Hey Bartender

ANCIENT BEERS ARE a topic of great interest to me. As a scientist, I find it fascinating that we possess the technology to allow us to delve into the past to discover what our ancestors imbibed. Not only can we get an idea of what it was that they drank, we can isolate the individual ingredients so that we can replicate those beverages and enjoy them ourselves. Wondering how this is done? Today, we'll take a look.

My first encounter with an ancient brew was a beverage called Midas Touch Golden Elixir, produced by one of my favorite breweries -- Dogfish Head. The recipe for Midas Touch is one of the oldest known fermented beverage recipes in the world. It was found inside a 2,700-year-old drinking vessel discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of your brain you should be asking the question: How do you find out what was in a drinking vessel that is 2,700 years old?

The answer is that there is a little-known profession called biomolecular archaeology, which employs all sorts of gadgets designed to analyze the ancient pottery that once held those fermented liquids of the past. The best known biomolecular archaeologist works at the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. His name is Dr. Patrick McGovern and he studies ancient fermented beverages by using techniques such as gas chromatography and infrared spectrometry to analyze the artifacts of long dead cultures to determine, among other things, what they drank.

Dr. McGovern's analysis determined that the residues contained in the pottery found in King Midas' tomb were comprised of things like rice, honey, grapes, and Hawthorn fruit. He was able to deduce from this that these ingredients were the essential components of some sort of fermented beverage. He concluded that the fruit juices and honey in a temperate climate would easily ferment, allowing for the production of alcohol.

Once the recipe was pieced together, Dr. McGovern collaborated with Dogfish Head to recreate the drink. Midas Touch Golden Elixir is said to have solidified Dogfish Head's place at the head of the ancient beer table. It's available year-around and is the cornerstone of Dogfish Head's ancient beer catalog. This golden-colored ale pours nicely into a glass with a decent head that rapidly disappears. The nose reveals grapes and honey that leads to a tart sweetness on the palate. The finish is an interesting blend of grape, honey and malt that is very mellow. I should warn you that this beer is very smooth, but for the unsuspecting, the 9.00% ABV could definitely catch you off guard.

When I discovered Midas Touch, I was immediately fascinated by the prospect of being able to seemingly go back in time to enjoy the beverages of long lost civilizations. I was curious to find out if there were more such brews. Dr. McGovern and my friends at Dogfish Head did not disappoint me. In addition to Midas Touch, their catalog includes Sah'tea, an updated version of a 9th century Finnish proto-beer, Theobroma, the earliest known alcoholic chocolate beverage, derived from 3,000-year-old pottery fragments found in Honduras, and Chateau Jiahu, derived from pottery found in the Neolithic village of Jiahu, located in northern China.

Chateau Jiahu is the most interesting of the list because the pottery fragments that held its secrets are about 12,000-years-old and it's the beverage least likely to remind you of your favorite beer. More likely, as Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head once stated, to our modern palate, these beverages would have tasted spoiled. Ancient hieroglyphics depict people drinking these beverages with straws. It is thought that this was done in an attempt to avoid chunks of solids and the wild yeasts used to make them.

I didn't need a straw to enjoy Chateau Jiahu, but I did, indeed, enjoy it. It was made with pre-gelatinized rice flakes, wildflower honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, Hawthorn fruit and Chrysanthemum flowers. The beer is a light, hazy orange ale that has a very sweet fruity aroma with hints of honey and grapes. The palate starts fruity and sour before mellowing a bit with flavors such as banana and honey. The body, as well as the carbonation are medium and it's very drinkable. I will give you fair warning with this beer as well. Its ABV is 10.0% and it is packaged in 750 ml bottles. It's very enjoyable, but make sure you're sitting comfortably in the place you intend on spending the night before you have more than one.

So there you have it, one of my passions -- uncovered. As I mentioned at the beginning, it's really cool to be able to glean from the past and take that knowledge to propel us forward. There is no doubt that the experiences gained by brewing ancient recipes has motivated beer makers like Dogfish Head to look at the brewing process quite differently. I imagine that, in many ways, those experiences have no doubt given them insight into the many new directions beer making could move in the future. This is definitely good news for those of us who enjoy good beer. As always, whether enjoying ancient, modern, or futuristic beers alone or with friends, please do so responsibly. Until next time...prosit!!!