Göbekli Tepe and the Origins of Beer: An Examination of Anatolia and the Levant

  • Speaker: Travis Rupp
  • Track: Other/Misc.
  • Homebrew Con 2021
  • Online

How old is beer? When did the brewing process begin? Did beer or bread come first? Was beer safer to drink than water? These questions are regularly posed when examining ancient culinary history. Reaching back 12,000 years, this presentation examines the ancient site of Göbekli Tepe in Southeastern Turkey and explores some of the oldest known brewing remains. The presentation extends throughout ancient Anatolia and the Levant in hopes of shedding light on the true origins of beer and brewing in the Western World.

About the Speaker

Travis Rupp is an adjunct professor of Classics, Art History, History, Anthropology, and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and founder of The Beer Archaeologist LLC. He worked at Avery Brewing Company for 9 years as Research and Development Manager and founded Avery’s Ales of Antiquity Series. Travis is writing books on the beginnings of beer in the ancient Mediterranean, brewing in the early monastic tradition, and beer production in Revolutionary America.