Welcome back friends!
Even though it’s still technically Spring here in the California Central Valley, we’re anticipating our first heatwave in the coming days and it is starting to feel like Summer already!
This Summer will be an interesting one for me, as in preparation for an upcoming medical procedure I will have to abstain from one of my very favorite aspects of hot summer evenings this year - beer.
I love beer, and I am lucky enough to live in a region with incredible craft breweries, and interesting new labels seem to appear almost daily. And while I can’t drink it right now, I can certainly talk about it while I enjoy my sparkling water - which is almost, though not quite, as nice.
So cheers, dear listeners, and welcome to the strange history of beer.
The oldest evidence of beer suggests the Sumerians and Babylonians began brewing with barley before 6,000 BCE. In the fertile soils of the flatlands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Mesopotamian peoples gathered and soon domesticated wild grains, using them to make an ancient bread called bappir.
But bappir wasn't necessarily for eating on its own. It was a combination of malted barley, barley flour, and honey or dates that was baked more than once and left to dry. These hard, disc-like breads were reminiscent of hard tack and could be stored for a long period of time. Instead of being eaten as-is, they were crumbled into water with more malt and natural sweetener, and allowed to ferment naturally.
Ninkasi was the Sumerian goddess of beer and alcohol in general, and it was she who taught mankind to brew beer - or, kas. Pottery discovered in the Zagros Mountains of Iran contains traces of calcium oxalate, a deposit resulting from fermented grain. When Sumer was conquered by the Babylonians, their knowledge of beer-making began to spread, and eventually the Egyptians would establish a common and streamlined brewing technique.
In its earliest forms, beer was drunk from clay jars using a straw. Some of these straws have been discovered in tombs and are intricately decorated with precious stones, and even the god Osiris is sometimes depicted with one of these beer straws in his hand. The Egyptians experimented with different recipes, and while some kinds of beer were brewed for specific occasions or ceremonies, everyone had access to it - from the poorest peasants to the royal family. Interestingly, the actual brewing of the beer was usually done by women - and this would continue to be the case for thousands of years.
Being wine fans, the Greeks were thoroughly unimpressed with beer when introduced to it. The Romans likewise preferred wine, especially as beer became associated with the nomadic Celts and Germans with whom they frequently butted heads. These peoples had become adept at brewing over time after migrating West from the Asian continent. Grapes wouldn’t grow as well in colder northern climates, but grain was fairly hardy and readily available for northwestern Europeans.
While many folks looked down at beer as a sorry substitute for wine for many centuries, it found new life in the 5th century in the hands of the monasteries.
Take a look at the beer aisle in your local grocery store, and you’ll notice that the influence monks and monasteries had on beer making remains front-and-center even today. Not only do they feature prominently in names and on labels, some brews are still produced by functioning monasteries. So how, and why, did monasteries become synonymous with beer?
By the early medieval period, most folks drank beer - children included. It was a readily available source of calories and nutrients and, as it was fermented, could be stored. You may have heard that beer was so widely consumed because water was generally unsafe to drink at the time - but, as it turns out, that’s actually a myth.
While it’s true that in densely populated areas water was often polluted due to poor sanitation, most early medieval settlements did have access to fresh water from wells or other natural sources. Beer was preferred because it was cheap, gave you some calories to burn during a hard day of labor, and didn’t taste too bad after the introduction of gruit - various combinations of herbs that were used for flavoring during brewing prior to the great hops takeover that would come in later years.
Beer brewing at monasteries began with the Order of the Cistercians, founded in 1098 CE. This group of monks had previously been part of the Benedictine abbey of Molesme, but left to start their own monastery in Citeaux, France. They felt that Molesme had been slacking, and that the monks there were not being held to a high enough standard of austerity and dedication. St. Benedict, namesake of the Benedictines, had preached the holiness of simplicity and hard manual labor. So the Cistercians sought to refocus on these teachings.
As part of this strict observance of Benedict’s rules, they believed their monasteries should be self-sufficient and hospitable toward pilgrims and travelers. The people wanted beer, and the monasteries could trade it for food or whatever else was needed to keep things rolling along. Monks had a deep understanding of herbs, too, and when combined with their propensity for learning, monks became very efficient and skilled brewers.
Soon monasteries featured huge brewing operations alongside their gardens and animals. As it became clear that monasteries were moneymakers, nobles began to offer up parts of their land to the monks hoping that the monastic community would draw travelers - and consequently, profit - their way. Providing hospitality - a warm bed and a meal - to folks on the road was a priority for monasteries, and viewed as a religious obligation. Beer (and wine, too!) became part of that practice.
The monks also refined their technique to produce the best brews possible. Beer with higher alcohol content was more widely sought after, for obvious reasons, and the general population would pay more money and trade more enthusiastically for stronger beer. Monks started using the same mash of grain for multiple batches.
The first batch would be the strongest with the highest alcohol content, and would be reserved for selling and trading. The second batch wasn’t as strong but was still pretty good, and would generally be kept for the monks themselves. The final batch would be fairly weak but still contained some alcohol, nutrients, and flavor. This would be distributed to the poor to help the monastery stay in the public’s good graces.
Historians believe that hops was introduced to beer brewing around the 9th century CE. Though it also imparted a unique flavor, hops was unlike its predecessor, gruit - in that it lengthened the shelf life of beer. This was a hugely important development, because it meant that beer could be transported longer distances without spoiling.
Records indicate that hops began to be grown specifically for brewing in southern Germany, in the Bavarian region, which actually remains one of the largest areas of hop cultivation in the world to this day. Hops' medicinal and preservative qualities, when added to the brewing process, was first documented by Abbess Hildegard von Bingen in the 12th century in her Physica sacra.
The medieval Catholic church was not a fan of hops. Interestingly, this was not for the medicinal or folk remedy reasons you might expect. Fact is, the church had started selling gruit for beer making, and it had turned out to be very lucrative. When hops arrived on the scene, its bitter flavor and improved preservative qualities led to gruit falling out of favor with the beer-drinking public.
To combat this loss of income, the Church began to impose “beer purity” laws, beginning as early as the 12th century. They were largely ignored, however, and brewing took off all over Europe. And while monasteries were getting pretty good at making beer, they certainly weren’t the only ones.
“Come who so wyll
To Elynour on the hyll,
Wyth, "Fyll the cup, fyll,"
And syt there by styll,
Erly and late:
Thyther cometh Kate,
Cysly, and Sare,
With theyr legges bare,
And also theyr fete,
Hardely, full unswete;
Wyth theyr heles dagged,
Theyr kyrtelles all to-jagged,
Theyr smockes all to-ragged,
Wyth titters and tatters,
Brynge dysshes and platters,
Wyth all theyr myght runnynge
To Elynour Rummynge,
To have of her tunnynge:
She leneth them on the same.
And thus begynneth the game."
English poet and tutor to England's Henry VIII, John Skelton, published his poem The Tunning of Elynour Rummyng in 1521. A far-from-flattering portrait of rural life, it describes a grossly stereotypical environment of filth and debauchery. But while it most certainly isn’t the most pleasant poem to read, it is very important. Because the titular Elynour Rummyng provides us with a glimpse of an important role in medieval and renaissance society - the alewife.
Financial independence was almost unheard of for women during much of the medieval and renaissance periods. But since beer-brewing fell under the umbrella of household tasks for many centuries, it was considered totally socially acceptable for a woman to brew beer. It was a fairly typical gender-assigned task at that time. So women started brewing beer for profit, sometimes opening small businesses dedicated to brewing. These ladies were known as the ale wives.
The mind-altering effects of alcohol gave the alewives and their businesses a pretty negative reputation in “polite” society, as evidenced by Mr. Skelton’s poem. Drink was associated with rowdiness, sex, and un-Godly behavior - even though almost everyone drank. It was a guaranteed way to make money and enterprising women were able to capitalize on the upward trend, despite society’s hypocritical attitudes.
In England, after the population was decimated by the Black Plague, labor was in higher demand than ever before. And women were able to take advantage of this need, carving out a niche for themselves in a male-dominated economic landscape.
Unfortunately, as the industry grew and breweries began popping up throughout the European mainland and the British Isles, the dynamic shifted again in favor of male brewers. It was difficult for women to raise enough money to compete with better-funded and larger breweries. So as brewing businesses became large and lucrative, male owners took over - though many women were able to continue brewing, albeit no longer in leadership roles.
But these alewives and their alehouses had helped to lay the foundation for one of the most important creations in the history of beer, and arguably, in the history of the world: pubs.
The earliest roots of the modern pub lay in the Roman tabernae, or wine shops, and in the alehouses of the middle ages and renaissance. In a nod to the monastic practices of hospitality, though a bit more focused on profit, early alehouses also functioned as inns and provided meals and beds in addition to alcoholic beverages. These operations were incredibly successful - by 1577, there was approximately one alehouse for every 200 people in England and Wales.
By the 16th century, alehouses or taverns were incredibly important in both rural and urban communities. They became gathering places. Interesting news could be shared, by neighbors and travelers passing through, schemes could be concocted, philosophical discussions and brawls could break out in the blink of an eye.
But it was truly the Industrial Revolution that brought the importance of pubs and their role in communities to light.
Beginning in the mid 18th century and lasting until the early 20th, the Industrial Revolution saw the birth of modern industry and mechanization. The days of agricultural timekeeping were gone. Factories in urban centers needed workers, and to entice them to come and work, inexpensive housing sprung up throughout cities. Alehouses, or pubs, turned up in almost every neighborhood, within walking distance.
Pubs served a similar role to the alehouses of yesteryear - they were a place for news, discussions, and community. But the Industrial Revolution introduced something else, too - commiseration, particularly about their new and - often frighteningly unregulated - jobs. Hours were long, pay was low, and work was often incredibly dangerous. Large numbers of workers were now living together, working together, and visiting the pub together.
Labor unions were born in the pubs of the Industrial Revolution. In the British Isles, Europe, and the United States, society had seen incredible technological advancements that allowed for mass production and required lots of labor. But since much of this technology was new, and emerging industries had little to no regulation, large employers were able to exploit workers and do whatever was necessary - ethical or not - to make profit.
In their neighborhood pubs, workers were able to discuss problems like low pay and unsafe conditions, and agree to do something about it. While one person voicing concern to a large employer would have little effect, large numbers refusing to work until conditions improved could make a devastating dent in a company’s profits. And so, labor unions were born - and they are still incredibly important in many industries today. Labor reform was born behind the humble walls of the neighborhood pub.
Prohibition in the United States put a bit of a damper on the brewing industry, and when beer reappeared on American shelves in the mid 1930s, it wasn’t the same. Like many other things, brewing had become mechanized - with traditional ingredients like malted barley being replaced with cheaper options like corn. A lot of beer could be made very cheaply, and for a long time, that was pretty typical in the States.
Europe maintained higher quality beverages, though weaker beers had become fairly trendy in the 20th century. Brewers like the Trappists, a monastic order descended from the Cistercians of old, began brewing beer with higher alcohol content to combat this trend and retain customers. It worked, and brewing in places like Germany and Belgium thrived.
In the 1970s, folks became interested once again in brewing at home, which would gradually evolve into microbreweries as craft beers rapidly grew in popularity. These days, there are tons of craft brewing operations. According to the 2020 numbers provided by the Brewers' Association, there are currently around 8,700 craft breweries in the United States - compared to 4,800 in 2015 - and the craft beer market is worth about 22.2 billion dollars per year.
This adds up, as where I currently live, I could probably throw seven dollars out my window right now and someone would put a pint in my hand. There are over 1,000 breweries in California, and boy, do I miss them.
I hope you enjoyed our sojourn into the history of this fine beverage. I'll leave you with a little appropriate Shakespeare, from Henry the Fifth:
"Would I were in an alehouse in London! I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and safety."
As always, my references, contact information, and website are in the show notes for your perusal. I encourage you to check out my website, www.ursaminorcreations.com, and the Scholar Minor YouTube channel for past episodes and additional content.
Thank you all so much for listening, have a beautiful week, and I’ll talk to you again soon.