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Spanish Recreate a Bronze Age Beer
Question:
Jack: The ’spin doctors’ at San Miguel are probably responsible for the taste/hype just like Mega Brewery marketing here in the US of A. I think that the following info is the most interesting part of the article. Maya said tests done on the Geno residue showed the brewers used barley and a kind of wheat called emmer. “They also added herbs as preservatives,” Maya said. “That’s the problem with beer. If you don’t add preservatives, it goes bad quickly.” In its day, the Geno site was a settlement of about 100 people who abandoned it after a fire. For centuries it lay undiscovered, until soldiers digging a machine-gun nest in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 stumbled across it. The site has been under continuous study since 1976. Maya said the Geno beer residue is the oldest ever discovered in Europe. But he noted that remains of sorghum beer made 9,000 years ago have been found in Sudan and that beer was widely popular among the ancient Egyptians.
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Response:
Jack: I think the following info is the most interesting piece in the article. Points to the early use of barley, wheat and herbs. The spin doctors of San Miguel are probably responsible for all claims of taste and other hype. No different than here in the US of A !!!! Maya said tests done on the Geno residue showed the brewers used barley and a kind of wheat called emmer. “They also added herbs as preservatives,” Maya said. “That’s the problem with beer. If you don’t add preservatives, it goes bad quickly.” In its day, the Geno site was a settlement of about 100 people who abandoned it after a fire. For centuries it lay undiscovered, until soldiers digging a machine-gun nest in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 stumbled across it. The site has been under continuous study since 1976. Maya said the Geno beer residue is the oldest ever discovered in Europe. But he noted that remains of sorghum beer made 9,000 years ago have been found in Sudan and that beer was widely popular among the ancient Egyptians.
Wayne Big Fun Brewing Milwaukee Spamguard used in email address…..
Response:
Modern science is wonderful but as a brewer, I call this one 99% hype. How could one possible reconstruct the character and details of a beer from 3000 year old residue. No one really knows for sure what the original Porter tasted like and what is drunk now is only an educated guess. The most suspicious clue is the fact that it was liked by all who tasted it. What a joke! Most people don’t even like good beer so how could they possibly like something that was made with 3000 year old brewing technology. Humbug! js — Visit our WEB pages: http://user.mc.net/arf ASTROPHOTO OF THE WEEK….. New Every Monday
Response:
Spanish Recreate a Bronze Age Beer .c The Associated Press by DANIEL WOOLLS MADRID, Spain (AP) — Archeologists who scraped residue from the bottom of a broken clay jar have cooked up Bronze Age beer. In a feat reminiscent of Jurassic Park dinosaur-breeding, University of Barcelona researchers say they have recreated a batch of Europe’s oldest beer. The result may not be for everyone — thickish, on the dark side and a bit flat. Plus it has particles floating in it, and packs a 16-proof punch. The 3,100-year-old recipe was pieced together through microscopic examination of scrapings from the bottom of a red clay jar found at an archeological dig known as Geno, in Spain’s northeast Catalonia region. Jose Luis Maya, a history professor, said Friday that he and other researchers turned to brewers at a nearby San Miguel beer plant for help in cooking up a fresh batch of old beer. And they insisted on brewing it by hand, like in the Bronze Age. “We did not use any of the technology at the factory,” he said in an interview from Barcelona. Maya said tests done on the Geno residue showed the brewers used barley and a kind of wheat called emmer. “They also added herbs as preservatives,” Maya said. “That’s the problem with beer. If you don’t add preservatives, it goes bad quickly.” In its day, the Geno site was a settlement of about 100 people who abandoned it after a fire. For centuries it lay undiscovered, until soldiers digging a machine-gun nest in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 stumbled across it. The site has been under continuous study since 1976. Maya said the Geno beer residue is the oldest ever discovered in Europe. But he noted that remains of sorghum beer made 9,000 years ago have been found in Sudan and that beer was widely popular among the ancient Egyptians. Maya said his team’s beer filled 400 bottles, which were unveiled Thursday at a tasting for university officials and the media. The reviews were generally positive. Some of the tasters even said the beer should be produced commercially, but Maya ruled this out. “We just made it for fun,” he said. AP-NY-11-27-98 1909EST Big Fun Brewing Milwaukee Spamguard used in email address…..