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13,000-Year-Old Beer Residue Found in Prehistoric Cave in Israel

posted by Fnord666 on Sunday September 16 2018, @05:45AM   
from the probably-skunked dept.

takyon writes:

'World's oldest brewery' found in cave in Israel, say researchers

Researchers say they have found the world's oldest brewery, with residue of 13,000-year-old beer, in a prehistoric cave near Haifa in Israel. The discovery was made while they were studying a burial site for semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers.

Brewing beer was thought to go back 5,000 years, but the latest discovery may turn beer history on its head. The findings also suggest beer was not necessarily a surplus of making bread as previously thought. The researchers say they cannot tell which came first, and in October's issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, they suggest the beer was brewed for ritual feasts to honour the dead [DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.08.008] [DX].

When will Dogfish Head seize the research?

Related: Beer Domesticated Man
Archaeologists Unearth 5,000-Year-Old Brewery in China
5,000-Year-Old Chinese Beer Recipe Recreated by Students

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Original Submission

• Re:Every Society That Has Had Agriculture Has Had Re:Every Society That Has Had Agriculture Has Had (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 16 2018, @01:22PM (2 children)

  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 16 2018, @01:22PM (#735643)

  Table beers (very low alcohol) were brewed as an alternative to drinking the local water in many places. Besides the alcohol, beer also has hops and a low pH to keep bacterial contamination low. Plus, the process of making beer involves boiling the liquid which sanitizes it.

  Table beers were not notably nutritious, but there were styles brewed to be so, with lots of carbohydrates and residual (unfiltered) yeast. The best known are the big dopplebocks brewed by the monks to get them through Lent [catholicnewsagency.com].

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• Re:Every Society That Has Had Agriculture Has Had Re:Every Society That Has Had Agriculture Has Had (Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Sunday September 16 2018, @08:35PM (1 child)

  by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Sunday September 16 2018, @08:35PM (#735730)

  I believe hops were added to beet later on for flavour. The only two ingredients you need are flour and water. Just mix a few spoons of flour in glass of water and let it sit on the counter for a few days. It's start to smell like beer and be alcoholic. I wouldn't recommend drinking it. Add some sugar to speed up the process and boil it to kill off competing molds.

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  • Re:Every Society That Has Had Agriculture Has Had (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Sunday September 16 2018, @11:51PM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Sunday September 16 2018, @11:51PM (#735779)

    I thought hops were added as a preservative.

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