Did Romans drink beer?

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Did Romans drink beer?

Beer, currently an extremely popular drink, was not popular in Greek and Roman civilizations. Pliny the Elder referred to beer as barley wine and treated it very contemptuously.

Apparently, their foam was supposed to be good for the complexion of the face. Pliny states that he will not write about the drinks themselves and proceeds as soon as possible to the description of the wine. Tacitus mentions that the Germans enjoyed a drink made of fermented barley or wheat.

In the Roman Empire, beer was brewed by Gauls, Celts and Iberians. From the beginning of Christianity, wine was closely associated with the spread of this religion in Europe, while beer remained the drink of pagans and barbarians.

Sources
  • Tacitus, Germania 2
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