If you could homebrew in ancient times...

For the homebrewers...

If you knew what you know now about brewing beer, have you ever thought about being transported back to an ancient time to see what it was like, what you could offer, to be a head brewer for an entire community without all of the financial/legal issues, or perhaps just to save people from drinking slop?

What particular time would that be and why? Would you brew for a King, for yourself, for your village, and in what country? What beer styles would you brew? We're talking Before Christ up to the 1500s AD. Braggot, Gruit, Kvass, and all those quasi similar beer type beverages included.

I've always been interested in medieval times in general, but that would be the time period in which I would I brew. I've heard the stuff the peasants and vassals drank was pretty awful stuff, so I would brew for a village of them, assuming I had the resources to do it. I would prefer to brew for them beer fit for a king, but it might get me assassinated because knowing the thought process of kings back in the day peasants wouldn't be allowed to drink beer fit for a king.

Watch Army of Darkness. That'd be me.

I would do ancient Egypt or around the American revolution. I feel like they would appreciate it the most.

mikecshultz said:

I would do ancient Egypt or around the American revolution. I feel like they would appreciate it the most.

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I personally would stay away from ancient egypt. About that time frame there were brewing "beer" that incorporated a soil bacteria that produced tetracycline. In other word their beer contained modern antibiotics. I'd be taking a big risk trying to adapt to and out compete that.

I'd start brewing right before the craft beer takeover. Then I would be the jamil or Greg Koch of today lol