In this presentation, Travis Rupp explores the presence of beer in the ancient Biblical world and examines the existence of alcohol in the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament. How beer was made and what raw materials were needed to brew beer in the Hebrew world will also be explored. What was once a thriving and accepted component of Semitic cultures was eventually damned by the Christian religious institution in the fourth century CE.

Rupp also examines early Christian tactics to demonize and establish beer as a mark of barbarity in the fourth century CE. However, the very institution who sought to damn beer would ultimately be responsible for its rise, acceptance, and perseverance in the fifth and sixth centuries CE.

Travis Rupp, aka the Beer Archaeologist, is a Professor of Classics, Art History, Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His research interests focus on beer and alcohol in antiquity. He serves on the National Advisory Board of the Chicago Brewseum.

THIS SESSION IS SUPPORTED BY:

RYAN DANIELS