Dylan McDonnell used ingredients like sycamore figs, Israeli golden raisins, frankincense, and 3,000-year-old yeast to brew a beer that was once consumed in ancient Egypt.
ABC4Nicknamed Sinai Sour, Dylan McDonnell’s beer is slightly salty with notes of apricot and a floral aftertaste.
Countless people developed new hobbies during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Some people started knitting, for instance, while others started baking bread. And Dylan McDonnell, a Utah man with a passion for beer, decided to try to brew it just like the ancient Egyptians did 3,500 years ago.
His experiment required ancient Egyptian recipes, a number of rare ingredients, and a good deal of patience. But McDonnell has now succeeded in brewing a beer very much like one consumed in Egypt circa 1500 B.C.E.
Dylan McDonnell Decides To Brew Beer Like The Ancient Egyptians Did
Vassil/Wikimedia CommonsA depiction of a Syrian mercenary drinking beer during Egypt’s 18th Dynasty (circa 1550/1549 to 1292 B.C.E.).
As McDonnell told All That’s Interesting, he was inspired to brew ancient Egyptian beer after learning about people using ancient yeast to bake bread during the pandemic.
“The idea came from seeing Seamus Blackley recreate 4,500 year old sourdough bread, though I’ve always been interested in brewing beer and trying to come up with new unique blends for the beer,” he explained. “I also have my BA and MA in Middle East Studies, so it was a natural marriage of interests.”
The first step was figuring out a recipe.
McDonnell started by looking at the Ebers Papyrus, a 3,500-year-old document from ancient Egypt that’s full of medicinal recipes. The document lists “cures” for a number of ailments, from skin inflammation to tapeworms, and also includes recipes for beers.
Wellcome ImagesThe Ebers Papyrus, written around 1500 B.C., includes a number of medicinal recipes as well as recipes for beer.
McDonnell found about 75 recipes, which he compiled into a document. From there, he zeroed in on some of the most common ingredients that ancient Egyptians used to make beer, which included desert dates, Yemeni Sidr honey, sycamore figs, Israeli golden raisins, prickly juniper berries, carob fruit, black cumin and frankincense.
“The Papyrus gave ingredients and relative amounts of those ingredients, so it seemed like the best candidate for creating a beer from that era,” he told All That’s Interesting.
Dylan McDonnell/XDylan McDonnell gathered a number of unusual ingredients to make his “Sinai Sour” beer.
Gathering the ingredients wasn’t always easy. McDonnell told All That’s Interesting that it was “a lot tougher than most people realize” and that he ended up buying some ingredients that he never used. And other ingredients, like Sycamore figs, proved especially hard to track down.
“Why are Sycomore Figs no longer commercially available?!?!” McDonnell wrote on X. “Seriously, I’ll pay anyone for cost of time and figs. I hear they can be purchased in Israeli markets. I have to have SOMEONE with connections that can get ahold of some Sycomore Figs.”
But with some luck, McDonnell was eventually able to gather the ingredients he needed — including yeast from 850 B.C.E. Then, he got to work.
The Taste Of Beer From Ancient Egypt
Dylan McDonnell/XPart of the brewing process that resulted in McDonnell’s tart, apricot-tasting sour.
Three years after he first had the idea, McDonnell finally brewed his beer using both ancient methods and ancient ingredients. He started the process in January 2024, and has recently succeeded in his experiment.
“I was very satisfied with the result,” he told All That’s Interesting. “When I drink it, it’s refreshing and thirst-quenching. I can see how ancient Egyptians would enjoy a beer like this after a long day. It’s a taste that sticks with you. Not that it’s bad, but it’s definitely different than most beers others have tasted (due to the amount of fruit and honey and the lack of hops).”
McDonnell is interested in brewing other kinds of ancient beers, but notes that it’s unlikely he’ll get a similar opportunity to gather rare ingredients and ancient yeast. He has plans for a different kind of beer, however: one that will hopefully “hit 25 percent abv using only turbo-yeast then barrel aging it for a year.”
In the end, McDonnell’s experiment is not only an interesting test of ancient methods, but it also shines a light on the long and fascinating history of beer itself. Archaeologists tend to focus on the history of wine, but beer played an important role in ancient civilizations across the world.
Hanay/Wikimedia CommonsA beer jug from the Philistines culture (12th century B.C.E to 604 B.C.E.)
It seems that the “Sinai Sour” will be impossible for most people to try, however. McDonnell wrote on X that Utah law prohibits him from selling it, though he is offering private tastings — but it’s certainly a sign that humankind’s love for beer remains strong. Three thousand years after the ancient Egyptians brewed their own beers, people still seem to love the taste of a very similar brew.
After reading about the man who brewed beer using a 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian recipe, discover the fascinating — and very ancient — history of beer. Then, read about the beer that was brewed with 5,000-year-old Egyptian yeast.
