Elixir of the GODS... BEER????

[Windwalker]

No secret, I have a bit more than a passing interest in Archaeology. I've been in contact with an Anthropologist that has been working on a clay tablet from Sumeria. (Circa 9,000 BC) Though, not completely deciphered yet (and there are pieces missing), it appears to be instructions for brewing a beverage used in religious ceremonies. It contains grains and a few other ingredients that are fermented. A bit more than just barley and hops.

Prior to Prohibition, the ingredients for beer varied beyond the "currently" traditional barley and hops. They included rice and wheat and a few other ingredients that you won't find in beer today. If you could imagine it, you could add it to the brew. A few of the recipes from a hundred years ago might closer resemble "Ayahuasca". (And, about now, the "atheists" might suggest that GOD was dreamed up by a bunch of alcoholics that were drunk and tripping out...) About the same as if I added some "weed" to my home made wine. And, it looks like, at least one recipe from 11,000 years ago,. did a bit more than that.

Today, the protein is removed from the brew (So, don't try to claim "food value" in your beer. It's not there.) But, centuries ago, it seems that was also a way to preserve the value of the grain as well. That, and the fact that the water is boiled, would mean that there was less chance of getting sick from the beer than from the water..

There is one label that uses a formula copied from bowls in burial chambers of Egypt. The residue in the bowls was analysed and the brewer (the name escapes me) tried to copy it as close as possible. There are no official tasters that survived from back then, so how close it is to the original is anybodiy's guess. But, the next time you're enjoying a frosty mug of froth, you might want to raise your eyes and clink your glass there too...

Looks like the history of "line 5" goes back a long way.....

[mitchno1]

where did you ever think of that crap to come up with , i think you must be on dope not beer

[golfhobo]

There are no official tasters that survived from back then, so how close it is to the original is anybodiy's guess.

That's not true. I'm a direct descendent of one of the official "tasters." She was my Mummy!

[Malaki86]

I've never experienced God after drinking beer, but I've sure prayed to Him after having too many beers.

[Kentla93]

I've never experienced God after drinking beer, but I've sure prayed to Him after having too many beers.

I had an experience with God back in 1979 when I was 16 and we spent a weekend backpacking the Beartracks trail from Summit Lake (Base of Mt Evans Colorado) down to Camp Rock trail head just west of my house. In the middle of this trail we set up camp on the edge of the big burn which in its self was kind of creepy, then we started drinking and finished the night with a button of Peyote. A night that I will never forget in many ways, as my buddy and I did this with twin sisters Leslie and Lynette, I wonder what they are doing these days..... Life is good when you are a kid with no responsibility..

Timberwolf

[Windwalker]

where did you ever think of that crap to come up with , i think you must be on dope not beer

Actually, if you do a little research, you'll find that making beer goes back a long, long way. But, it seems the recipe varied from region to region, and from century to century.

In this country, prior to prohibition, there were nearly 2,000 breweries. Right after prohibition, there were less than 100. Today, counting the "micro-breweries", the number is close to 1,500. And, some are adding wheat. Some are adding honey. Some are adding rice. And, some are adding lemon. So, you're able to try a variety, like "MOOSE DROOL" from the Big Sky Brewery in Montana, Bear Whiz Bear from Colorado, and others.

But, you don't have to look very far to find out that beer is one of the oldest beverages in this world. wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_beer should be one reference that virtually anyone can find. But, do a google search on "oldest evidence of beer" and you'll get a whole list to look at.

I just thought it was a light-hearted look at something from the past that "line-5 fans" might enjoy. Yes, Hobo, I did think about you.

[golfhobo]

I assumed you were referring to me in the thread title.

[KateL]

We have a great microbrewery here where I live (Emperyum). I've made wine myself out of oddball ingredients like bananas. I've read up on making beer and it seems to me to be a lot more difficult than wine. It is very touchy stuff. So I guess I will stick to making wine.

[Windwalker]

I assumed you were referring to me in the thread title.

I certainly won't deny that you were one of the first people that crossed my mind when I read the information.

[Windwalker]

We have a great microbrewery here where I live (Emperyum). I've made wine myself out of oddball ingredients like bananas. I've read up on making beer and it seems to me to be a lot more difficult than wine. It is very touchy stuff. So I guess I will stick to making wine.

Years back, a friend of mine used to brew his own beer at home. He had the whole list of things you needed, including the "bottle capper". From the start, he had it all set up in his basement. One day, when he came home from school (high school), his father was on hands and knees, on the kitchen floor with a hammer, pounding the broken glass back down into the basement. After that, he moved his operation out to the garage. Then, in the middle of July, when the roof of the garage cost him $600 in repairs, he decided to tone down his recipe. The funny part of it was that actual beer bottles would not hold the pressure. He was constantly on the lookout for the old, heavy Coca Cola bottles. He also managed to make his brew test out at about 40% alcohol. (I believe the record is 50%)

Back home, Stevens Point Brewery is another one of those micro-breweries, and they do have a great product. They also make a root beer with honey instead of sugar or corn sweetener, and it's not too bad at all. I remember when they took the blue ribbon at international beer taste testing, five years in a row. Leinenkugel is another one, owned by Miller, but left to do their own thing. Honey Wiess, not to bad...

And, from what I understand, if you can find artifacts from the old "Marathon Brewery", they may be worth a quite a bit to collectors. I had uncles, and my own Dad as well, that drank Marathon Beer for years before they went out of business more than 40 years ago.

I've made my own wine from a variety of fruit, too. Grapefruit actually doesn't make a bad white wine. But, it MUST age for about 5 months, otherwise, the taste of grapefruit is overwhelming. Cranberry isn't bad at all, and getting the juice out of watermelon is interesting. If they had rhubarb down here, I'd like to try that too. But, I doctor the recipe a bit and give it more alcohol content. I've had a couple of batches that tested out at 35%+.]

I've thought about making my own beer too. If I leave out the hops, I can drink it. (I can not drink the commercially brewed stuff) But, I have thought about the bottles exploding and broken glass flying around. Not sure I want to get into that... I might need a concrete bunker...

[mitchno1]

pretty sure beer made with honey is called Mead,captain Cook the pommy explorer that found New Zealand among other places used to brew it on his sailing ship the Endeavor.hows that for a bit of history lol

[Windwalker]

pretty sure beer made with honey is called Mead,captain Cook the pommy explorer that found New Zealand among other places used to brew it on his sailing ship the Endeavor.hows that for a bit of history lol

I believe there is a slight difference between beer made with honey and mead. In beer made with honey, honey is not the main ingredient. In mead, honey is the main ingredient, and anything else that is included is meant for flavoring. But, there seem to be as many recipes for mead as there are for beer, so the line dividing them may be a bit blurred.