History of the Week

Alcohol History Links Dec - Jan 13
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Gotlandsdricke

A great summary of the farmhouse ales brewed on Gotland, an island off of Sweden. I wish a full on archaeological review of Gotland would be carried out, seems like it could be used as supporting evidence for medieval brewing in Europe.
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Remembering Justin C. MacCartie

"I’d like Justin C. MacCartie to be remembered for his renaissance quality. And the brewing book is a good one, it shows in every line that he truly knew what good beer was – not all brewing writers do. This comes out in many ways. He supported use of native hops over the “trash” from England, not because English hops were inferior, but the voyage rendered them much lesser to what they were in England. He was prepared to say so when many were not, clearly."
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An interview with a Carlsberg Scientist

As I am sure some of you are aware, Carlsberg recently recreated one of their old recipes by using the original pure yeast culture and a historic strain of barley. The following is an interview with a scientist who worked on said project.
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Godin Tepe Hospitality

A good summary of the findings at the Godin Tepe archaeological site, with a nice mention of the residue analysis which showed that beer was being made on site.
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Brewing in Wisconsin

A great summary of the history of the brewing industry in Wisconsin.

"​Wisconsinites can thank political upheaval in Germany during the late 1840s for the start of the state’s brewery boom.

According to brewery historian Rich Rossin, riots, famine and land disputes in Germany in 1848 led many young men with business aspirations to migrate to Wisconsin, the same year the state was admitted to the union.

“The first wave of German immigrants who came over here were called “’48ers,”’ Rossin said. “They spoke up against the political powers in Germany and were told to leave. In the 1850s, many German immigrants came to New York first and then eventually to Wisconsin. They used Milwaukee as a spring board into the rest of the state. Milwaukee had tons of German brewers in the 1840s and 50s. It became oversaturated."