Beer as a Refreshment and Payment
Ancient Egyptians were not all work all the time. They worked hard, but they also played hard. Because of this, at the end of a hard day’s work, they kicked back with a beer. Beer was part of their payment for their work on the pyramid project. Workers recieved their beer ration, about four to five liters (or sometimes wine) three times a day. There were five different beer types, and four different wines being produced to handle the rations. Egyptians were famous for their beer brewing skills; they took the thick, almost pasty brew created by Sumerians and refined it into something closer to what we would recognize as beer today. Unlike the Sumerian beer, Egyptians didn’t need a straw to drink their brew!