Over at Badass Digest, Devin Faraci adds an unlikely member to their Badass Hall of Fame:
A Sumerian godess, Ninkasi was a specialist god. She let other gods deal with the mundane shit like creating the world or healing the sick or governing the rains. Ninkasi got down to business, and her business was brewing. Ninkasi was the Sumerian goddess of beer.
He then goes into the Hymn of Ninkasi, which apparently doubles as a recipe for beer itself (paging Dogfish Head: I think you have a new candidate for your Ancient Ales series). The post also goes into the oft-repeated rumor of beer helping create civilization, a subject that is apparently gaining credibility (it’s probably still wishful thinking, but whatever). In any case, here’s to Ninkasi, the brewing god.
Update: Apparently there’s a brewery called Ninkasi Brewing Company in Oregon. Go figure. Looks like they make some good stuff too, though I don’t recall seeing any of them around here (they seem to be West Coast only at this point, and of course since I’m in PA, no shipping to me either).