A
European History of the Brewery, Trade and Consumption of Beer
Korean Minjok Leadership
Academy
Integrated Program
Kim, Hongsoon
Term Paper, AP European History
Class, June 2010
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction
I.1
Introduction to this Paper
I.2
Thesis
I.3
Boundaries
I.3.1 Chronological
Boundaries
I.3.2 Regional
Boundaries
II. Background
Information
II.1
Introduction to Beer
II.1.1 Definition
II.1.2 Overview of
Beer as a Beverage
III. History of
Beer
III.1 Origins
III.1.1 Ancient
History
III.1.2 Beer in Ancient
Greece and Rome
III.2 Beer in the
Medieval Ages and Early Modern Europe
III.2.1 Increase of
Popularity
III.2.2 The Usage
of Hops
III.2.3 Regulations
and Standardization
III.3 Beer in the
Renaissance Era
III.4 Industrial
Revolution Era Beer
III.4.1 Industrialization of Beer Production & New Techniques
III.5 Modern Day
Beer
III.5.1 The Modern Brewing Industry
IV. Conclusion
V. Notes
VI. Bibliography
I.
Introduction
I.1
Introduction
to this Paper
Beer is one of the most widespread
and oldest types of alcoholic beverage in the world. (1) It was an incredibly
important drink in many European nations during different time periods and
continues to maintain its popularity even to this day. This paper will discuss
the history of the brewery, trade, and consumption of beer in Europe by examining
the changes the beer industry underwent over the ages.
I.2
Thesis
Throughout this paper, I wish to show
that the brewery, trade and consumption of beer had much to do with the natural
environment of a region and technological development. Also, I will show that
the changes in the beer industry led to changes in the culture or society of a
civilization.
Thus my thesis would be:
The brewery, trade, and consumption
of beer were influenced by a civilization’s environment, culture, and
technology and, in turn, influenced the society’s way of life.
I.3
Boundaries
I.3.1
Chronological
Boundaries
I plan to place little to no
boundary in terms of time. This paper will examine the overall history of beer,
from the ancient times to the modern era.
I.3.2
Geographical
Boundaries
The region
I will mainly be focusing on in this paper is the continent of Europe. However,
when dealing with the ancient origins of beer, I will write about regions out
of Europe, such as Asia or Mesopotamia, because those areas are where beer
originated from and thus require attention.
II.
Background
Information
II.1
Introduction
to Beer
II.1.1 Definition
According to the Merriam-Webster
Online dictionary, the modern definition of beer is “an alcoholic beverage usually made from
malted cereal grain (as barley), flavored with hops, and brewed by slow
fermentation”. (2) However, beer has existed before the utilization of
hops, as will be discussed in my paper. Thus, when talking about periods prior
to the introduction of hops in beer brewery, we should not consider hops as a
necessary prerequisite for a beverage to be qualified as beer.
II.1.2 Overview of Beer as a Beverage
Although
beer made of barely is the most widespread type of beer in the modern era, beer
can easily be made out of other cereal grains. Such usable grains include
wheat, maize and rice. (3)
Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic
beverages in history, (4) and retains its popularity as an intoxicating drink
to the modern day. It is currently the third most popular drink in the world,
next to water and tea (5). Around 1.4 billion hectoliters of beer are consumed
annually, the majority of this consumption being performed by nations in
Northern Europe. (6)
III.
History of
Beer
III.1
Origins
III.1.1
Ancient
History
The first credible appearance of
beer happened in ancient China. Pottery jars discovered in the Stone Age town
of Jiahu suggest that a crude form of beer, known as kui, was produced there as early as 9000 years ago. (7)
The tablet that The Hymn to Ninkasi
was inscribed on. (9)
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Records from ancient Mesopotamian
civilizations such as Sumer and Babylonia also show evidence of beer
production. Clay tablets show proof that beer brewery was a prominent and
respected activity in ancient Sumer. Beer became an important factor in
Sumerian culture, with many Sumerian myths, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, having
beer in them and ascribing beer as “a creation of the gods”. Sumerians even had
a Goddess of Beer named Ninkasi. The Hymn to Ninkasi, which female Sumerian
priest/brewers memorized, serves a dual purpose: to praise the Goddess, and to
show the process of brewery. (8)
The knowledge Sumerians had about
beer was passed on to the Babylonians, who also enjoyed beer. Beer was a
significant part of their culture, so significant that the Code of Hammurabi includes
a law that states that any tavern keeper who lies about the amount of beer he
is providing would be drowned. (10) Considering that Hammurabi’s Code deals
with issues that were relevant and important in Babylonia, we can see that beer
was an incredibly prominent part of the Babylonian society.
Beer was also crucial in ancient
Egypt. Egypt also had a Goddess of Beer named Tenenet.
(11) Beer was a universally accepted good in Egypt; laborers who worked on the
Giza Pyramids were often paid in beer along with bread. Beer was also thought
to have medical effects, and over 100 discovered medicine recipes have beer
included as an ingredient. (12)
I believe that the reason that beer
was developed, and was able to be developed, in these regions is related to the
fact that these communities were amongst the first civilizations of the world.
Agriculture was developed in these areas, providing the people with the grains
necessary to brew beer. If these grains are provided, it is relatively simple
to make beer; even spitting on the grains and leaving it for some time can
create a crude form of alcohol. The reason that beer was often related to
religion and myths may have to do with the intoxicating effects of beer. Those
that have never experienced the effects of alcohol may have thought becoming
drunk was a mystical process that had to do with the Gods. Because of this, many
ancient civilizations that had access to beer had deities or rituals related to
the drink.
III.1.2
Beer in
Ancient Greece and Rome
Because of its proximity to
Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as its developed maritime trade, ancient Greece
is thought to be the earliest civilization in mainland Europe that accepted
beer into its culture. Beer probably entered Greece through trade with Egypt,
as we can see through etymology. The Greek word for beer is ‘zythos’, which is
quite similar to the Egyptian counterpart, which is ‘zytum’. (13) The Sumerian
word for beer is ‘sikaru’ which is less similar. (14)
Writers such as Archilochus and
Sophocles left writings about brewing and consuming beer. Sophocles, who lived
around 450BC, contributed so greatly to Greek beer-related culture that he was later
referred to as “a wise man who invented beer” by Plato. (15) Sophocles
introduced the concept of moderation, which is not drinking over a certain
amount in each sitting, in beer consumption. Sophocles advocated beer,
suggesting that beer become a central part of the daily Greek cuisine, but this
idea was not very popular. Wine became more popular than beer, and the Greeks
began to view the grainy taste of beer to be inferior compared to the strong
flavor of wine.
This
idea continued to the Roman Empire, and beer was viewed as a drink fit only for
barbarians, while wine was considered to be much more prestigious. This
conception was able to exist because the Mediterranean weather of Greece or
Rome enabled them to cultivate grapes; this was unavailable to the nomadic
tribes of the north, whom the Romans regarded as inferior. This bias that beer
is for lower-class people still influences people to this day, and modern nations
near the Mediterranean Sea continue to consume much more wine than they do
beer. The environment a civilization was located in allowed them to access
other beverages besides beer, and this affected their cultural mindset.
III.2
Beer in the
Medieval Ages and Early Modern Europe
III.2.1
Increase in
Popularity
Beer began
to spread to the northern and western regions of Europe as early as 800BC. After
Christianity became widespread in those areas, the production of beer suddenly
became very popular. This is because Christian monasteries, which were spread
all over Europe, began to brew beer autonomously. Monasteries needed an easily-made
drink they could provide travelers with instead of water, which was filthy, so
they became one of the first organizations to specialize in beer production as
an industry. By the 2nd century AD, beer
was already a commercial industry, with monks being given the right to sell
beer independently. Beer became so significant in European Christianity;
saints such as St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Luke the
Evangelist, and St. Nicholas of Myra were even patrons of beer brewery. Charlemagne,
emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, also trained Christian brewers and set
regulations on beer.
Besides the rise of Christian
monasteries, several factors made the rise of beer in Northern and Western
Europe inevitable. Because sewage and storage systems during that time period were
not sophisticated, water was often filthy and easy to spoil. Alcoholic
beverages did not have this problem and thus were ideal when it was necessary
to prepare a liquid to store for a long time. Wine was unavailable because
grapes were not cultivatable in the environment those nations were located in;
grapes were cultivated in regions surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Since beer
could be created with simple ingredients that every civilization had, it was
very accessible. Beer could also provide a high amount of calories, which were
not easily gained otherwise during medieval times. Thus, the environment and cultural
influence led to the rise of popularity of beer in this era.
III.2.2
The Usage
of Hops
This
era also introduced one of the most important changes in beer brewery: the use
of hops. Hops are the female flower clusters of a plant called Humulus lupulus. The main role of hops
is to give beer flavor and stabilize it at the same time. Hops provide beer
with a bitter, deep flavor, and also preserve it, so beer can be stored for a
longer time without spoiling.
The
earliest records of hops cultivation date back to 736 in Germany. (16) Hops
were first used in monasteries around the 9th century. Before their
introduction, a variety of herbs were used in attempts to make beer last
longer, but they were far less effective than hops. An alternative would be to
increase the alcohol content in the beer, but this is a very expensive and
difficult process.
Because
beer could now be preserved for longer periods of time, exporting beer became
possible. Germany, one of the first nations to use hops, became one of the
earliest to begin the export of beer. Germany, along with longer-lasting,
hop-flavored beer, had standardized barrel sizes that made export more
convenient. Beer was no longer only produced in small-scale operations in
monasteries, but as relatively large operations involving 8 to 10 people. By
the 14th century, beer was being produced and exported as a
flourishing industry in Germany, with nations such as Holland, Scandinavia, and
England being the main purchasers. Cities such as Bremen and Hamburg became
cities with flourishing beer production and those cities became the centers of
beer export. States including Holland and England also began to produce beer in
large scale operations, and by the 15th century, were also exporting
beer.
A hop flower cluster (17)
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III.2.3
Regulations
and Standardization
As exports increased,
governments began to place regulations and standards on beer trade. As
mentioned in the previous section, Barrel sizes in Germany were standardized
for a more convenient trading process. Many nations also placed standards on
the quality or substance of the beer itself.
England, after the introduction of
hops, set the dividing line between beer and ale. Alcoholic beverages that
included hops were now called beer, while those without hops were referred to
as ale. The dividing line between the two beverages was now made clear, and the
Brewers Company of England made sure that this standard was kept. Although this
division later became powerless—as in modern times both ale and beer contain
hops—it did provide the modern definition of beer.
In Germany, around this time, an
extremely significant rule of beer production was introduced. The Reinheitsgebot, implemented by William IV, the
Duke of Bavaria in 1516, was the first rule about the purity of beer, and is
still accepted in modern times. The law states that beer can only be made out
of the three ingredients water, barely, and hops. The Reinheitsgebot is the oldest food-related
regulation that reached modern times, as it became an official German law in 1987.
The law is no longer enforced, but it does show that 16th century states
of where Germany is now accepted the fact that beer was an integral part of the
society, much like how Hammurabi or Charlemagne placed rules about beer
centuries before.
III.3
Industrial
Revolution Era Beer
III.3.1
A brewery of the Industrial Era (18)
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Industrialization
of Beer Production & New Techniques
The Industrial Revolution was a
period of many innovations and technological developments. These developments altered
the lives of Europeans in almost every way imaginable, and beer production was
no exception. Industrialization introduced many new devices that allowed the beer
brewing industry to utilize new methods of production.
Along
with the steam engine, the industrial era also brought forth numerous
inventions that helped beer brewery, such as the thermometer or the hydrometer.
Thermometers and hydrometers measure temperature and density respectively, and
such accurate measurements. Beer with the best quality demanded a certain
temperature; temperatures that were only available in the winter. However, the
invention of thermometers along with artificial refrigeration allowed beer
makers to accurately perceive the temperature and apply refrigeration as
necessary. Hydrometers were used to measure the density of the malt. This
allowed brewers to assess the traits and yield of beer before finishing it, and
this meant that the brewers could produce small amounts of high-quality beer
instead of blindly producing beer of mixed quality as they did before.
The
change in malt drying also contributed greatly in improving the quality of
beer. Before the Industrial Revolution, malt was dried directly on fire, with fuel
such as wood or charcoal being used. While this did definitely dry the malt, it
left a smoky odor in the malts, because nothing separated the malt from the
rising smoke; this smoky flavor remained in the finished beer and made it less appetizing.
Brewers continuously tried to reduce the smokiness, and the invention of the drum
roaster by Daniel Wheeler made a kilning process that didn’t leave the smoky
scent possible. Another important scientific breakthrough was the discovery of
the role of yeast and microbes in fermentation by Louis Pasteur in 1857. Now
brewers could understand how the fermentation process worked, and they used
this knowledge to prevent the beer from souring. The preservation of beer was
greatly improved after this discovery.
The
technological developments during this era led to many new techniques and devices
that contributed to the enhancement of the quality of the beer being produced.
The overall progress and simplification of the beer brewing process also
allowed large-scale breweries to appear. Breweries no longer were limited to 10
or less people, but became large, factory-like operations with many people
working at once. This increased the amount of beer being produced, and the
international trade of beer thrived. This is an example of where improvement in
technology affected beer brewery, and led to great progress in the quantity of
the beer being produced and also improving the flavor, sustainability, and
overall quality of beer.
III.4
Modern Day
Beer
III.4.1
The Modern Brewing Industry
Beer continues to be an important
beverage in modern day Europe. With the exception of Australia and the United
States of America, all of the top 15 nations with the highest beer consumption
per capita are European, with most of them from Northern or Southern Europe. (19)
The Czech Republic, Ireland, and Germany are especially prominent for the
amount of beer drunk per individual.
Many
European beer companies, from nations such as Germany, England, and the Czech
Republic, maintain traditional recipes and certain brewing methods, and hold
great pride in the fact. In Germany, especially, many beer corporations are
prideful of adhering to the rule of the Reinheitsgebot, even though the policy is no longer enforced by law. Some breweries
also develop new, diverse types and variations of beer utilizing ingredients or
methods that were not used before. Beer trade is also greatly prosperous, due
to increased sustainability and quality of beer and improved transportation
methods. Beer from traditionally beer-producing nations is continuously
considered fine.
Beer
is an important factor in many European cultures, with festivals or rituals related
to the drink being held. In Germany, beer festivals such as the 16~18 day long Oktoberfest
or Gäubodenvolksfest are held and drinking beer is a
central part of such celebrations. Other nations also hold small and
large-scale events with beer; beer has concretely become a part of their lifestyle.
IV.
Conclusion
Beer is, and has been, an important
beverage in European history. The relationship between beer and the society
that brews, consumes, or trades it is a mutually influencing one.
Sometimes,
it is the environment culture or changes in the world that affects beer
production. Such was the case in Mediterranean Europe, where the environment
encouraged wine production over beer and created the social ambience of
disregarding beer. The opposite happened in Middle Age northwestern Europe,
where beer became popular due to religious and practical reasons. The
Industrial Revolution era shows how technology altered beer production.
Technological innovations allowed beer makers to try new techniques and develop
beer in ways that had never been tried before.
In
other situations, it is beer that influences the culture of a nation. People
from many ancient civilizations believed beer had mystical or medical powers
and revered it as a divine drink. Some societies had deities dedicated to beer,
and through serving them, people were able to practice the brewing process,
leading to the easy proliferation of its process; beer was important to those
communities in a religious sense. In civilizations such as Babylonia, the Holy
Roman Empire, and Bavaria, beer was so widespread and prominent that special
laws were created in order to ensure its quality, quantity, safety and so on. Many
nations had, and still have, ceremonies or festivities related to beer. These events
were, and are, an important part of the culture itself and show that beer is
more than a mere drink to those people.
Thus,
we can see that the brewery, trade, and consumption of beer were influenced by
a civilization’s environment, culture, and technology and, in turn, influenced
the society’s way of life.
V.
Notes
(1) Nelson
2005
(2) ‘Beer’, entry in Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary
(3) ‘Beer’, entry in Wikipedia
(4) Nelson
2005
(5) ‘Beer’, entry in Wikipedia
(6) BelgianShop news 2003
(7) Roach 2005
(8) Bros 2000
(9) Bros 2000
(10) English translation of The Code of
Hammurabi
(11) ‘Tenenet’, entry in Wikipedia
(12) ‘History of Beer’, entry in Wikipedia
(13) ‘Beer’, entry in Ancient History
Encyclopedia
(14) Sumerian
Dictionary
(15) Butler 2006
(16) Corran 1975
(17) ‘Hops’, entry in Wikipedia
(18) ‘How Beer caused the
Industrial Revolution’, article from the Economic History Blog on Wordpress
(19) ‘Beer Consumption in Major Countries
in 2004 - Per Capita Beer Consumption
by Country (2004), statistical research by Kirin Holdings
VI.
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