Randy Mosher's book, Tasting Beer, mentions that the art of making beer was well established by 3000 BC. The Sumerians, Babylonians, and subsequent cultures had the ability to make different beer styles, including red, brown, and black beer, young and aged beer, strong and weak beer. However, hopped beers didn't appear until around 1000 AD. I've read somewhere else, not sure where, about gruit being used to flavor beer before hops became a common flavoring addition. This was a blend of herbs and spices, some even narcotic I think, but I believe this all came years after the time of Jesus.
If this is all true, I imagine the beer being produced in that area of the world around that time was probably more sweet than I care for. I've never tried an uhopped beer, but I can't imagine it tasting that great. I enjoy the flavor of dipping my finger in the mash and chewing on some of the grains, but I wouldn't be able to handle a pint of wort or bowl of mashed grains. I also don't care much for modern spiced beers, so I doubt I would like a gruit ale, but I haven't tried one.
If this is all true, I imagine the beer being produced in that area of the world around that time was probably more sweet than I care for. I've never tried an uhopped beer, but I can't imagine it tasting that great. I enjoy the flavor of dipping my finger in the mash and chewing on some of the grains, but I wouldn't be able to handle a pint of wort or bowl of mashed grains. I also don't care much for modern spiced beers, so I doubt I would like a gruit ale, but I haven't tried one.