The History of Beer Brewing

Chemical engineering and chemistry can't be all about work all the time, so kick back for an episode of the Chemical Heritage Foundation's webcast devoted to the history of beer. You'll hear from "the archaeologist of beer," Patrick E. McGovern, who is the Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. He studies and writes about ancient beverages and drinks their modern incarnations. He is the author of Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and other Alcoholic Beverages. You'll also meet Roger Barth, chemistry professor at West Chester University and author of The Chemistry of Beer: The Science in the Suds. He also makes his own beer. If you're short for time, feel free to skip ahead to the parts that interest you most. See below for some useful time codes.

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03:02 INTRODUCTION 05:02 BOB KENWORTHY: You're both scientists and beer connoiseurs, tell us how you became interested in beer. 08:18 MICHAL MEYER: Pat, can you take us back to the beginning of beer? How did it start? 10:04 BOB KENWORTHY: Would you assert that animal behavior and the study of animal behavior can lead us to an understanding of the human desire for intoxication? 12:00 MICHAL MEYER: I want to start looking at the cultural side of beer. How does beer fit into the scheme of human cultural and social evolution? 17:38 MICHAL MEYER: It seems as though we have a double relationship with alcohol, it can be a social lubricant but it can also be a threat. 23:24 SHOW & TELL and CHEMISTRY DEMO: Patrick E. McGovern shares artifact replicas and Roger Barth demonstrates how a hydrometer works. 41:50 BOB KENWORTHY: It seems to me that brewers were early adopters of technology. Was beer the essential ingredient to making humans chemists? 44:14 VIDEO: Behind the scenes at Dogfish Head Brewery. 47:10 TWITTER QUESTION: Was long-term storage of beer a problem for ancient civilizations? 49:31 TWITTER QUESTION: How is non-alcoholic beer made and what percentage of alcohol is in it? 54:07 MICHAL MEYER: Talking about taste, you've recreated this ancient beer. What does it actually taste like? What flavors can you find in it? 56:10 MICHAL MEYER: I have a book in front of me, by Friedrich Accum, and he published this in 1820, it's a treatise on adulteration on food. His section on beer is quite horrifying considering the kinds of things that were put into beer at that time, like opium. 59:05 BOB KENWORTHY: Michal mentioned Pico-Toxins, that are listed as performance enhancing drugs. 1:02:12 OUTRO