China dig reveals 5,000-year-old brewery
Print Edition
RESIDUE on pottery from an archeological site has revealed the earliest evidence of beer brewing in China left from a 5,000-year-old recipe, according to Chinese and American researchers.
The artifacts show that people of the era had already mastered an “advanced beer brewing technique” that contained elements from East and West, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.
Yellowish residue gleaned from pottery funnels and wide-mouthed pots show traces of ingredients that had been fermented together — broomcorn millet, barley, a chewy grain known as Job’s tears, and tubers.
Lead author Jiajing Wang, of Stanford University, said it was a surprise to find the earliest known sign of barley in archeological materials from China.
“This beer recipe indicates a mix of Chinese and Western traditions — barley from the West; millet, Job’s tears and tubers from China.”
The discovery indicates that barley made its way to China some 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Barley “may have been used as a beer-making ingredient long before it became an agricultural staple,” the study said.
The site at Mijiaya, near a tributary of the Wei River in northern China, includes two pits dating to around 3,400-2,900 BC.
It contains artifacts that point to beer brewing, filtration and underground storage, as well as stoves that may have been used to heat and mash grains.
However, it is impossible to know exactly how the beer tasted, researchers said, because they do not know the exact proportions of the ingredients.
“My guess is that the beer might have tasted a bit sour and a bit sweet,” Wang said. “Sour comes from fermented cereal grains, sweet from tubers.”
Evidence of beer brewing has been found around the same time period in Iran and Egypt, experts say.
“The introduction of Middle Eastern barley into a Chinese drink fits with the special role of fermented beverages in social interactions and as an exotic ingredient which would appeal to emerging elite individuals,” said Patrick McGovern, an expert on biomolecular archeology at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.
McGovern, who was not involved in the study, agreed the techniques used in China were advanced, and that “ancient peoples, including those at Mijiaya, applied the same principles and techniques as brewers today.”
They knew to use heat to break down carbohydrates, and the underground location of the brew site “is very significant,” he added.
“A cool spot is important in controlling heat, which if it gets too high can destroy the enzymes responsible for the carbohydrate to sugar conversion,” he said.
Lower temperatures would also have been important for keeping the beverage cool in storage.
Modern beer-makers such as Dogfish Head Brewery have tried to recreate some drinks from the past, and McGovern suggested offerings for any who might like to experience a flavor similar to the 5,000-year-old brew.
“I would look to a variation on several of the Dogfish ancient ales,” he said. “Maybe overlapping between Ta Henket, which includes barley and some exotic herbs and fruits, and Chateau Jiahu, representing an earlier phase of ancient Chinese brewing.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
