As announced in the news this week, the Great Lakes Brewing Company (based in Ohio) are recreating a beer based on the Hymn to Ninkasi - a song written by Sumerians c.1,800BC dedicated to the goddess of beer, Ninkasi - using the authentic techniques they would have used thousands of years ago. They have said that they do not plan to sell the beer, but it is possible they'll set up educational events where people will have a chance to sample the beer and learn how it was made.
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| (c) Great Lakes Brewing Company. |
Cardamom and coriander were first used in the beer, but it was found to be too sour, and so next time round it will be sweetened with honey and/or dates. The brewery have been working for over a year with the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, but for the past few months they have been experimenting with brewing the beer for the last few months. Keep an eye out on this blog for updates on how they get on!
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I have also just discovered that Anchor Brewing (based in San Francisco) also created a beer based on the Hymn to Ninkasi in the 1989 - they called it...Ninkasi! The hymn, translated in 1964 by Professor Miguel Civil, talks about using "beerbread", "earth-covered malt" and "honey and wine".
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| (c) Twitgoo. |
The beer was 3.5% vol., was very dry and bitter; the taste was apparently very similar to hard apple cider. It did not keep very well, and I believe it was only a limited edition beer.
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