> Legends and trivia
A few legends about beer
Barley was being cultivated in the world a long time before vines were. Barley, both wild and cultivated, could be found in all latitudes of the globe.
So it is not at all strange to find out that there are many legends that mention the most ancient alcoholic beverage in the world.
It is said that the goddess Ishtar, one of the deities venerated by the Assyrians and Babylonians, received her power from beer, and it seems that not even Nusku, the god of fire, was able to withstand that power. In ancient Egypt, children made sacrifices to the god of writing, Thout, using beer, fruit and flat bread, while drinking a bowl of beer after having patted a few drops on their eyes and mouth.
Pregnant women used beer for libations offered to the goddess Renenutet who would in turn reward them with more milk when breastfeeding. Low alcohol beer, or watered down beer with honey, was given to children when weaning, when mothers had no more milk to give them.
Legend has it that the people of Ireland originate from Fomorians, monstrous creatures with pointy beaks and human legs who were immortal and powerful thanks to the secret of brewing beer, which was stolen from them by the hero Mag Meld, a kind of Irish Prometheus.
Babylonian law punished those who watered down beer for sale by drowning the guilty party in his own beer. In 1516 the famous “Purity law” was issued. This defined once and for all the ingredients used to make beer: barley malt, hops and water.
It is said that on the banks of the river Euphrates an inscription, written in cuneiform, was found which states that goddess Nidaba, protector of harvests, later became the goddess of beer.
Trivia
Beer is very inspiring: it has been depicted in famous paintings and has been mentioned many times in the works of poets and writers (Angiolieri, D'Annunzio, Calvino), as well as in many songs. In fact, Zucchero entitled one of his songs "Tu mi piaci come questa birra" (I like you as much as I like this beer).
As it is a byproduct of barley, beer is rich in B vitamins (B1, B6, B9 and B12). B vitamins help protect our heart and circulation, help our brains function properly and improve skin tone.
The taste of beer, apart from its tactile sensation, is appreciated by all four main taste sensations: sweet, sour, bitter and salt. Sweetness is tasted on the tip of the tongue, bitter is tasted at the back of the tongue, sour and salt tastes are sensed at the sides. The tactile sensation when tasting beer is mostly down to its light effervescent qualities and its body (full, light…), which is determined by its structure.
Did you know that your sense of smell greatly affects your sense of taste? In fact, your sense of smell is able to pick up 4,000 different odours, unlike your sense of taste, which can only perceive four kinds of flavour. The aroma of beer (one of the simplest, especially when compared with wine) is also determined by hundreds of different substances. Your sense of smell is engaged in two different phases: when you bring your glass up to your nose and then once you have taken a sip of beer.
A beer’s head, which amateurs consider to be an extra, is, on the contrary, an essential element in preserving a beer’s aroma, as well as its cool temperature. Thanks to the head, beer is partially protected from the atmosphere for the entire time it sits in the glass, and it prevents a beer’s precious qualities from dispersing.