1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to Steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: I am Tracy Bee Wilson, and Holly Fry is on 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,479 Speaker 1: a very very well deserved vacation today. So I have 5 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: a special guest with me. That is Eric Lars Myers. 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: He is founder, CEO, and head brewer at Mystery Brewing Company, 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: president of the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild, and co 8 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: author of North Carolina Craft Beer and Breweries. And if 9 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: you have not guessed already, he is here to talk 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: to me today about the history of beer. Hi, Eric, Uh, 11 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: I'm very glad to have you on. Eric is also 12 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,319 Speaker 1: a friend of mine, so just to put that out 13 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: there at the beginning, so thank you so much for 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: being on the show today. Eric. I'm excited to talk 15 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: to you about the history of beer. I have questions 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: that some of them are questions that I've been curious about. 17 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: Some of them are things that listeners have asked us 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: about on the show before. So I'm very happy to 19 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: have somebody Uh on the show. He was very knowledgeable 20 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: about this. So a while back, we did a podcast 21 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: on the history of cheese and one of the things 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,040 Speaker 1: that we talked about in that podcast was about how 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: to make cheese. A civilization has to have animals that 24 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: they have in a pasture that would produce more milk 25 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: than their own young needed to survive, and the civilization 26 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: would also have to know how to milk those animals 27 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: and how to have some way of storing the milk 28 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: to make cheese out of it later. So how does 29 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,320 Speaker 1: that compare to what a civilization needs to make beer. Well, 30 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, it's not that dissimilar. What 31 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: it really needs is grain. Beer is and has been 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: for thousands and thousands and thousands of years, of grain 33 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: based alcoholic beverage. So really, at the end of the day, 34 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: what people needed was grain and water, uh and someplace 35 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: to let it sit so that it could go through 36 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: a natural fermentation process. And so without um, without agricult 37 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: for with that fields of grain, it's hard to have 38 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: enough grain to actually do that. There's a lot of um. 39 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: There's a lot of theory that says that why humans 40 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: settled down and stopped being a nomatic culture in general 41 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: was because they had figured out how to make beer. 42 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: And you know, it's really heavy to carry around giant 43 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: pots of water, and so in order to sit down 44 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:21,800 Speaker 1: and really get good and drunk, you needed to do 45 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: it in one place, and so that's why they started villages. 46 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: I think that there's just as much evidence that says 47 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: that they figured out how to you know, have agriculture 48 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: and a consistent food source, and so that's probably why 49 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: they were hanging out. But I think Peter was probably 50 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: a great secondary to that. There's a good motivation, absolutely yeah. 51 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: And once people figured out how to domesticate grain and 52 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: actually have this around for for use, I can imagine 53 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,640 Speaker 1: that the mistake of making beer, which would you know, 54 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 1: sort of imagine this is grains sitting in a jar 55 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: somewhere that gets left out during a rainstorm. Uh, and 56 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: then somebody doesn't really necessary really want to clean it up. 57 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: Very quickly it ferments, and you know, maybe an animal 58 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: goes and drinks it, and then somebody realizes that animal 59 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: is having a great time, or maybe even tries it themselves. Uh. 60 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: You know, that seems like a maybe not an easy 61 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: mistake to make right away to discover how to make beer, 62 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: But I imagine I can imagine a world in which 63 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: had happened. So do we have any idea of who 64 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: that was that made that first mistake an invented beer 65 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: or how long ago it was. Uh So, there's theories 66 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: usually talk about eight to ten thousand years ago, really 67 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: right around when people were actually settling down and you know, 68 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: stopped being a nomadic culture in sort of the Fertile 69 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: Crescent area of the world. Um. In terms of you 70 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: know what civilization, you can go back to ancient Sumerians, 71 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: uh and this kind of thing, but it probably predates 72 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: any sort of organized um, you know, cities or cultures. 73 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: Uh So, there are in several culture or gods and 74 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: goddesses of beer or of brewing. Do you do you 75 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: have any cool stories about these figures in mythology? So 76 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: the one, well, I guess the real thing that comes 77 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: to mind. Most of the gods in in history that 78 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: have to do with beer are actually goddesses. Um. Nankasi 79 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: comes to mind from Sumerian culture in which Nankasi was 80 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,599 Speaker 1: the goddess of beer. A lot of the other gods 81 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: and goddesses through history. We're also women because women were 82 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: really the people that made beer for a really long time, 83 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: all the way up until the Industrial Revolution, making beer 84 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: was women's work. Uh, you know, it was the stuff 85 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: that you had to do in the home and and 86 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: uh and around the kitchen. It was using a lot 87 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: of the same ingredients that you were using to make bread. 88 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: So h it made a lot of sense to have 89 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:53,119 Speaker 1: female goddesses for for beer. The ones that come to mind, 90 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: UH in particularly in in sort of Christian tradition is St. 91 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: Bridgid in Ireland. She's the patron saint of Ireland and 92 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: and she's one of the one of those appropriated saints 93 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: that sort of got picked up as the as the 94 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:12,039 Speaker 1: church was spreading because she actually her existence predates uh 95 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 1: Catholicism or Christianity in Ireland. But she is rumored to 96 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: have actually made a lake of beer to feed the 97 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 1: poor and uh and turned water into beer for a 98 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: lepren colony. There's all kinds of really great stories in 99 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,239 Speaker 1: which she spontaneously created beer in all of these places, 100 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: which is in a lot of ways kind of what 101 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: brewers do on a daily basis, turned water into beer. 102 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: She also has a really great poem about how in 103 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: heaven there's a lake of beer, which is which is 104 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: the outstanding The thing that I really want to point 105 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: out though, UM is that there's a lot of theory 106 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: that says that when you're reading the Bible, a lot 107 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: of what is referred to his wine is probably beer 108 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: because the area in which the Bible is actually set 109 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: in in history is actually more of a grain based 110 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: culture than a based culture. Uh. You know, people weren't 111 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: really making a lot of fermented fruits. They were probably 112 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: making fermented honey and fermented grain beverages. So for the 113 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: most part, what you're looking at when you're looking at 114 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: a translation of the Bible was something that was done 115 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: in classic cultures like Italy or Rome, where they had 116 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,920 Speaker 1: a very wine heavy history. So most of the time 117 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: when you're reading something about about wine in the Bible, 118 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: they're probably actually talking about beer or meat or some 119 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: sort of blend there rather than sort of the traditional 120 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: you know, there's always these ideas of somebody drinking red wine, 121 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: whether you know, somewhere in uh in the Fertile Crescent, 122 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: which seems really inaccurate. I had never thought about that, 123 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: but that makes a lot of sense, like that the 124 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: climate there is not quite as suitable to growing a 125 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: bunch of red wine grapes. Yeah, And you know, you 126 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: look at you look at pictures, particularly classic paintings of 127 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: biblical times, and there's always this idea that people are 128 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: in this incredibly fertile environment with all these grapes and 129 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 1: and there's wine and this kind of thing, but in 130 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: the grand scheme of things, that really would not have 131 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: been the case. You're talking about a grain culture and 132 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: in an area that it had grain based alcoholic beverages 133 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: for thousands of years before the time of Christ. So 134 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: you were just talking about how for a really long time, 135 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: making beer was women's work. But there's also this association 136 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: between beer and monks and monastic life. Where does that 137 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: come from? Um, So, the the history of monks and 138 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: beer really goes back to this idea of of charity 139 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: and helping travelers and the poor when it comes to 140 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: monastic traditions. So a lot of people were a lot 141 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: of monks were creating beer not only to sustain themselves 142 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: and just have uh, you know, a really important source 143 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: of water and liquid within their own monastery, but the 144 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: ability to be able to help travelers and help the 145 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: poor's charity, to give something up as a nutritional value 146 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: for people. For a long time, beer was really closely 147 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: related to food, and really it still is in a 148 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: lot of ways, because it was a really great way 149 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: to make sort of you know, liquid bread. It had 150 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: a lot of good nutritional value. It what probably wasn't 151 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: as alcoholic as we really think about these times in 152 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: these days, but it it did have something that people 153 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: would prize as both the source of nutrition and a 154 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: source of hydration. So you know, in a lot of 155 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: ways it was charity work. It's turned in now to 156 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: this really great thing, particularly in Trappis monasteries in Europe. Um, 157 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: and there's also one in the US where the funds 158 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: from beer making actually go to a lot of charity 159 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: work or to keeping the the you know roofs on 160 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: the buildings at the monastery, and um, all kinds of 161 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: great stuff. So it's um, it's always sort of been 162 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: an arm of charity in an arm of food and 163 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,560 Speaker 1: beverage is just a normal way of operating through life 164 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: rather than those monks you know just really like the 165 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 1: to get super drunk use of hops started in the monastery. 166 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 1: You know, all kinds of great stuff like this, but 167 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: in the grand scheme of things, it was really about 168 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: being and then um, you know, having a big party 169 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: all the time. Uh. So you just mentioned that beer 170 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: in the past was a lot more related to food. 171 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: I know listeners have asked us before about how there's 172 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:24,200 Speaker 1: this perception that, you know, the founders of of of 173 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: the United States were basically drinking beer all the time. 174 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: And does that mean that they were just kind of 175 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: drunk all the time, or was the beer that they 176 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: were drinking a lot different from the beer that there 177 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,959 Speaker 1: is today or is that whole idea just a misperception. 178 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: I would actually say it's probably a little a column 179 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,199 Speaker 1: in a little column. B Uh. There was certainly a 180 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: lot of alcoholic consumption throughout history, and and I think 181 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: that the idea that people were just a little bit 182 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: drunk all the time for the most part was probably 183 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,959 Speaker 1: not that much of a reach. Um. Yeah, you're talking 184 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: about times particularly is the founding of this country, in 185 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: which an essential handful of people decided to fight against 186 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,000 Speaker 1: the largest empire the world had seen at that point. Uh, 187 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:11,839 Speaker 1: in the British Empire. I feel like you've got to 188 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: be a little drunk to, you know, decide to go 189 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: through boxes the t up the side of a boat. 190 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:21,319 Speaker 1: But um, beer would have been a lot different. Um. 191 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: As you get closer to our time in history, it 192 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: is really becoming more and more like the beer we 193 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: have today. But the farther you go back, the more 194 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 1: it is a really fast fermented beverage that is probably 195 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: fairly low and alcohol for the most part um, and 196 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,319 Speaker 1: it's gonna be consumed for nutrition and probably not really 197 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: for buzz. You're gonna get some beer that's a little 198 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,040 Speaker 1: bit higher in alcohol. Particularly by the probably seventeen or 199 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, of people had a much better idea of, uh, 200 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: you know, how to make beer that was that was 201 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 1: you know, high in alcohol and really consistent. But before that, 202 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: when you're talking Middle Ages and upwards, it's it's um, 203 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 1: it's it's much more of a guess. You know, people 204 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: didn't really know what was happening during fermentation. It was 205 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: the seventeen hundreds before our eighteen hundreds, before people knew 206 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: that the East was a thing. Up until then, they 207 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: just called it God is good. They would put the 208 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,320 Speaker 1: ingredients into the same vessel that it was before, and 209 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: then bubbles would happen, and then that would get them drunk, 210 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: and that's really great, um, but it's not a really 211 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: fantastic way to make a really consistent, well worn beverage. 212 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 1: So uh, yeah, I think a little columby, a little columby. 213 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: I think there was a lot of drinking, you know. 214 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: I think you can look at the history of a 215 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,080 Speaker 1: lot of European cultures that shows that. Uh. You know, 216 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,960 Speaker 1: there's probably a period in which pretty much everybody in 217 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: England was consuming gin all the same time. Um uh so, yeah, 218 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 1: people were probably a little drunk, but you know, probably 219 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: not in the same types of ways that we think 220 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: about it now. All right, well, before we move on 221 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,079 Speaker 1: to some more questions about beer history, we're going to 222 00:11:54,160 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: take a brief pause for a word from a sponsor. Okay, 223 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: to get back into our discussion about some beer history. Um, 224 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: there's this story that is widely repeated that's about how 225 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock because they were out of beer. 226 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: Is there any truth to that? There? Absolutely is. This 227 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: is one of my favorite stories to tell on my tour. 228 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,320 Speaker 1: Um So, basically because beer was such a great source 229 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: of nutrition in water. Uh. It was the thing that 230 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,679 Speaker 1: people tended to keep on boats for a long ocean voyages. 231 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: See when you put water in a cask in a 232 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: in a big barrel and put it in in the 233 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,719 Speaker 1: hold of the ship. And go across the ocean, that 234 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: water is gonna go ranted pretty quickly. You know, water 235 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: is the building block of life, as it's a great 236 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: substrate for bacteria and mold to grow in. And when 237 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 1: you're putting water inside of a barrel, no matter how 238 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: great and clean that barrel is, there's a certain amount 239 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 1: of rock that's gonna sit into that wood and things 240 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: are gonna grow. So it was a great way to 241 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: get people sick. Um, and it's you know, it was 242 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: very clearly before the times of reverse osmosis and desalination. 243 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: So when you're looking for something to keep you hydrated 244 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: throughout an ocean voyage, the most sensible way to do 245 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: that was beer, particularly because beer has hops. Hops are 246 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: an antibacterial, and of course there has alcohol, and alcohol 247 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: is somewhat of an antiseptic and will actually stop a 248 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: lot of harmful bacteria will growing in it. There are 249 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: few to know human pathogens that can live in beer. 250 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,199 Speaker 1: So um, it turns out to be a really great 251 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: safe source of drinking water for these long voyages when 252 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: you couldn't actually bring water with you. So when they 253 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: were on their way across the ocean, they packed enough 254 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: beer to keep them going on their trip. But when 255 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,640 Speaker 1: they got to you know, they're planning on a fourteen 256 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:51,839 Speaker 1: week journey or something like this. But when they when 257 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: they got there, they realized that not only were they 258 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: running out of beer, but they had to really plan 259 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:57,439 Speaker 1: for the oncoming winter so they could make sure that 260 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: they had beer to keep them going. Um. So when 261 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: they landed, they did so out of necessity. You know, 262 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: they probably, if they had more beer, could have gone 263 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: around and found a much more temperate and nice place 264 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:10,960 Speaker 1: to live in New Hampshire. Um, it's probably those Uh 265 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: New Hampshire is lovely, but for the first winters there 266 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: were probably real cold. Um. So they really had to 267 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: get on land and find a good source of water, 268 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: good sources of running water so that they could actually 269 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: build a brewery and have a good source of water 270 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: for the winter. Uh. So we've talked a lot about 271 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: people making beer in monasteries and women making beer in 272 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: the kitchen winded. Making beer really turned into an industry 273 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,359 Speaker 1: like everything else with the Industrial Revolution. Thanks Industrial Revolution, 274 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: Yeah right, it's done so much for us. Uh. Yeah. 275 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: Prior to the Industrial Revolution, beer was really something that 276 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: happened in the home. It was it was happening in uh, 277 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: in manor houses and farmhouses and all kinds in different 278 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 1: places where basically you were looking for a good way 279 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: to preserve some sort of grain for a longer time, 280 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: and of course preserve a source of hydration as well. 281 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: So there's a famous German beer purity law that people 282 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: still follow today. That's the Ryan High School Boat. Tell 283 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: me about how that was originally set down and why 284 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: it has become so prominent even still today. So the 285 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: Ryan High School boat is really interesting because in general 286 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: it's sort of a trade restriction more than it is 287 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: a beer purity law. UM. At the time in Germany 288 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: you had an area which was growing a lot of 289 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: barley and a lot of wheat. UM. And barley is 290 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: particularly well suited for brewing because of it's it's pricking 291 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: content and it starts content, and wheat is not because 292 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: it has a high protein content uh and uh, and 293 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: it does not have enough enzymes to convert its starts 294 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: into sugars. And without getting really nerdy into science, UM, 295 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: suffice to say that weaks better for bread, barley is 296 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: better for beer. So uh. At this point in history, 297 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: there was a lot of local grain production in Um 298 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: but not a lot of restrictions on where things were going. 299 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: And so the Rheinhand School, but it was one of 300 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: many trade restrictions that popped up, just sort of control 301 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: where ingredients were moving from a trade resetrich and standpoint. 302 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: So the the fifteen sixteen Purity Law, which is what 303 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: the Rhinehand School both the people referred to, defines that 304 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: beer must be made out of barley hops in water 305 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: and that's it. Um. It also defines how much beer 306 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: should be sold for one finic per mosse. It defines 307 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: you know, like uh, where it can be sold, and 308 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: all kinds of wonderful things that have nothing to do 309 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: with the actual ingredients of beer. It because it was 310 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 1: referred to as the beer purity Law, I think people 311 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: tend to look back at it with this sort of 312 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: nostalgic idea of like, oh, this is when beer was great, um, 313 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: you know, but you gotta understand that that's before they 314 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: even knew what yeast was, right, like yeast isn't in 315 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:11,160 Speaker 1: the rhyn Head schoolte they had to amend the rhine 316 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: Head skoobote in the eighteen fifties to put east into it. 317 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: Uh and I just totally made up eighteen fifties. I 318 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: have no idea if that's true, but it was really late. Um. 319 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,640 Speaker 1: It was after the East was discovered by Louis Pasteur 320 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 1: at the Carlsberg Brewery in Germany. Uh, that they said, oh, well, 321 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 1: I guess we have to put that into the law too, 322 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 1: or otherwise we can't make beer. But it's it's been 323 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:38,360 Speaker 1: a pervasive law. It was actually a law in Germany 324 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,479 Speaker 1: until the formation of the EU. UH. And once the 325 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: EU came in, it's still considered a you know, a 326 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: great way to make beer, but it couldn't be something 327 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,440 Speaker 1: that defined beer for other countries within the confines of 328 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,120 Speaker 1: the EU, and so they had to allow other ingredients 329 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: and beer. The hilarious part about it is that there 330 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 1: are plenty of classic styles from Germany that don't meet 331 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: the Rene high school boat and people have just found 332 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: ways around it. You know, you could get dugal permission 333 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: to make beer with wheat uh and all kinds of 334 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: stuff like this. Uh. There's there's lots of beers in 335 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: Germany that have you know, salt added and coriander and 336 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: all of these you know, other things that are that 337 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: are added to the beer. But somehow people sort of 338 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: ignore the fact that that you know, those don't fall 339 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: under the rhine Head school but they're still wonderful classic 340 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: German styles that taste delicious. In America, we tend to 341 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 1: um fromanticize it quite a bit in our breweries here, 342 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: particularly the German style lager breweries, in which you know, 343 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:44,200 Speaker 1: this beer can't get more peer than this, and um, 344 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: and it's a it's a wonderful romantic ideal that is 345 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: doesn't really bear truth to the rest of the world, 346 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,879 Speaker 1: because you've got a world full of brewing cultures in 347 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: which putting all kinds of other things into beer is 348 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: perfectly fine, and those things can make amazing flavors, uh, 349 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: you know, without the rhne Heads. But we wouldn't have 350 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 1: rye beers, and we wouldn't have most of our Belgian styles, 351 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 1: and you know, you'd never have a fruit beer, uh, 352 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 1: and all of the great stuff that we innovate and 353 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,920 Speaker 1: create in America would not exist, um with the rene 354 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: Heid school boat in place. On the other hand, it 355 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,120 Speaker 1: is the base of all beer. All beer is made 356 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,480 Speaker 1: with the four ingredients of barley, hops, water, and um yeast. 357 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: And it's the it's the simplest, easiest way to make beer. 358 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: So all of those other things are are additions, not 359 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 1: instead of right. So you just mentioned these wonderful beer 360 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,120 Speaker 1: styles in in Germany and uh in Belgium. How there 361 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: are so many vastly, vastly different styles of beer today 362 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:49,120 Speaker 1: that tastes so much different from one another. How did 363 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 1: all of these different styles come about? So, you know, 364 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: there's there's a lot of fun stories out in the 365 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: world about how different styles were created, and most of 366 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,360 Speaker 1: them are just story race. Uh, there's not a lot 367 00:20:01,359 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: of evidence that shows that any particular style was invented 368 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,960 Speaker 1: here or there. Most of them grew out of local 369 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,679 Speaker 1: brewing traditions, just brewing with what they had local locally 370 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,239 Speaker 1: available to them, the type of water that they were 371 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: brewing within their local rivers, and that the grain and 372 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: hops and um and ingredients that were growing near them 373 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: in the world sort of came together naturally to create 374 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:29,199 Speaker 1: the types of beers that eventually became associated with styles. 375 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: So a lot of styles are sort of works backwards. Um. 376 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: I think that My guess is that until homebrewing became 377 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: a really prevalent hobby in the US, that people didn't 378 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: really think about a lot of styles up until then. 379 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,240 Speaker 1: We have a tendency to categorize things. In America. We 380 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 1: really like to put things in boxes, which is funny 381 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:52,400 Speaker 1: because we tend to like to break out of those 382 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,119 Speaker 1: boxes as often as possible. But UH, I suspect that 383 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,879 Speaker 1: for the most part, a lot of the defined styles 384 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,200 Speaker 1: that we deal with today are UH sort of modern 385 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:09,159 Speaker 1: inventions UH by way of meaning that the reason we 386 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: call them is that sometime in the past, if you 387 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: do a hundred years, somebody said, oh, we should carry 388 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,120 Speaker 1: these things in a certain way. UM, not because any 389 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,679 Speaker 1: one thing was intended as an invented style. UM. The 390 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: only couple that come to mind are Pilsner or kell 391 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: is the sort of archetypical Pillsner. It's the It was 392 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 1: the very first pillsman in the world, and it was 393 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: made first in pills in the Czech Republic, basically because 394 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: there was a brewer there that was making making headway 395 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: with the new malting process that didn't leave the malti 396 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: ter darker smoky. So it was the first time you 397 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: had people really bright light sweet malt, and pills in 398 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: the Czech Republic has incredibly soft water, and of course, 399 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: a lot of local hops in the Czech Republic and 400 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: putting those all together really made the first beer of 401 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: its type, this this really bright, clear, uh hoppy but 402 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 1: not bitter pilsner beer. And it's called the pilsner because 403 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,160 Speaker 1: it originated in pills Czech Republic, and from there people 404 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,680 Speaker 1: really liked that beer instead of repeating it, and it's 405 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: essentially how we have. Most of the light loggers that 406 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: we have in the world today are built off of 407 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,440 Speaker 1: that sort of archetypical pilsner style. But for a really 408 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 1: long time, any given beer made in Germany was named 409 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,160 Speaker 1: after the town that it was from, or in Austria 410 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 1: or Bohemia, which is why you have a Dortmunder or 411 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: um Uh. I'm gonna remember other things Vienna lager or 412 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: Munich lagger um, all kinds of these great styles just 413 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 1: built out of the fact that they were made in 414 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,840 Speaker 1: a town using what was local, rather than something that 415 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: somebody tried to invent specifically. So I have a few 416 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,679 Speaker 1: more beer questions. We will get to you after another 417 00:22:53,840 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: quick word from a sponsor. So to get back to 418 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: our beer conversation earlier, we were talking about how beer 419 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 1: used to be really made primarily by women, and today 420 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,399 Speaker 1: at least in the United States, the beer industry seems 421 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: to be pretty male dominated, and beer is heavily marketed 422 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 1: towards men, with uh sometimes beers for women being marketed 423 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: as like girly beers. How did that transition come You 424 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: sound very chagrined. Now did that transition come about? Well, 425 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: it really does come down to the Industrial Revolution, when 426 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: when people were starting to you know, create factories. Factories 427 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,120 Speaker 1: were not a place for women for the most part, 428 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,600 Speaker 1: and beer became a really big business. As soon as 429 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: you could make it in really high quantities and move 430 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: it around you could, um, you could sell it and 431 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: make a lot of money. Um. And so it became 432 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,679 Speaker 1: an industry just like so many other things in our history, 433 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: and really moved out of the home and into the factory. 434 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: It's really take and until probably the last decade or 435 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,040 Speaker 1: so for for women to really get back into the 436 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: brewing industry in a really meaningful way. I think if 437 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: you were to look at the brewing industry now as 438 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 1: opposed to five or ten years ago, you would see 439 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:19,160 Speaker 1: a significant higher, much more significant number of women in it. UM. 440 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 1: I know from my experience. My staff at my brewery 441 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: is about eighty five percent women. Uh, and not because 442 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: I you know, particularly try to hire women so much 443 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: as those just we're the best people for the job. UM. 444 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,320 Speaker 1: So there's just a lot more women interested in the 445 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 1: industry now. Women are particularly good tasters, um. And a 446 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: lot of the professional tasters in the industry are women 447 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: because they have very delicate and very good talents. UM 448 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,159 Speaker 1: among the best you know, sort of blenders in the 449 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: new sour beer industry and um our women. Uh. And 450 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: a lot of the you know, most storied brewers in 451 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,640 Speaker 1: our country are starting to be women as well. It's 452 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,639 Speaker 1: really nice to see it sort of coming full circle 453 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: and becoming more of a co ed industry because it 454 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: really is where it started. So it seems like every 455 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,399 Speaker 1: year or so, uh, somebody finds an old beer in 456 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: a shipwreck, either decides to drink it or decides to 457 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: use the ust to make a new beer. We've talked 458 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:17,399 Speaker 1: about these we do. These episodes are unearthed episodes at 459 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,120 Speaker 1: the end of every year, and it seems like we've 460 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: told that story a couple of times. Uh. This this year, 461 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:25,760 Speaker 1: we're not. We have one that's about a surprising discovery 462 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,879 Speaker 1: of how early um barley was being used to make 463 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: beer in China, which is earlier than people previously thought. Um, 464 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: but like it's it seems to be just a very 465 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: frequent thing of Oh, here is a shipwreck with some beer. 466 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,880 Speaker 1: We're either going to drink this beer or we're going 467 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,960 Speaker 1: to make uh, we're gonna gonna try to get the 468 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 1: east and make a new beer out of this beer's yeast. 469 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,199 Speaker 1: How often does that actually turn out to be a 470 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: good idea? I would suspect that drinking the beer is 471 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: probably not a great idea. Uh, you know, even though 472 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,359 Speaker 1: it's been cold and pressurized and um, you know and 473 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: down there, it probably just doesn't taste very good. It 474 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,119 Speaker 1: could it could be great, but I suspect that what's 475 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 1: mostly happened in that bottle is a lot of yeast death. Um. 476 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,879 Speaker 1: When yeast die, they burst, and um, you end up 477 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 1: getting the contents of the cells inside of the beer. 478 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 1: And it sort of tastes soy, saucy. It's a very 479 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 1: humummy kind of brothy flavor, which is just not always pleasant. 480 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: It can be very good, but you know, for the 481 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: most part, beer, particularly really old beer from hundreds of 482 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: years ago. It was really meant to be drunk fresh 483 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 1: rather than aged. Two hundred years in the bottom of 484 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,440 Speaker 1: the ocean um. The yeast, on the other hand, if 485 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: they're surviving, yeast cells will almost definitely allow new beer 486 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,560 Speaker 1: to be made. And I have not read about any 487 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: successful beers being made from old recovered bottles, but I 488 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: have heard about yeast being recovered from amber from prehistoric 489 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,960 Speaker 1: times sacrimcey strains that have been used to make beer, 490 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: uh and getting so of like I believe it's like 491 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: Dino beer something on the West Coast where somebody's actually 492 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: grew yeast strain that was that was trapped in amber 493 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: and I was able to make beer with it, So 494 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: it's definitely been done. I think that they have some 495 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:21,440 Speaker 1: particularly neat flavor profiles, but they're not that widely known 496 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: about are used quite yet. Awesome. So the last question 497 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: that I have for you, I know this is a 498 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,919 Speaker 1: question that you love to answer. There is a very 499 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: famous quote about beer that has attributed to Ben Franklin, 500 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,439 Speaker 1: which that beer is proof that God loves us and 501 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: wants us to be happy. Yeah, it's one of the 502 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: things that you know, it's so pervasive in the beer industry, 503 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,359 Speaker 1: and it's such a wonderful sentiment that it's hard to 504 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: be really angry about. But I'm kind of a really 505 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:51,399 Speaker 1: pedantic nerd when it comes to a lot of things, 506 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: and so this is one of the things that that 507 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: kind of kind of bugs me, particularly because Ben Franklin 508 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 1: didn't say that. Actually actually have the quote that he wrote. Um, 509 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:04,679 Speaker 1: and so I'm gonna read it to you, even though 510 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,000 Speaker 1: it's gonna take a minute. Here we have the conversion 511 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,600 Speaker 1: of water into wine at the marriage, and kind of 512 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:12,120 Speaker 1: as as of a miracle. But this conversion is through 513 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 1: the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes 514 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,119 Speaker 1: behold the rain which descends from Heaven upon our vineyards, 515 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: and which incorporates itself with the grapes to be changed 516 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,159 Speaker 1: into wine, a constant proof that God loves us and 517 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 1: loves to see us happy. So he was really saying 518 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,399 Speaker 1: that about wine. Ben Franklin didn't really like beer all 519 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,119 Speaker 1: that much. He was he didn't. Yeah, that's true. I mean, 520 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,400 Speaker 1: he's he's sort of, you know, a wonderful historic curmudgeon, 521 00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: but he actually thought of beer as a sort of 522 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: very lazy man's beverage. Um. He used to work in 523 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: a printing house in uh in London, and the people 524 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: that drove him the most nuts were the people that 525 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 1: were drinking beer. Uh. He they were the people that 526 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: you know, we're sort of uh, what is There's another 527 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: quote from him that says, um uh. They wanted to 528 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: see from this in several instances that the water American, 529 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 1: as they called me, was stronger than themselves who drink 530 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,320 Speaker 1: strong beer. We had an ale house boy who attended 531 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: always in the house to supply the workman, my companion 532 00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:11,960 Speaker 1: at the press drink every day a point before breakfast, 533 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: a point at breakfast with his bread and cheese, a 534 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:15,720 Speaker 1: pint between breakfast and dinner, a pint at dinner, a 535 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: pint in the afternoon about six o'clock, and another one 536 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 1: he had done his day's work. I thought it a 537 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:24,320 Speaker 1: detestable custom. Got a lot of points. Yeah, well, and 538 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: it is. You know, there was probably going back to uh, 539 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: you know, whether or not people were drunk all the time. Yeah, 540 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:35,239 Speaker 1: they probably were. Um. And you know, particularly in some 541 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: points of America or history, when you're living in an 542 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: urban setting, it's not going to be the best smelling 543 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: or wonderful place to be. And you know, there's probably 544 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: a certain amount of escapism to be had. But he 545 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: was just not a big fan of beer at any time. 546 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: So it's Um, it's always one of those things that 547 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,240 Speaker 1: kind of drives me nuts when you see him quoted 548 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:57,959 Speaker 1: that way, not because it isn't a beautiful sentiment and 549 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 1: one that he actually meant. Uh, you know that you 550 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: can look at it another way, right, God makes rainfall 551 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: upon the fields of gross barley that fontaneously turns into beer. Um, 552 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: but that's not what he said. It's a great sentiment. 553 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,000 Speaker 1: It's kind of like those those wonderful uh, you know 554 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: memes on the internet that say you shouldn't believe everything 555 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:22,120 Speaker 1: you read signed Abraham Lincoln if you read on the internet. Um, 556 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: it's been attributed because it's sort of close. But I 557 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: think we should take men Franklin out of beer. Uh So, 558 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 1: is there anything else about beer that you just want 559 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: to make sure and a beer history that you want 560 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: to make sure that our our listeners know about before 561 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,719 Speaker 1: we wrap up? Oh gosh, if I would have been 562 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 1: prepared for that question, I probably would have something. But uh, 563 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 1: but no, I think this has been a lot of 564 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:50,440 Speaker 1: fun and and and really great. Thank you so so 565 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:52,880 Speaker 1: much for being on the show. Eric. So once again, 566 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,200 Speaker 1: that was Eric Lars Meyer's founder, CEO, and head brewer 567 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: a mystery brewing company company, among a lot of other things. 568 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:04,440 Speaker 1: And instead of our normal listener mail today, I am 569 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: actually recording this from our Atlanta studio, which is not 570 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:11,280 Speaker 1: typical anymore. Uh Eric is joining us by a Skype. 571 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 1: I have some long overdue shout outs to people who 572 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: have sent things to us in the mail, after just 573 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: embarrassing long time of getting them getting through everything that's 574 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,040 Speaker 1: on my desk. So thanks to Christina for sending a 575 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: bookmark with a picture of beautiful Estonian lace on it 576 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,960 Speaker 1: after hearing my disaster story about my shawl that did 577 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,720 Speaker 1: not come out the way I intended in our knitting episode. 578 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: Thanks to Ashley for sending hand silk screen cards that 579 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,480 Speaker 1: say Happy Cake Day. They are delightful. Thank you to 580 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,640 Speaker 1: Blaze for sending handmade hats and necklaces. Also after our 581 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 1: nipping knitting episodes. Uh Kara sent a copy of In 582 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: All Its Theory, which is the book of first person 583 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: accounts of the Blizzard of eighteen eighty eight that we 584 00:31:55,040 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: talked about in that episode. Uh Marla from Hair Books 585 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: sent us a series of books that she wrote. An 586 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,480 Speaker 1: illustrated Ethan sent a documentary he made called Ghosts of 587 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 1: the West End of the Bonanza Trail, and Talia sent 588 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: us some adorable crochet animals. They are a bunny and 589 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: a kitten. My apologies for just an embarrassing delay and 590 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:20,760 Speaker 1: thanking all these folks. Uh and if I accidentally duplicated somebody, 591 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 1: Holly has already thanked on the show, because she is 592 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 1: very often our our male thank you person. If you 593 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:28,440 Speaker 1: would like to write to us about this or any 594 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: other podcast, where a history podcast at how stuff works 595 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 1: dot com. We're also on Facebook at facebook dot com 596 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: slash missed in History and on Twitter at miss in History. 597 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 1: Our tumbler is missed in History dot tumbler dot com 598 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: and our pinterest is pinchest dot com slash mists in History, 599 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: which we could also find us on Instagram at miss 600 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:48,000 Speaker 1: in History. Come to our parent company's website, which is 601 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, where you will find all 602 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 1: sorts of information, including a lot about the science of beer. 603 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: You can also come to our website missed in history 604 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: dot com to find show notes for this and all 605 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: about other episodes. We have a link to where you 606 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 1: can find Eric's book about North Carolina craft beer and breweries. 607 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: You will also find show notes for all of the 608 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: episodes Holly and I have worked on, and some videos 609 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,560 Speaker 1: we have been been putting up recently from our recent 610 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: trip to Boston, Massachusetts. You can do all that in 611 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:18,800 Speaker 1: a whole lot more at how stuff works dot com 612 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:27,560 Speaker 1: or miss in history dot com for more on this 613 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works 614 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:42,960 Speaker 1: dot com.