dinely found that almost all ancient villages had homes with smooth, carefully-made floors which appear to have been used for malting.
There was also evidence that ovens and grinding stones found at ancient sites formed the foundations of a brewery. Heat-proof baskets lined with bitumen were used for fermenting and storing beer.
Dr Dinely told a conference at Leicester University: "The most likely scenario seems to be that humans discovered how to turn grain into malt, which is sweet and nutritious.
"Then by accident they found out that when malt is mixed with water it turns into alcohol."
Dr Dinely said drawings showed women did the brewing while men collected the raw materials.
Story filed: 10:28 Saturday 14th September 2002
Beer: the catalyst for civilization - BUMP
If they dig a little deeper will they find the worlds first FReeper...
When you get right down to it, there are two types of alcohol. Fruit alcohols generally go to make wines (or, when distilled, brandies).
The rest, by and large, are grain alcohols. Scotch, and various other whiskeys are simply distilled grain alcohol.
(Stuff like mead and that fermented mare's milk drunk by mongols are to be counted as exceptions.... One can make alcohol pretty much from anything containing sugar.)
Beer-type drinks can be made from a variey of grains. For example, Japanese sake is made from rice, and there are indeed wheat, millet, rice, and rye beers.
I'm guessing that barley works best.
Finally, beer is distinguished by its use of the hop flower, which acts as a preservative; and by its carbonated nature, which comes from letting yeast operate within sealed containers.
And what better beer-ping-list logo than Barney? :-)
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Blast from the past about beer!
Every once in awhile I read stuff about corn in the Eastern Hemisphere during ancient times. I thought corn was from some South American plant.
The first and most important step in brewing is cleanliness. "Brewing is ninety percent janitorial," said Frederick Bowman, founder of Portland Brewing. (Bowman) The first step in the actual brewing process is malting. Malting is what is done to the barley to prepare it for brewing. The steps of the malting process release the starches that are contained in the barley, while minimizing haze and off-flavors. Grain is allowed to soak in 60° F. water to increase the moisture content of the grain to about 40-45%. The grain is usually spread out on the floor of the germination room, or some other container. These grains are kept at a temperature of about 60° F. The germination is complete when the sprout has grown to about 3/4 the length of the grain and the hard part of the grain, or the shell, has turned soft. The goal for germination is for the starches within the grain to break down into shorter lengths. At this shorter length stage, the grain is called green malt. Kilning is the next stage after the grains have sprouted. Kilning is the process of drying the grain in the kiln where the temperature is slowly raised during the 30-35 hour period. After kilning, the result is finished malt, with soluble starches and developed enzymes. These grains each have a different and distinct flavor depending on how long they are cooked in the kiln. (Porter)
I'm assuming that the enzymes have something to do with "break[ing] down proteins to the more soluble and usable amino acids" when the milled, malted grain is turned to mash.
Corn in British English means any grain--barley, rye, wheat, oats, etc. The word was in use long before the New World was discovered and what Americans would call corn was introduced to Europe. The author is most likely British.
You might want to read post 53.
DOH - The stuff that buys me beer.
RAY - The guy who sells me beer.
ME - The guys who drinks the beer.
FAR - A long way to get beer.
SO - I'll have another beer.
LA - La, la la la la beer.
TEA - No thanks I'm drinking beer.
and that brings me back to DOH!
see?!?!? This just goes to prove my tagline! They evolved well after normal men did...
In Africa, they still haven't figured that one out.
Not without yeast. Don't ask where the first beer yeast came from, either...
Thank you. Makes perfect sense now.
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