Drinks

Daft Punk, coopers, and kettles. A quick romp through Medieval brewing technology

Gangsters, alewives, hipsters, and money. Welcome to the economics of Medieval beer production.

The History of Beer III – Medieval Europe 1: Production The importance of beer in medieval Europe cannot be overstated. Beer was indispensable, central to the medieval experience and worldview. So widespread was its consumption, that any changes to its availability, production, or quality could have deep social and economic consequences. During the initial days

The History of Beer II – Classical Antiquity: The Germanic Peoples In the 21st century, the Germans are renowned for their beers. Their purity laws which we will look at later are famous worldwide. Reviewing historical evidence shows that the Germanic peoples1 have a long and evidently enduring interest in the fine art of brewing.

The History of Beer II – Classical Antiquity: The Celts From a modern perspective, beer is commonly associated with the peoples of Northern Europe, and historically it certainly appears that the Celtic and Germanic people of Iron Age Europe held it far higher regard than their southern cousins. We’re going to start with the Celts,

The History of Beer II – Classical Antiquity: The Greeks and Romans Perhaps my closing statement for the last section was too strong. While wine may have been more prestigious in Greek and Roman society of this era (roughly 1000BCE – 500CE), beer was culturally significant earlier in these increasingly class-based societies. In other areas

As evidenced by its near ubiquity throughout the world, beer has probably shaped humanity more than any other drink. Much as it can be argued that even without the dubious historical practice of ‘gunboat diplomacy’ English would have become the default international language due to its flexibility in terms of accents, grammar, and vocabulary ,