Re:Beer on Board in the Age of Sail
by wqaatwt on Thursday April 24, 2025 @01:43AM
(#43779623)
Hops weren’t that popular until the 1400-1500s (or not used at all in some places like England) though
[ Parent
| on HN ]
You're broadly right, but they were popular for most of the period we're discussing.
In continental Europe they were popular from roughly ~1000 onwards (see Behre 1999), in England from roughly 1500 onwards. In African and South American farmhouse brewing they're still not used. So it's a pretty complicated picture.
As the comment made clear, hops are only one component of what makes beer safe, though. Storable, safe beer for travel is documented already in Ancient Egypt.