What came first, wine or beer?

Although the systematic brewing and consumption of beer is thought to have emerged at the same time as the cultivation of cereals during the Neolithic period in the Fertile Crescent, the earliest manifestations of beer production are to be found alongside the earliest evidence for the production of bread, dating to around 8,000 BC. Early breads were made by soaking cereals (barley and wheat) in water to soften them; this would have led, by accident, to the conversion of the starches in the cereals into sugars (a process known as mashing), and these sugars would subsequently have ended up being fermented, again accidentally, by naturally occurring yeasts. In this way was the first rudimentary form of beer produced.

The first systematic production of beer dates from around 4,000 BC, again in Mesopotamia (Godin Tepe) in a process later perfected by the Sumerians and Egyptians. In Europe, however, the earliest evidence for the production of beer dates from 4,300 BC, and was found in a Neolithic cave at Can Sadurní (Begues), alongside very early evidence of barley cultivation. This encouraged the brewing of beer, which the inhabitants achieved by perfecting a method of malting the cereal and then storing it inside the cave in small ceramic vessels.

From the remains found, it seems this beer was used for two purposes: as a nutritional supplement to the diet of the inhabitants of Can Sadurní, and also as part of the funeral offerings made during burials.

Despite the antiquity of this discovery, what is most surprising is that in Europe, the evidence for wine production dates back even further. The was found in Georgia (Black Sea) and dates to 6,000 BC, that is to say, more than 8,000 years ago. These human communities would have cultivated the wild vine during the Neolithic period and would have begun making wine shortly afterwards. The analysis of the remains of large ceramic jars found at the Gadachrili Gora sites has revealed three indicators of wine production, namely the biochemical elements tartaric acid, succinic acid and malic acid.

The number of jars analysed and the sheer volume of evidence have led to the conclusion that this was not some minor pastime, but that viticulture was the main economic activity in this part of the Caucasus, from where it spread to Mesopotamia, the Anatolian peninsula and the Mediterranean Levant.

We can therefore say that in Europe at least, wine is much older than beer; its production and consumption are fully archaeologically documented from 6,000 BC, whereas the oldest evidence for beer dates from only 4,300 BC.