The Magic Paddle: the beginnings of beer

Let there be beer. And there was. But from a magic paddle?

Thousands of years ago, alcohol was a mystery. While we have long since cracked the case, there still remains an aura of mystique and magic that surrounds the alcoholic beverages that billions of people across the globe consume today.

By: Living a Stout Life

It all started with water in a bucket.

Take beer for instance. When it first made its entrance into the world as something that could be consumed, people didn’t know for sure what they were drinking. We like to joke that at its most fundamental roots it was water in a bucket that sat out for days collecting whatever was floating in the air.

Along comes some brave – maybe ignorant is a better word – soul and thinks, “Let’s stir this up and drink it.” Liking what he drank, the quest to recreate it began.

And then came a magic paddle.

Knowing already that water was the source, but unsure of the specifics of the other ingredients, we also like to conjure up images of the first brewers stirring these buckets of mysterious ingredients with a wooden paddle.

Tasting the recreated beverage, this same person agreed that it was the same beverage he tried in the first place. Again, unsure of the specifics – save for the water and now the paddle, it was concluded that the paddle must be magic.

And while this story isn’t quite from the history books, the wooden stir stick was something that was considered an essential ingredient in the early ages of brewing beer. Not yet aware of yeast and its impact on fermentation, brewers only knew that when they stirred their concoction with the same wooden spoon, it created similar desired results – fermentation.

And that magic paddle turned out to be yeast.

Many, many years later, the magic of the wooden paddle was revealed to be nothing more than yeast cells that had inoculated from previous batches using the same wooden paddle. These dormant yeast cells were then revived by the fresh, new concoction – wort.

Randy Mosher, author of Tasting Beer, says it best, “Brewers make wort, not beer. Only yeast can make beer.”

Today, brewers have an in-depth knowledge of yeast and all of its characteristics, including reproduction, flavor attributes, metabolism, and much more. Thanks to the many scientific advancements and increased understanding of yeast and other specifics of crafting beer, we no longer have to wonder what’s in the bucket.

Beer is still magical.

Coming to the realization that brewing beer isn’t magic, but science, may be a harsh reality. However, there’s still something quite magical about thinking that our beloved beer came from stuff collected in a bucket and stirred with a magic paddle.

Premium grains from field to flavor.

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About Malteurop Malting Company (MMC)

Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the beer, whiskey, and food processing industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Malteurop’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring businesses of any size can create the finest beverages and food products on the planet.

Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how we can support your malting needs.

Malting is our passion. Quality is our promise.

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https://www.who.int/

https://beerconnoisseur.com/articles/role-yeast-brewing

https://randymosher.com/Tasting-Beer