A brief history of alcohol - Rod Phillips

Translator: Dawny Tsoi Reviewer: C iff

This chimpanzee stumbles across a windfall of overripe plums.

呢隻黑猩猩見到 一堆熟過頭嘅布冧

Many of them have split open,

好多已經爛開晒

drawing him to their intoxicating fruity odor.

散發一陣醉人嘅果香

He gorges himself

搞到佢忍唔住一嚿一嚿擺落口 然後開始覺得⋯⋯暈陀陀

and begins to experience some… strange effects.

This unwitting ape has stumbled on a process

呢隻猩猩無意中發現咗 人類最終廣泛採用嘅技術

that humans will eventually harness

to create beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks.

用嚟制造啤酒、葡萄酒 同其他酒精飲品

The sugars in overripe fruit attract microscopic organisms

熟咗嘅水果有大量糖分 會吸引一種叫做「酵母」嘅微生物

known as yeasts.

As the yeasts feed on the fruit sugars they produce a compound called ethanol—

酵母食咗果糖之後 會產生一種叫「乙醇」嘅化合物

the type of alcohol in alcoholic beverages.

就係我哋飲品入面嘅酒精喇

This process is called fermentation.

呢個過程叫做「發酵」

Nobody knows exactly when

冇人知道 人類幾時開始整發酵飲品

humans began to create fermented beverages.

The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BCE in China,

最早嘅證據 喺西元前 7000 年嘅中國

where residue in clay pots

喺陶器入面嘅殘留物

has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage

透露古人用發酵咗嘅 米、黍米、提子同蜜糖整酒精飲品

from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey.

Within a few thousand years,

喺幾千年之內

cultures all over the world were fermenting their own drinks.

全世界好多文明 已經開始整自己嘅發酵飲品

Ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians made beer throughout the year

古代美索不達米亞人同埃及人

會用儲起嘅穀物 全年無休整啤酒

from stored cereal grains.

This beer was available to all social classes,

而呢種啤酒 個個都有得飲

and workers even received it in their daily rations.

甚至會當係每日嘅配給發畀啲工人

They also made wine,

佢哋都會整吓葡萄酒

but because the climate wasn’t ideal for growing grapes,

但係因為嗰度嘅天氣唔適合種植提子

it was a rare and expensive delicacy.

所以葡萄酒就留返畀啲貴族飲

By contrast, in Greece and Rome, where grapes grew more easily,

喺適合提子生長嘅希臘同羅馬 就啱啱相反

wine was as readily available as beer was in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

葡萄酒就等如埃及 同美索不達米亞嘅啤酒

Because yeasts will ferment basically any plant sugars,

因為酵母可以發酵所有植物嘅糖分

ancient peoples made alcohol

種得到嘅穀物同植物 古人都會用嚟釀酒

from whatever crops and plants grew where they lived.

In South America, people made chicha from grains,

喺南美洲啲人會用穀粒 整一種叫「奇恰」嘅酒

sometimes adding hallucinogenic herbs.

有時仲會加吓啲迷幻草藥

In what’s now Mexico, pulque, made from cactus sap,

喺而家叫墨西哥嘅地方

當地人鍾意飲用仙人掌汁整嘅普逵酒

was the drink of choice,

while East Africans made banana and palm beer.

東非人就用香蕉同棕櫚葉整啤酒

And in the area that’s now Japan, people made sake from rice.

而今日我哋叫日本嘅區域

佢哋用稻米整清酒

Almost every region of the globe had its own fermented drinks.

幾乎全世界所有地區 都有自己嘅發酵飲品

As alcohol consumption became part of everyday life,

隨著飲酒成爲咗我哋 日常生活嘅一部分

some authorities latched onto effects they perceived as positive—

有啲權威人士堅信 酒精有好嘅影響

Greek physicians considered wine to be good for health,

古希臘醫師認為葡萄酒有益健康

and poets testified to its creative qualities.

而詩人就話飲啖酒先搵到靈感

Others were more concerned about alcohol’s potential for abuse.

有人開始擔心 啲人會濫用酒精

Greek philosophers promoted temperance.

希臘哲學家提倡 飲酒要識得節制

Early Jewish and Christian writers in Europe integrated wine into rituals

喺早期歐洲嘅猶太教和基督教作家

會將葡萄酒納入儀式嘅一部分

but considered excessive intoxication a sin.

但佢哋認為劈到冧係罪嚟嘅

And in the middle east, Africa, and Spain,

喺而中東，非洲同西班牙

an Islamic rule against praying while drunk

有條伊斯蘭教條 唔畀人醉住祈禱

gradually solidified into a general ban on alcohol.

慢慢仲變埋 連飲酒都唔畀

Ancient fermented beverages had relatively low alcohol content.

古代嘅發酵飲品 酒精含量比較低

At about 13% alcohol,

因為喺酒精濃度到咗13%嘅時候

野生酵母會產生有毒嘅副產物

the by-products wild yeasts generate during fermentation

殺返啲酵母轉頭

become toxic and kill them.

When the yeasts die,

酵母死晒之後就唔會再發酵 酒精濃度就停咗喺呢個位

fermentation stops and the alcohol content levels off.

So for thousands of years, alcohol content was limited.

所以喺頭幾千年釀嘅酒 酒精含量都喺有限嘅

That changed with the invention of a process

但係「蒸餾法」改變咗呢個定律

called distillation.

9th century Arabic writings describe boiling fermented liquids

喺九世紀嘅阿拉伯文獻入面 記載咗將發酵液加熱到沸騰

to vaporize the alcohol in them.

蒸發裡面啲酒精

Alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water,

酒精嘅沸點低過水 所以佢會變咗做蒸氣先

so it vaporizes first.

Capture this vapor, cool it down, and what’s left is liquid alcohol

然後再將呢啲蒸氣收集、冷卻

就變咗做蒸餾酒

much more concentrated than any fermented beverage.

酒精濃度高過晒所有發酵整嘅酒

At first, these stronger spirits were used for medicinal purposes.

一開頭，呢種高濃度嘅 酒精係用喺醫療用途

Then, spirits became an important trade commodity

跟住，烈酒變咗做重要的嘅交易貨物

because, unlike beer and wine, they didn’t spoil.

因為唔似啤酒、葡萄酒 烈酒唔會變質

Rum made from sugar

喺加勒比海地區嘅歐洲殖民地 當地人用收成嘅糖整冧酒

harvested in European colonies in the Caribbean

became a staple for sailors

變成水手嘅主要飲品 仲賣埋去北美

and was traded to North America.

Europeans brought brandy and gin to Africa

歐洲人將白蘭地同氈酒帶咗去非洲

and traded it for enslaved people, land,

用酒嚟交換奴隸、土地 同棕櫚油、橡膠之類嘅原材料

and goods like palm oil and rubber.

Spirits became a form of money in these regions.

喺呢啲地區 烈酒就等如銀兩

During the Age of Exploration,

喺大航海時代

spirits played a crucial role in long distance sea voyages.

烈酒喺遠距離航海入面 就扮演咗重要嘅角色

Sailing from Europe to east Asia and the Americas could take months,

由歐洲搭船去亞洲東部 同美洲差唔多要幾個月

and keeping water fresh for the crews was a challenge.

點樣保存食水 就係最大嘅挑戰

Adding a bucket of brandy to a water barrel kept water fresh longer

佢哋發現喺裝水嘅大桶 入面加啲白蘭地

就可以延長食水保鮮期

because alcohol is a preservative that kills harmful microbes.

因爲酒精係一種防腐劑 可以殺死有害嘅微生物

So by the 1600s,

由 17 世紀到而家

alcohol had gone from simply giving animals a buzz

酒精已經由最初 搞到動物暈陀陀嘅嘢飲

to fueling global trade and exploration— along with all their consequences.

演變成殖民貿易嘅王牌

至於後果⋯⋯就唔講住喇

As time went on,

隨著時代變遷，酒喺人類社會中 扮演嘅角色只會越嚟越複雜

its role in human society would only get more complicated.