MRO Today - Hail Caesar!

The next time you hoist a cold one, consider this: if not for the discovery of beer, we might still be nomads, endlessly hunting our next meal, instead of sitting back and drinking it. Ug!

Hail Caesar! (burp)

by Tom Hammel, editor

Many anthropologists and archaeologists (and not just the drunken ones) share the belief that man’s ability to brew beer paralleled the rise of civilization as we know it. Some even go so far as to say that brewing beer caused the rise of civilization.

Their argument is as elegant as a brimming pint glass. In virtually every one of the oldest human settlements discovered to date, scientists have found evidence of beer making; lots of ancient pop tops evidently.

Well, they found something that said beer, that’s for sure. In fact, ancient Sumerians some 6,000 years ago, were known to knock a few back after a hard day in the fields.

When bands of nomads began to come together in communities, they did so to cultivate grains, which could be grown just about anywhere. And what did they do with the grain they harvested? They made beer and got good and loaded.

Speaking of getting stoned, archaeologists have also found brewing implements and detritus around Stonehenge in Southern England. There is also broad evidence that workers who built the pyramids of Egypt received part of their daily pay in beer. Go ahead, look it up — I did.

Later on, Caesar himself praised a good brew when he drank one, calling it “a high and mighty liquor.”

When you read this issue’s cover story on microbrew pioneer Sprecher Brewery, bear that in mind. Consider that beer making is one of mankind’s oldest forms of manufacturing, and like tool forging itself — indeed, all manufacturing — is a noble profession. Respect what you do and people will respect you.

Here’s one last interesting tidbit: beer actually predates bread as a staple of the ancient diet. Now that’s food for thought.

Bartender, I’ll have a Sprecher Black Bavarian, please.