The Purpose of Beer

[calvin10]

We all know the effects of too much beer and that it lowers blood sugar and it contains huge amounts of 'hollow' carbs AND it poisons the liver. . .
But was there ever a positive purpose for beer? Why did people bother -just to feel different? Does beer have any beneficial effects on the body that cannot be found more easily in other foods?

[Squink]

Sure, beer is what you drink when you can't trust the water, and can't afford wine or mead.

[Xema]

If we omit esthetic purposes and concentrate on the practical, there's the point that beer represents a food that keeps well. When starch is turned into alcohol you have a substance in which microorganisms can't thrive, but which is wholesome (and even tasty) months after it's made.

[Crafter_Man]

too much beer... poisons the liver. . .From what I've read, it's pretty difficult to "poison the liver" with beer. The Average Joe would have to drink a case of beer a day for something like 10 years.

[Philster]

If a beer or two a week relaxes you, and de-stresses you, then that is an inherent benefit. Stress reduction has huge benefits to all aspects of your life, starting with your immune system and even your blood pressure.

Alcohol can quickly become bad when over consumed, of course, but a few per week can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

[CC]

It's well documented in human history, as well as animal observation - intoxication is...fun. I suppose you can create a quasi-genetic evolutionary explanation of why we choose to spend some of our time in altered states (I'm not talking about Alabama, now), but the fact is that through history we have done exactly that. And cats do, intentionally, go back to the catnip plant and take a little nibble. That IS the reason. We like being intoxicated from time to time. That's its "purpose." References to marijuana and beer, in addition to all sorts of other potions, are thousands of years old. Yes, they considered them to be medically virtuous as well, but clearly they weren't unmindful, excuse the expression, of the effects on our perceptions of reality.

[Hostile Dialect]

I drink copious amounts of strong (tasting) beer when I'm forced to eat seafood. It overwhelms the flavor of the food. I like shrimp alright, but even with that I prefer to have beer to neutralize the aftertaste. I have a friend who takes sake (not the same thing, I know) after sushi to kill any lingering bacteria.

Plus, it tastes good. Why do you think people drink soda? It's not for any practical purpose, with the exception of the more highly-caffeinated varieties for college students cramming--but No-Doz is better anyway, and you can snort it for faster effects. It doesn't feel as good in the nose as coke, nasal spray, or any of the other things people snort more commonly, but hell, it works and I didn't have any nosebleeds or drying problems when I did it for a final last Fall.

[Helen's Eidolon]

Sure, beer is what you drink when you can't trust the water, and can't afford wine or mead.The first people who drank beer didn't have wine. I don't think you can grow grapes easily in Mesopotamia. In any case, beer predates wine, as far as I'm aware.

[ftg]

Would beer have really kept that long before modern storage methods?

[kanicbird]

And cats do, intentionally, go back to the catnip plant and take a little nibble.

Once I had a cat AND a catnip cat. The plant was growing outside, my cat when let out would often go straight for the plant, nibble a bit then pass out under the plant.

If that helps you any.

[Hostile Dialect]

There's a thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=346755) about this phenomenon, BTW.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Beer has been called "liquid bread" for a reason.

The first beer was probably spoiled barley soup, likely brewed in Mesapotamia.

HERE (http://www.alabev.com/history.htm) is a History Of Beer. :)

A Timeline Of Beer (http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/raley_timetable.shtml)

More Beery Info (http://www.beerinstitute.org/history1.htm)

Foster's Weighs In (http://www.fosters.com.au/enjoy/beer/history_of_beer.htm)

[Larry Mudd]

Beer also has a long history as a means to secure labour (http://titicaca.ucsb.edu/cotahuasi/jennings/papers/jenningsAAA2002.html).In part because of a wealth of historical documents on the Inca Empire, the significance of empowering feasts in the political economy of the Andes has long been acknowledged. Of critical importance in these feasts was the consumption of native beers called chicha. [...]

First, the Inca was able to fulfill his reciprocal duties for the labor service rendered to him by his subjects. Second, the Inca, as patron of the feast, was able to put laborers in his debt and thus reaffirm his position of power. Chicha was fundamental to Inca power and the ability of the Inca to draw on immense stores of both corn and cloistered women allowed the Inca to brew the millions of liters of chicha that were consumed annually.So next time you offer someone a case of beer to help you move, remember -- that's what it's for, man. :D

[Rico]

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

--Benjamin Franklin

Is there any other reason?

:D

[danceswithcats]

Beer has been enabling the mating of ugly people for centuries. :p

[Rattlehead02]

Would beer have really kept that long before modern storage methods?

I was wondering the same thing. I recall seeing a show on The History Channel about the history of booze which claimed that hard liquor was favored in the old west because the beer makers on the east coast couldn't keep the beer fresh during the trip to the west. That's not to say beer was non-existant in the west, but it was expensive.

Then I read from dear uncle Cecil that the pilgrims stopped early 'cause they ran out of beer. So, beer could make a month long voyage across the sea, but not across the states (or whatever the hell they were called back then)?

Of course, I've been imbibing in so cabernet tonight, so my recollection of what I saw in that history channel show may be a bit off.

Jeff
(I just like to type is all.)

[Squink]

I was wondering the same thing. I recall seeing a show on The History Channel about the history of booze which claimed that hard liquor was favored in the old west because the beer makers on the east coast couldn't keep the beer fresh during the trip to the west.There's two issues here, sterility and foaminess. The alcohol in beer keeps nasty bacteria from growing in it, still a cowboy might turn down a perfectly drinkable, yet flat, beer.
I doubt that anyone knows whether Babylonian beer had a frothy head.

[ombre3]

There's two issues here, sterility and foaminess. The alcohol in beer keeps nasty bacteria from growing in it, still a cowboy might turn down a perfectly drinkable, yet flat, beer.
I doubt that anyone knows whether Babylonian beer had a frothy head.

Not even a cowboy myself -------but flat beer ain't half bad. Neither is warm beer.

Just takes a little getting used to.

[scr4]

Then I read from dear uncle Cecil that the pilgrims stopped early 'cause they ran out of beer. So, beer could make a month long voyage across the sea, but not across the states (or whatever the hell they were called back then)?
Could it be because Western US is much warmer than the north Atlantic?

[Northern Piper]

"Malt does more than Milton can
To justify God's ways to man."

-- A.E. Housman

[Dr_Paprika]

Some people seriously debate whether beer was invented before bread.

I came for the nutrition... but I stayed for the buzz.

AA Meeting Leader: Come on Homer, tell us what you are feeling. We're your friends.

Homer Simpson: I would kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer. :)

[Oregon sunshine]

Beer! Beer! Beer!

(Let me be the first to simply celebrate beer without explanation.)

[Billdo]

Here's Cecil's take on the impact of beer on a seminal act of American history: Did the Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock because they ran out of beer? (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051125.html)

[AskNott]

Beer has been enabling the mating of ugly people for centuries. :p

Beauty is in the eyes of the beerholder. :D

[Hostile Dialect]

This thread cannot go on any further without it being stated that beer is the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

[August West]

Would beer have really kept that long before modern storage methods?

Several things contribute to beer's microbiological stability.

1) Alcohol content. Most bugs don't react well with ethanol
2) Low pH. The pH of finished beer is usually just above 4, so fairly acidic.
3) Hops. Hops do more than just flavor the beer, they have compounds that are fairly bacteriostatic, especially against gram-positive bacteria.

These three things together make beer an unfavorable place for most bacteria, and most of those that can survive are ones that we call "non beer spoilers", in other words they do not have a marked effect on the flavor or body.

Beer is one of the safest things you can drink, no known human pathogens can survive in beer. So when in doubt of the local water supply, drink beer.

[Ethilrist]

One of the reasons we have lager beer, and Oktoberfest, is because the Germans figured out back in the day that if they tried to brew beer in the summer, it was nasty. So, as part of the german brewing law, they outlawed brewing in the summertime, which made the fall kind of suck. So, they came up with a way to brew a stronger beer with a time-, alcohol-, and cold-tolerant yeast (which is a really, really good trick if you haven't invented microbiology yet...), and they stored the vats of slowly-fermenting beer in ice caves to ferment throughout the spring and summer.

So, they had beer that would last for at least six months in the keg.

However, until the past couple hundred years and the advent of bottles rather than wooden kegs, beer was usually pretty darn flat.

[August West]

Trying to brew lagers in the summer before the days of commercial refrigeration would indeed have been a futile task, but I don't think that all brewing was outlawed during the summer in Germany. Weissbiers have been made since the late 15th century and they use a top-fermenting yeast and warmer temperatures for fermentation. I have not heard that they were only brewed from fall - spring.

[Doug Bowe]

. . .
I doubt that anyone knows whether Babylonian beer had a frothy head.


Actually someone does. In his book "A History of the World in Six Glasses" (If you like James Burke you'll like this one) Tom Standage reproduces a few ancient claydrawings of beer drinking.
The ancient Mesopotamians are shown drinking beer through long straws...hollow reeds.There was no foam. There WAS garbage floating on top--grains and gunk that were used in the, um, brewing process. The hollow reeds cut through the garbage and got you to the Good Stuff.

[Cluricaun]

Actually someone does. In his book "A History of the World in Six Glasses" (If you like James Burke you'll like this one) Tom Standage reproduces a few ancient claydrawings of beer drinking.
The ancient Mesopotamians are shown drinking beer through long straws...hollow reeds.There was no foam. There WAS garbage floating on top--grains and gunk that were used in the, um, brewing process. The hollow reeds cut through the garbage and got you to the Good Stuff.


Great news for the next time I encounter drunken frat boys who claim that they invented the idea of drinking beer through a straw to get drunk faster......

[Squink]

Tom Standage reproduces a few ancient claydrawings of beer drinking.Of course, ANCIENT BEER SIGNS! :smack:
That's probably why the Mesopotamians started making clay tablets in the first place.