For a long time, beer was considered an invention of sedentary people, having emerged parallel to bread. But new archaeological finds indicate that hunter-gatherer cultures already mastered the art of brewing beer. In the Rakefet Cave in Israel, a Neolithic burial site with about 30 burials, Chinese researchers discovered stone mortars. Wild plants, including wheat, barley and legumes, had been processed and fermented in them. The researchers believe that this could have resulted in a pulp-like beer.
The vessels date from 11,700 to 13,700 years ago and prove that brewing predates settling down. Neither the location nor the date are surprising. After all, beer fulfills two central functions, explains Gunther Hirschfelder, cultural scientist at the University of Regensburg and author of the book “Beer. A History from the Stone Age to Today”.
“An important starting point was the desire for intoxication, for example on religious occasions. When intoxicated, one felt closer to the ancestors and gods.” And the fermented drink tasted good, was easy to make and loosened the tongue. And that is more than conducive to sociability. And where are you closer to the spirits of your ancestors and community than at a funeral?
Other sites also underline the cultic function. In the famous cult site Göbekli Tepe in what is now Türkiye Researchers found vesselswhich were used to produce and store bread and beer. And the cuneiform writings of the Sumerians report beer as a sacred drink that was connected to the gods.
„Intoxication as a way to be close to the godshas been around for much longer. Priests and shamans put themselves into a trance through fermented fruits or hallucinogenic mushrooms and plants. But the beer makes the intoxication controllable,” explains Hirschfelder. In addition, grain is the main ingredient in many parts of the world and producing beer is comparatively easy.
Beer for all situations
By ancient times at the latest, the drink made its way across the Fertile Crescent to the entire Mediterranean region. Trade, military campaigns and cultural exchange facilitated this spread. Each group developed its own preparation methods: sometimes supplemented with additives such as honey or fermented goat’s milk, sometimes heated, sometimes cold fermented in water. Strong, thin, sour or sweet beer, none of this is an invention of modern times, but thousands of years old.
Depending on the intended use, the alcohol content also varied considerably. Everyday beer, such as the one the craftsmen drank when building the pyramids, only had one to two percent alcohol. It was a good refreshment for the lunch break, but it wasn’t so intoxicating that the pyramids became crooked and crooked afterwards.
In addition, this thin beer was significantly safer and less contaminated than the water from the branches of the Nile. At the same time, ancient writings report excessive intoxication during religious festivals. This required beer with a significantly higher alcohol content.
Despite its diverse uses, beer was not a drink for everyone. “Growing and processing wheat involved a lot of effort, especially for the early farmers. So not everyone could afford to drink beer,” explains Hirschfelder. It was probably a drink of men of special status: priests, craftsmen, merchants and high officials.
Women, children and day laborers were largely excluded from drinking beer. The brewers themselves, on the other hand, were most likely female, as cuneiform sources from the Babylonians and Sumerians indicate. Things could have looked similar with the Germanic peoples in Northern Europe. Brewing was women’s work, while drinking was reserved for men.
Monasteries as master brewers
Beer remained true to its religious character even in the early Middle Ages. The art of brewing was preserved and refined in the monasteries. The monks planted hop gardens, experimented with ingredients such as juniper, ginger, anise, laurel, caraway and even datura, and brewed nutritious and relatively strong beer in large quantities. We probably owe the rather bitter taste and long shelf life of today’s varieties to their experiments.
Intoxication also continued to play an important role. Well-fed and slightly tipsy, the hard fasting period was easier to survive. Unlike bread, liquid beer was not considered a breach of the fasting vow. There was even a papal blessing for this, at least according to legend. Allegedly, monks from Switzerland sent home-brewed beer to Rome to secure the pontiff’s approval. Unfortunately, after the long journey, the beer had long since spoiled and was disgustingly sour. The Pope, more of a wine lover, took a sip and almost vomited. He found such outrage more of a scourge than a joy and approved of the beer-filled Lent.
Whether it is an anecdote or historical truth remains to be seen. In any case, many monasteries became successful breweries in the Middle Ages. Worldly brewers also wanted to benefit from this success. Production and trade in beer flourished in the rich trading cities. In addition to monasteries, more and more private breweries emerged. But with the pressure of competition, the willingness to play tricks with the drink also increased. The fluctuations in quality were immense, and the guild rules varied greatly in the individual cities.
Birth of quality control
Emperor Barbarossa took action against beer adulterators in Augsburg in 1156. Anyone who added water to their barley juice or added too many spices and herbs had to pay a fine of five guilders. If that didn’t deter you and if you continued to brew, your brewing license could even be revoked. As early as the 1360s, there were full-time beer inspectors in Munich who drank their way through the city’s breweries and monitored the quality.
The most important step against beer adulteration was taken by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria and his brother Ludwig X when they issued the famous purity law for Bavarian beer on April 23, 1516. It stipulated that that “allain barley, hops and water” may be used. At that time, yeast was not yet known as an independent organism; alcoholic fermentation was caused by wild yeasts.
This regulation was quickly adopted by many other territories and continues to shape the German brewery landscape to this day. The only catch: This meant that many creative beer recipes lost their raison d’être, apart from exceptions like wheat beer. In any case, you won’t find laurel or datura beer in beverage stores today, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your personal taste. The German Brewers Association proudly calls the decree the “oldest, still valid consumer protection law in the world”.
However, it is questionable whether the Bavarian Duke was actually concerned with consumer protection. More likely, the economic policy concern is to regulate the use of valuable grain and control prices. In times when famines were not uncommon, good wheat could not be wasted – not even for the pleasure of intoxication or a little more sociability.
Regardless of the original motivations, the Purity Law marked a turning point in beer history. It not only standardized barley juice but also created a cultural identitywhich shapes German beer to this day and ensured that brewing has become so popular as intangible cultural heritage by Unecso was recognized.