From Ancient Egypt to Roman Britain, brewers are reviving beers from the past

Beer

archaeologists are peering back millennia to recreate brews from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome using ancient methods and ingredients. Some of the most interesting beers made in recent years provide a drinkable window into human history. These so-called "

rebrews

" of age-old ales were once savoured in places ranging from Ancient Egypt and Greece to Celtic and Viking Europe. Their drinkers liked a choice too, with 5,000-year-old Babylonian-carved stone tablets depicting recipes for nearly 20 different barley-based beers. "Recreating ancient beers allows us to touch and taste history. It humanises our ancestors and makes us realise that we are not so different," says Travis Rupp, who combines teaching Classics and Anthropology at the University of Colorado with his past professional brewing experience at the Boulder-based producer Avery Brewing. It's a combination of skills that led him to create a line of archaic

rebrews

earning him the tag of The

Beer

Archaeologist, which is now the name of his business.

As well as

being a hit with modern drinkers, these ancient

rebrews

have revealed the simplicity of

beer

-making going back millennia: start by sprouting grains (typically barley today, but grains like emmer were used in the past),

then

dry them and heat them in water to create sugars.

After

this

, add yeast to start the fermentation that results in

beer

. One key difference between ancient and modern brewing is the use of hops. Though hop plants have grown wild in different varieties across Europe for at least 10,000 years, their first documented use in relation to

beer

dates back to 9th Century monks in France. Hops proved highly versatile for brewers, offering different things when added to

beer

at different points in the heating process: at the beginning to highlight bitterness; in the middle for optimum flavouring;

at the end

to boost aroma. Though the basics of brewing are timeless,

rebrews

highlight ancient brewers' bold touch with flavourings in the centuries before the use of hops – and

also

impart useful lessons for modern-day brewers.