Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Ancestral Brew in Ireland

This is applied archaeology at its best:

Two hungover scientists decided to test their theory that some Bronze age trenches were made to brew beer.

From the Wired story:

Then they repurposed a cattle trough, filling it with water and placing it in a clay-lined hole. Using granite stones toasted in a nearby fire, the pair heated the water until it was steaming but not bubbling — according to the brewers they consulted, 153 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature for breaking down starch into sugar. Then they scooped in barley. After bringing the concoction to a boil, they transferred it to containers, added bog myrtle, meadow sweet, and, of course, yeast — all ingredients available to Bronze Age boozers.

These intrepid truth-seekers knew they were on to something after they got drunk on their dirty trench beer.

Thanks to Archeoblog for the lead.

3 comments:

Jacob Haqq Misra said...

Make you wonder how many failed experiments the ancient brewers went through before they finally got it right.

Ryan said...

yes, i have a feeling, scientifically speaking, that dirty trench beer has a mean hangover.

- said...

I just can't get over the grant proposal these sherd diggers must have put together allowing them to get wasted and paid in an Irish ditch. I gotta say, I'm impressed.