hamster143 said:
"The Finnish epic Kalevala devotes more lines to the origin of beer and brewing than it does to the origin of mankind."
Shows what people considered relevant those days.
Here is an 1888 translation into English of Rune 20 of the Kalevala.
The poetical discussion of beer begins about one quarter of the way down the page. It is long and intense.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/kvrune20.htm
You can see from this brief sample that considerable attention is given to the problem of the beer not getting fizzy.
You put the good stuff together but how do you start it fermenting? Several attempts, involving maidens and magic animals, are made and finally there is success and the beer gets fizzy.
==quote==
"Time had traveled little distance,
Ere the hops in trees were humming,
Barley in the fields was singing,
And from Kalew's well the water,
This the language of the trio:
'Let us join our triple forces,
Join to each the other's powers;
Sad alone to live and struggle,
Little use in working singly,
Better we should toil together.'
"Osmotar, the beer-preparer,
Brewer of the drink refreshing,
Takes the golden grains of barley,
Taking six of barley-kernels,
Taking seven tips of hop-fruit,
Filling seven cups with water,
On the fire she sets the caldron,
Boils the barley, hops, and water,
Lets them steep, and seethe, and bubble
Brewing thus the beer delicious,
In the hottest days of summer,
On the foggy promontory,
On the island forest-covered;
Poured it into birch-wood barrels,
Into hogsheads made of oak-wood.
"Thus did Osmotar of Kalew
Brew together hops and barley,
Could not generate the ferment.
Thinking long and long debating,
Thus she spake in troubled accents:
'What will bring the effervescence,
Who will add the needed factor,
That the beer may foam and sparkle,
May ferment and be delightful?'
Kalevatar, magic maiden,
Grace and beauty in her fingers,
Swiftly moving, lightly stepping,
In her trimly-buckled sandals,
Steps upon the birch-wood bottom,
Turns one way, and then another,
In the centre of the caldron;
Finds within a splinter lying
From the bottom lifts the fragment,
Turns it in her fingers, musing:
'What may come of this I know not,
In the hands of magic maidens,
In the virgin hands of Kapo,
Snowy virgin of the Northland!'
"Kalevatar took the splinter
To the magic virgin, Kapo,
Who by unknown force and insight.
Rubbed her hands and knees together,
And produced a snow-white squirrel;
Thus instructed she her creature,
Gave the squirrel these directions:
'Snow-white squirrel, mountain-jewel,
Flower of the field and forest,
Haste thee whither I would send thee,
Into Metsola's wide limits,
Into Tapio's seat of wisdom;...
==endquote==
Just to let you know, the squirrel does bring back the magic pine cone from the distant tree, but it doesn't work. There are other magic animals and birds that fetch other magic things. Until finally they get it right. Getting fermentation started seems to have been a major issue.
To me, the excellent thing is to have the barley, water, and hops all speaking with voices and saying how they want to get together and combine forces and join into beer.
