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Part V
LAGER BEER
An article by H.Kargaard Polsen
(Tuborg Lager (G. Britain) Ltd.)
Beer in the generic sense of the word comprises all types
of malt liquors, whether they be light or dark.
The history of brewing goes back at least 6,000 years.
Pictures and relief ornamentation from ancient Egypt, old
book-keeping accountsfrom Asia Minor,and travel literature
from Ethiopia and Phoenicia all supply evidence to this end.
In ancient Babylon the brewers headed the social scale as
they were the only business people enjoying the patronage
of a goddess.
What beer was Hke in those days, or how it was prepared,
is, unfortunately, a story that has not been handed down.
The brewers very cautiously only confided their knowledge
to clay tablets and in code. Since the beginning of his
torical times and up until the 19th century, it appears that
top-fermented dark beers set the general pattern. Then
in the beginning of the 1800's new methods were introduced
making low-fermentation possible, although still for the
exclusive production of dark types.
In 1842 a new brewery had been founded in the town of
Pilsen,and the first brew issued that same year was to cause
something of a sensation. It turned out to have a strong
but very pleasant hops-flavoured taste, sparkled with
carbon dioxide, and was capped by a snowy-white and
lasting head. Beer connoisseurs in the district—and no
doubt the brewmaster himself also—were surprised to find
that the beer was of a beautiful, Ught golden texture. The
new beer was enthusiastically received, and the demand
increased sharply, not only locally but—following the
adoption of this type by other European breweries—on the
rest of the Continent and overseas as well. The reason was
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