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takyon writes:

Stanford University students have attempted to recreate a beer using a recently described 5,000-year-old recipe:

The ancient Chinese made beer mainly with cereal grains, including millet and barley, as well as with Job's tears, a type of grass in Asia, according to the research. Traces of yam and lily root parts also appeared in the concoction.

Liu said she was particularly surprised to find barley – which is used to make beer today – in the recipe because the earliest evidence to date of barley seeds in China dates to 4,000 years ago. This suggests why barley, which was first domesticated in western Asia, spread to China. "Our results suggest the purpose of barley's introduction in China could have been related to making alcohol rather than as a staple food," Liu said.

The ancient Chinese beer looked more like porridge and likely tasted sweeter and fruitier than the clear, bitter beers of today. The ingredients used for fermentation were not filtered out, and straws were commonly used for drinking, Liu said.

YouTube video (2:12).

Revealing a 5,000-y-old beer recipe in China (open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1601465113) (DX)

Previously: Archaeologists Unearth 5,000-Year-Old Brewery in China

Original Submission