History of brewing in Russia

Scientists suggest that in our Slavic lands for the first time beer was brewed in the era of Trypillian culture, laying the foundations of agriculture in the interfluve of the Dnieper and Dniester, i.e.in the IV-III c. BC.e. But this is just a guess."Three-Polish" beer was brewed from millet. The first written references to beer in Russia date back to the 14th century. Archaeologists during the excavations in Novgorod found a huge number of birchbark credentials, and on one of them a certain Griksha wrote: "A bow from Griksha to Yosef. Having sent Onanya, the rumor. .. Yaz responded to him: it's not the river Mi Esif varit for anyone. He sent to Fedo-sie: you brew beer, you sit on bezatyne, you do not cook it. .. "" Zhitom "was called barley, and" digestion "was a drunk drink made of honey and beer. Its manufacture was mandatory in the Novgorod and other lands. In Russia, in general, honey tributes and puffs were widespread. Mention of malt( sprouted dried and grinded grain) are found even in the annals of Kievan Rus. Malt, beer and hops were part of the peasants' rent for using the land. In scribal books of the Novgorod lands of 1499-1500, among other obrokas, deals were recorded for which they paid with barrels of hops and beer. Masters who repaired the city fortifications, collectors of payments and fines, often accepted the payment of malt.

Brewing in Russia has a long tradition. Mentions About "digestion" -it is enough strong drink, which was prepared by

our ancestors from beer and honey, are found already in ancient annals. The history of the relationship between a Russian man and beer is a curious subject in general. On the one hand, they liked to drink in Russia from the very beginning and knew about it, but beer always had serious competitors on the domestic soil: brags, honey( it is in the modern interpretation - mead) and "green wine".For centuries, they competed peacefully with varying success. In annals, reports, letters and various certificates, these drinks, as a rule, are related in a relative way. At the time of Ivan III beer along with bread was sold in tsar's taverns. Under Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, a barrel of beer was sold for 4 rubles( believe me, it was quite a considerable sum).On Easter, Dmitriyevskaya Saturday, Shrove Tuesday and Christmas, as well as christenings and weddings, peasants were allowed to boil beer, brag and honey for home drinking: such festive feasts at that time were called "special brew".The right to it was given usually only to the most hard-working and enterprising peasants, and only for 3 days. After these 3 days, the cabbage head kept the rest of the drink until the next holiday. But no one ever seriously considered the idea of ​​giving up drinking altogether. When Prince Vladimir faced the problem of choosing religion for Russia, Islamic priests were inclined to accept Islam, even the prospect of a harem could not reconcile the prince with a ban on the use of any alcoholic beverages. Until the 20th century in Russia, domestic beer production was not subject to any taxes and was widespread among the peasantry. By large holidays in the villages always brewed beer in large quantities, but not for sale, but only for themselves.