Alternatively "Hymn To Nin-kasi", this is one of the oldest extant songs in the world. It can be dated to around the 18th Century BC, and can be viewed as either a prayer and/or a drinking song and/or a beer brewing recipe! Ninkasi was the Sumerian goddess of beer.
The words were inscribed on a clay tablet that was found in what is now Iraq. Although the music has been lost - assuming there was music, as most likely there was, along with the name of the composer(s) - something far more important was recovered. The words were translated in 1964 by Miguel Civil at the University of Chicago.
In August 1991 it was reported that Solomon Katz of the University of Pennsylvania had teamed up with Fritz Maytag of the Anchor Brewing Company to brew the actual beer as described in the hymn/song/poem/recipe. It is said to have a dry flavor similar to apple cider but retaining the flavor of dates. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2)
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