Beer, called hqt by the ancients and Zythus by the Greeks, was a very important Egyptian drink. It was a drink for adults and children alike. It was the staple drink of the poor (wages were sometimes paid in beer), it was a drink of the rich and wealthy, and a drink offered to the gods and placed in the tombs of the dead. The Egyptians believed that the god Osiris taught humans to brew beer (Ancient Egypt Beer Making Process). To honor him, the Egyptians often used beer in religious ceremonies and as their staple meal-time beverage.

Ancient Egypt Beer Making Process

Where was beer depicted?

The bAncient Egypt Beer Making Process depictedeer was depicted on the walls of the tombs, as were scenes of the ancient Egyptian brewery. It was probably very similar to the way beer is still produced in Sudan today. Traditionally, beer was regarded as a female activity as it was an offshoot of bread making – the basis of the beer were loaves of specially made bread.

 

 

Production of Ancient Egypt Beer Making Process

The ancient Egyptian method of producing it was probably similar to the one still in use in the Sudan today: Wheat, barley or millet was coarsely ground. One-quarter of the grain was soaked and left in the sun for a while, the rest was formed into loaves of bread and lightly baked in order not to destroy the enzymes. The bread was lightly baked and crumbled into small pieces before being strained through a sieve with water.

The loaves were crumbled and mixed with the soaked grain, which had fermented. Then water and some beer were added and the mixture was left to ferment. The fermentation complete, the liquid was strained. As a flavoring agent, they may have used dates instead of the medieval Gruit herbs or modern hops.

Beer producing method Ancient Egypt Beer Making Process

This Ancient Egypt Beer making process has been depicted since 2500 BCE when the loaves were baked in little molds, as ovens came into use only after 2000 BCE. Eight brands of beer were known, but the use of barley became common in Hellenistic times. The bitter Nubian beer, brewed in a similar fashion, couldn’t be kept for very long. Egyptian beer, with pasteurizing unknown, often turned bad in the hot climate, and dead pharaohs were promised bread which doesn’t crumble and beer which doesn’t turn sour.

By Ancient Egypt Beer making, process Large scale beer production seems to have been a royal monopoly. Temples had their own breweries, while brewing in towns and villages was farmed out. One of the earliest breweries found operated at Hierakonpolis during the middle of the 4th millennium BCE and produced possibly more than 1000 liters of beer per day. The ancient Egyptians and Nubians observed the astonishing effects of the tetracycline-loaded beer on people with bacterial illnesses and decided that this beverage/food must be one of the gods’ great gifts to humanity. Indeed, we know that beer was valued throughout the Middle East as a medicine and sacred substance.