History of beer in Ottoman Empire can be traced back to 19th century. Abdulhamid II ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909, a period marked by both modernization and an increase in the centralization of power in the hands of the sultan. During his reign, Western cultural influences were felt in various areas, including architecture, clothing, and also in habits like drinking beer. Despite the modernization efforts, Abdulhamid II is often remembered for his autocratic rule and efforts to curtail the influence of Western ideas and liberalism. Increasing normalization of industries like brewing show the complexity of this era, where tradition and modernity often coexisted side by side.
Before the widespread popularity of beer, other fermented drinks like boza and grape wine were more common in the empire. The entrance of beer was tied to the Tanzimat era’s modernization and Westernization efforts, which began in the mid-19th century and continued through Abdülhamit’s reign.
As beer popularity grew in Europe, it found its way to the cosmopolitan hubs of the Ottoman Empire, like Istanbul and Izmir. While local production was limited at first, European immigrants and traders brought beer with them, introducing the beverage to Ottoman society.
By the late 19th century, local breweries began to emerge. The Bomonti Brothers, originally from Switzerland, established one of the most well-known breweries in the Feriköy district of Istanbul. Beer was not limited to non-Muslims; it was consumed by a diverse group within the empire. This was partly due to the fact that beer was seen less as an alcoholic beverage and more as a nutritious, Western, and modern drink. However, this did not mean that its consumption was entirely without controversy, especially among more conservative circles.
Beer’s Homeland is the Middle East
According to archaeological research, beer was first discovered in the Middle East around 10,000 BC, probably by chance, through the fermentation of a wheat soup.
So, beer was initially more of a food substance than a beverage. People worked hard to make barley, which was then a wild plant, edible; they first ground and crushed it, then mixed it with water to create a slurry. When this slurry was left out in the sun for too long, it was fermented by the microscopic fungal spores in the air. If the slurry had little water, it became dough; if it had more, it became beer. The first beer, not using hops, was murkier and lacked foam, resembling a drink known as “boza”.
While beer was a beverage made and consumed at home, by the 14th century beer halls emerged, leading to an improvement in beer quality and increased consumption.
In ancient Egypt, beer made from barley was the national drink. It was offered to gods and goddesses. There was beer vessels at the head of their graves. It also served as a form of currency; it was used as a measure for the minimum wage.
The Babylonians produced 20 types of beer using wheat, black and white barley, and honey. The traditional wedding celebration drink was a honey beer called “Bee Wine”. The father-in-law would gift the groom with “Bee Wine”, believed to enhance a man’s vigor, enough to last him a month after the wedding. Some kings would drink beer during religious ceremonies and encourage their subjects to do the same. The “Code of Hammurabi” included articles related to beer. Sellers who charged excessively for beer were punished by drowning.
From Babylonia to Europe
The Babylonians were the ones who introduced beer to the Athenians. In Sumerian culture, beer was discovered by the goddess “Ninkasi” and was given as a gift to humanity. It was as essential as bread, often referred to as “Liquid Bread”. Cooks and beer makers were exempt from military service. It was mandatory for women to run the establishments where beer was consumed. The female owner/operator had a duty to report conversations taking place in these beer halls, which were the taverns of the time, to the local authorities. Beer is also mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Aztecs had a god of beer. Christopher Columbus witnessed natives in America making beer by taking a handful of corn and a handful of black beech tree essence, pouring it into a pitcher, and leaving it for natural fermentation. In Europe, the first to produce beer in the 1st century BC were the Celts – the ancestors of the English. Among the English, heavy beer consumption was hereditary. In Central Europe during the 9th century, beer was produced exclusively in monasteries; they traded it and consumed it. Even today, there are monasteries in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany that produce beer. Monks were allowed to drink up to 5 liters of beer a day. As monks began to get involved in beer production, the role of women in brewing diminished. The idea of adding hops to beer was conceived in the 13th century by Bavarian monastery priests. However, William Shakespeare did not like hops and never drank hopped beer.
The year was 1516… The Germans established a legal standard for beer; it was to be made with barley water, hops, and water. In 1602, Dr. Alexanders Nowell proved that beer would last longer if stored in sealed glass bottles. Due to cooling issues, beer was produced only during cold months up until 1880. The invention of the steam engine by James Watt in the 19th century and the discovery of artificial cooling by Carl Von Linde marked a significant turning point in beer history and beer became one of the most consumed beverages in the world. Belgium probably became the country with the most varieties of beer in the world. The English “ales”, the Irish “stouts”, the Danes’ “pilsners”, the Germans’ “lagers”, and the Czechs’ “pils”, named after the city of Plzen (Pilsen) and generally given to all yellow beers, have become very famous today. In America and many European countries, gourmets now, like with wine, pair different types of beer with meals.
The Arrival Of Beer To The Ottoman Empire
Whenever the Ottoman Empire banned alcohol, they would also shut down the boza shops; sour boza, which had a high alcohol content, was prohibited. After all, wasn’t boza made by fermenting barley and soaking it in water? It is known that Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror greatly enjoyed boza. Anyway, the topic is not boza or grape must; it is beer. Although President Erdogan criticized the Republic by calling it an “imitation of modernization”, beer entered the Ottoman Empire with the Tanzimat, aimed at “Westernization”. In his book titled “Studies on Beer in the East”, Hans Bart wrote that a man named Württemberg Prokopp sold beer in the Izmir region on the backs of donkeys and mules. He also opened the first beer hall in Izmir. Beer then made its way from Izmir to Istanbul. Considering his fondness for alcohol, it can be assumed that Sultan Abdülmecit drank beer. Indeed, the first regulations regarding beer were established during his reign in 1847. Beer halls had started to open before this date. In the Ottoman capital of Istanbul, there were 31 beer halls, primarily located in Beyoğlu and Galata. Beer halls were also spreading throughout Anatolia, from Ankara to Erzurum. Beer was imported from Vienna, Munich, and Belgrade. In the official records of the Ottoman Empire, beer was referred to as “Barley Water” (Arpa Suyu). It was 1890, during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II when the beer production started in the Ottoman Empire. Traditionally, for anything new to be introduced in the Ottoman Empire, the Sheikh-ul-Islam had to issue a religious decree (fetva). Clearly, both the Sultan and the religious authority had given their approval.
First Factories
The Swiss Bomonti Brothers established a brewery in Feriköy, and a Greek man named Vasil set up a brewery in Şişli. They did not only produce beer but also sold it to the public in their gardens. Two years later: In Thessaloniki, which was under Ottoman rule at the time, the “Olympus Beer and Champagne Factory” opened. Its owners were Ottoman citizens named Mizrahi and Fernandez, of the Allatini Brothers. The beer business was lucrative. The Ottomans had taken a liking to beer. The Bomonti Brothers upgraded their workshop into a factory, continually increasing their capital. Moreover, they added cold storage facilities and began to produce “bottom fermentation” beers (like Pilsen). They produced 7 million liters of beer a year, eventually increasing their production to 10 million liters. Not just in Istanbul; they established “Bomonti Beer Gardens” in a region stretching from the shores of Thrace and the Marmara Gulf to Eskişehir. Naturally, as profits surged, competitors emerged. In 1909, “Nectar Brewery” was founded in Büyükdere, Istanbul. They quickly gained a good market share by using spring water in their beer production. Undoubtedly, advertising in newspapers like Ikram and Sabah contributed to their success.
The fierce competition between the two companies eventually caused beer prices to drop significantly. To avoid further losses, the two companies decided to merge. In 1912, “Bomonti-Nektar United Beer Factories” was established. They expanded their business and opened “Aydin Beer Factory”. Bomonti-Nektar did not limit themselves to beer, establishing the first raki factories in Izmir. Companies like “National Beer Factory Ottoman Inc.” founded in 1911 and “Great Peace Beer Factory” established in 1919 began operations. Muslims like Mehmet Sabit Bey and Ata Rauf Bey served in managerial positions. Beer was consumed in official municipal gardens like Çamlıca Municipal Garden and Tepebaşı Municipal Garden. Bomonti beer was 40 units, and European beer was 5 units of local money. Of course, alcohol was forbidden for Muslims in the Ottoman Empire. It is known that beer was clandestinely referred to as “Fatma mother’s halva”.
Beer During the Republican Era
During the Republic era, there was an issue with the alcohol monopoly. Due to an agreement signed by II. Abdülhamit, the Public Debt Administration (Duyun-u Umumiye) was collecting certain state revenues as repayment for debts, and the tax on alcohol was one of these. As the Republic sought to abolish the capitulations inherited from the Ottoman era, it also aimed to nationalize foreign-owned companies. Bomonti-Nektar was granted a production license until 1938, with just a year of interruption. In 1934, to increase beer sales, they prepared posters highlighting the benefits of beer and hung them in restaurants and beer houses. These advertisements sparked intense debates: It was claimed that the Bomonti Company did not care about the health of the Turkish race and only aimed to “drain the blood of the Turkish race and fill their own pockets”: “Isn’t there any state force to take down these posters threatening public health?”
Root of these debates was political strife in reality. Ismet İnönü’s brother, Rıza Temelli, was a partner in Bomonti. Abdürrezzak Bey, who was married to İnönü’s sister Sabiha Hanım, was one of Bomonti’s shareholder directors. Those who wanted to create a rift between İnönü and Atatürk took every opportunity to stir up controversy about Bomonti. Eventually, while Bomonti was not shut down, Atatürk initiated preparations to establish the Republic’s first beer factory under the Atatürk Forest Farm in Ankara. As an alternative to the foreign Bomonti Beer Factory, Atatürk inaugurated the local Ankara Beer Factory in 1934. Bomonti-Nektar held 90% of Ottoman beer production, and Atatürk did not want this to continue; he intended to nationalize Bomonti, but the Council of State (Danıştay) did not allow this. It should also be noted that the Republic introduced laws in the 1930s restricting places where alcoholic beverages could be sold. For instance, it was prohibited to drink alcohol in People’s Houses (Halkevleri) or their gardens.
This the short history of beer in Ottoman Empire and Turkey. For further information, below are some sources:
Rule of Abdulhamid II in the Ottoman Empire
Britannica – Rule of Abdulhamid II
Beer’s Introduction and History in Turkey
Wikipedia – Beer in Turkey
Beer’s Origins in the Middle East and Ancient Civilizations
Beer Studies – History of Beer in the Middle East
Beer’s Evolution in Europe
Wine Enthusiast – Bomonti Beer and Turkey’s Brewing History
Republican Era Beer Production and Regulations in Turkey
Wikipedia – Beer in Turkey
