ancient beer

bummerkit · 07-29-2007, 07:13 AM

Beer has been around for thousands of years. how did they make beer before malted grains? I also understand that hops are a relatively new addition to beer, was there a different ingredent to preserve and flavor beer before hops?

homebrewer_99 · 07-29-2007, 01:04 PM

While that may be true, chances are it would not be like anything we would be able to recognize today.

Remember, Pilsners were "born" in 1842. All beer was dark before then.

Hops are relatively a new ingredient in the beer-life scale. Prior to their use brewers used roots and herb, etc.

My bet is that whatever they made/drank was consumed immediately/within days.

CharlieB · 07-29-2007, 02:01 PM

i read about this somewhere. hops have only been around recently compared to ow long people have been making beer. they use to soak field grains in water some how yeast got in there and there ya go. that was their version of beer. over time they started adding different fruits, spices and herbs to produce different aromas and flavors. there's still people in europe that refuse to brew with hops because they say its "not traditional" but i couldn't imagine a beer without them. gotta have my PA's.

jb444 · 07-29-2007, 02:18 PM

beer without malted grains and hops...in my humble opinion thats not beer.
hops came to england in the 16th century and hopped brews were called beer. Beers using other spices - lavender, sage, nettles, wormwood, there are hundreds - were called ales and for many years hops were shunned for use in brewing.
malted grains have been used since ancient egyptian times at least, before then i have no idea.
Out of interest here is a 500 year old recipe for Mum-Ale:
5 pints wheat malt
5 pints oat malt
5 pints beans
4 ounces fir-tree rind
2 oz fir and birch tops
1/4 handful Rosa Solis
betony
marjoram
avens
penny royal
elderflower
thyme
Cardus Benedictus
cardamom
bayberries
the beer should be casked with an unbroken egg and matured for two years
A sea voyage greatly improves the beer
I cant say I've tried it (mainly becuase i havent heard of half the ingredients), I would be greatly interested to hear from anyone who does.

**Jaybird** · 07-29-2007, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jb444

the beer should be casked with an unbroken egg and matured for two years
.

YUMMMM rotten egg beer! thank GOD for HOPS
JJ