It is time for this month’s session! This time, we are tasked with writing on which four people, past or present, we would like to have over for a beer dinner, and which four beers would I serve. Without a doubt, I would invite a student, an entrepreneur, a diplomat, and a dancer. Since these people are all dead, I’m going to go ahead and assume they speak perfect modern English as well.

The Student: I do not know this ancient Egyptian’s name, but he has been forever immortalized by his teacher, who pleaded with his pupil to stop drinking and return to his studies.  He writes:

"I am told that thou forsakest books (and) dost abandon thyself to pleasure. Thou dost wander from tavern to tavern. Every evening the smell of beer, the smell of beer frightens men away (from thee). It corrupts thy soul, (and) thou art like a broken oar. Thou canst guide to neither side. Thou art like a temple without a god, (like) a house without bread. Thou art detected as thou climbest up the walls, and breakest the plank. The people flee from thee, and thou dost strike and wound them. O, that thou wouldst comprehend that wine is an abomination and that thou wouldst abjure the pomegranate-drink; that thou wouldst not set thy heart on fig-wine, and that thou wouldst forget the carob-wine. 

Now, I am not sure if this guy was a particularly bad student or not, but it is heartwarming to know students have been acting the same way since the start of civilization.

The Entrepreneur: either Elynour Rummyng, Mother Louse or Mother Bunch, or any other alewife lost to history, whoever is available. These women would have started a business in an interesting time, when women in English society were not exactly treated fairly. There was one alewife who was subjected to the false claim that she had leprosy, causing her business to fold. I would imagine the anti-alewife mentality stems from men being afraid of women having power. Yet these women would have known to brew, and brew well, so to talk to them and learn more about their experiences would be something quite unique.

The Diplomat: Sir Kenelm Digby, English courtier and Roman Catholic at the time of the Gunpowder Plot. Sir Digby lived an interesting life, and was even deemed as a reputable philosopher, but more importantly, he wrote a recipe book. The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt. Opened. In it are recipes for 17th century pies, pasties, beers, wines and meads. It has served as one of the key resources for studying historic gastronomy. To discuss this with him, and the finer points of brewing, would save years worth of research into historical records.

The Dancer: A woman with no name, dubbed the Egtved Girl. She was a Danish teenager, buried around 1370 BC along with one birch bucket. Residue analysis carried out by Dr. Patrick McGovern and team showed that it had beer made from wheat, honey, bog myrtle and cowberries. Whether this was a beer special for funerals, whether it was consumed, if those ingredients were common etc., could all be answered within a quick dinner side chat.

To limit it only to four beers is a bit tough, as I am sure these guests would like to experience all the ranges of modern brewing. Yet having even 30 minutes of their time would help answer so many questions...and really put me out of a job.

​Raw ale is beer brewed without boiling. This particular style of brewing, for me, is one of the most intriguing. It's quite possibly one of the oldest ways humans brewed beer. The technology to get something boiling is much more complex than simply maintaining high temperature, as would be necessary for the mashing process. As with most things in archaeology, though, this is tough to prove.

Beer for me is defined as an alcoholic beverage whose sugars are derived from cereals. Given the adaptability of wheat, barley, rye, and oats to cold/wet climates, these grains became the dominant brewing materials. As a result, western society has, over time, come to define beer as an alcoholic beverage made from mainly malted barley, water, hops, and yeast, with the brewing process as mash, boil, and fermentation. Turning to history, one quickly finds that this idea is only a modern one. Raw ale is a perfect example as to why current brewing dogma needs more historical inspirations.

Raw ale is part of the larger Northern European ‘farmhouse ale’ family. Efforts to preserve such traditional brewing started around the 18th century, but more concrete research began with John Granlund's survey of Nordic brewing in 1928 (Revised with corrections, thanks to Lars Garshol). My entry into Nordic brewing history stems from Odd Nordland’s Brewing and Beer Traditions in Norway, published in 1969. It was based on a census in Norway in the 1950s, asking questions about the brewing process. I haven’t had the chance to read Nordland’s work, but it has been cited plenty by archaeologists (leading to my frustration with its unavailability). 

Thankfully, Lars Garshol has explored Odd’s work, and researched into the style extensively. Coincidentally, he has recently published a book on the topic. It was his prolific exploration of farmhouse breweries, and the discovery of these different styles that inspired me to brew a raw ale. 
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One problem, I don’t have a homebrew setup in Berlin (the joys of moving countries). So, I got together with the awesome folks over at Pirate Brewing who were kind enough to let me throw Brettanomyces into their fermenters. The two-person team used to run homebrewing parties out in Spain and have recently gone pro out here in Berlin. They also have a killer brew set up at home. 
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Recipe design based on the research carried out by Lars Garshol
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Smell - Ripe banana, with a hint of pine. Don't smell any DMS, nor any hint of sourness.

Appearance - Two to three fingers thick fluffy white head, with some haziness. I didn’t expect the beer to be as clear as it was. Given the increase of proteins and unfermentable sugars, I anticipated full on haze.

Taste - Banana meringue or banana flavored whipped cream with a dry finish. Going into this brew session blind, I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out. I expected a 100% malt bomb, but we got something similar to a dry hefeweizen. Neither cloying nor lingering flavor.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied, but over carbonated. These immediately foamed once you opened a bottle. 

Final Thoughts: I am seriously surprised by this beer. I anticipated a DMS-filled malt wreck, but it was a well balanced and easy drinking. Plus, it was one of the easier brew days I’ve had, so that makes it even more appealing. According to Lars, the beers go bad quicker than normal beers. But for the sake of experimentation, we’ll keep a bottle or two to see what happens. There are Lacto- and Brett in the bottles, so perhaps something good will happen.

Changes: More branches. I didn't detect too much juniper/pine flavor, and it would have played nicely with the strong banana flavor. Also, it would be interesting to play with the malt bill. I’d like to see how oats or rye would play into a beer like this.