MASTERS OF BREWING

The masters who brew the beverage for the gods, as written in one of his works by the Greek dramatist Sophocles, who lived in the 5th century BC, are called brewers.

Even among the ancient Greeks, they held a very special place due to their knowledge and skills.

They were also valued and respected in ancient Rome, which is perhaps a little unusual, as the Romans’ favourite drink was wine due to the geographical location of their homeland. But there must have been something special even back then about the beverage called cerevesia, for the cerevisiarii to be honoured as citizens of high standing.

Brewers were also highly esteemed far in the north of Europe. In the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, their knowledge is described in detail in 400 verses, whereas in this same seminal Scandinavian poem, the creation of the world is described in only 200 verses. It is probably not hard to guess what was more important to the medieval Finns… the creation of the world or beer.

The Belgian poet Emile Verhaeren (1855–1916) wrote the following about brewers in one of his poems:

“Whether the weather be hot or cold,
every village knows it well;
day after day the jug is full –
the prince is mayor, but the brewer is king.”