Beer Just Got Older
If you were to ask any beer connoisseur with half a brain about the history of beer, you would find that the origins of beer are a bit convoluted. Surely there is substantial evidence of cultures brewing beer-like beverages all throughout the world at various points in time. But, we are discussing the cold hard facts of beer’s origins. So, for the sake of this article, we date beer’s beginnings back to Ancient Iraq, specifically in Mesopotamia, roughly 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists unearthed ceramic vessels from 3,400 B.C. containing not only beer residue, but a recipe for ancient brewing called “Hymn to Ninkasi.” This was the oldest example of finite empirical evidence used to date beer’s origins.
HOWEVER, it does seem archaeologists have discovered an older recipe to further date beer’s origins. Archaeologists at Stanford University have uncovered a 5,000 year old beer recipe in China which is not only the earliest beer recipe ever found, but also shows the earliest use of barley in China. This discovery occurred when they were digging alongside the Wei River. A complete set of ancient brewing equipment was discovered and analyzed for historical credibility. The beer funnel below is what archaeologists unearthed in China while the funnel above is the funnel after it was cleaned and polished.
The Researchers analyzed the liquid left behind in the ancient brewing equipment and found the ingredients used in the ancient beer. The recipe contained broomcorn, millet, barley, Job’s tears (Ancient Southeast Asian grass) and tubers. This archaeological discover predates the Ancient Iraq (Mesopotamian) empirical date by about 1,000 years.
Eventually, I’m sure this date will be trumped in a future discovery by archaeologists in some ancient Asian/African country. But as for the present, beer just added 1,000 years to its historical age. So, drink up before beer gets any older!
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“A man who lies about beer makes enemies.” –Stephen King
