Myths and Magic of Beer through the Ages (or why Miller Beers make Thirst Worthwhile) David S. Ryder Vice President Brewing Research and Quality Assurance Miller Brewing Company

Friday May 17, 2002 Miller Inn Miller Brewing Company 3931 West State Street Milwaukee, WI

DIRECTIONS

"Hek", said the Ancient Egyptian petulantly. His retainer immediately brought him a goblet of beer.

This drink would not have tasted like any kind of modern beer, for there were no hops in Egypt to give the fermented wort the distinctive bitter taste of beer. But the method used five thousand years ago, of molding barley into a kind of malt, manufacturing wort from the barley malt and "emmer" (an early variety of wheat) and then fermenting it, has not basically changed since. The means of brewing, not brewing itself, has become more sophisticated.

Hek was also used as a medicine, a tonic for those whose strength needed building-up, or so a medical manual of the time would indicate. In fact, this manual went on to indicate that Hek was used as a universal cure for coughs and colds, shortness of breath, good for both the stomach and lungs and a guard against indigestion!

Throughout history, beer has been considered a beverage of refreshment and also important for its health giving and medicinal properties. So important were these properties that, when Ale was introduced to Britain just before the Roman Conquest, it was kept in casks that according to an old ruling, must be 'so capacious as to serve the King and one of his councellors for a bathing tub'. Ale seems to have reached Ireland about the same time as St. Patrick, for 'suppers with ale' are mentioned in the Senchus Mor, the ancient law book of Ireland composed about AD 430. An Irish chief was expected to have in his house three sacks and two casks. The sacks contained malt, salt and charcoal; the casks, milk and ale.

In ancient times, ale was used for a variety of purposes in addition to merry-making. Old ale was fed to pigs, in order to give their bacon the required taste. Anglo-Saxon veterinary doctors emphasized the importance of giving a little new ale to sheep when they were sick to make them well, and obviously very happy! For human ailments, ale mixed with various herbs, such as bishopswort and fen-mint, was a certain cure for fever. And if you suffered from stiff knee joints, the only sure remedy was to rub in a mixture of woodwax, hedge-rife and ale to be mobile again! A popular remedy against "fiend-sickness" was to mix a number of herbs into clear ale, add garlic and holy water and, after the singing of seven masses, make the patient drink the remedy out of an inverted church bell! It wasguaranteed that even the most fiendish of devils would take to his or her heels and leave the possessed body calm and healthy again!

Come and join Dr. David Ryder, Vice President of Brewing, Research & Quality at Miller Brewing Company, for an entertaining, fun romp through (responsible!) "beer" history. Dr. Ryder will examine the origins of beer and brewing and provide reasons why the traditional brewing materials and techniques still used at Miller Brewing Company allow Miller brands to truly delight our consumers! In addition, Dr. Ryder will address the various ways of marketing beer through the ages and up to the present day. Global advertising of beer is very much based on regional and cultural differences as you will come to appreciate during Dr. Ryder's presentation!

David S. Ryder is vice president – brewing, research and quality assurance for the Miller Brewing Company. He has served in that position since August, 1995.

Ryder began his brewing career in England at Associated British Maltsters. He then joined the South African Breweries Beer Division and was later named director of research & development for that group's brewing and malting concerns at the Delta Corporation, Ltd. Ryder was subsequently international technical consultant with Artois Breweries in Belgium, during which period he was also responsible for operations in parts of Africa and China. He joined Miller Brewing Company as Director of Research in June, 1992 and was later named director of research and quality in February, 1995.

Prior to joining Miller Brewing Company, he was vice-president, technical services at J.E. Siebel Sons' Co. Inc. in Chicago, Ill. He was also director of education for the Siebel Institute of Technology.

Ryder acquired a PhD. in biochemistry via the University of Brussels, Belgium, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He also holds academic qualifications from the Institute of Biology and the Royal Society in London, England.

Ryder is past president of the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and past chairman of the Program Committee (1988-1992) & Publications Committee (1992-1994) of the ASBC. He is a fellow of the Institute of Brewing and is immediate past chairman of their International Section. He is also a member of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA), and the Brewing Science Group of the European Brewery Convention (EBC) where he chairs a sub-group for studying emerging fermentation systems