"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-a quote often (falsely) attributed to Benjamin Franklin.
"Beer- Nature's Perfect Food."
-Homer Simpson
Jonathan Hennessey takes comic book readers on a 7,000 year old adventure into the history of beer. His theory is quite interesting. With both beer and bread being made originally by the same 3 ingredients, grain, water and yeast; as civilizations developed techniques in agriculture, the brewing of alcohol soon followed.
As a culinary professional, I've always been under the impression that beer was developed first by the Egyptians. However, thanks to this book, I've learned that a recipe even older than the pharaohs was uncovered and it was in China! Though Hennessey explains that scholars still believe that Egypt is the birthplace of beer, the discovery in China is leading historians to rewrite the history books and place the beverage as originating around 5000BC.
Now Egyptian beer is really different than what we know of today. Rice, seeds, fruit, even chocolate have been added to the mix at one time or another. But the main universal difference from the Egyptians is in the addition of hops. Hops are a flowering seed cone that gives beer its distinctive bitterness. It's only been an ingredient in beer since 1079. So for the first 6000 years of beer, it meant that the beverage was a sweeter nectar of the gods.
Beer was also vital for safety and well-being. Despite the alcohol content, the brewing techniques of heating of the ingredients and fermentation of product helped to sanitize a water supply that otherwise might have laid waste to a growing community.
In fact, until the late 1800s, a majority of people didn't even know that beer had alcohol when social reformer Joseph Livesey conducted science experiments with the drink among the general public. This 'new-found' knowledge helped the temperance movement to put beer on the list of evil drinks. Add the fact that a majority of the beer makers in America were of German descent, by the time World War I rolled around, the time was ripe for the outlawing of almost all alcoholic beverages.
American prohibition ended in 1933. The Depression, disrepair of unused breweries and good old fashioned American corporate greed left a void in the beer industry. American prohibition resulted in making small time brewers from going out of business. Corporate greed and growth, lead to the death of the rest of the small potatoes. Boredom in otherwise bland mass-produced beer and deregulation of home brewing in the 1970s has resulted in a renaissance in craft brewing. By 1980, there were only 44 American breweries. Jump to 2015, there were 3,200 total breweries with another 2,000 in the works. It's been 8 years since this book was released and according to the Brewers Association, a staggering 9000 plus breweries current operate in this country!
Assisting Jonathan Hennessey is head brewer Mike Smith. Smith covers the more technical aspects of the beer making process. I know this because those segments are hosted by a cartoon avatar of the craftsman. I also believe that Smith is responsible for the 9 'Meet the Beer' segments peppered throughout this graphic novel. Those single-page beer profiles discuss not only the bitterness and alcohol by volume in the beer, but food pairings, history of the beverage and other pertinent information that a non-zythophile might need in order to become a connoisseur of fine brews.
The artwork for this book is by Aaron McConnell, who previously had worked with Hennessey on a pair of graphic novels about the Constitution and Gettysburg Address. McConnell's work is quite impressive (and varied) as he is able to mimic relevant art styles of the time periods being discussed. For example, during a section on Ancient Greek philosopher's thoughts on beef, McConnell draws those noble men as if they were mosaics made of hundreds of tiny tiles. Later, when examining our founding father's love of brewskis, the artist has the heavy hitters looking like they were taken straight from a stack of greenbacks.
Beer is thousands of years old. Yet, its explosion in creativity and advanced technology has really only occurred in the past 50 years. Wine seems to have the more refined and knowledgeable fan base worldwide. But the beer lovers are coming up fast behind them. For one who might need to know the difference between a lager and an ale AND you love comic books, The Comic Story of Beer is just one of dozens of graphic novels devoted to food and beverage to hit the market in the past 10 years.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #10 (About Food or Beverage) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
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