5 beer facts they never told you

Julio Cerezo - Beer Sommelier
Director of Sabeer Beer Academy

Although today it’s such a popular drink for us, and almost all its consumers can name its ingredients and some of its most popular styles, beer has a long history full of intriguing facts that not everyone knows. Today, we’ll share some of these facts – we’re sure that many of you will be surprised.

EGYPT OF THE PHARAOHS AND THE ORIGIN OF BEER

Contrary to popular belief, beer did not appear with the Egyptian civilisation, but its origins predate it. On one hand, archaeological finds have revealed the production of fermented cereal beverages in various locations in the Middle East dating back over 10,000 years.
On the other hand, the earliest written records of beer come from the Sumerians and Babylonians, who documented more than 20 different types of beer. The Egyptians' achievement was in popularising beer, raising its production to unprecedented levels.

THE FULL RECIPE FOR THE BEER WAS NOT KNOWN UNTIL 1857

Despite being brewed and enjoyed for thousands of years, the recipe for beer wasn't fully understood until 1857. This was when Louis Pasteur identified the fermentation process by which yeast metabolises cereal sugars to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Before the invention of the microscope, it was impossible to identify this tiny fungus, so fermentation was attributed to magic or even rituals during which beer was consumed. However, yeast was always a part of it, arriving in the wort more or less by accident.

A NUN CHANGED THE HISTORY OF BEER IN THE 12TH CENTURY

We are all familiar with the role of monks in beer brewing during the Middle Ages, but fewer know about the importance of Hildegard of Bingen. This learned and versatile German nun included in her work *Physica Sacra* the recommendation to use hops instead of other plants previously common in beer production, due to its preservative properties. It seems that this property also affected Hildegard herself, who lived drinking beer until she was 81 years old, an unusual age for that time.

THE WORLD'S OLDEST BREWERY IS ALMOST 1000 YEARS OLD

It’s the German Weihenstephaner, located not far from Munich. In 1040, the monks of the Benedictine monastery from which it takes its name obtained permission from the authorities to brew and sell beer. They did so for almost eight centuries, overcoming wars, fires, epidemics and all kinds of catastrophes. However, in 1803, they could not prevent the Bavarian state from taking ownership of the monastery, which then managed its beer production and established a highly prestigious technical training centre.

BEER ARRIVES IN SPAIN AT THE HAND OF CARLOS I

Our first monarch of the House of Austria was born in the Belgian town of Ghent, where beer was — and still is — the most popular drink. Upon settling in our country to govern in 1517 and finding only wine available, he had regular shipments of beer brought in from Flanders, which was consumed only at court by the royal family and the Flemish advisors.
Later, he promoted the establishment of a brewery not far from the Alcázar, which now occupies the site of the Royal Palace of Madrid. Towards the end of his life, when he abdicated in favour of his son Philip and retired to Yuste, he took a master brewer with him and had a new facility built there to meet his needs.