遵循古老配方酿制的啤酒(上)

It was just past lunchtime in Jerusalem’s industrial Talpiot neighbourhood. Traffic sat at an uncomfortable standstill, and the thick smog of diesel truck fuel fogged the landscape.

这里是耶路撒冷 Talpiot 工业区，午餐时间刚过。交通堵塞令人不快，柴油卡车释放的浓雾让周围的一切变得模糊。

In a warehouse across the roundabout of snaked traffic, Itai Gutman’s overnight shift had spilled into afternoon at Herzl Brewery, a local ale distillery that was, until recently, relatively unknown, except by microbrew aficionados.

迂回穿过蠕动的车流，来到一处仓库，伊泰•古特曼（Itai Gutman）在赫茨尔啤酒厂（Herzl Brewery）通宵工作已经进入次日下午。直到最近，除了啤酒爱好者外，这家本地啤酒厂还并不怎么出名。

The young Jerusalemite started creating his own unique beers in small batches some 10 years ago, a process he said grew from “necessity” during his mandatory military service when funds were low and beer was a luxury. “Brewing was a simple choice to get access to the product,” he explained.

大约 10 年前，这位耶路撒冷年轻人开始小批量自己酿造这种独特的啤酒，据他说，他这样做源自自己服兵役时，经济紧张，啤酒价格昂贵，而啤酒又是“必备品”，“自己酿酒是得到啤酒最简单的办法。”

Today, beer is not just a profession for Gutman – it’s a labour of love.

今天，酿造啤酒不仅是古特曼的职业，而且是他所钟爱的事业。

Tall and softly spoken, deep under-eye shadows hint of his tireless dedication. On his right forearm is a large tattoo of what may be the oldest known recipe for creating fermented ale. The original cuneiform – a system of writing developed by the ancient Sumerians around 3500-3000 BC – is believed to describe the protocol for turning grain into ale.

他个子高高的，轻言细语，黑眼圈很重，神情坚毅。他的右臂上有一大块纹身，这些也许是制作发酵啤酒的古老配方。据信，这些古代苏美尔人在公元前约 3500-3000 年创造的原始楔形文字描述了将粮食酿造成啤酒的方法。

The inked symbols and markings on Gutman’s forearm were found near the Euphrates River in ancient Mesopotamia – where modern-day Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Iran and Turkey share borders – an area that is widely known as the cradle of civilization.

古特曼前臂所纹的符号和标记是在古代美索不达米亚平原（Mesopotamia）的幼发拉底河（Euphrates River）发现的，那里是现在的伊拉克、叙利亚、科威特和土耳其的交界处，这个地区是广为人知的文明摇篮。

Just last year, fragments of ancient pottery from this period were discovered during a construction project in Tel Aviv. According to archaeologist Diego Barkan, who directed the excavation, the large ceramic basins were used to make ale.

就在去年，在特拉维夫一处建筑工地上还发现了出自这个时期的古陶器碎片。指挥此次发掘工作的考古学家迭戈•巴坎（Diego Barkan）认为，这个古代大陶瓷盆原来就是酿造啤酒用的。

Early inhabitants made their beer from a mixture of grains and water that was baked and left to ferment in the sun. Fruit concentrates may have been added to the mix for flavour, before the liquid was filtered into special vessels and ready to drink.

早期居民把粮食和水的混合物烘焙后放在阳光下发酵，由此酿造啤酒。为了调味，他们可能会在其中加入浓缩果汁，液体经过滤装入容器，就得到能马上喝的啤酒。

At that time, beer was a basic commodity – like bread – to be consumed and enjoyed by the entire population, regardless of status or age. Since there was always a risk of contamination with water, fermented beer and wine were much safer to drink.

当时，啤酒是像面包一样的基本商品，无论社会地位和年龄为何，人人都会享用。由于水总会有被污染的风险，因此发酵啤酒和葡萄酒就成为安全得多的饮品。

“Beer brewing is the oldest occupation in the world – aside from the other one,” Gutman joked. “This is what I do, this is the tradition I took on to continue.”

古特曼表示，“除葡萄酒酿造外，啤酒酿造是世界上最为古老的职业。这就是我现在所从事的工作，它是我要继承下去的传统。”

Following this tradition has led Gutman to create what might be the closest thing to the very first man-made ale, using a genetically modified strain of wheat that dates back to the beginning of human agricultural cultivation, around 10,000 years ago.

正是遵循这种传统，才让古特曼得以利用转基因小麦酿造出啤酒，它也许是与最早的人造啤酒最接近的东西，这还要追溯到约 1 万年前人类开始农业种植之时。