Farewell to the Archaeologist Who Deepened the History of Beer

"The University of Pennsylvania - where he had been the scientific director for the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the Penn Museum - noted in its obituary that McGovern's work had included such finds as "alcoholic beverages in China that dated to about 7000 BCE; early wine from a Neolithic Iranian village, Hajji Firuz, from about 5400 BCE; beer from the Middle East from 3500 BCE; and some of the earliest chocolate from the Americas, dating to 1400 BCE.""

"In pursuing his forays into the past, McGovern also helped to demystify history. It can be all too easy to treat the past as a sterile place. In demonstrating that plenty of ancient people also enjoyed sitting back with a fermented beverage, he helped make their lives that much more accessible - and helped to make history a much more vibrant place."

"He also collaborated with contemporary brewers - Dogfish Head in particular - on modern concoctions that revived millennia-old recipes. McGovern also wrote about his discoveries; his 2017 book Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-Created is both a tremendously enlightening read and one that might inspire you to engage in some homebrewing, or make a trip to your local beer store, shopping list in hand."

Patrick McGovern was a molecular archaeologist and scientific director for the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the Penn Museum. His research identified alcoholic beverages in China dated to about 7000 BCE, early wine from Hajji Firuz around 5400 BCE, beer from the Middle East around 3500 BCE, and early chocolate from the Americas circa 1400 BCE. He collaborated with contemporary brewers, notably Dogfish Head, to recreate ancient recipes. He authored the 2017 book Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-Created. McGovern died in August at the age of 80, and his work helped humanize ancient daily life.

Read at InsideHook