Guided tour of the Penn Museum exploring how ancient peoples made and consumed alcohol, ending with a beer tasting inspired by an ancient recipe.
Ancient Alcohol: A Taste of Bygone Booze comes to the Penn Museum on Saturday, January 23, 2027. It's a tour and tasting that looks at how people in the past made and drank alcohol, and where it fit into their lives. The tour takes you through how ancient cultures thought about booze—from the way it was brewed to the role it played in their societies.
Along the way, you'll see drinking vessels on display that give away the secrets of ancient Greek drinking games and the beverage served at a feast hosted by King Midas. It's the kind of thing you usually only read about in a textbook, but here you get to see the actual objects people used while someone walks you through the history. The whole experience wraps up with a tasting of a beer whose flavor profile was inspired by an ancient recipe discovered by a Penn biomolecular archaeologist, so you'll actually get a taste of what they're talking about.
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There are a few dates to choose from if the 23rd doesn't work: the tour also runs on Sunday, January 24, Saturday, February 6, and Sunday, February 7. The February 7 session is from 3:00 to 4:30 PM. You have to be 21 or older to join, and the museum encourages you to explore the galleries before or after the tour. Tickets are $41 general and $37 for members.
