Friday, November 3, 2023 · 1 - 2:30 p.m. · Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE)
Travis Rupp (The Beer Archaeologist), Lecturer in Classics, Art History, Anthropology, and Mechanical Engineering
How old is beer, and how do we know the peoples of the ancient Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and Roman worlds consumed it? This CU on the Weekend presentation by CU Boulder Lecturer and Beer Archaeologist Travis Rupp will examine the earliest archaeological evidence of beer and brewing. The lecture will also analyze ancient references and labels for beer provided by various Mesopotamian, Biblical, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sources in order to define what beer was in antiquity. Rupp will trace the etymology of these terms to the Late Roman period when political and religious institutions used beer and brewing terminology to define social classes, nationalities, and religious populations on the fringes of Roman dominion. Lastly, the lecture will explore how the very terms used to damn and scrutinize beer brewing and drinking populations were used in later periods of European history and still shape the terms and definitions we use for beer today.
This special Friday edition of CU on the Weekend is part of Homecoming 2023.
About the Lecturer
Travis Rupp is a full-time lecturer in Classics, Art History, History, Anthropology, and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he has taught for 13 years. Since 2010 he has taught Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman. His scholarly expertise focus on ancient food and alcohol production, ancient sport and spectacle, and Pompeii and the cities of Vesuvius. He worked at Avery Brewing Company for nine years as the Wood Cellar and Research and Development Manager. Rupp holds the title of Beer Archaeologist and founded Avery’s Ales of Antiquity Series, which ran from 2016-2020. He serves on the National Advisory board for the Chicago Brewseum and owns The Beer Archaeologist - a company dedicated to research and experimental archaeology of historic beer. As a result of his career and passions, Rupp is researching and writing about the beginnings of beer in the Roman military, brewing in the early monastic tradition, and beer production in Revolutionary America. His first book will be about the changing definition of beer throughout history. Recently Rupp’s travels and research abroad have focused on monastic brewing in Italy from 400-900 CE, brewing in Roman Britain during the 2nd century CE, beer production at Mt. Vernon and Monticello, and the survival of the Belgian brewing tradition during WWI.