Beer in Antiquity, Antiquity in Beer?

Abstract

Modern breweries taking inspiration from ancient cultures appear as a quite interesting phenomenon, because beer is absent from the current imaginarium about the ancient Greeks and Romans. Yet it was not unknown to them, as demonstrated by the survey of sources in the first part of the text. Actually, some brewers today are aware of the beverage’s presence in ancient literature and use this knowledge in the naming of their products. Others decide on less direct references, to some historical or mythical characters. Some producers do not limit themselves to names of their brews, but also attempt to reconstruct the ancient drinks. In the second (main) part of the article several cases of each type are presented, together with an analysis of methods of the references’ presentation and explanation to the consumer. Also, some observations are made about the reasons why breweries decide to use ancient themes at all.

Keywords

• beer
• brewery
• reception
• reconstruction
• ancient culture
• ancient beverages