For the past couple of years I have been helplessly addicted to a series on the Travel Channel (I bet you were expecting me to say “beer,” huh!). The series, The Adventures of Mark and Ollie, chronicles two guys (Mark and Ollie) traipse into remote jungles to live with “uncivilized” and learn their ways. Usually, the tribes they visit have had little to know connection with the outside world.
The price of Cable is worth this program alone. Each episode leaves me spellbound, as I consider that I am not quite unlike the half naked folks on the screen. Last weeks episode was particularly interesting, as it dealt with a passion of mine (and yours I’m sure)…BEER!
I shouldn’t be surprised. Nearly every culture on the planet has some sort of alcohol history, as Mark and Ollie have discovered in every episode. The Machigenga of Peru are no different. The Machigenga cherish their beer, and they ought to. It is not like they can run down to the local Quickee mart and pick up a six pack. Each brew is painstakenly hand crafted from the bounty of their crops and the sweat of their brow.
The Machigenga’s beer is like nothing I’ve ever sampled. The Masato Beer is made from the Manioc plant. The Manioc, which appears to be a potato like plant, is boiled, and then mashed. Then purple sweet potato juice is added. Then the mix is chewed up and spit repeatedly for hours. According to the Machigenga it is the spit that ferment the wort. The beer is clearly alcoholic, as signs of inebriation are evident towards the end of the episode.
Enjoy the video below. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did, and inspiring that no matter where on the planet you may find yourself, a good brew is not far away.
Yum! It’s amazing that this spitting into the beer to ferment it is not at all isolated. It happens all over the world. Strange that people figured out that alcohol would ferment this way. I guess it’s also odd that they don’t “seed” the mix with a past batch to create fermentation. Unlike beer, the bacteria that creates fermentation is found in the mouth. A mold culture forms and ferments the “beer.” I’m not switching from yeast to spitting just yet but this is a very cool commentary on larger aspects of human society. Sugar, starch product, water, and a catalyst for fermentation…doesn’t seem so remote after all. Enzymatic activity can occur a number of ways!
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How very interesting! Who knew that bacteria in the mouth can be an aid for fermentation.
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haha…the beer scientist…that’s who knew!
Nice “How Well Do I Know My Husband” answers on Facebook, by the way. I felt like I was reading my own bio (besides the cheese thing…I am a cheese fanatic, and actually think it goes well with beer!)
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as long as it’s sanitary, i’ll try it, what the heck! Its beer right? Leave it up to DFH, to make a commercial version of this!
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Exactly! I wish I could try DFH’s version. I imagine it would sour up rather quickly. Now this is a home brew idea…
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[...] in some corners of the world, spit (saliva) is a must-have ingredient when making a good brew, here in the United States we try to keep the spit out. Saliva contains more than a few microbes [...]