I arrived here by happenstance. I was supposed to find herbs for a beer I'm brewing but was unsuccessful. I knew I was near another brewery which I tried to find, but failed. Not my finest hour. But I recognized the area as I was here briefly once before, and knew there was a Biergarten around.

I was here with my partner back in late September, fresh in Berlin with ten days to find a flat. Since she is Swiss and I American, we did not have the proper documents required by most tenants and were (understandably) being rejected left and right. In Berlin, our friends have stories of how it took them up to two years to find an apartment, most of the time in a shared flat. We were getting desperate. 

The room we saw - which was only a student apartment meant for one person - was occupied by a mother and her child with another on the way. She herself wasn’t from Germany and had a large scar on her left cheek. The place was unkempt and dirty, with diapers scattered about and the sounds of cartoons on the television. The woman, who said she was to be married, seemed happy and was just looking for someone to cover the remaining months on her lease (which by the looks of it was illegal). We got out of there as fast as we could.

Now that we have (somehow) landed on our feet, my girlfriend and I like to revisit these areas. The biergarten is just to the left of that apartment complex. This time, I am alone, but the mood is vastly different. The sun is shining, there is the low mumble of pleasant conversation with children playing somewhere in the surrounding apartment complex. Nearly all of the 24 tables here are filled either with groups or with couples; out of the roughly 50 people here, only three are alone.

I order an amber ale, which had a forgettable malt flavor but an absolute killer nose (I would guess it was dry hopped with Centennial). My brain is telling me this beer tastes healthier than others, but I don't know why.

There is a large oak tree in the middle of the garden, with hedges separating us from the surrounding apartment buildings. Another couple arrives while two leave.

My German is markedly better than when I first moved to Germany, but not at the level where I can understand such a large crowd. Everyone here is probably from the area. Although one guy may be American telling by his accent, his German, however, is perfect. 

On tap, there is a hefeweizen, pils, amber and a gold. You can also purchase fresh apple juice and whiskey all made at the brewery. Interestingly enough, every drink is equally represented amongst the patrons.

I start to wonder if such a place would work in the US. If this were a new craft beer bar and their selection was only a pils, a hef, a gold and an amber, it probably wouldn’t receive rave reviews. Probably something along the lines of: “solid, looking forward to seeing this place develop.” 

Is this place craft? Does it matter? Everyone here is happy, and no one seems to care that there isn't an IPA on tap. 

Another couple arrives, and one has a local craft brewery t-shirt on, amusingly enough. I order the hef, which was not too standout-ish, but incredibly sessionable. A man comes to simply fill a growler.

I am reminded of my old biology days, sitting quietly and observing life. Despite being alone, I am very comfortable.

Four more whiskeys are ordered for the party at the back (two men, two women, one whiskey each). The chatter of the people is muted by the noises of a playground as the shade protects us from the heat. Kids are playing with toy cars on the table next to me, two different groups arrive as one leaves. This place is breathing.

Time to gather juniper branches for that beer I’m supposed to be making.

Boak and Bailey found a lovely newspaper article about the 'revival of cottage brewing in Essex village'. 

Using lentils to make beer. I will have to look into more about this historically, but I'm really looking forward to the next batch, as it seems the first one was not terribly successful.
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Part 5 of Garshol's Lithuanian brewery tour from 2015.
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I must (embarrassingly) admit that I had no idea about Max Henius and his efforts to promote beer and brewing in the 1900s. According to this, it is possible that the late great Michael Jackson used Henius' book to help develop his classifications of beer. 
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First post for Brewing Nordic, with an introduction of Nordic farmhouse ales.

"Once upon a time there were farmers who brewed beer from their own grains. They malted the grains, picked seasonings from the nearby forest, and fermented the brew with their house yeast. These farmers were not professional brewers, but they passed on their craft, word of mouth, from generation to generation."
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A private collection of memorabilia from a brewery which began operations in 1858.

A nice piece about the OHBA.
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An interview with Mike Stein of Lost Lagers fame on the history of beer in D.C.
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"The first of these  [Innovations] originated in the late medieval Netherlands and involved the addition of hops to the brewing process. While English alewives had just used water, malt and some herbs to obtain a mildly intoxicating concoction for immediate consumption, hops made beer more durable and commercially rewarding. Eventually, it allowed for the emergence of a powerful industry flooding markets with mass output and tied public houses – until, that is, the advent of pressure groups advocating greater variety and a return to more “traditional” production methods."

In-depth discussion on a lager brewed in the 1970s, with some good history of lager bier. 

"Is lager beer aged two months vs. six or nine as in old times, just as good? What about beer given two weeks storage if that? I’ve asked that question of brewers many times. Most seem convinced long-aging isn’t needed and on the theory (which I’ve bruited myself) that fresh beer is best, aging time can be shortened."
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"Rorabaugh writes that the Europeans who traveled to North America in the 1600s were already heavy drinkers. Because imported beer was expensive, colonists fermented peach juice and apple cider, and imported rum from the West Indies. In Virginia, barbecues, market days, and elections were a chance to pass around jugs of liquor. In 1770, many Americans opened the day with a drink and consumed rum or hard cider with every meal. People of all ages drank, even toddlers, who enjoyed the sugary dregs of their parents’ rum toddies."
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A brief history of a hop growing region in Russia.
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"Bjorn named the infusion beer “Drakenvit” which is our flagship Venture Pils infused with Norwegian aquavit inspired spices including caraway, fennel, cardamom, pink peppercorn, and citrus peel."
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A quick story on the resurrection of Pulque
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"The Hubbard Amphora is a Cypriot vessel decorated with a drinking scene in which an enthroned individual drinks from a vessel using a bent straw. Th Early Iron Age amphora (ca. 800 BCE) is currently housed in the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia (1938-XI/2/3)."

Just a few miles from Bamburgh Castle in Northeast England, lies the Bradford Kaims: a once major marshland inhabited by humans from the Mesolithic to Late Bronze Age. The Bamburgh Research Project (BRP) began investigating the Kaims back in 2009, and discovered some exciting material from burnt mounds. First, an extensive timber platform which is thought to be an access-way to open water (more on that here). Second, a few stone-lined troughs were excavated. Given the proximity the troughs were to open water, it is possible these early inhabitants were using the troughs to boil water (via stones), hinting at the possibility of brewing.

Recently, the BRP ran an experimental brewing course to see whether brewing could be possible using these similar technologies found at the Bradford Kaims.

I reached out to supervisor Rebecca Brummet, a veteran field archaeologist with the BRP, who was kind enough to answer a few questions so I could learn more about this project.

I have always been interested in Archaeology, but didn't pursue it as a career until I started University in the U.S. I am mainly interested in prehistoric northern Europe, specifically the British Isles, so when I did research on Field Schools as part of my degree requirements, I came across the Bamburgh Research Project, specifically the Bradford Kaims Project and decided I wanted to learn here.
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​According to Tom Gardner, Project Officer of the Bradford Kaims, "we believe it to be very important, possibly of international importance". Further work will need to be done to determine its relationship to the Burnt Mounds found on site.





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Our project has been brewing for three field seasons so far and have had success with barley in the past, so we continued to use it this year. I was a part of the beer brewing experiments last season and took on the mantle of Director this season to continue brewing beer and conduct other types of recreation processes in an attempt to understand how early humans used the resources around them.
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Correct.
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Per the public report, Bradford Kaims Wetland Heritage Project-Archaeological Report, "Firmer evidence for anthropogenic activity begins...with the first appearance of pollen from the Avena-Triticum group of cultivated cereal. Initial human activity does not appear to be within the immediate area. A more local presence only becomes likely in EB3a and above. Even then major changes to the vegetation caused by human activity are not supported by the evidence at Embleton within the centuries covered by the current pollen core."

We don't have specific evidence at the site for barley use for beer brewing. The reason we used barley was because we were able to procure it from a local supplier. Beer brewing is quite fun and easy and our students often enjoy taking part in the processes and tasting the outcome. To be fair, we wouldn't win any awards for the taste of the beer, but it provides us a glimpse into the life of early humans and an interesting experience for our students.

Honey would be found locally, but we don't have any indication of honey being used or for beer brewing taking place at the site.
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Personally, I think that brewing beer from grains allows multiple uses of the same resources, something early societies would have wanted considering the limited access to resources on a year round basis. Last season we used our leftover mash to pat into little unleavened barley cakes and bake on a large hot stone in the fire. This year we used some flour from the barley, mixed with an oil procured from sedge at our site to create more unleavened barley cakes. While not exactly the most palatable, they were edible, so I could imagine that with a little imagination and the addition of local herbs and spices, you could make something more palatable. I also think that beer brewing brings people together. One person could make beer, but it's easier, takes less time and is more fun with a group of people helping you out. We had a group starting the fire, another group gathering elderflowers and another breaking the barley husks. It's a community effort and it's quite enjoyable drinking the fruits of your labor after the fermentation process takes place.
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It's my understanding that unmalted barley was used in the first season batch and I believe we used it in one of our batches last season so we wanted to replicate our experiment to see if it would work again. 

​Since this was not a scientific experiment with controls put in place, we were more or less just having a go at beer brewing to see how difficult it may be and to give our students a fun, hands on experience as part of the learning process. We have many burnt mounds at the Bradford Kaims, so we know that early human groups used that area over a long period of time to heat up stones, presumably for heating up water. One of the uses of heated water includes brewing beer, so we thought we would try it out. We have not found any indication in our troughs that beer brewing was in practice at the site though. 

All the best and cheers!

I think the statement “[beer brewing] provides us a glimpse into the life of early humans and an interesting experience for our students” perfectly sums up why this effort by the Bradford Kaims team is simply awesome. 

Some more fascinating research on beer additives in the 1800s.

“In this collection of documents from the State Assembly of New York in 1886, it was said brewers try to shorten 8-12 weeks of aging time by artificially clarifying and carbonating the beer. This was done by adding bicarbonate of soda and if the acidity in the beer was not high enough, cream of tartar or another acid was added. It was not just to mix with isinglass: some brewers added cream of tartar to help carbonate the beer faster.”

Further on, Gary postulates an interesting (and fairly convincing) idea on the origins of ‘cream’ in ‘cream ale / cream beer / cream soda’.

A quick interview with historian Mark Dunn on the history of (James Squire, John Boston) brewing in Sydney.

Efforts for starting a beer museum are underway at the Astor House in Golden, Colorado.
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Another beer museum! Thanks to Stan Hieronymos for finding the story.
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Not the most in-depth article (there are no tasting notes, for one), but it at least highlights some sahti brewers.
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“This used to be the pigsty,” says Petteri while offering me a glass of sahti in a small tasting room. “I worked in the military at the time and was looking for a change of scenery. I read in the paper a story about retiring entrepreneurs who didn’t have anyone to continue their business. That’s where I saw Finlandia Sahti. I had some experience with brewing beer at home and after talking with my wife I decided to leave from the Finnish Defence Forces and become a sahti brewer.”

A new Bell Beaker (2,600 to 2,200 BCE) ‘earthwork enclosure’ has been discovered in southern Spain. There have been some evidence (and strong arguments for) the Bell Beaker culture were brewing, and I wouldn’t be very surprised if some evidence for brewing was found in future digs, Especially given that:

[the site] “...consists of several circular trenches with entrance-like openings at regular intervals. In the center was a deep, circular hole some 19 meters wide. In it, the archaeologists found large clay bricks with burn marks on it which may have served a ritual purpose. But they did not find human remains or indications of continuous settlement after the Copper Age -- suggesting the site was used intensively for a relatively short period.”

​Sounds like a potential malting and / or brewing facility, to me.

For this rendition of the session, we were tasked to put down our IPAs and seek out a few pilsners to compare and contrast. Something I can get behind since pilsners, I feel, don’t get enough love.
I would have written about the history of pilsner for this post, but that would be a disservice to Evan Rail’s work and expertise. Check out his Pilsner Urquell series if you’d like to read more on the topic.

I don’t know how I forgot to buy a Czech Pils, but I hope the beer gods forgive me due to the amount of Pilsner Urquell and other pils I have drank (drunk?) before.

Beer 1: Light golden color, lingering foamy head, with a faint green apple aroma. Not too much taste, but noticeable hop and biscuit flavor.

Overall: 3 / 5

Beer 2: Orange in color, a long lasting dense white head, with a nice orange marmalade aroma. Tastes almost of an orange soda with some grapefruit. Dry and bitter finish.

Overall: 4.5/5

Beer 3: Light gold in color, rapidly dissipating head with not too much nose (but what I get is bready). Not too much flavor, but it has a faint pale malt taste with a hint of hops.

Overall: 3.2 / 5
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So, Beer 1 was Schoenramer Pils, Beer 2 (no surprise) was To Ol’s Markedpils, and Beer 3 was Heidenpeters Pilz. All the beers here were solid representation of what Pilsners can be, but I am a bit surprised as I expected more from Heidenpeter’s. Still, these beers would all be nice on a hot day, like it should be in Berlin...despite all the rain this past week.
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Boak and Bailey review a court case from 1904 where a troubled publican claimed a beer had too much 'twang'

The tale of Burton IPA getting to India. Thoroughly enjoyed this one

"The London brewer Hodgson's owns the beer market in India. He has good links with the East India Company's sea captains and they make a lot of money by transporting and selling his beers. But Hodgson gets greedy and tries to hike prices, flooding the market with cheap beer whenever a competitor appears, then whacking them up again when the competitor backs off. "

Lars continues his tour of farmhouse ales in Lithuania

“Founded in 1882 by two German saloon-keepers, George Weisbrod and Christian Hess, the brewery grew to a full-block complex between Frankford Avenue and the aptly named Amber Street.”

A fascinating review on the techniques used to cool wine in Rome and the beer caves in 1800s America.

​“Although we often overlook it, the temperatures of food and drinks could serve as indicators of wealth and luxury before the late 19th century. Mechanical refrigeration was actually a response to the needs of brewers, since the process of brewing and fermentation required natural cooling of the fermenting beer.”

Happy birthday to the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives! http://thebrewstorian.tumblr.com/

Converting an old malting facility into a housing area. A bit of a heartbreaker, but at least they’re preserving the artifacts.

The story of the rise of fresh beer (i.e. lager) in the United States. This is but one of the articles Gary Gillman has penned this week, and I encourage everyone to go have a look at what else he has written.

​“But if the long-aged lager was so good, why did American breweries abandon it, something that happened in Europe too albeit later? Did they sacrifice the best quality for commercial convenience and profit? Why did they not sell some long-aged lager as a specialty?  Most consumer products have different grades.”

Jester King and Scratch Brewing team up to make a steinbier. The photos are fantastic!

A great editorial on the recent job posting from the Smithsonian.