Beer is a favorite beverage of many. It is one of the oldest drinks in the world, and throughout history it has passed through all segments of our lives, including art and culture.

Many countries, such as Germany, Ireland and Belgium, have a long tradition of drinking beer that they still cherish today.

A brief history of beer

In 1985, a terracotta vessel was excavated in Rome, dating back to the Neolithic, with unknown ingredients. By analyzing these ingredients, the material for beer was obtained, that is. a mixture of oats, barley, honey and ferns.

According to archaeologists, beer was produced by the ancient Babylonians, 7,000 g.p.n.e. They used barley and wheat for fermentation and had about 15 types of beer. From there, the beer was transferred further to ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece… Ancient beer looked more like porridge, so according to some it was an original dish, not a drink.

Beer was produced by Germans, Celts and Slavs from barley, wheat, oats and buckwheat with the addition of various spices and honey. In the Middle Ages, beer was mostly produced in monasteries. Hops soon began to be used without which we cannot imagine beer today. In monastic writings, the use of hops is mentioned for the first time in the 8th century. In Germany it was added to the drink in the 12th, in the Netherlands in the 14th and in England in the 15th century.

Beer in mythology and legends

In the Sumerian Empire, the goddess Ninkasi was considered the protector of beer. The Finnish epic "Kalevala" dedicates more lines to the origin of beer than to the origin of mankind.

According to Czech legend, beer was invented by Radegast, the god of catering, and Irish mythology attributes the invention of beer to the Irishman Charlie Pug.

Beer in painting

Whatever the origin of this drink, it has left its mark in art as well. Although wine is certainly the number one beverage in art because of its religious connotation, beer has often been an inspiration to artists. Representations of beer production were often motifs of images of everyday human life. If wine is a drink with strong spiritual symbolism, then beer is definitely a drink of everyday life, and a national drink.

Painters were also involved in this drink, so the famous works "Lifestyle with a glass of beer" (Pieter Claesz), "Waitress" (Manet), "Carpenter's Home" (Rembrandt), "Dance at Bougival" (Auguste Renoir) were created… Picasso also painted beer.

Beer and literature

In one of the oldest works of world literature, "The Epic of Gilgamesh," Gilgamesh's friend Enkidu drinks beer to "cheer the heart and remove worries."

The Czech writer, Jaroslav Hašek, best known for his work “Experiences of a Good Soldier Švejk”, writes about the Austro-Hungarian hop trade and the importance of this activity during the First World War.

Beer was also an inspiration for another famous Czech writer, Milan Kundera, who wrote:

“Isn’t beer a sacred drink of sincerity? A drink that shattered all hypocrisy, any charade of good manners? A drink that does nothing wrong but encourages its lovers to get completely innocent and gain weight completely honestly? ”

Today, many festivals are dedicated to beer, the most famous of which is certainly the Oktoberfest in Munich, which has been held since 1810.

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