History Sidebars

Ninkasi

All About Beer Magazine - Volume 32, Issue 4

September 1, 2011 By Matt Stinchfield

Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,

Ninkasi, you are the one who waters malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates,

Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.

Abridged excerpt from “The Hymn to Ninkasi.”