The origin of beer

Beer has accompanied the history of civilisations for over 7,000 years, when man began to master agricultural techniques, but it was during the Middle Ages that the use of hops, introduced into beer production by monks, allowed the bitterness, freshness, aroma and flavour of this beverage to be improved, making monastic cellars the true cradle of brewing innovation.

In 16th century convents, monks boiled barley, hops and water to produce a dark-coloured paste with a high alcohol content and a texture very similar to bread dough, which the monks called “Liquid Bread”.

Driven by the need to feed themselves and keep their bodies warm during periods when fasting was imposed, beer was a consented and pleasurable stimulus. The way beer was brewed, eliminating micro-organisms and impurities that were harmful to human health, at a time when drinking water was contaminated due to poor sanitary conditions, explains why beer was more successful than water itself.

From monastic cellars to the advent of the industrial revolution

Scientific and technological development in the 18th and 19th centuries catapulted brewing and beer consumption, leading to a major evolution in production methods. The Industrial Revolution led to the discovery of new chemical compounds, the creation of iron production processes, the development of means of transport and more efficient energy use, enabling beer to be brewed across borders.

August 5, International Beer Day

Celebrated on the first Friday of August, the commemoration was instituted in 2007 in California by a group of beer-loving friends and is currently celebrated in over 50 countries. On International Beer Day, the Bread Museum and the Beer Museum join forces for a common celebration: specially developed by the atelier of the Bread Museum, in Seia, for the Beer Museum, in Lisbon, and only on the 5th of August, it will be possible to taste the integral craft beer bread, which will also be on sale at the Bread Museum’s grocery store.

About the Beer Museum

The Beer Museum is both a dining space to enjoy the best that Portuguese gastronomy has to offer and a museum that presents the history of beer over more than 7000 years, through a playful and multi-sensory experience. Beer is honoured in an imposing altar built with exclusively designed cups by one of the most prestigious Portuguese 20th-century artists – Júlio Pomar. The Beer Museum offers the largest terrace area in the country, providing those who visit with unique moments of leisure, sponsored by the incredible light of Lisbon and the Tagus as a backdrop, in one of the largest squares in Europe, the Terreiro do Paço.

www.museudacerveja.pt
Terreiro do Paço, Ala Nascente, nº 62 a 65, 1100-148 Lisboa
reservas@museudacerveja.pt
+ 351 210 987 656

About the Bread Museum

Opened in September 2002 in Seia, in Serra da Estrela, the Bread Museum is today a symbol of the people and the most universal of foods. Offering a multisensory experience in 4 thematic rooms, the museum continuously collects, preserves and exhibits objects and heritage of Bread in its ethnographic, political, social, historical, religious and artistic aspects. The transversality of the theme makes the Bread Museum a place for everyone regardless of age, gender, race or creed, assuming itself as an experience of sharing, contact with nature and enrichment of the soul.

www.museudopao.pt
Rua de Santa Ana Quinta Fonte do Marrão, 6270-909 Seia
museu@museudopao.pt
+351 238 310 760