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The other problem with beer from the perspective of military logistics is bulk.  It is why the British Army of a couple of centuries ago preferred to issue spirits since the cost of the booze was outweighed by the lower cost of shifting it.  Beer went off far quicker than stored water, which again is why the RN replaced beer with rum, allowing it to make barrelled water taste vaguely palatable.

So the Romans are hardly likely to have had a "mega industry" in the sense of large hub breweries, far more likely to have lots of micro breweries near forts and towns, supplying local needs but no further.

I am also reminded of William Kapelle's brilliant theory about Norman appetite for fiefs in some areas of England but not others post 1066, namely the quality of bread they could produce.  Why take a fief that could only grow barley, rather than wheat.  If your Roman garrison is in a northern location with barley, not wheat, as its staple, beer makes sense.  In the lush lowlands, maybe not so much...

Rum solves all problems and if it doesn't you aren't using enough rum

The RN tradition of mixing with rum with water might well improve the taste of the latter. 

More importantly, unlike rum, grog (as the mixture was called) does not keep.  This forced the matelots to consume their ration more or less on the spot rather than store it up in order to go on a bender at some later date.  This ensured that sailors were moderately sober when sent aloft and reduced crew attrition from falls, etc.

Incidentally, the variety of beer known as IPA is an acronym for India Pale Ale.  This name arises from the good old days of Empire when beer was sent from UK to soldiers in India and other far distant places.  It had to be highly hopped and of good quality to be potable at the end of the journey.  Dave can probably supply all the gory details on this for those who are interested.

 
 

A great uncle of mine was a surgeon on a Royal Navy Gunboat going up and down the Yangtze from 1910 to 1912, an interesting time to be doing that.  From the prodigious quantities of beer that were being ordered in at every stop along the way I have the impression that the whole crew must have been pie eyed most of the time, an impression given some substance by the cursory and enigmatic records in the ship's log.  For example, on the 18th October 1911 when the ship was sitting off Hankow with a massive battle between revolutionary and Imperial soldiery going on next to them, the only entry in the log is "Half wardroom sofa lost overboard".

We might want to consider what the beer was for.  Was it for a good time in barracks or was it a liquid foodstuff?  Did your villa want to be brewing strong beer so the slaves could have a wild time?  I suspect not.

To return to mega-industries, I'm not sure that brewing could reach that point in Roman times.  AFAIK, they didn't have hops to extend the life of the brew and they were reliant on fairly basic transport links.  They could maybe be a bit more than on-premises in towns, where you could ferry barrels round in a cart.  Medieval monastries and cathedrals usually had larger scale brewing and could be local suppliers, for example.

Quote from: Erpingham on August 12, 2024, 11:00:50 AMMedieval monastries and cathedrals usually had larger scale brewing and could be local suppliers, for example.

In some parts of Europe this is still the case.  I remember, when I worked in Bavaria, I once visited Kloster Andechs.  Despite arriving shortly after opening time, I was beaten to my tour by several coachloads of locals completing their pilgrimmage to this place of worship and intent upon getting blitzed in the shortest time possible.

Truly, there are few things Germans do not take seriously.

Quote from: Nick Harbud on August 11, 2024, 12:14:47 PMIt all sounded pretty obvious to me and the fish sauce production is undoubtedly the origin of British tastes for tomato ketchup and vinegar on one's chips.

Of course we do have a fermented anchovy sauce that's popular in the UK - Worcestershire sauce.  (Apparently the Americans have a rip off that isn't fermented, and is nothing like the original.)

Just try asking an American to pronounce Worcestershire 

Quote from: Imperial Dave on August 13, 2024, 07:45:06 AMJust try asking an American to pronounce Worcestershire 

Now, now Dave. No teasing oversees members. The British are not exactly renowned for their ability to pronounce foreign place names.  Or foreign anything.  We had a fun time with Italian son-in-law at weekend demonstrating our poor Italian pronunciation.  Bruschetta anyone? Gnocchi?

Only if travelling to Bisceglie.

Tongue firmly in cheek 😋

Quote from: Nick Harbud on August 13, 2024, 11:58:13 AMOnly if travelling to Bisceglie.

Or Milngavie

Quote from: Imperial Dave on August 13, 2024, 12:00:45 PM

Quote from: Nick Harbud on August 13, 2024, 11:58:13 AMOnly if travelling to Bisceglie.

Or Milngavie

or even Aspatria 

Ooooo nice one

Unfortunately, such is the English language, we could go on like this for days