Zymurgy

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Quote attributed to Ben Franklin

(Even if it does turn out to be a mis-quote, it's still a great quote that ought to have been said by Franklin anyhow.)

Zymurgy is the art and science of fermentation. It gives us beer, wine, cider, mead and stuff like perry or metheglin. It makes a lot of things possible. It saved civilization when you couldn't drink the water without catching typhus or worse stuff because hygiene hadn't been invented yet. It also facilitated a lot of socialization that would never have happened without getting some beer into the bellies of hunters and gatherers--it may well be the reason people began to raise grain, hops and so forth. Or not. This is a hypothesis that makes more sense when one is imbibing a few brews, and often doesn't stand up to close scrutiny without the benefit of a few good beers...much like a lot of people you can meet in places that dispense this stuff.

Ahem.

Zymurgy is also behind pickles and sauerkraut and Kim Chi--anything that is a product of the fermentation process. Pickling food not only cooks it, it is a way to preserve stuff for long periods of time. Cabbage, in one form or another has been a staple in the human diet for millennia, and sauerkraut likewise goes back a long, long ways. But instead of doing yet another really long and detailed essay on all this stuff, we've decided to go and enjoy a few beers, brats and kraut at our favorite local happy place of beer-ness.

If you want to have some fun, take a look at the Fantasy Brewmasters site. This is a project that is well worth toasting with a few well-chosen beers.