History of the Week

Alcohol History Links for November 18 - 25
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Pitching Barrels

A rundown of pitching barrels and why it was done, according to Julius Thausig circa 1882.
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German Beer and the Romans

​Your weekly translations from Brewing Classical - if anyone out there knows the color of Roman wine, please let them know!

Beer in America

​Stan Hieronymus stops by the BeerSmith vlog to talk about his new book, including a discussion about the start of the brewing industry in America.

Breweries in Alexandria

A timeline of breweries in Alexandria, Minnesota.
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Using an old strain of hops

Wild forms of an old hop yard were used in a batch of cream ale from ​TWB Cooperative Brewery, London.
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Reviving Meals

A write up on the recent efforts of reviving food and drink from residue analysis and historical recipes.
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Inverness Archaeological Finds

This one was brought to my attention by Merryn Dineley, and talks about a recent archaeological discovery of an old drying kiln. Although there is no mention of brewing, it was more than likely used to make malt.
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Barley Genome studies

A recent study makes the claim that the short dormancy periods in barley is more ideal for beer brewing.

"The wild barley’s long dormancy means that, initially, the grain will not germinate in response to transient moisture availability and will therefore survive hot, dry summers. As a result seeds like wild-type barley that undergo a long state of “dormancy” at maturity – during which they will not germinate –are favoured for food crops. In contrast a short dormancy is more efficient and preferable for beer making."