CHENNAI: Iraq might be a hotbed whose issues have spawned volumes of literature, but few know that it is also rumoured to be the site where the first recorded recipe for the world's favourite afterwork drink-beer -was discovered.
And what a fun discovery it was! Sumerian writings found near the city of Ur in Iraq reveal a hymn to the patron goddess of brewing, Ninkasi, which although served as a prayer, was more effectively the recipe to ferment and produce ancient beer in the 6th millennium BC.
Though the world's oldest barley beer brewery-believed to be the first commercial unit-was confirmed to be at Godin Tepe in Iran, pat your backs, as the first 'commercial' brewery in Asia was set up in Kasauli near Shimla in 1827. Of course, it goes without saying that it was a Briton, Edward Dyer, who brought the fermented drink to the country and produced the brand Lion Beer. This was the brewery that evolved into MohanMeakin Ltd, whose flagship rum, Old Monk, is something of a national treasure.
Closer home, the original United Breweries Limited (UB Group) began its first brewery in Chennai way back in 1915.