Beer in Ancient Rome
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- The Romans drank quite a bit of beer. In parts of the empire, in fact, they drank little else...
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:37 Beer's bad reputation
2:47 Shaker & Spoon
4:09 The beer-drinking provinces
5:22 Roman beer
6:41 Wine vs. beer: the reckoning
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59$ LOL what a scam
I recently learned some Romans wore pants, now I learn some Romans drank beer. Will the barbarity never cease??? Sigh.
The pants thing was actually started by Caesar himself. During his campaigns in Gaul he saw that the enemy was more agile and able to protect their legs with the pants. Not having to worry about skirts flapping around under armor either. So he started wearing pants on military campaigns and it kind of caught on.
They had pants and beer. The Minoans had flush toilets and apparently analog computers. All I need to find out now is that they played a form of soccer or football, had a version of TV, and ate something like nachos.
@@brianmccarthy5557 im sure the soccer thing isn’t too crazy
@@brianmccarthy5557 They did play a form of soccer called Harpastrum, it was a game played by the legions during peace time to maintain physical fitness, it's pretty similiar to Calcio Storico Fiorentino which is played every year in Firenze, you can find it on youtube!
Next thing you know you'll see Emperors growing out their beards.
It's like people have forgotten what it is to be Roman.
"Cracking open a cold one with the boys is barbaric." - Tacitus
"Cracking open a hot one with the boys." - Gladiators
Let's be honest; flatulence, bad humour and headaches is an entirely accurate description of beer
One important thing missing from the list is the variety of béer indices pissing. From joyous imitation waterfall and fire hose or sprinting last-second relief as the dam is about to burst to making yellow holes in the snow to middle-of-the-night interrupted sleep strolls to the can...
I haven't farted in 8 years.
forgot the good times before it
But even wine can give you a terrible hangover especially if you try to drink the thick wine diluted with water and honey otherwise it was almost trying to drink vinegar!!
@@mileslong3904
Miles "The Iron Anus" Long
Beer historian here - it's not a coincidence that the beer and wine snob regions illustrated at 2:38 correspond to the regions where it's easier to grow barley and grapes, respectively. And since most food and drink consumed close to where they were grown, those in the wine regions would prefer wine and those in the beer regions would prefer beer. Over time, these preferences would be deeply entrenched in their respective cultures.
I got a kick out of how some wine drinkers said they enjoyed beer, once they got used to the flavor. Some things never change :)
It's worth pointing out though that ancient wine would taste much more similar to modern wine than ancient beer would taste to modern beer. Almost all ancient beer would have been sour, with many examples being smoky as well. It would have been consumed cool (~50F) at best and completely flat (uncarbonated). A "barley wine" as mentioned in the video sounds very apt. They likely would have included local honeys, fruits, and herbs (but no hops). Ancient wine would probably be more sour than modern examples, and likely lower ABV, but would not be very foreign to the modern palate.
Thanks for sharing - I did a video on the taste of ancient wine a few months ago, and reached a similar conclusion (though of course the Greeks and Romans disguised the natural taste by mixing everything from marble dust to perfume into their drinks).
@@toldinstone i love your community so much, especially when experts chime in
The ancient wine would not taste anything like modern wine. For a start the fermentation was done underground using giant clay fermentation vessels (much like they continue to use in Georgia ((Eurasia)) the oldest wine producing region in the world. The Roman wine would be much more similar to modern Georgian wine but still markedly worse. Roman wine was also known to be rather acidic which is why they enhanced the flavours with honey and also other fruits and juices....
Essentially, modern wine from everywhere bears very little resemblance to Roman wine. If you want to get as close as possible to Roman wine in the modern era, Georgian wine would be your best bet due to the methods of production being fairly similar for over 4000 years.
And to expound ever further, the regions which grow neither particularly well in Europe are known as the Vodka belt, because what they grow best there is made into vodka.
@@Mortablunt vodka belt are usually the regions where mead was consumed originally.
"The piano sounds like a carnival and the microphone smells like a goat".
- BillyJoel
*Fun fact:* Talking about beer, in the Anthony Burguess' book "The Kingdom of the Wicked", Vespasian is shown as the most important promoter of that drink in Roman History, as, once he arrives to Rome just after the death of Vitellius, he orders his men to prepare for him a "delicious and sparkling egyptian drink accesible to the common citizens that makes anyone as drunk as wine". With that first imperial order, Vespasian uses the beer as a symbol of simplicity and modesty in order to contrast Vitellius' insane gluttony
I read this and went WTF? Burguess wrote a historical novel set in Rome? Not only that… I've seen the miniseries "A.D." and had no idea it was based on this book. How have I lived my whole life and not known this. In any event - is "Kingdom of the Wicked" worth a read?
@@brucefreadrich1188 Yeah. Despite having some pretty disgusting moments, like Tiberius performing a f*llatio on a newborn, and being sometimes written in a pretty complex manner, it absolutely deserves a read. Also, the end of the novel, in which the destruction of Pompeii is depicted, is one of the most terrifying I've ever read in a book. Anyway, I hope you watched the complete 10 hour version of "A.D." instead of the cr*ppy 5 hour version (which is sadly the only montage avaliable nowadays) that omits a great part of the plot related to the Roman Emperors (Sejanus' coup, Tiberius' decadence and assassination, Caligula's death and life before being Emperor, Claudius' whole story and Nero's reign before persecuting christians)
@@OptimusMaximusNero Tiberius did WHAT?!
@@Gentleman...Driver And that wasn't even one of the 10 worst things he did in Capri...
@@OptimusMaximusNero Jesus Christ...
"He was a wise man who invented beer"- Plato
Great job, per usual Garrett.
Deeply appreciated!
@@aglioeolio7730 yes, I posted it more as a tongue-in-cheek kinda thing 😀
Enjoy your weekend!
Hummm. Plato also said that man came out of barbarism when he learned to cultivate the vine.
Hegel was wrong in positing that the eternal struggle of humanity is one of class, when in fact it is an eternal struggle between beer snobs and wine snobs.
I like both, a taste for german beer and italian wine.
Turns out the Germanic tribes didn't destroy Rome because they wanted their land and valuables, but because they didn't like beer that much.
That *_is_* the class struggle in a nutshell.
I love how mankind can't live without it's alcohol. No matter where you're from, our ancient ancestors found the best, easiest, and tastiest way to consume alcohol: rice, grapes, rye, honey, maize, cassava, etc. Fun and interesting!
There are even theories that human civilisation was born due to alcohol.
Alcohol is one way to preserve crops without spoiling.
I’ve heard that they have found evidence of an 11,000 years old brewery at Göbekli Tepe. Meaning that since the dawn of civilization we have said, “I need a drink.”
This is why I think non-drinkers are barbarians.
Serious paleoanthropologists hypothesize that the invention of brewing technology preceded and incentivized the adoption of agriculture at scale, meaning in a very real sense, beer may be responsible for human civilization.
Pre-industrial, unfiltered beer was actually very nutritious. Yeast is just packed with B vitamins, and natural beer has quite a lot of vitamin C, very valuable in areas without much fresh food in winter. I read somewhere that when Algerian laborers moved to France, they sometimes got scurvy from drinking modern beer instead of the nutritious stuff they normally drank at home.
Heresy! Muslims don't drink, especially not Arabs!
Well, that's the High Church position. Just don't tell the imam if you do, and don't let it slip at jummah.
@@Mortablunt Yeah, Muslims aren't supposed to drink. But there are a lot of complicated rules and rulings, on e.g. how long can you keep fruit juice around before drinking it. So I suspect that there are rules that let people in the area that these Algerians come from drink beer as long as it isn't too strong and they don't drink too much, since it's important for nutrition and health. Mainstream Islam is flexible and compassionate, especially to the poor, as I understand it.
@@b.a.erlebacher1139 Islam varies a LOT by region.
Mainstream Islam in the West is usually pretty flexible, and very focused on virtues like compassion and generosity.
Mainstream Islam in other locations still maintains that you should be whipped for drinking or having premarital sex, and executed for leaving Islam or speaking negativaly about the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Even drawing Muhammad is not universally seen as an insult. The second-largest major branch, Shi'a Islam, tends to be okay with drawing Muhammad when done respectfully, whereas the largest branch, Sunni Islam, always considers it a grave insult, which is "properly" punished with execution (as it's seen as blasphemy), as has been seen in recent history (but again, Western Muslims are much less likely to find such a punishment appropriate).
@@Menzobarrenza I mean... the same can be said about Christians, compare American Christians to European Christians.
@@FreeManFreeThought Not quite to the same extent, but yes, some large denominations unique to the U.S. are extremely different from the mainstream European denominations, though they both generally agree that violence is the wrong response to blasphemy or sin, which Western Muslims generally also agree with.
"Allured by alliteration, I made the Capri Crush Coctail." Purely pristine pedantic prose!
You didn't make it. You "concocted" it.
I decided to have a frosty beer while watching this. Yeah, it's 10:30 AM but this video made me thirsty.
I decided to drink 2 bottles of wine and smoke a joint
@@jsgwam all in the 8 minute run time of this video? Impressive.
@@HeliosWrath I chiefed that shit, was thirsty asf which allowed me to chug one of those bottles off the bat, spent the next 7 minutes enjoying the other bottle.
It's five o'clock somewhere
yeah beer in ancient Rome is fine and all but beer in front of me right now is far better.
Never knew a microbrewery in my region, Ninkasi, was actually named for a Sumerian goddess. Fantastic.
the beer snobs / wine snobs map is something else haha!
As a beer lover I love the sound of "The beer of eternity".😀🍺
I freaking love beer. It's a nice xoincidence that I'm on beer 6 as I watc hthis.
I bought “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.”
Father's Day is coming up. This book and a case of beer would be perfect…
Laughed out loud when I saw your map with the legend "Beer Snobs" and "Wine Snobs". Perfect!
@toldinstone you have an incredible dead-pan comedic delivery my friend. Very interesting content too. Subbed
I bought your book, and it’s phenomenal! Great read and answers a ton of the “did they” and “why didn’t they” questions about the Ancient Greek and Romans. A very interesting and fun book. Thanks for all your contributions!
My pleasure! I'm very glad you enjoyed my book.
man i could listen to 40 minute videos from you
You can watch all videos of him 😃
Next time I make a map for GIS, I'm only using "Beer Snobs" and "Wine Snobs" for the map key. Its uses are endless. Interesting video as always!
I had heard that ancient beer, being made from wild yeast, was most similar to modern sour beers. An acquired taste.
Wild yeast with big meaty claws
Great job! At the Oriental Institute in Chicago there were these amazing Egyptian miniatures of the beer making process. So fascinating.
Interesting that the different preference of Romance language speakers and Germanic speakers holds true to today. I do like a nice Riesling though (but not the sweet kind).
The romans were the ones who brought and established wine into Germania
This channel is an absolute gem, great content and information. Keep up the good work, greetings Ludwig from Flanders
Two favourite topics rolled into one!
Currently reading your book and all so far is absolutely excellent and extraordinarily interesting! Thank you!
Outstanding video as usual, Garrett. It would be tremendously interesting if you could investigate into how specific parts of Western Roman values evolved within the context of the Byzantine Empire, such as the drinking culture as portrayed in this video or other topics. Your content continues to be top notch.
Wonderful notification on a Friday! Thanks for the great content :)
Love your videos man.
Love every video you make. The graphics are looking very nice lately too
Great video. I always enjoy your content.
Also caught you on the Timeline Auctions recap video of their recent auction in London.
Thank you for another amazing video!
Great video, as always! Your videos always add to my day :)
Another interesting video. Good job bro.
Fascinating stuff!
From a recently found clay tablet:
I think that I shall never hear,
A poem more lovely than a beer,
With golden base and snow capped crown,
I lift it up and pour it down.
Another excellent video. Thank you
Julian shitting on beer was a comment I didn't know I needed, I love that man.
It's really on the nose for him.
If born in the modern Era, Julian would be a Reddit moderator.
I was LITERALLY wondering about Romans and beer yesterday.
Now u know
A Toldinstone video makes any day better!
I found this amusing. Italian here married to a brewer. I have Always preferred beer to wine unless it is Prosecco . Not a IPA fan I enjoy lagers, stouts and ales!!
Thank God for monastery beer
"If you want your child to grow, give it a jar of *porter"*
"Beerfest" is a great movie accompaniment to this
"Do you want me to put a nipple on that for you?"
High praise for sticking to the theme of each vid, I've watched so far, with the ad.
This is the most rigid, clinical review of anything I've ever seen. I appreciate your care, toldinstone.
A new toldinstone? I'll drink to that! What might the Greeks and Romans have said when raising a glass (or mug)?
Popular ones among the Romans seem to have included "vivas" (live long!) and "dii propitii" (may the gods smile on us!) and simply "bibe" (drink!)
you had me at beer
“Here she comes, act natural”
Me at a party: 7:19
"Careful man, there's a beverage here!"
The "Snob Map" was very clever.
Hello there
saltfish and beer diet? that's a recipe for legendary gout!
What a coincidence. Just in time as i'm going drunk
fascinating!
Beer beer we want more beer
All the lads are cheerin’
So get the flipping beers in
(The Macc Lads)
The Romans never heard of Boddington's! =D
Sitting down to the computer with a freshly cracked beer on a Friday night only to see a toldinstone vid about beer in Rome. Nice pairing :D
Damn your comment made me thirsty, haha, but it's 10am on Saturday here so I guess I will be having coffee while I watch this video. Enjoy your beer :D
Amazing that the class distinction of wine drinking and beer drinking goes all the way back to this period.
Tacitus: "Beer is completely unhealthy and disgusting"
Academics: "Still more funny and truthful than your works, though"
Tacitus: *Sadly sways on a swing*
History and memes is such perfection 👌
I DID enjoy the video. As a person with Germanic ancestry and a love of beer, I get the quote “Germanic invaders brought with them a robust beer drinking culture” fuck yeah boy
OMG. As much as I would have loved to experience the ancient Rome (with a good local guide/ guard, and under protection of some influential patron), the Romans would have _loved_ to taste the many types of beer in our modern world. They would have become addicted. Salut! Cheers! 🍺🍻
THANK YOU! You have no idea how many times I had to argue that romans knew beer and actually drank it regularly. Even Diocletian's Edict on prices gives us different varieties of beer! Pannonian and Gaulish Beer was the best, whilst egyptian was considered slightly worse!
6:36 Let me guess: Gratian
Close - Valens
"beer smells like a goat" lmao
Watching while having a 🍺
Me too! Haha quaffing it
Enjoy the flatulence 🤯😂
I like sour beer. So I would be interested in how the Roman stuff tasted.
You'd like Berliner Kindl then..
Anyone here enjoying a beer as they watch this?
mentions lithuanian gods of beer, +rep
Aww Yeah! I was wondering if Romans drank beer.
Every asterix comic fan know they did and it was called cervesia
Have you ever made a video on the myth that Greek and Roman statues and buildings were white/one colour?
Beer Vs wine. The eternal conflict...
I have heard it said that if you want to trace the boundaries of the Roman empire as they apply in north west Europe you should identify the areas which have wine as their favorite drink and those that have beer -wine =the Roman areas :beer= the non Roman.
There is also potato europe versus tomato europe, since the climates those favor and the climates barley vs grapes prefer are similar.
@@Mortablunt Don't forget that the climate of Europe was warmer during the height of the Roman empire and Romans even grew grapes in southern England-which is happening again with champagne made in England being given awards!I read though that both the Greeks and Romans didn't like to live in places where grapes and olives couldn't grow.
‘Beer smells like a goat’. In some cases that’s still kind of true - beer made with the wild yeast Brettanomyces like The Belgian Lambic
New to join, no mention of the seaweed-based beer the centurions where often given
Danke!
I'm no expert but I know that at many Abbeys, Castles and Palaces in the UK they drank nothing but beer as the fermentation process made it safer to drink than water. I've visited a number of medieval castles and on the tours, they said they only drank beer but it wasn't that strong so they weren't drunk all the time.
So maybe the reason Romans in Britain drank a lot of beer was it would have been safer than drinking water, especially in cities where sewage went into rivers. I believe even at the courts of Elizabethan England they drank only beer for this reason.
Same in germany. In the past parents even gave their babies and kiddies alc to drink.
Correct. The Europeans who came to the Potomac area were amazed to see the Native people drinking water- and right out of lakes and rivers!
To have done that in most of Europe would have been certain death.
Great video. I like Miller Beer.
Was the propensity to water down wine(sometimes with seawater) the cause for the mistaken belief that beer makes you fall down drunk (quicker?) ?
Great video. One thing I thought you might mention was that that Gauls used their mustaches to filter their beer
*burp*
most replayed is always when the ad ends 😆
1:25 And Marched Thousands of Stadia...
I'm pretty sure that beer is why Rome never conquered Ireland. 'Oh yeah, come over here and say that!'
"Allured by alliteration" is great
Having heard descriptions of ancient beer and wine. I would expect that I would much more enjoy ancient beer. Which is surprising
Next a documentary called "how beer and pants conquered the world"
everyone knows pompey the great, but some say his nephew pompey cerevisiae started the famous italian beer, peroni, which means 'of roni' (not to be confused with maca-roni, a type of dessert made of almond-flour).
Has a modern anyone ever yet re-created the “beer of eternity”? I’m curious how that tasted. There has to be a micro-brew somewhere that’s done it.
I *think* Dogfish head took a stab at it
@@boston7704 that was Midas Touch, recreated from an analysis of what is supposedly King Midas' tomb. It was really good and I haven't seen it in years
350 A.D.: "BEER-DRINKER!"
450 A.D.: "WINE-DRINKER!"
Amazing that beer still is a number 1 seller incredible and even Rome cared.
I know Strabo also talked about cider being consumed in Gaul and amongst the Astures and Cantabrii in Northwest Spain. Does anyone know what the opinion was on that?
07:44 Actual picture of me watching this video.
And beer culture lives on!
The empire had fallen but beer would live on. Good to know the important things survive.
Falls on back. Yeah that man had a good day.
I'm drunk right now
I thought the tubes going into the pots weren't for drinking but people were adding their spittle to the brew.
I was on a sailboat and had a thermos of iced tea and ice when I got handed a warm beer. I hate warm beer. I dumped the entire can of warm beer into the icy iced tea and damn if that isn't a good drink.