Beer in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Work of Gabriel Rzączyński

Part Two: From Ceres to Doppel-Bier

Based on the work of Gabriel Rzączyński (1664–1737), Historia naturalis curiosa Regni Poloniae, Magni Ducatus Litvaniae, annexarumque provinciarum… (Sandomierz, 1721).

Introduction: From Mead to Grain

In the first part of our study, we explored a sweet, viscous beverage that was highly prized in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: mead. Celebrated by poets and recommended by physicians, it was more than a drink. It formed part of the region's culture, feasting traditions, diplomacy, and everyday life. We examined its composition, varieties, geographical distribution, cost, and the medicinal properties attributed to it by authors of past centuries.

Now, continuing our journey through the pages of Gabriel Rzączyński's Historia naturalis curiosa (1721), we turn to another beverage — a much more commonplace one, but no less important to the history of our lands.

That beverage is beer — cerevisia.

A drink born of grain, water, fire, and human skill. Unlike mead, whose production depended on the availability of honey and the particular methods of mead-making, beer could be brewed from various grains. Local brewing traditions developed, and individual towns and regions became renowned for their beverages.

Beer was produced in Gdańsk and Kraków, Vilnius and Orsha, and in other towns of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was consumed by different social groups, sold in local markets, and transported along trade routes.

What makes Rzączyński's account particularly interesting is that he considers beer not merely as a commodity or an element of drinking culture. He also examines the nature of grain, the properties of water, regional differences, historical measures and prices, and physicians' beliefs about beer's effects on the human body.

For a researcher studying brewing history, this work is a remarkable source of information.

At the same time, the nature of the work itself must be taken into account. Rzączyński combined his own observations with contemporary testimony and accounts by earlier authors. His information therefore relates to different periods, while historical opinions and medical recommendations do not always correspond to modern scientific knowledge.

I. Fertile Land and the Growth of Brewing

To discuss beer, we must begin with the land. Without land, there would be no grain — and without grain, no traditional grain-based brewing.

In Treatise XVIII, devoted to grain and beer (De Frumento et Cerevisia), Rzączyński describes the fertility of the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, including the historical regions of Lithuania and White Ruthenia, parts of which lie within present-day Belarus.

According to the accounts he cites, these lands were distinguished by abundant harvests and relatively low grain prices. The author poetically compares their fertility to the domain of Ceres, the ancient goddess of agriculture and the harvest [1].

Rzączyński does not limit his discussion to local agriculture. He also examines international trade.

Referring to Blaeu's geographical work [2], he describes the transportation of grain and flax by river vessels to Riga and Königsberg. Baltic ports, including Pillau (modern Baltiysk) and Memel (modern Klaipėda), connected inland agricultural regions with foreign markets.

This trade involved large quantities of produce measured using special commercial units known as lasts.

Rzączyński pays particular attention to Vilnius. According to his account, the city's markets were so abundantly supplied with bread and grain that their stocks could have provisioned a large army.

White Ruthenia is described as a land rich in rye, wheat, barley, oats, hemp, flax, and hops [7].

Hops deserve particular attention: they were among the essential ingredients of many beer varieties, contributing characteristic bitterness and helping preserve the beverage.

Similar descriptions of abundance appear in earlier writings. Jan Andrzej Krasiński [6], for example, described enormous loaves of bread sold in Vilnius. According to his vivid account, a single loaf could be too heavy even for a strong man to carry.

Naturally, such reports should not be treated as precise agricultural statistics. Nevertheless, they reveal the impression that the region's agricultural wealth made on contemporary observers.

The abundance of grain created favorable conditions for the development of brewing, while river routes and Baltic ports facilitated trade in both raw materials and finished products.

II. Grain Prices: How Much Did Brewing Ingredients Cost?

One of the most interesting sections of Rzączyński's work concerns historical grain prices.

Drawing on the accounts he presents, we can compile a table showing the cost of different grains in Gdańsk and Prussia.

Note: Historical units of volume varied by location and period. The numerical information is reproduced from the research materials and requires comparison with the relevant passages in Rzączyński's original work.

Several qualifications are important here.

First, the prices relate to different historical periods. The figures for 1405, for example, predate the establishment of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. Rzączyński used earlier material to illustrate the history of regional agriculture and trade.

Second, monetary units did not have constant values or purchasing power. Marks, florins, and groschen cannot be directly compared without considering the monetary systems of the respective times and places.

Third, the last, modius, and korzec represented different quantities, and their local equivalents could vary substantially.

Consequently, the table does not allow us to calculate a single average grain price or reliably compare prices across different countries.

Nevertheless, it is of considerable historical interest.

It demonstrates that grain was a regularly traded commodity, bought and sold in substantial wholesale quantities. References to barley are especially important, since it was one of the principal raw materials used in brewing.

Rzączyński's evidence therefore helps us examine the history of beer not only in terms of recipes and production methods, but also as part of the wider agricultural and commercial economy.

III. Beer as a Product of Earth, Water, and Fire

In discussing beer, Rzączyński draws on an ancient tradition associating the Latin word cerevisia with Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and fertility.

This is an etymological explanation characteristic of early scholarly literature, rather than an origin of the word established by modern linguistics.

The author describes beer as a product made from water, prepared grain, and hops, referred to by the Latin name lupulus salictarius [11].

He emphasizes the diversity of beers, which could differ in taste, color, aroma, body, and keeping qualities.

March beer occupies a particularly prominent place in his discussion.

March Beer: Why Was It So Highly Valued?

According to the beliefs presented by Rzączyński, beer brewed in March was especially suitable for storage.

This was explained by the condition of grain after winter storage and the circumstances in which the beverage was prepared. Such beer was thought to be more stable, richer, and better suited to prolonged keeping.

Rzączyński attributed nourishing and strengthening properties to it [12].

Interestingly, the tradition of attaching special importance to March beer was also known in other parts of Europe. However, modern beer styles and historical names should not automatically be regarded as identical: brewing techniques, ingredients, and the meanings of terms changed over time.

Beer Through the Eyes of Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Physicians

Medical beliefs about beer occupy a noticeable place in Rzączyński's work.

He quotes authors who believed that moderate beer consumption helped nourish and strengthen the body.

Some even claimed that inhabitants of beer-drinking countries were physically stronger than people living in wine-producing regions and suffered less frequently from gout and chiragra — a condition affecting the joints of the hands, which was treated as a separate ailment in historical medical literature.

Among the authorities mentioned are Fischer and Szentiványi [11, 12].

Rzączyński nevertheless acknowledges that wine also had many defenders among scholars and physicians.

Such discussions help us understand how people in the early modern period perceived beer both as a foodstuff and as a possible medicinal preparation.

These views, however, belong to the history of medicine. Claims that beer prevents gout, improves health, or provides medicinal benefits should not be interpreted as modern medical recommendations.

IV. Danzig Beer: From Thick Syrup to Doppel-Bier

One of the Baltic region's best-known brewing centers was Danzig, now Gdańsk.

Rzączyński devotes particular attention to its beer.

Historical descriptions present Danzig beer as a beverage with a pronounced flavor, substantial body, and considerable nutritional value. It was appreciated not merely as a commercial product but also as something believed to possess certain medicinal properties.

Among the medical authorities cited by Rzączyński is a physician from Königsberg named Plascocomus [13].

This physician is credited with placing Danzig beer above other Prussian and German varieties. According to the medical beliefs of the time, it was thought to nourish the body, benefit the blood, and give the face a healthy complexion.

The precise identification of the name “Plascocomus” in this reference remains subject to bibliographical verification.

Topenebier: The Beer Mistaken for Syrup

Rzączyński relates a particularly curious anecdote.

According to his account, Greek and Italian travelers who tasted thick Danzig beer for the first time did not immediately realize that what they were drinking was beer.

They found the beverage so unusual, sweet, and concentrated that they called it syrup — syrupus.

The guests allegedly demanded more and more until they had emptied an entire barrel during a single meal [14].

The beverage appears in the historical text under the name Topenebier.

This account is best understood as a historical anecdote conveying the impression that exceptionally dense Danzig beer made on foreign visitors. It does not establish the beverage's precise recipe, alcoholic strength, or composition.

Doppel-Bier: The Famous Double Beer

Historical sources also refer to Danzig Doppel-Bier, or “double beer.”

Such names were associated with ideas of greater richness and the use of larger quantities of grain compared with ordinary beer.

The thick Danzig beer also known in historical brewing traditions as Jopenbier occupied a distinctive position in the beer trade.

It was described as dark, dense, sometimes almost syrup-like, and suitable for extended storage.

Rzączyński reports that it circulated beyond Gdańsk, including in England, the Netherlands, and other European regions.

Historical medical writings also describe some highly unusual uses for beer: consuming it with added sugar, taking it for colds, and incorporating it into elaborate medicinal mixtures.

There are even references to combining beer with spermaceti — a waxy substance obtained from the head of a sperm whale — for medical purposes.

Today, such preparations are of historical interest only.

According to Philipp Clüver [4], Danzig allegedly preserved beer of such great age and density that some stocks were said to be sixty years old and were reserved mainly for the sick.

This extraordinary claim requires caution. Without additional evidence, neither the actual age of such beers nor their storage conditions can be confirmed.

Andreas Cellarius [15] describes the diversity of brewing in Danzig, referring to as many as thirty varieties of beer, some of which were produced within the city walls.

We thus encounter a city with a developed brewing culture, where everyday beverages existed alongside expensive, specialized varieties.

V. The Geography of Beer: From Orsha to Gdańsk

One of the most valuable features of Rzączyński's work is its wealth of geographical references.

Rather than limiting himself to general observations about beer quality, he names specific towns and localities associated with its production.

This makes it possible to reconstruct a kind of historical brewing map of the Polish Crown, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and neighboring regions.

Territories of Present-Day Belarus

Orsha (Oršany) and Tolochin (Tołczin).

These settlements are mentioned among places known for brewing. Such references are particularly valuable for the history of beer in present-day Belarus, since they link brewing traditions to specific towns and localities.

Slutsk (Capitanatus Sluchoviensis).

An unusual account concerning water is associated with this region.

According to Rzączyński, the local water had properties that made it necessary to add salt in order to brew good beer.

The author connects this practice with the characteristics of the water. However, its actual chemical composition and the technological necessity of adding salt remain unknown.

Grodno (Grodna).

Rzączyński describes differences between the water sources serving the city's marketplaces.

According to his account, the New Market had three wells whose water was particularly suitable for brewing.

There were two more wells in the Old Market, but their water was considered distinctly inferior.

This is one of the most interesting historical references to the importance of local water supplies in brewing.

Davyd-Haradok.

The surrounding countryside is mentioned in connection with fertile land and abundant hops and grain.

Such a combination of natural resources created favorable conditions for local beer production.

Territories of Present-Day Lithuania

Kovno (Kaunas) and Balbieriškis.

Rzączyński includes these localities among places producing beer worthy of attention.

His observation concerning the Neman River is particularly interesting.

According to the author, during periods when the river was said to “bloom,” its water near the confluence with the Viliya (modern Neris) temporarily became unsuitable for brewing beer or making mead.

This may have referred to seasonal changes in river-water quality, but the precise nature of the phenomenon cannot be established from a single historical description.

Polish and Other Brewing Centers

Rzączyński provides an extensive list of places known for their beer.

Lesser Poland and the central regions:

• Kraków;
• Warka;
• Łowicz;
• Przemyśl;
• a locality recorded as Perikovia, whose precise identification requires further research.

Greater Poland:

• Lwówek;
• Wronki;
• Łobżenica;
• Grodziec.

Podlasie: Międzyrzec.

Kuyavia: Bydgoszcz.

Dobrzyń Land: Górzno.

Kashubia: Kościerzyna, Puck, Lębork.

Silesia: Wrocław.

Naturally, this list should not be regarded as a complete register of breweries operating in the early eighteenth century. It primarily reflects the locations that attracted Rzączyński's attention or appeared in the writings he consulted.

Szymon Syreniusz [16], for example, highly valued certain Polish and Lithuanian beers, attributing refreshing, nourishing, and blood-improving properties to them.

Jakub Kazimierz Haur [17] is also cited by Rzączyński in connection with beliefs about the medicinal qualities of beers from Łowicz and Drzewica.

These assessments reveal how closely the geographical reputation of a beer, its flavor, and its supposed health benefits were intertwined in historical descriptions.

VI. Beer Prices: The Economics of Brewing in the Commonwealth

Brewing was not merely part of local culture. It was also an economic activity involving production, sale, and taxation.

Rzączyński's work preserves information about the prices of different beers, including those sold in the Poznań Voivodeship.

According to the figures he provides, in 1594 a barrel of the best beer, identified as Kucz, cost 54 groschen.

A barrel of lower-quality beer was priced at 40 groschen.

Different figures are recorded for 1593: 42 groschen for the best beer and 32 groschen for inferior beer.

There is also a reference to a price of 26 asses, although its exact relationship to a particular monetary and volume unit requires further clarification.

Table of Historical Beer Prices

Note: These historical prices are presented on the basis of Rzączyński's material. Barrel capacities, monetary units, and local systems of measurement could vary.

If we provisionally assume a beer barrel held 126 liters, the price per liter of the best beer in 1594 would be:

54 groschen ÷ 126 liters ≈ 0.43 groschen per liter.

For the lower-quality beer:

40 groschen ÷ 126 liters ≈ 0.32 groschen per liter.

These are only approximate calculations based on the stated assumption about barrel capacity. They do not establish that this precise volume was used in every document cited.

It would therefore be misleading to conclude that beer was universally affordable. Such a conclusion would require additional information about wages, purchasing power, local taxes, and patterns of consumption.

Nevertheless, the difference between the prices of the better and poorer beers is revealing in itself.

It indicates that beverages had different commercial values, probably reflecting differences in quality, ingredients, body, production methods, or the reputation of particular varieties.

VII. Water: An Essential Brewing Ingredient

Today, water is recognized as one of the principal factors affecting brewing processes and beer characteristics.

Yet long before the development of modern chemistry, brewers observed that water from different sources produced different results.

Rzączyński offers several particularly interesting examples.

Slutsk: Why Was Salt Added to the Water?

According to Rzączyński, the local water in Slutsk had properties that made brewing good beer difficult without adding salt.

He attributed this to the exceptional softness of the water.

This account is valuable to the history of practical brewing because it shows that differences in water properties were observed long before modern methods of chemical analysis appeared.

At the same time, we cannot establish that Slutsk's water was indeed exceptionally soft or that the historical addition of salt was equivalent to modern techniques for adjusting brewing-water mineral composition.

Such conclusions would require independent evidence about the water, the composition of the salt, and the brewing process itself.

Grodno: Five Wells with Different Water

Rzączyński provides a more detailed description of the wells of Grodno.

According to his account, the New Market had three water sources considered particularly suitable for brewing.

Two additional wells were located in the Old Market, but their water was considered inferior.

The author explained these differences through natural conditions: water passing through different soils and interacting with the substances they contained.

This is an interesting early example of practical observations concerning variations in water quality even within a single town.

Kovno: When the Neman River “Blooms”

Another example concerns Kovno, modern Kaunas.

According to Rzączyński, at certain times the water of the Neman River near its confluence with the Viliya became unsuitable for brewing beer and making mead.

The author describes this phenomenon as a “bloom” of the water.

From a modern perspective, such changes may be associated with seasonal biological processes in bodies of water. Without further information, however, it is impossible to determine whether algae, other microorganisms, or a different phenomenon were involved.

The essential point is the historical observation itself: water quality was regarded as an important condition for successful beverage production.

Birch Beer: An Unusual Beverage of the Northern Lands

Rzączyński also mentions birch beer, citing Thomas Bartholin [19].

Birch sap was used as a raw material for this beverage.

Historical medical writings attributed to it properties associated with preventing the formation of stones in the body, probably urinary stones.

These claims should not be regarded as proven medicinal effects.

Nevertheless, the reference to birch beer is valuable evidence of the diversity of northern European beverages and the use of locally available plant materials.

VIII. Beer and Pope Clement VIII: A Historical Anecdote

Let us conclude our journey through the brewing history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with an unusual story.

Material associated with Rzączyński's work includes an account concerning Pope Clement VIII.

According to the story, the future pontiff encountered Polish beer while he was still a cardinal and developed such a fondness for it that he later supposedly ordered brewers from the Polish lands to be invited to Rome.

In the bibliography of this study, the story is associated with the name of Wojciech Rościszewski [18].

An important qualification is necessary here.

The work attributed to Rościszewski concerns religious polemics. Direct confirmation of the story about brewers being invited to Rome has not yet been established from this text.

The account of Clement VIII should therefore be regarded as an unverified historical tradition, not an established fact.

Nevertheless, the existence of such stories within historical beer literature is interesting in itself. They illustrate the prestigious reputation that certain Polish beers could acquire in the imagination of later generations.

Conclusion: Grain, Culture, and the Memory of Brewing

Beer in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was much more than a beverage.

It connected agriculture with craftsmanship, urban economies with international trade, and natural resources with everyday culture.

Its production required grain, water, hops, and the skills of the brewer. The final result depended on local conditions, ingredients, technology, and established traditions.

Rzączyński's work reveals a broad geography of brewing, stretching from Gdańsk and Kraków to Vilnius, Grodno, Slutsk, and Orsha.

We learn about beers that brought pride to their towns, historical prices for grain and finished products, differences in water quality, the thick Danzig Doppel-Bier, and numerous medical beliefs concerning beer's effects on the human body.

Naturally, a 1721 encyclopedia cannot replace modern historical research. Some of its information requires additional verification, while its descriptions of medicinal properties and unusual events reflect the knowledge and convictions of its time.

Yet this is precisely where much of its value lies.

Rzączyński preserved evidence of a world in which brewing was closely connected to the natural environment, economy, and cultures of different peoples.

And while mead often appeared in historical literature as a symbol of luxury and prolonged aging, beer was the beverage of towns, farms, craftsmen, and trade routes.

Three centuries later, these accounts allow us not only to explore the brewing history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth but also to reconsider the traditions of beer production in the lands of present-day Belarus.

Appendix. Historical Measures of Grain and Beer

When studying historical brewing sources, we repeatedly encounter names of units that have almost disappeared from modern use: last, korzec, modius, garniec, congius, dolium, and others.

To understand historical prices correctly, we must remember that before the widespread adoption of the metric system, these units did not have universally fixed values. The capacity of measures bearing the same name varied according to the town, region, period, and commodity being measured.

All conversions into modern units presented below should therefore be regarded as approximate.

Last (łaszt, Last)

A large commercial unit used primarily to measure grain and other bulk commodities.

In one historical Gdańsk system, a last of grain could correspond to approximately 3,282–3,284 liters, or about 3.28 cubic meters.

The last was used in wholesale trade and in the transportation of grain through Baltic ports.

Rzączyński provides grain prices expressed in lasts, including figures for Gdańsk in the early fifteenth century.

However, the size of a last could differ between localities and commodities.

Tonna and Dolium (tonna, dolium)

These Latin terms referred to barrels or large containers used for storing and transporting goods.

They appeared in records concerning beer, wine, oil, and other products.

Barrels holding approximately 126 liters are known for certain types of Danzig beer.

However, this capacity was not a universal standard across all towns and periods. Historical barrels could vary considerably in size.

Consequently, where a document gives a price per tonna or dolium, the actual volume must be established according to the relevant local system of measurement.

Medimnus (medimnus)

An ancient unit of volume used for dry goods, particularly grain.

The classical Attic medimnus was approximately 52 liters.

In historical Latin texts, the word medimnus could also be used to identify or roughly compare local grain measures.

Rzączyński, for example, gives the expression medimnus vulgo coretus, linking the medimnus with the Polish korzec.

This does not mean, however, that every Polish korzec was exactly equivalent to the ancient Greek medimnus.

Korzec (korzec, coretus)

One of the principal grain measures used in Polish and Lithuanian territories.

The korzec was used in the trade of rye, wheat, barley, oats, and other agricultural products.

Its capacity depended on the local measuring system.

In one historical system, for example, the Gdańsk korzec was approximately 54.7 liters.

In other towns and regions, the volume could be different.

Therefore, references to the korzec in archival documents cannot automatically be converted into a single fixed number of liters.

Modius (modius)

An ancient Roman unit for measuring dry goods.

In the classical Roman system, a modius was approximately 8.7 liters.

However, the Latin term modius could also refer to various local measures in medieval and early modern documents.

Consequently, converting references to the modius in sixteenth-century Prussian grain-price records into modern liters requires additional evidence.

Casula (casula)

A rare designation found in historical grain records, particularly in the expression casula siliginis, meaning a measure of rye.

The precise capacity of this measure and its relationship to other units remain uncertain.

Without further documentary evidence, its volume in liters cannot be reliably determined.

Chorus (chorus)

A name for a measure found in historical texts concerning oats, particularly in the expression chorus avenae.

One of the cited records gives the price of such a measure of oats as one groschen.

However, the actual capacity of the chorus is unknown.

Equating it with the korzec or another fixed volume without additional evidence would be unjustified.

Wiertel (wiertel, Wertel)

A measure whose name derives from the word for “quarter.”

In certain local systems, a wiertel represented one quarter of a korzec.

Its capacity therefore depended on the size of the korzec itself.

If a korzec were assumed to contain 55 liters, one quarter would equal 13.75 liters. This, however, was not a universal value applicable to every historical document.

Congius (congius)

An ancient Roman liquid measure equivalent to approximately 3.27 liters.

In historical Latin texts, the congius could also be used to designate or compare local measures for beverages.

Rzączyński connects the congius with a local measure called rozmiar, which was used in the beer trade.

However, the actual capacity of this local rozmiar requires independent verification.

Garniec (garniec)

A traditional measure for liquids and dry goods, widely used in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Its capacity varied considerably.

Examples from known historical measuring systems include:

• Kraków garniec — approximately 2.75 liters.
• Lithuanian small garniec — approximately 2.82 liters.
• Warsaw garniec — approximately 3.77 liters.

These values belong to particular local or later standardized systems and should not automatically be applied to every sixteenth- or seventeenth-century document.

Sextarius (sextarius)

An ancient Roman measure of volume equivalent to approximately 0.546 liters.

One Roman congius contained six sextarii.

In historical literature, the sextarius could be used both as a unit for measuring beverages and in figurative comparisons.

It appears in one description of Danzig beer comparing the supposed nutritional properties of different drinks.

Why Do Historical Measures Matter?

If a historical document states that a barrel of beer cost 54 groschen, calculating the price per liter requires knowledge of that particular barrel's actual capacity.

The same difficulty arises when studying the quantities of grain used in brewing, brewery output, and the volume of beer traded.

Incorrect conversions can significantly distort our understanding of prices, beer strength, and the scale of historical production.

For this reason, reconstructions of brewing in earlier centuries should retain original measure names, identify their local origins, and distinguish documented capacities from approximate estimates.