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Pjam

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Perhaps 'Off Topic' so please excuse. What did we do before orange and white plastic containers and for that matter what did we do before Sugar!
We were making beer and wine a long time before the West Indies were discovered! and then there's yeast. :hmm:

All part of my education so forgive my ignorance :oops:
 
They would store fruit juice in the magic pot were if left for a few days would become a potion, the juice was topped up and the magic would continue.

Eventually someone worked out that is was the substance at the bottom of the magic pot that made the potion and spread it to other pots to make them magic! This in turn became the source and DNA profile of today's yeast.

*disclaimer I just made that up but I guess it would have been sort of like that or some baker just through some dough in to a bucket of water*
 
As far as I recall, for the yeast, wild strains were utilised. I believe wooden vessels were used for fermentation and as for the sugar, it was the mashing of grains. I believe everybody was AG in those days. :)
 
Beer was the solution for unsanitary water as the process involves boiling......vessels were wooden.
Malt was probably discovered by accident when someone got the grain they were drying in the sun wet, and then tried to dry it again to 'save it'.
Fermentation was usually activated by stirring with a big wooden stick that had unbeknown to them become innoculated with yeast.
 
Jimmy321 said:
or some baker just through some dough in to a bucket of water*

The other way round actually bakers relied on wild yeast up until fairly recently when ale was used in the 19c. However when german brewers switched from top fermenting yeast to bottom this caused a shortage for bakers so bakers yeast was developed from strains of ale yeast. It wasn't until the 1940's that the americans developed freeze dried yeast. :thumb:
 
There is plenty of evidence of the Egyptians brewing, however like all brewers before Louis Pasteur they hadn't discovered yeast and so the 'wort' was left to ferment with wild magic (yeast).

There is a multi-part American docu-style series where the Dogfish Head brewery owner travels to various places around the planet trying to re-create authentic recipes, Egypt included, a fascinating & entertaining series, well worth a watch (available to download from various sources).
 
The Scandinavians had special brewing sticks which were handed down through families. These to them unknowingly passed on the yeast from one brew to the next.
 
I always was curious if historic (medieval or earlier) beer was carbonated or just flat? Did they have vessels that could take carbonated beer?T
 
Dom Perignon seemed to have a hand in corking bottles with wooden/cork stoppers held in with rope in around 1670 in Champagne, maybe that was the start of it.
 
Some interesting reading here :) Amazing how different cultures all over the globe 'happened' upon similar ideas ...... and got a taste for the 'Falling down water'.
 
Except the chinnese who boiled water with leaves to make tea which was clean. The chinnese have a genetic disposition to alcohol.
 
I tried some African beer the other week. Rather good actually.

Barley is left in the river for 2 days + then dried in the sun for 5 days then added to water for a day then boiled. transferred to a clay pot then the 'top' of the last brew is added then ladled off in to smaller drinking vessels.

It had some carbonation but was sweet and sour.. not bad however!

D :thumb:
 
graysalchemy said:
The chinnese have a genetic disposition to alcohol.

Yes, many react badly to even small amounts ...... though the Chinese, Japanese and probably others make some wonderful stuff like Sake and other rice type wines.

The African brew sounds interesting. It's one of the best parts of foreign holidays I reckon .... trying the local drinks :drunk:
 
Last holiday I went on abroad was to the states. I did find moonshine though. :)
 
I have some Chinese rice wine I bought in shenyang china earlier in the year, absolutely foul stuff. People on the side of the road sell it in big barrels with varying strengths and you bring your own container, I bought mine from Tescos! (Came in a nice little bottle)

In Thailand they sell a sort of legalised moonshine called Lao Khao, I think it's a sort of rice wine too, I gave a bottle to someone I used to know who drank almost anything, she couldn't stand it!
 
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