complicated process that isn’t nearly
as likely to happen spontaneously.
So now, anthropologists are positing
that hunter-gatherers discovered beer
that had fermented naturally, and
liked it so much that it encouraged
them to put down roots and start
farming. They believe that it became
an important part of the diet of these
early humans, along with animal
protein.
This theory is supported by
circumstantial evidence that shows
that some early societies were
growing and storing grain for beer
before they began to bake bread.
It makes sense to believe that
somewhere along the timeline, grain
was reduced to flour in an effort to
improve the brewing process. From
there, it’s easy to imagine how bread
might have been created by accident.
Perhaps the flour would have been
mixed with water to make dough,
and then stored for later brewing.
The yeast would have caused the
dough to rise, and some of that
dough, placed too near a fire, would
have yielded bread.
Theories aside, there is historical
proof that beer has been brewed as
early as 7000 years ago in Sumeria.
It was also popular in ancient Egypt,
and many other cultures around the
world. People noticed that drinking
beer made them happy, and they
wrote about it. It also had nutritional
value; in fact, the term “porter” arose
to describe the variant that was given
to porters as a mainstay of their daily
rations.
If variety is the spice of life, then
craft brewing certainly has added
spice to the lives of beer drinkers,
hence the renaissance. But aside
from the name, craft brewing is
nothing new. According to Jeremy
Kirby, the brewmaster at Sunken
City Brewery, “In America, there
was a lot of diversity in brewing
until Prohibition. That kind of cut
the head off the chicken,” he notes.
He goes on to explain that after the
repeal,”… the only people that had
money to re-open real quick were
the big guys that were interested
in making a specific beer for a big
market.” Whereas there had been
thousands of breweries in this
country before, the post- Prohibition
revival of brewing in this country
left us with fewer than fifty, who
typically served larger markets than
did their forbears.
The big market consumer usually
was thought to prefer less boldness
of flavor, resulting in the “lowest
common denominator” beers that
eventually became the norm. Prior
to mass production, a local brewer
would create his product using the
most readily available ingredients:
local water, local hops, and local
grains. Sometimes other local
ingredients were introduced as well.
This gave each region a branding
of sorts. The mineral content of
the water contributed to the flavor
and character of the beer, as did
variations in the other ingredients.
Modern
techniques
permit
today’s craft brewers to apply more
variety to their creations, and this
has done a lot to enable the current
phenomenon. Exotic ingredients
are easily imported, and water is
subject to various treatments, so
the possibilities are endless. Part
of the charm of craft brewing is
the opportunity to explore one’s
creativity.
Most craft brewers have their
roots in home brewing. Jeremy is no
exception, having tinkered with it
in his college days. His passion for
what he does is quite evident as he
demonstrates a very pricey “home
brew” apparatus. “This is the high
end,” he says casually, “about ten
grand”. He is quick to point out
Beer Continued...
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