History of beer

History of Beer and Brewers

Once upon a time.
Beer is the oldest recorded recipe in the world. The ancient Egyptians first documented the brewing process on papyrus scrolls around 5000 BC. These early beers were brewed with dates, figs, and other local herbs and were probably quite strong by today's standards. The Egyptians used beer for religious ceremonies, with the pharaoh scheduling the production and distribution among the masses. We might call the pharaohs the first "master brewers" (or you can call today's master brewers pharaohs, if you like). Before the Egyptians, it is believed that primitive cultures in Mesopotamia were the first brewers, although they didn't bother to write anything down (around 10,000 BC). All they left behind were barley residues and piles of beer as remnants. This residue was probably the remnants of grain porridge that had naturally fermented with wild yeast, imparting an intoxicating effect on the consumer.

Ultimately, beer made its way from the Near East through the Mediterranean to Europe, where it became an integral part of life. This was especially true in Northern Europe, where abundant barley crops provided enough raw material for breweries. Beer was valued both for its nutritional value and because it was a safe alternative to drinking water, many sources of which were contaminated.

It was during the early Middle Ages that what we consider modern beer emerged. Brewers had been using brewing barley as a primary source of fermentable sugars for hundreds of years, but the use of hops as a flavoring agent only became common in the twelfth century. Before that, many different herbs and spices were used to balance the flavors in beer; everything from spruce branches to dried flowers to bitter roots had been used in brewing kettles. Around 1150, however, German monks began to frequently use wild hops in beer. Brewers discovered that hops added a very pleasant, thirst-quenching bitterness, and as an added benefit, hops acted as a natural preservative, extending the life of their beers.

Monks were very famous brewers in the Middle Ages, with almost every monastery having an onsite brewery. Historians attribute many innovations in brewing to the monks besides the introduction of hops, including the idea of cold storage of beer to improve its flavor. Even today, the tradition of monastic brewing is preserved, with a number of Belgian monasteries ranking among the largest breweries in the world.

In addition to Northern European countries like Germany and Belgium, the British Isles also became brewing centers. Many beer styles known to drinkers today have their roots in Great Britain, where brewing has been a tradition for hundreds of years. Beer was such an integral part of British life that the British army issued daily rations of beer to every soldier, and when the British Empire occupied half of the civilized world, the Royal Navy delivered beer to troops even in the most remote corners of the empire. In fact, a very popular beer style today, "India Pale Ale," developed from the need to deliver beer from England to distant colonies of the Empire in places like India and Burma without it becoming stale or sour. British brewers found that a beer with more alcohol and extra hops (both acting as natural preservatives) lasted longer and could survive the long journey to the other side of the globe.

The French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur discovered that the yeast responsible for fermenting beer consists of living organisms—yeast. This discovery made it possible to control the conversion of sugars into alcohol more effectively. Danish botanist Emil Christian Hansen became one of the most important figures in the history of brewing. He devoted his entire life to studying and classifying strains of yeast. Among his research subjects was the cultivation of pure brewing yeast. Thus, Hansen literally revolutionized brewing.

Beer arrived in the New World with the first European colonists. According to writings by European settlers, the reason they landed on "Plymouth Rock" is that they ran out of beer. In fact, the first permanent structure they built was a brewery. And since then Americans have been making beer. New York and Philadelphia were centers of early brewing in America: Just in New York in 1810 there were 18 breweries.
Almost all early American beers were based on the English style with which the colonists were familiar. This begins to change, after 1800 when wave after wave of new immigrants come from Northern and Central Europe, carrying with them new flavors typical of Germany and the Czech Republic. Very quickly these light, clean-tasting beers replaced darker, heavier ales.

The growing demand for light beer and the influx of millions of immigrants led American beer production to new heights in the early 1900s. But then came a period of great troubles – the Prohibition. From 1920 to 1933, the consumption of alcoholic beverages was illegal in the United States. Small regional breweries lost their main source of revenue and went out of business. Some breweries survived by starting to produce malt extract (sugar), ice cream, or soda. After the ban was lifted (1933), the United States was plunged into a great depression, making it difficult for breweries to recover from the 13-year madness. Beers that became popular during this period are those that managed to expand during the ban and thus could mass-produce cheap beer (Budweiser, Schlitz). With the increase in sales, their ability to make their beer cheaper also increased.
This trend continued until the late 70's and early 80's. Before the ban in the United States there were more than 2,000 small breweries; there were only a few hundred by 1983.

How is beer created?

Beer production technology has changed significantly over the centuries and is not the same everywhere even today. But generally almost all types of beer have four main ingredients: barley, hops, water, and beer yeast. The entire brewing process can be divided into four stages: malt preparation, brewing wort preparation, fermentation of brewing wort, and aging of beer.

Malt preparation. During this stage, barley is sorted, weighed, and cleaned. Then it is soaked in water to germinate. Germination takes between five and seven days at a temperature of around 14°C. The end product at this process is called green malt, which is moved to special dryers. There, the moisture content of the green malt is reduced to 2–5 percent to stop germination. After drying, the sprouts are removed from the malt and it is ground. Then it is ready for the next stage.

Brewing wort preparation. The ground malt is mixed with water to form a malt mash, which is then gradually heated. At a certain temperature, enzymes begin converting starch into simple sugars. This stage takes more than four hours, and in the end, brewing wort, which is then purified by filtration, is obtained. The next step is boiling, which stops the action of the enzymes. During boiling, hops are added to the brewing wort, which gives the beer its characteristic bitterness. After about two hours of boiling, the brewing wort is cooled to a certain temperature.

Fermentation of brewing wort. This is perhaps the most important stage of brewing. The simple sugars in the brewing wort are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide through beer yeast. The duration of the process (up to one week) and the temperature at which it occurs depend on the type of beer being produced—ale or lager. Then the resulting green beer is transferred to large tanks and left in cellars to age.

Aging of beer. During this stage, the beer acquires its characteristic taste and aroma, and the released carbon dioxide makes it frothy. Depending on its type, beer can age from three weeks to several months. Finally, it is poured into barrels or bottles and is ready for its final journey—perhaps to your glass!