#corn beer

CHICHA is the name of Pacha’s wife from the Emperor’s New Groove—

— but it’s ALSO the name of a special fermented Peruvian corn beer, named Chicha de jora that in ancient times the Inca used for ritual purposes and consumed it in vast quantities during religious festivals.

Incas believed that drinking “chicha de jora” was a way to communicate with the “apus” (mountain deities), gods, and their ancestors. The corn drink was first offered to the pachamama—or Mother Earth in the Incan language of Quechua—by pouring one out to the prosperous ground below, signifying gratitude for the fertile land in which the corn derived. The next step was to salute the mountains, known as apus, by raising the kero (chalice) to the sky. Then it came time to drink the chicha to transcend normal human existence, allowing oneself to rise closer to the gods and closer to existential awareness.

Incan royalty most likely drank chicha from ceremonial cups called “keros”. An order of chosen virgin women known as Acllas were charged with ritual duties that included tending to terraces of sacred maize and the brewing of chicha for imperial use.

Women were taught the techniques of brewing chicha in Aqlla Wasi (feminine schools). Corn was considered a sacred crop, but Chicha, in particular, was considered very high status.

The Tarahumara use their corn beer Tesgüino in many of their ceremonies, including those to protect young children from illness and also when treating the sick. – WTF Fun Facts

The last meals of men and women buried centuries ago in the ancient city of Casas Grandes were dominated by corn, new research has found — from ground maize, to corn smut, to what archaeologists say is the first conclusive evidence of corn beer in the Greater Southwest.

And these clues were found in a long-overlooked source: the fossilized plaque on the teeth of the dead.

Archaeologists say these and other findings are providing important insights into the diet and lifeways of one of the most influential prehistoric cities in the region.

Or in other words, a Lav "Lion" lager beer coming from Serbia, and quite successful as it seems. What started in 1892 as a family brewery is now a Carlsberg asset and produces this corn enhanced beer. You know something? You actually don't feel the corny-sweet taste, so please please all beer producers, take notice: it IS possible! Otherwise it's a fizzy brew with a very special aroma and its only problem is I don't actually like this very special not-corn aroma. Nope. Let's give it a 6 and stop here.

In Belgrade (capital city of Serbia) there's also a huge beer festival each summer, attracting like 700.000 beer drinkers for 6 days of beer and music concerts. It's almost Oktoberfest, is it? Except here people aren't sitting in tents, just roaming around (sounds better). Not really my thing either one - I never went to Oktoberfest either although it's a 4 hours drive only, but obviously some enjoy it. Notice the huge Lav bottle behind?