First they came for the beer, and I said nothing…

Submitted via email by a fan of the show named Miguel. 

Good evening, Frank!

I wanted to share some history with you that I think you might find interesting. Since I returned from Japan, I have undertaken homebrewing as a hobby. I have attached some photos of my latest attempt, a lemondrop hop IPA. Homebrewing connects me to my Bioprocess Engineering days, and it's my way of keeping the science that I love so much alive in my life. Plus, there's also the beer...

In the process of teaching myself the art, I have come to learn a little bit about the history of it. Beermaking requires the addition of herbs at different stages of the process, depending on what you're trying to do. These herbs (nowadays almost exclusively hops) serve two purposes – 1) as astringents and 2) as antiseptics. In the old days, private citizens brewed beer with whatever herbs they maintained in their gardens, or that simply grew around naturally. Most of these herbs were/are perennials that grow freely, everywhere. These include yarrow, mugwort, Myrica gale, Labrador tea, heather, dandelions, wormwood, licorice, angelica, juniper berries, and many others.

Hops were also used, but they were never the main ingredient, as they are now. Hops are unique because they can serve as both astringents and antiseptics. Beermaking often used to require multiple herbs to cover both bases. Some examples of other herbs that can accomplish both tasks are angelica, juniper berries, and heather. As you can imagine, fermented food processes, beer included, have kept people healthy for lifetimes.

Throughout history, beer served a multitude of purposes in the daily lives of indigenous peoples. From rituals of fellowship, to hallucinogenics for communion with the gods, beer has been etched in the cultures of humanity since the dawn of time. Stories abound of the divine nature of the yeast, and how it was a gift from God, that enabled man to hear Him more easily. Some tribes don't even drink that much water at all, opting instead to hydrate with fermented palm tree sap. True story.

Beer even played an important role during the political and religious upheavals in medieval Europe. You see, most of the aforementioned herbs (except for hops) have the quite problematic side effect of being aphrodisiacs. People were happy eating their foods, drinking their beer, and making babies. The Protestants thought that the common man's want of fornication was evil, so they conspired with the Bavarian crown, specifically William IV, to enact the Beer Purity Law of 1516 (or the Reinheitsgebot), which stated that beer could only be made with four ingredients: grain, yeast, water, and hops. No more adding your homegrown herbs and fruit to your brew.

Hops were difficult to come by due to their fastidious nature during cultivation, and do you know who owned the monopoly on the cultivation of hops at the time? You guessed it, the Bavarian crown. Further, hops make people sleepy instead of horny, so there’s less hanky-panky after a couple drinks, and thus less babies. The crown hid behind the pretext that exotic additions to beers being sold by adventurous citizens were making people sick, so the banning of toxic ingredients was necessary for the greater good. This justification was based on lies, of course. It was all a push to tax the populous and rid themselves of the growing "riff-raff." Sound familiar?

I'm currently reading a book on the matter called "Sacred & Herbal Healing Beers" by Stephen Harrod Buhner. Mr. Buhner is an herbalist and historian of the art. In two years of brewing, I've successfully brewed beer that includes juniper berries, mint, coriander, cinnamon, heather, and vanilla. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to reproduce beers with yarrow, mugwort, Myrica gale, or Labrador Tea (these four are the so called gruit herbs), in spite of following the recipes he has published in his book. It's obviously more me than him, but the book is a striking read nonetheless, and he has personally successfully reproduced every old recipe he has published. You should hear his takes on the beers made by Native Americans. Mr. Timothy Alberino has personal experience with one them, Masato, which is made from cassava.

These days, the average American doesn't think of beer as art, or as something of historical and spiritual significance. They see their Coors Light or Miller Light as nothing more than mere products of lame consumption for the occasion. Ever since engaging with Mr. Buhner’s description of the process, I now view it not just as an art, but as magic – spiritual magic, in which I channel my energies into the production of something enjoyable and desirable – even though I'm still not very good at it. One day, though, I'll brew something good, and my efforts will have paid off. I can't wait.

Cheers to you and yours,

-Miguel, writing with beer in hand.