Lecture 19 Alcohol - Fermentation and Distillation Flashcards
LAST LECTURE TAKEAWAYS
Psychoactive substances – 4 categories
* Depressants, narcotics, hallucinogens, and stimulants
Depressants
* Alcohol – liquid prepared through fermentation and distillation, involving the production of ethanol
* Good source of calories and clean source of liquid
Narcotics
* Analgesic effects, alteration of mood and behaviour
* High potential for dependence and tolerance
ALCOHOLS
- Beverages containing ethanol, produced by the anaerobic conversion of simple sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide (CO2)
-
“Organic” alcohols: alcohol content dependent on quantity of sugar in ingredients
-Grains, fruit, honey, millet, rice, corn, sugarcane, manioc, agave, etc. -
Organic alcohols produced globally since the Neolithic
-Çatalhöyük, wine residues (5,500BC) ; Sumeria, Beer manufacture (2,500BC); Mesoamerica, Pulque (200AD)
Important source of clean liquid and calories (sugars)
Distilled alcohols
concentration of alcohol content through heating (78.3°C)
First distilled by Greek alchemists
(Ambix – alchemy and chemistry)
ALCOHOLS
- Distilled alcohols: concentration of alcohol content through heating (78.3°C) \
- First distilled by Greek alchemists (Ambix)
- Developed ca. 800-1300AD in Eurasia for consumption
- Aqua vitae first non-medicinal brandy ca.1300AD
- Aged to reduce fusel oils, and impart colour and flavour (18C)
WINE – EARLIEST EVIDENCE IN GEORGIA
Neolithic period evidence for development of wine- making.
Between 6,200 and 4,200 BC, moderate climate and increased precipitation levels allowed for the establishment of year-round settlements.
* “Founder crops” were cultivated, including barley, einkorn wheat,
emmer wheat, chickpea, pea, lentil, flex and bitter vetch.
Wild Eurasian grape was cultivated and led to widespread “wine culture”.
Early evidence of this innovation during the Shulaveri- Shomutepe Culture (SSC) between 5,900 and 5,000 BC.
NEOLITHIC – POTTERY PRODUCTION
Pottery was not produced on a
large scale in the early Neolithic.
The sherds that are preserved from these contexts were analyzed for
soil samples and biomolecular
techniques (including GC-MS).
Analyses proved productive, with 5
base sherds from the site of
Gadachrili and three from Shulaveri
were positive f tartaric acid and
other organic acids (malic, succinic,
and citric acid) found in grape/wine
BEER & ALE
Neolithic: brewing barley begins
Early Medieval (400-800AD):
Monasteries
Late Medieval(800-1500): Craft breweries & Inns; hop use begins
Post-Medieval/Modern(post-1500AD):
hops widespread; expansion of
breweries; bottling; lager.
CHICHA
Inca chicha brewed by “chosen women” (aqlla) in administrative centres
State controlled breweries and distribution; mit’a (labour tax)
Served in displays of hospitality to laborers and elites
Archaeological evidence: Brewing tools and vessels, by-
products (e.g. strained mash), and features (e.g., hearths, pits for germinating grain); kero (specialised cups)
KONSO BEER BREWING - POQALLAS
Konso social organization is
divided into ententa Andy xauda.
Ententa control political and
religious rituals and xauda families
can have enough farmland to
produce a harvest to brew their
own beer for consumption and to
sell at weekly markets.
A pokalla is a Konso ritual leader.
POLITICAL AND RITUAL IMPORTANCE OF BEER
Disputes are settled with the beginning of the logida (or great rains).
Beer is a central libation in logida, when the poqalla visit lineage members and their houses and
mixes beer made with at his household with beer prepared by members of his lineage and they all drink together.
Four principles of logida include: (1) one must respect the crops and provide the necessary blessings;
(2) the poqalla should plant his crops first establishing that he is senior to all;
(3) drinking beer and earthing bonds the lineage together;
(4) protects the lineage from harm
BREWING AND GENDER
African women, including Konso women, control knowledge and innovation of beer production and most likely were the first African ancient brewers.
Konso women make beer (chagga) by grinding corn, which is mixed with water and allowed to sit for two days.
Boiling the mixture and cooling it for several hours before germinated sorghum flour is added, which adds to the fermentation process.
Production of beer occurs in the largest of jars (okata chagga) that Konso potters produce.
It is forbidden for ententa to become potters
KASCHIRI – BEER FROM CASSAVA ROOTS
Cassava beer – nijiamanch or kaschiri – is fermented from cassava roots (also known as manioc or yucca).
Cassava tuber is harvested, peeled, cut and boiled for produce a mash pulp.
Female brewers shape small balls of this paste in their hands and chew each for 1-2 minutes.
Liquid is poured into a larger jar and sealed with balsa wood – fermentation takes place over one night.
The following day, the sawe, clearest liquid and best portion of the fermentation process, is drawn from the jar and consumed
SPIRITS
Spirits are an alcoholic drink produced by distilling grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation.
Different from fermentation is that the distillation process involves the isolation and separation of alcohol, achieving a higher alcoholic content.
Earliest evidence from Akkadian tablets 1200 BCE.
Use as medicine, anesthetic, social beverage, and has ritual significance.
Spirits are also known as distilled beverages or hard liquor.
7 types of distilled spirits:
* Vodka
* Mezcal
* Tequila
* Gin
* Rum
* Whiskey
* Brand
SPIRITS
Preparing
Mashing
Fermenting
Distilling
Ageing
Blending
VODKA
Distilled clear alcoholic beverage often made from fermented cereal grains and potatoes.
It has been produced since the 18th century CE with modern brands incorporating corn, sugar cane, honey
and maple sap.
From the diminutive Slavic word voda (water), vodka translates to “little water” - historians connect this term to the aqua vitae “water of life”.
A highly controlled form of distillation that only collects the central portion of vapours, avoiding any collection of the heads (ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate) or tails (fusel oils).
MEZCAL
Distilled from any type of agave or maguey.
Fermented maguey, such as pulque, existed before the arrival of the Spanish.
Research conducted in the Hidalgo province of Mexico reveal three genetic groups demonstrate aspects of the domestication syndrome (gigantism, sap, thorniness).
Cultivated agaves had larger size and were less thorny, regardless of their variety
TEQUILA
Distilled from exclusively blue
agave.
Based in the intensive vegetative production of the last several decades, blue agave has a restricted genetic diversity.
Blue agave is propagated by selecting suckers from the parent plant, divided from the main stalk and then planted in a new area.
GIN
Juniper-flavoured spirit that is not produced from the redistillation of fermented plants but adding natural flavouring to a neutral spirit.
Juniper is not a true berry (small, pulpy, edible fruit), but rather a cone with a berry-like appearance.
Used as a spice in some European cuisine, Juniperus communis contain phytochemicals called juniperin.
Use of juniper includes brewing a tea to cure vomiting among the Blackfoot, and following childbirth to aid cleansing and healing among Crow or Absaroka women.
Juniper berries have been found in Egyptian tombs (i.e. in the tomb of Tutankhamun) and the Greeks record using juniper berries for medicine well before their use as a food source.
Early evidence for the production of gin is in the 11th to 13th centuries in in a Benedictine monastery of Salerno, in southern Italy..
RUM
A spirit made from sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice.
Sugarcane (Saccharum officianarum) is fermented, then distilled, and different types of wood barrel are used for ageing.
Sugarcane was domesticated around 8000 BCE in the region of New Guinea and reached Southeast Asia and India.
In the 5th century AD, sugar
crystallization was invented by an Indian scientist to facilitate storage and transportation.
Early evidence for rum in Swedish warship Vasa from the early 17th century CE but early evidence in Sanskrit texts (a drink called Shidhu).
WHISKEY
Distilled from fermented grain mash, most commonly barley, corn, rye, and
wheat.
Typically aged in wooden casks of
charred white oak.
Strickly regulated spirit.
Possible early distillation in 2nd
millennium BC by Babylonians in
Mesopotamia alongside perfumes and aromatics.
Greeks practiced chemical distillation
in the 1st century CE with later adoption by medieval Arabs (but not
for the distillation of alcoholic
beverages).
BRANDY
Distillation of wine with some types of brandies aged in wooden casks.
Significant production began in the 15th century CE due to the higher alcohol content and ease of
shipping in this form.
In the 19th century, brandy was a common medical treatment for its “stimulating” but also to cope with fever, depression, and stress.
Some common brandies include: Rakija (common brandy: Šljivovica – plum brandy), Grappa (grape pomace brandy),Ararat, Cognac, Stravecchio
FLAVOURS
Types of fermentation impact flavour and depend on where the yeast collects in the vat.
Warm fermentation method with top- fermenting yeast between 60-70 F produces ale.
* Fruity flavour profile, rich, bitter and strong.
* Higher alcohol content.
* Darker and cloudier appearance.
Low temperatures with bottom-
fermenting yeast 35-50 F produces lagers.
* Crisp, clean taste, milder and lighter.
* Lower alcohol content.
* Lighter in shade and clearer in
appearance
Alchool is important to understand in this class
Because the need for alcohol will put more pressure on the fruits or grains, which makes them more abundant and also change morphology
