5 facts about beer that will amuse you
Miscellaneous / / April 04, 2023
We will find out why this drink is called liquid bread and why the Sumerians needed sticks to consume it.
1. The Sumerians drank beer from cellars through a straw.
Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks. His invented about 13,000 years ago. The Sumerians in 3000 BC e. beer was very popular, but they used it in a completely different way, as is customary now.
Usually the drink was prepared at home and matured under the floor in clay or stone tubs. It was quite thick and looked more like sour porridge - the liquid was only on top.
When the Sumerian aristocrats wanted to drink or treat their friends, they took very long hollow sticks, lowered them into the basement tubs and sucked the beer through them.
These tubes were quite large - so much so that scientists at first considered found specimens with scepters or poles to support canopies. Gold or silver tips with decorative figurines of bulls were attached to their edges. They filtered out the thick goo, allowing only the liquid to be sipped.
2. The oldest beer is over 200 years old - and you can drink it
In 2011, in the Baltic Sea, Finnish divers extracted five bottles of beer from the sunken ship. The shipwreck happened between 1800 and 1830, so the drink found was over 200 years old.
It may seem reckless to try a liquid that has spent two centuries at the bottom of the sea, but hot Finnish boys have done it.
People, tasting beer for the Technical Research Center of Finland, declaredthat the taste is "very old", with hints of burnt wood. The drink was quite sour - apparently, some fermentation continued in the bottle.
3. Paulan monks drank beer during Lent because it is “liquid bread”
In general, the monks have always been distinguished by amazing ingenuity regarding how to have a bite to eat during fasting. They are beaver recorded into a fish in order to be able to use its tail with horseradish, then capybara ate. And also wrote a whole scientific work proving that birds grow on trees, which means that you can eat a goose, because it is not meat.
Paulan monks from Neudeck ob der Au in Germany too resorted to to all sorts of tricks, so as to brighten up the fast, and not to anger the Lord. So, they came up with the idea of brewing an incredibly strong and malty beer - so thick that you could scoop it with a spoon.
This brew was nicknamed "liquid bread", and bread, as you know, is possible in fasting. The drink was very strong and high-calorie - so much so that the monks could actually eat it.
By legend, the abbot of the Paulani monastery, just in case, nevertheless decided to check with the Pope whether it was possible to drink their beer during fasting, and sent him a keg for testing.
During the journey, it turned sour, and when the pontiff tried the drink, he almost threw up. He said: to drink such a vile thing, you need truly great humility before the Lord. And he allowed the monks to consume the drink in fasting.
By the way, the modern version of this beer - not thick, but liquid and filtered - is now sold under the Paulaner Salvator brand.
4. Beer with a strength of 55% was sold in a stuffed squirrel
Once upon a time, the brewers at the Scottish firm BrewDog came up with the idea to brew the strongest beer in the world, and they played a drink with 55 percent alcohol. Such a brew it turns out by repeated freezing, as a result of which water is removed and the maximum amount of alcohol remains.
But BrewDog seemed boring to sell such beer in a simple container, and they created a special design for the first batch of 12 bottles. The vessels were shoved in... stuffed squirrels, weasels and a hare. Well, to make it more interesting for buyers of a drink for $ 765 to consider its packaging.
By words representatives of the company, not a single animal was harmed in the process of making the container: the carcasses of the downed animals were specially collected on the roads of Scotland, and then handed over to the taxidermist.
5. Beer can not only be drunk, but also spread on bread
If you really want beer, but you do not tolerate alcohol, you still have a chance to taste it... in the form of pasta.
Italian chocolate shop owner Pietro Napoleone invented a peculiar recipe: we mix 40% craft beer, sugar and glucose syrup and turn everything into a thick paste that can be spread on a bun.
This creamy soft drink fits to dried meat, game, roast, fish dishes, salads, desserts. It also goes well with crackers, grilled sausage and cheese, bacon, eggs - in general, it can be eaten with everything.
The product was named Birra spalmabile, meaning "draft beer". Although in reality it is unlikely to spill it.
Read also🧐
- 5 recipes for pancakes on beer for lovers of experiments
- How to make beer, wine and cider at home
- Why it is impossible to mix vodka with beer and what will happen if this happens