IN HONOR OF BEER
The Evolution Of Man’s Favorite Pint
By Zain Deane

It’s October; for many people around the world, that means the approach of winter. October is a month of cooler climate and warmer clothes; of autumn hues and haunted houses. It’s also a time for a beer festival.

Since the first Oktoberfest was held in Munich in 1810, this homage to the hop and the barley has run on a fairly consistent basis, give or take a few wars. These days, the two-week extravaganza that begins at the end of September has become the world’s largest fair, averaging around six million visitors per year. It has crossed boundaries and oceans—not that people needed an excuse to drink beer—and is now celebrated vigorously around the world. And in Germany, people from all over the globe descend on Munich every October to stagger together, don the lederhosen and flirt with Bavarian barmaids.

But man’s love affair with beer goes back much further than the 19th Century, and, in honor of Oktoberfest 2007, I decided to explore its origins. What I found was both hysterical and eye-opening. Some historians, according to beerhistory.com, claim that we were making beer before we were making bread. How far can we trace back our drunken lineage? Really, really, really far.

Beer has been showing up in the unlikeliest of places long before Jesus showed up (and really, wouldn’t it have been pretty cool if it was beer and bread they were drinking at the Last Supper?). But a biblical connection does exist: apparently, Noah carried a case (or two, I suppose) with him onto the Ark. In doing so, he established a tradition that is followed by virtually every fisherman in the country today.

Digging deeper into our inebriated past, we find that the Egyptians have been drinking away their problems for centuries. In 1600 BC, medical records show about 100 medical prescriptions that called for beer as a remedy.  Turn the clock back a few centuries, and we find Babylonian clay tablets from 4300 BC with recipes for beer. A Sumerian tablet dated around 6000 BC gives us yet another beer recipe. And in a case, or keg, of irony, one of the earliest known records of beer came from what is today Iran. How’s that for historical perspective?

Beer is also a truly global libation. The Africans, Chinese, Japanese, Europeans, Americans, South Americans, Native Americans, Hebrew and Middle Eastern peoples have all indulged and produced it. I don’t even need to talk about the Australians, do I? Remember Fosters: Australian for Beer?  

So, where does beer come from? The word itself comes from the Latin “bibere,” which means to drink. The Romans, who learned the art of beer making from the Greeks, called their fermented brew cerevisia, a derivation of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, and vis, Latin for “strength.” As for the drink itself, it’s been comprised of three basic ingredients for centuries: water, a starch with sugars in it that can ferment, and yeast (and hops for flavor). The cereal we’re most familiar with today is malt barley, but rice, corn, and wheat have served ably as well. Given what goes into beer, it’s not surprising that it’s been around for a while.

The anecdotal history of beer through the ages is fascinating, and makes one interesting fact clear: beer has been an integral component to a civilization’s economy and social fabric for thousands of years. It has been both the drink of royalty and the beverage of barbarians. It has been consumed by the righteous and by the heathen.

So, this October, as you inevitably visit your favorite bar, perhaps to celebrate Oktoberfest, reserve a special toast for the beer you faithfully drink. It’s been there for you for a very long time.