Ancient brews brought back to life

Bimolecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern works with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery to create their Ancient Ales.

March 07, 2010|By Chris McNamara, Special to Tribune Newspapers

It's hard to quibble with the coolest nickname in the world — "The Indiana Jones of Beer." But a more fitting moniker for Patrick McGovern might be "The Lazarus of Libations."

See, this bimolecular archaeologist brings drinks back from the dead. There's no divine intervention or witchcraft involved; rather, McGovern has spent a career researching what ancient civilizations consumed and is using that knowledge to enable modern beer drinkers to travel back in time using their taste buds.

The scientific director with the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is working with Delaware's Dogfish Head Craft Brewery to create a line of Ancient Ales — facsimiles of brews from centuries ago.

"You can argue that alcoholic beverages are pretty central to human existence," says McGovern, whose latest book, "Uncorking the Past," explores this theory.

Barstool historians looking to commune with ancient humans can whip up a batch of sangria. "That's probably most similar to what the earliest alcoholic beverages were like," he says. "You take wine and mix in fruits and herbs and all kinds of spices."

Or you can simply head to the liquor store and pick up a bottle or four-pack of these Ancient Ales, which are priced like most premium beers.

The brewery's Theobroma is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras that revealed the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink used by early civilizations to toast special occasions. (Take that, beechwood aging!) It's brewed with Aztec cocoa powder (from Soconusco, Mexico), cocoa nibs, honey, chilies and the fragrant tree seed annatto. Not surprisingly, this beer is rather sweet.

Drier is the Chateau Jiahu, a rice-based brew culled from a Chinese recipe from 9,000 years ago.

Then there is the Midas Touch, based on the oldest-known fermented beverage, using ingredients found in 2,700-year-old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Honey and saffron combine to make a smooth, sweet ale.

So why craft these Ancient Ales? In a world awash in modern brews, why expend such effort to revive old ones? "You can transport people back to a period," says the Libation Lazarus. "It's a liquid time capsule. Just reading about it is dry. But to be actually present with a beverage that is based on a recipe from 7,000 B.C. It's a very exciting idea."

Try them: Midas Touch is brewed year-round, but the rest of the Ancient Ales line is seasonal. Check for a chart of release dates.