Molecular Archaeology and Brewing

[Chris Amirault]

I had the good fortune to attend a Dogfish Head dinner at Gracie's in Providence hosted by Sam Calagione. He mentioned "a molecular archaeologist" when he introduced the Chateau Jiahu, which the Dogfish Head website describes as follows:

Let's travel back in time ... 9000 years! Preserved pottery jars found in the Neolithic villiage of Jiahu, in Henan province, Northern China, has revealed that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit was being produced that long ago - right around the same time that barley beer and grape wine were beinginning [sic] to be made in the Middle East!

Fast forward to 2005.... Molecular Archeologist Dr. Patrick McGovern of the University of PA calls on Dogfish Head to re-create their second ancient beverage and Chateau Jiahu is born.

The website also mentions the same sort of genesis story with the Midas Touch Golden Elixir. Both were good, though I thought that the Jiahu was far superior.

It's great marketing, to be sure -- and I'll admit to being swayed by Calagione's enthusiasm and grace. But I wanted to know more about this reference to "molecular archaeology" and its relationship to brewing. Is this just a Dogfish Head phenomenon? Are others pursuing it?

[Evan]

Well I got curious and looked up Dr. McGovern. Well, he did publish a paper in a peer reviewed scientific journal, PNAS | December 21, 2004 | vol. 101 | no. 51 | 17593-17598 .

Here is the abstract from that paper...

Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China

Patrick E. McGovern *, {dagger}, Juzhong Zhang {ddagger}, Jigen Tang §, Zhiqing Zhang ¶, Gretchen R. Hall *, Robert A. Moreau ||, Alberto Nuñez ||, Eric D. Butrym **, Michael P. Richards {dagger}{dagger}, Chen-shan Wang *, Guangsheng Cheng {ddagger}{ddagger}, Zhijun Zhao §, and Changsui Wang

Chemical analyses of ancient organics absorbed into pottery jars from the early Neolithic village of Jiahu in Henan province in China have revealed that a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey, and fruit (hawthorn fruit and/or grape) was being produced as early as the seventh millennium before Christ (B.C.). This prehistoric drink paved the way for unique cereal beverages of the proto-historic second millennium B.C., remarkably preserved as liquids inside sealed bronze vessels of the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties. These findings provide direct evidence for fermented beverages in ancient Chinese culture, which were of considerable social, religious, and medical significance, and help elucidate their earliest descriptions in the Shang Dynasty oracle inscriptions.

I think its a rare find that 'liquid' found in the vessle from ancient China survived. But I don't know if other brewers will try to find some other ancient recipe that may soothe the taste buds of current brewmaster and the masses. It is a cool story nonetheless.