87903 - Beer as a form of currency
It's amazing today the reaction of people (beer connoisseurs and enthusiasts or people that just enjoy any kind of pint) to free beer! People will come from all around to enjoy a free pint or two ... much more than other goods of the same value. But the value placed on beer has it's place in history as a means of currency to compensate workers. Move over bitcoin, let's start trading in beer! I can definitely see the beer stock exchange on the horizon!
Here are some examples of beer currency in historical and moderns times.
From the ancient Mesopotamian city of Uruk, the British museum has an ancient tablet describing a ration a beer being supplied to workers.
In ancient Egypt, workers were supplied with roughly four or five litres of beer per day for the grueling work of pyramid building.
And let's not forget the workers at the Broad St Brewery in the1850s who were given rations of beer (that also helped to save their lives from cholera)
Even in modern times, there are some large breweries that include a 24 of beer to their team both while working and in retirement.
In this booming craft economy, some business plans provide incentives to potential investors by providing free beer every year.
In the modern IT economy, organizations like BeerPay bring in the concept of providing money to an IT developer in open source types of application so that they can buy themselves a beer.
In Amsterdam, there is a controversial program attempting to help get alcoholics back on their feet by including a payment in beer.