2,550 year-old barley grains, post malting, from Eberdingen-Hochdorf
Ogma was a brewer, and so was Goibhniu, the smith god. Brigid
was also a brewer, and there a many references to the consumption of beer in
medieval Celtic texts. In that context the recent find that six specially
constructed ditches previously excavated at Eberdingen-Hochdorf a 2,550-year-old
Celtic settlement, were used to make high-quality barley malt, an essential
beer ingredient. (You may recall Hochdorf as a principle Celtic site, where
among other important finds in the museum is the grave of the Hochdorf prince.)
You can read the abstract, linked above, or
download the .pdf of the paper, but the analysis of the malt, in the context of
what we know about early brewing in the La Tène Period, fifth –fourth century
BCE, Stika suggests that the beer would like have been somewhat smokey in
character, with a sour taste (keep in mind that beer in this era would not have
used hops).
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