It's not that they consume enough of the golden beverage to make them believe they have woken up in another era. They use what is believed to be the oldest-known beer recipe, a brew enjoyed by the Chinese 9,000 years ago.
The ingredients in the ancient recipe were identified by US archaeologist Patrick McGovern who subjected pottery jars he found in the late Stone Age village of Jiahu, in 2004, to detailed chemical analysis.
Wits PhD student and associate lecturer Antony Higginson said he and his students had decided to brew the beer for the university's upcoming Science Week.
Higginson admitted that the students' version will pack a little more punch than the original recipe probably did.
"We added a little bit of malt [to break down the enzymes], and then we added the fruit and berries from what was available here," he said.
Higginson said ancient civilisations believed beer to be an elixir given to them by the gods. Besides the sense of euphoria it gave those who consumed it, beer was an excellent liquid to drink. It contained vitamins and the acidity of beer and its hops made it a hostile environment for bacteria. Because the brew was boiled, it was mostly safe to drink.
"So the ancient people were drinking beer, containing less than 2% alcohol. They could drink two or three litres a day and it was safer than drinking water," he said.
Higginson's brewery produced about 20-litres of ancient Chinese beer, but their brew was much stronger with an alcohol content of 8%.
Because they don't have a liquor licence, the faculty can't sell its brew so it will be handed out to the students to try and, hopefully, enjoy.
Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge
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