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PSA: Ancient beer recipe from a dig site makes brewing easier

They dug up a pottery jar in Egypt with residue from old barley beer. I tried making a batch using the same basic steps, just malted barley and dates. It ferments faster than modern recipes, about three days. Give it a shot if you like home brewing, it's super simple.
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3 Comments
jordan653
jordan6531mo ago
Wow, three days is crazy fast! Did it taste different without hops, and how strong was it?
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susanh46
susanh461mo ago
Yeah it was totally different! More like an herby, almost grassy taste instead of that bitter hoppy punch. Strength was pretty light, maybe like a session beer. That's partly WHY it finished so fast, less sugar to ferment out. Honestly missed the hops, made it taste sort of... unfinished. Kinda weird but fun to try once!
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michaelnguyen
Read that some early beers used other plants for bittering before hops became standard. Explains that "unfinished" taste you noticed, like something was missing from the recipe. Makes you appreciate how much hops define the modern beer flavor.
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