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History of the Week

2/10/2017

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Alcohol History Links Feb 3 - 10
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Immigration and the American Brewing INdustry

Brian Alberts (of Brewed Culture fame) thoughts on the recent Budweiser super bowl ad.

"Beer also holds another legacy that the advertisement overlooks—how modern American beer, the kind that millions of Americans will consume on Sunday, is a product of immigrant activism and entrepreneurship. In the 1850s, beer became a cultural battleground for German immigrants to defend not only their right to participate in American political and economic life, but also their very presence in the U.S."

Be sure to catch his interview with Michael Smerconish!
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Adolphus Busch

Getting past the clever marketing and revealing the real life of Adolphus Busch.

"​As always, reality, even in a brewing context, is sobering: he came from a well-off family; he received a “patrimony”, or inheritance, which permitted his start in business; and he retained significant links to the country of his origin, where he passed away at a castle he owned after years of a debilitating illness."
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Red Casks

Boak & Bailey try to answer the question as to why some cask ends were painted red.
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Millet Wine

Your weekly translation from the good folks at Brewing Classical, following their millet theme. 
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Austrian Farmhouse Ales

A look into farmhouse ales in Austria, and why it seemed to not catch on.

"So, for centuries, brewing in parts of Austria has been absolutely dominated by cities and market towns, which had exclusive brewing rights. Already towards the end of the middle ages there were efforts to stop farmers from brewing beer, and since no farmhouse brewing is recorded since then, it seems like it was quite successful."
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Chinese Beer

Archaeology students brew some beer in accordance to available technology and recent residue analysis from Chinese ceramics.
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Brewing in Portsmouth

A new book detailing the history of brewing in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Evolution of Yeast

A look at yeast genomics and how it relates to the history of beer.
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Brewing on Display

To show the importance bread and beer played in past societies, PhD student Lara Gonzalez Carretero put together an exhibit at the Petrie Museum at University College London.

"​We chose a loaf of bread from Hatshepsut’s tomb in Deir el Bahri (ca. 1458 BC), beer residue from inside a ceramic vessel and emmer wheat spikelets. Emmer, an ancient crop originated in the Near East, was domesticated 12,000 years ago in Syria as new archaeobotanical research has recently shown (Arranz-Oteagui et al. 2016); and it was also, together with barley, the staple crop in ancient Egypt used by the community on a daily basis."

Missed Post
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Brewing in Williamsburg

This one accidentally slipped through, but interesting nonetheless! Recent excavations in Williamsburg, Brooklyn found a few brewing caverns belonging to a Sebastian Schnaderbeck.
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Polish Beer

2/6/2017

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Craft Beer in Poland

I wasn’t supposed to go to Krakow, and out of all our options, Poland was last on my list. I left for Poland with mild curiosity and didn't expected much. 
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Like with most things in life I have preconceptions about, Poland proved me wrong. Dead wrong. I feel completely stupid for even thinking it’s a crappy place to travel to.

My girlfriend and I were getting a little bored with the Berlin life and were looking for a nice weekend getaway. Given she’s been everywhere and I nowhere, I drafted a list of the three places I wanted to visit. Czech Republic (aka Pilzn), Belgium (anywhere), or Poland. Poland only because it was a place she hadn’t been before. So, after a bit of discussion, we head down to the Deutsche Bahn to buy our tickets to Warsaw. About 20 min later, I realized we purchased tickets to Krakow by mistake. Following our embarrassment and a stint of laughing, freak-out from hotel cancellations, and only a day of planning, we set out for our first trip to Poland.

​We now go any chance we get.
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Scene
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To put it into perspective, I am at odds with the German beer scene. It isn’t the same here as it is elsewhere. While I do appreciate and like traditional German beers (at least more than my European counterparts), there is something unique about German drinking culture. From what I can tell, they don’t let their beers get in the way of conversation. It is this tradition which seems to put craft beer in an awkward position, leaving the microbreweries here with a major uphill battle. Although my thoughts on German beer is outside the scope of this piece, suffice it to say that it's noticeably different than anything I’ve encountered before.

Poland is completely different. There is a vibrant drinking culture that takes pleasure in things besides cheap Pilsner; Polish brewers are nailing Brett-only ales, experimenting with styles (like a smoked Berliner Weiss), and promoting craft beer classics like a west coast IPA. So, for me, traveling to Poland is like standing on familiar ground.  

But like most things foreign, I am limited by language. A look into how craft beer developed in Poland would prove fascinating. Post-WWII, most breweries were nationalized. Following the collapse of the communist government, the brewing industry went through consolidations, and now 80% of the breweries are owned by only three companies.

​Yet underneath this seemingly challenging market, craft beer seems to be thriving. From what I can tell, the ‘craft beer’ movement started roughly in the early 2000s and started gaining momentum in 2012. Now, there are plenty of beer fests like the Targi Piwne or the Festiwal Dobrego Piwa, and 2016 alone saw around 65 breweries opening their doors.  
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Schöps
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​On a (fairly) recent trip to a beer festival in Poznan, I learned about a historic beer called Schöps. According to the marketing pamphlet as provided by Browar Stu Mostow (the brewery which recreated the style), Schöps was the highest consumed beer in Breslau (Wroclaw) during the sixteenth century. Apparently, beer had been made in the area since 1255, and around the 1700s, barley beers fell out of favor to wheat based beers. Now, that alone is worthy of a research project. What was import / export relationship with the rest of Europe? Were these beers influenced by what was going on abroad, or were they born from Poland? Unfortunately, the marketing pamphlet is all I have on the matter.

The taste was a bit unexpected. The beer had a nice golden color with a nice lasting head. Aroma was rather subtle, with only a hint of malt and slight sourness. The taste was just a typical wheat-cereal flavor, with not too much yeast characteristics. I would say it was an enjoyable beer, but that might be due to my bias towards historical recipes.

The Brewers Association added it to its list of beer styles (here, pg 19 - 20). Yet they don’t cite where they found the information, and I can only find Stu Mostow's work online. So I have no idea where they came up with the “Breslau Style - Dark Schöps,” which is all I will say about that.

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Good news though is that it appears there has been some work done on the brewing history of Poland, as I found these two publications:

Historia piwowarstwa w Opolu i okolicach

and

Alkoholowe dzieje Polski. Czasy Piastów i Rzeczypospolitej Szlacheckiej

Now all that’s left to do is learn Polish and I’ll be set.
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History of the Week

2/3/2017

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Alcohol History Links Jan 27 - Feb 3
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The Prevalence of Juniper

A great analysis over the use of juniper in beer brewing throughout Europe.

"Juniper has definitely been widely used in farmhouse brewing in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. It's also definitely been used, probably widely, in Germany, Russia, and Austria. There are signs it may also include France and Poland, but we'll see. This is what I mean about the beer community somehow having missed a huge story.

What's more, it's possible that juniper was the main brewing herb from the Stone Age onwards, and that hops only eclipsed it at some point after the end of the Middle Ages. That, however, is going to be substantially harder to prove."
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Millet beer from Ethiopia

A brewing experiment inspired by the Greek Historian Strabo, utilizing both millet and barley for the malt bill.
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Michael Jackson's Work

To honor Michael Jackson as the 10th anniversary of his death approaches, Boak & Bailey are starting a list of all his publications from 1977 to 1986, in hopes to show how influential Michael was to beer writing. 

"The harder job, now, is tracking down the material he wrote for the national press in the same period. We have searched The Times and Guardian archives but if you have clippings, or perhaps have access to the Sunday Times archive online through your local library service, we’d welcome any tips."
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German Immigrants

This one came my way thanks to Brian Alberts over at Brewed Culture, and covers the role German immigrants played in the rise of the American Brewing Industry.

Temperance on the front lines

"In April, 1946, a Brigadier Brimblecombe wrote a letter to The News in Adelaide complaining that soldiers during the war drank too much beer and risked becoming enslaved to alcohol."
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Flour in beer

An odd note in an old brewer's notes, stating that flour adds clarity to their pale ale.
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Hidden Wine Cellars

A look into wine cellars that were built underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

A new Beer Historian

​Theresa McCulla has been announced as the new Beer Historian for the Smithsonian!
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History of the Week

1/27/2017

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Alcohol History Links Jan 13 - 27
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Classical Translations

The Brewing Classical team is back with their weekly translations!
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Australian Beer History

A look into beer reviews in Australia, with an interesting dichotomy.

"​Yet the 1844 story, written nine years after brewing commenced, praises Tooth`s all-malt beer and claims much local beer was sold as English and no one knew the difference. I cited sources earlier which argued (1860s) that Australian brewing was certainly up to the task, but social snobbery resulted in the product being viewed as second-class."
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Early British Lager

A look into newspaper clippings from the late 1800's on early signs of lager brewed in Britain.

Norwegian Farmhouse Ales

A great rundown of the brewing styles of Norway.

"In Norway the farmhouse ale used to be called "maltøl" in most of the country. The name simply means "malt beer," which might seem odd, since the definition of beer is that it's made from malts. However, a century ago "øl" (beer) was used for many different drinks: maltøl, sirupsøl (syrup beer), bjørkesevjeøl (birch sap beer), sukkerøl (sugar beer), and so on. In each case, the modifier in front stated what the fermentable was. It seems these were all considered beer simply because they were weaker than wine. In any case "maltøl" was the beer made from malts.

Let me make one thing very clear: kveik is the yeast, not the beer. If you want to say "Norwegian farmhouse ale" in Norwegian, then call it "maltøl." However, that's a bit like saying "English ale" or "Belgian beer". There are several styles, and they're very different from one another."
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Madam Gin

A brief look at the history of Gin in England, circa 1700s.
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Preserving Olympia Brewing Co.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the local historical society, a wealth of artwork and memorabilia from the Olympia Brewing Co. will now be cataloged and preserved at the Olympia Tumwater Foundation.
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Chhang

A nice introduction to a local beer style from Mechuka, India.
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History of the Week

1/13/2017

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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."
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Musings on 2016

1/11/2017

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It being that time of year we submit ourselves to the will of giant metal tubes blasting through the air at hundreds of miles an hour, one begins to contemplate where they've been and where they're going to. 

2016 was a bit of a wild ride: joblessness to employment, traveling to Italy and Poland, starting a blog to writing freelance. From a personal career standpoint, 2016 has been a good year.

It was time to say goodbye and head home. Leaving my partner and Berlin, I entered the calm hours of the early morning. No one here besides those who work terrible hours and the few travelers who decided to buy that competitive ticket at 5 30 in the morning. 

My destination: California.
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At the beginning of 2016, I was still looking for a job and getting desperate; anything to cement me in Europe. I felt I had to stay here. This is the place for the beginnings of Western beer culture and where I know I’ll eventually make my mark. 

Thankfully, I was hired for a biotech job. One which lets me hone my writing skills, albeit in a marketing tone. Yet now I can plan: which schools to apply to, which breweries to volunteer for, which mentor to follow, where I want to go with my life here in Europe. 
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​Entering the airport, you come face to face with herd mentality. Stampedes charging off to their flights, competing with each other to see who can walk the fastest. Then, full stop. Line - check into the flight - line - security - line - wait because someone let their child have a fit - passport check - then, finally to the gate. Another horde of people going to and fro, pushing their way to where they need to go. Then, turning down a corridor, I find myself alone. For some reason, no one is here. Face to face with modernity, announcements playing over the loudspeaker in different languages, planes pass by overhead, strange lighting - I begin to feel like I’m in a sci-fi movie as I reach my destination. 

Time to wait, flight’s delayed.
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​Leaving LAX, I'm hit with that all too familiar LA air. I step into my mom’s car - which I’ve entered countless times before - feels somehow new, somehow different. The sun shines brighter down here, but maybe that's just me.

I am asked to give a talk about the archaeology of brewing to a female-only craft beer club, which, given beer’s history, is oddly appropriate. My main points: beer is our cultural heritage, requires serious study, but should be enjoyed and taken lightly. In sum: it is always about the beer; it is never about the beer.
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Future Plans
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This past year I decided to write more about beer, in hopes to show people the heritage behind beer and brewing. I have had the privilege to interview fascinating people, write on topics from a malting facility in iron age Germany to the trials of brewing for women in Africa, and to participate in fun blog writing groups, all the while learning more about beer.

This year will see more interviews, more traveling, more and more about brewing archaeology, and, once I get my system up and running, actual brewing. My Father showed me a homebrew setup which would work perfectly in my apartment. Seeing that it’s close to my old homebrew system, I feel daft for not thinking of it before. 

In any case, it will allow me to do what I love most: brew beer.

Here’s to the start of 2017!
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History of the Week

12/16/2016

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Alcohol History Links Dec 9 - 16
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Musty Ale

Unraveling the history of ‘Old Musty Ale.'
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A Brewing map of Norway

​A geographical look at the brewing traditions in Norway.

“I've collected enough evidence now that I'm beginning to get a picture of farmhouse brewing as it was practiced in Norway in the past. However, to understand how people brewed we have to start with the geography, because that determined everything else. The brewing was a tradition descending in unbroken line from the Stone Age to the present. There were lots of changes on the way, and these were transmitted from village to village. When you look at the resulting patterns on a map it's obvious that the geography was tremendously important for what influences went where.”
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Alonso De Herrera

​An account of the first European brewery to open in the Americas, circa 1540s.
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Spartan Barley

Reviving an old type of barley that was grown around 1916. 
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Green's Ancient Grains

Even more ancient grain use.
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Sioux City Breweries

Seems beer museums are becoming more popular. Sioux City Public Museum is putting up an exhibit on the town's brewing history that will go til March 2017.
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History of the Week

12/9/2016

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Alcohol History Links Nov 25 - Dec 9
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Right. After a host of guests, travellings to Poznan and Bamberg, and family visits, things have finally turned to normal. Just in time for winter vacations. Anyway, time to get back on track with posts! So here are the weekly links to posts about beer history.

Stone Age brewing in Britain

A nice overview of studying beer history and archaeology, and the trials therein, featuring a few friends of the blog!

Beer vendetta

Your weekly Greco-Roman translations from Brewing Classical Styles!
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Pitched Lagers

Evolution of taste in the early 1900s, how pitch played a role in flavour, and how that was judged by drinkers of the era. 

“This is normal as taste is relative if not almost arbitrary. We like a heavy and bitter-sweet beer because we want to, not because it is inherently superior to a light and almost tasteless one. At one time, and still for many, it is precisely the obverse.”
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Intangible Belgian Beer Culture

​A write up on the recent bestowment of Belgium’s beer culture scene as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
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The Rise of Pulque

A look at the pulque scene in Mexico.

"Today, pulque is available in numerous flavors and strengths and you are as likely to see a tattooed millennial couple sipping a liter container of strawberry-flavored pulque outside a hipster bar as the farmers in cowboy hats who make and drink it in the countryside."
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Holiday Recipes

A short list of recipes for the holiday table. 
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Nashville Brewing

A collector of beer memorabilia and author of a book on the history of brewing in Nashville has decided to revive an old brand - the Nashville Brewing Company.
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Montana History

Efforts to preserve the brewing history in Montana from 1980s - 2000s through local interviews.
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Reconstructing a brewery

Restoring an old brewery to its former glory in Kent, England.
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Session 118

12/2/2016

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Look whose coming to dinner
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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.
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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.
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History of the Week

11/25/2016

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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."
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History of the Week

11/18/2016

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Alcohol History Links November 11 - 18
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Things have cooled (or at least the fear has subsided) down this week, but still hard to wrap my head around whats been going on back home. Time to get back to researching and writing! Anyhow, your weekly history links:
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Malinthalle in Egyptian Brewing

Translations of a text from Theophrastus, stating how Egyptians use Malinthalle (Tiger nuts) in brewing. Be sure to check out the homebrew follow up!
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Pub documentaries

A few links from vimeo which document the current pub scene in Britain.

"The similarity in tone of these films and others — wistful, slightly sad — says something about how the pub is viewed in 21st Century Britain. We suppose it’s because it feels fragile or endangered as an institution that people feel motivated to document it, while they still can."
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The American Brewing Company

The history behind the American Brewing Company in St. Louis.

"One might think A.B.C. was a small player in 1903. Not the case. Kargau correctly explains that most businesses which gain success do so over a lengthy period, but there are “exceptions” and A.B.C. was one. As he showed, St. Louis actually counted fewer breweries in 1903 than 1860, when no less than 40 dotted the city. The reason was telling: the scale and technological sophistication required of brewing by turn of the century meant the future was for large, well-capitalized concerns. Small players could not survive, they hadn’t the time to grow slowly over decades."
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Politics and Beer

Although this doesn't divulge into brewing history, it is a nice short piece on the political situation in the US and the brewing industry.

​"But it's worth mentioning, on a week in which it at least feels like we've had a political earthquake, that elections do matter. And they can affect things as remote and unconcerned with politics as beer. We know this because the beers we drink were in so many ways shaped by politics, near and distant. The history of beer is a political one."
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History of the week

11/11/2016

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Alcohol History Links november 4 - 11
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What a week it was, too...Hopefully this will provide some distraction!
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John Willy from Chicago

Remembering the hotel guide writer John Willy:

"Modern-day pub crawlers, you have nothing on them.

The drinks described up to dinner point are various: whiskey, Champagne, sparkling burgundy (a pre-Pro favourite in America). But the group itself posed finally the obvious question: where’s the beer, we’re in Milwaukee!"
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Hints of Beer in Iberia

Translations of a quote from Strabo, mentioning beer from Iberia.
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The importance of Open Air Museums

"On the 8th and 9th of September (2016) our whole project team headed over to Sussex to participate in a ‘Knowledge Exchange Workshop’ with the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum. In basic terms this involved us telling museum workers some of our findings about work activities in early modern England, and in turn them showing us how some of the activities would have been done in the period. The event was fascinating and fun in equal measure, and I wanted to take the opportunity in this blog to provide a brief account of some of the highlights and offer some thoughts on how this type of interaction between ‘academic history’ and ‘living history’ can be particularly fruitful."
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Indiegogo

Crowdfunding campaign for a beer museum.
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History of the Week

11/4/2016

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Alcohol History Links October 21 - November 4
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No Hand-Pumps for Europe

The folks over at Boak & Bailey's graciously indulged my question as to why "the cask hand-pump system didn’t develop in mainland Europe? Or am I missing something?"  It's something I've always wondered, since its so prolific in England. Yet, as usual, the rabbit hole goes much deeper.
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P. Ballantine & Sons

​Breweries and distillers during the 1800s used to produce books discussing the history and evolution of their business. Although it was simply a marketing tactic, has proved to be an invaluable source of information about brewing history. This takes a look at a book “ from the former P. Ballantine & Sons, now part of Pabst. It has its own twist, however: the theme of revisiting the “inn” or “tap-room” of 1840. That was the year the brewery relocated to larger premises in Newark, NJ from its start in Albany, NY seven years before.”
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Vindolanda Tablets

Your weekly translation! But be sure to check out this ​spontaneous fermented ale write up.

Snug Beer

​Some thoughts on snug bars and winter warmers in the UK.
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Historic Brewing run-through

​18th century demonstration of brewing.
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Jewish Beer Recreation

Write up on the recent efforts to recreate a Jewish beer from Quebec, thanks in part to Gary Gillman!

See another write up here

Beer Revival

Recreating a braggot from residue analysis on a cauldron found in Tuebingen, Germany.
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A Knighthood in Beer

The founders of a bar in Atlanta, USA awarded knighthood by the Brotherhood of the Brewers Paddle in Belgium for promoting Belgian beers.

Norcia's beer monks

Earthquake destroyed historic basilica, which housed a recent monk-run brewery.
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New burton-beer book in the works

The announcement of a new book on the brewing history in Burton from Ian Webster.
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If you have memories of living with and working at Burton's breweries from any time from the 1940s to the 1980s, contact Ian Webster on 01283 343323, email burtonsbrewingmemories@gmail.com or find the groups on social media.
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archaeological dig at Gwynedd quarry

A recent dig at an ancient cemetery uncovered a few complete beakers.
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Baltimore History

A brief look into beer in Baltimore.
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Session 117

11/4/2016

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Predicting the future

As stated by Brookstone Beer Bulletin:The Session, a.k.a. Beer Blogging Friday, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. This month The Session is hosted by Beer Meets Business, who would like to know what we think we will see more of in the future of craft beer. Tough topic, as it 's hard to separate what I want to see and what will actually happen.
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What we will see
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The same. We will see new breweries popping up, offering the same flashy keywords they need to deliver to attach themselves to the craft beer market. Whether they're brewing hop-forward beers to make the next great IPA, sessionable beers for drinkability, or wild ales to capture a region’s terroir, the craft beer market is still a niche. There is still plenty of room for other brewers to come in, and each will find a way to brew beer in their own way. Essentially, the boring answer is, the brewing industry will carry on as normal. Breweries have bought other breweries in the past, others have brewed the most popular style, while others were dedicated to ‘traditional’ beers. So, I guess we’re at the new age of the normalization of the brewing industry.

I’m not trying to be pessimistic. The more the merrier, as they say. It’s just, looking at history, shake-ups in the brewing industry only come once in a long while. Look at Egypt; they had a (seemingly) continuous brewing culture for 3,000 years until the Greeks came and messed it all up (apologies to Brewing Classical). But really, the biggest changes to European beer have been the industrialization of brewing, the proliferation of hops, Pasteur’s work on S. cerevisiae and the advent of lager beer. One could make the argument too that all-brett beers are the newest form of beer, but that remains to be seen.
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What we will see is more proliferation of indigenous brewing styles and brewing recreations. When so many breweries are seeking to distinguish themselves, they’re forced to look at how they approach brewing. One easy way to do this is to look to other countries who’ve developed their own brewing culture. In parts of Africa and India, for example, it is tradition to pour hot water over a communal batch of beer, so drinkers have a constant source to drink. Whether this is to Western tastes is one thing, but to adopt it and use it as a source of inspiration would, I find, bring great variety. 

This won’t happen anytime soon, as the research isn’t out quite yet. But things are moving in brewing archaeology and history, which I think will bring great innovation to the industry. To be fair, and to add a bit of skepticism to my dream, people typically say the beers aren't superb. Or they're good, but not great. The most recent rendition stated the beers were interesting but wouldn’t be to the public’s taste. I'm just waiting for the day a brewery takes history as the inspiration, and brings it up to date. 

But, these aren’t new things, just revivals. So, I’m afraid the future of craft beer is simply more of the same.

​Which is a good thing.
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History of the week

10/21/2016

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Alcohol history links October 14 - 21
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Iberian Translations

The King of Iberia, according to Polybius, kept large bowls filled with barleywine.
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Goose Island Yard Stock Pale Ale

​A review of the recent recreation of a stock pale ale by Goose Island.
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 Hart’s Strong ale

Examining a recipe from the 1800s from the Hart Brewery.
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Brewcon 1950

​Brief summary of a brewing convention in the 1950s.
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London Beer Flood

A look at the Meux’s Brewing Co. accident on October 17, 1814.
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Musings on a cheer

Thoughts on why/how we cheer - a bit more anthropological, but still historically relevant.
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History of the Week

10/14/2016

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Alcohol History Links October 7 - 14
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Observations in a town with no pub

A summary of the (nonexistent) pub observations chapter in the Exmoor Village, published in 1947.
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Experiments in brewing

Thinking through how and why ancient brewers would not filter the mash and use spent grain during the fermentation process.
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Magic of Malt

Part 4 of Merryn's summary of malting.

​"There's a story that ancient Egyptians, around 3000 years ago, may have made their malt by putting grain into baskets, then lowering the basket into a deep well. The basket could be raised and lowered, effectively steeping the grain. It would germinate in the basket and was shaken at regular intervals to prevent the rootlets from matting." 
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Calvert Brewing Family

​A history of the elusive Calvert family tree and how they entered into the brewing world by purchasing two of the largest porter breweries in 19th century London.

“Under Feast the brewery thrived: he was called “a great Brewer in White Cross Street” in 1716, when he gave away 400 chaldron of coals – around 570 tons – to “such poor people that he found were great Sufferers, and were hindered from Working by the hard Frost.” The Peacock pub, the brewery tap in Whitecross Street, was called a “House of Humming Stingo” by Ned Ward in his London pub guide of circa 1718, the Vade Mecum for Malt Worm. In 1723 Feast was elected one of the two Sheriffs of London, and, as was usual with sheriffs, he was knighted by the King, in January 1724.”
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Transitions to pure yeast culture

An analysis of the British switch to pure yeast cultures and the works of H. Lloyd Hind

“Hind stated that one or two brewers used mixed strains composed of selected pure yeasts, but even that was a distance from what Hansen urged of English brewers. Most stuck with their old system. This had its risks with the seeming oddity – it depends how you look at it – that at different times of the year the strain would differ in composition. This implied the beer was better at some times than others. All this resulted from ancestral methods of yeast “management” and that most plants then were not sterile in the modern sense. Guinness for example didn’t change to fully sterile  plant until after World War II.”
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Grog

A brief and light hearted summary on the history of grog.

In other news
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Bread

​Five main ways bread would have been different in Anglo-Saxon era England compared to the modern era.
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The English Garden

A look at recipes found in medical texts from the high middle ages.

"One such instance is found in the herbal Anglicanus Ortus (“The English Garden”), written by Henry, archdeacon of Huntingdon in England, around the year 1135. His herbal is arranged in six books, which contain a total of 160 different herbs and spices, all described in Latin verse (usually with one poem for each herb)."

LInks which passed under the radar
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Cyprus Brewery

The dig at Kissonerga village have announced the possibility of a brewery from Bronze Age Cyprus.

Cannabis in China

A recent excavation of a man who died roughly 2,800 years ago showed that he was buried with a shroud made of cannabis.
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Brewing Classical Styles

10/9/2016

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An interview with Kimberley & Kyle

Classical antiquity covers the period from the publication of Homer to the fall of the Roman empire, roughly 800 BC to 500 AD. As most are aware, the Greeks and Romans were adamant wine drinkers. Thus, when the Romans decided to write about their barbaric neighbors, they normally were not kind in their judgments of the barbarian's habit for beer drinking. So literary evidence from the era stems from those who normally didn't consume it, creating an interesting dynamic of 'Us vs them'.

In researching the history of beer, it is inevitable to come across such texts. However, most articles on the matter omit the translations, leaving the reader to trust in the researcher's interpretations. That is why the Brewing Classical Styles (BCS) blog is awesome. They’re bringing the primary literature to light, thus making the sources available to all. Plus, they brew some interesting styles to boot, like an all lentil beer.

Kyle is based in Illinois, USA. He started the blog, is the main author and the “brains” of the operation. Kimberley is based near Amsterdam, Netherlands. She does the social media and is now a regular contributor because all the cool beer festivals and Classically-themed beers in the Low Countries are too good for BCS to miss! 

Via the power of the internet, I had a brief online conversation to get to know Kyle and Kimberley a little bit better:
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Have any favorite beer at the moment?

Kyle: Anything without lentils. Actually, I typically don’t have a “favorite beer,” because I rarely more than one or two of the same beer (there are too many great ones out there!). I recently had Cigar City’s Marshal Zhukov and loved it. 

Kimberley: My favorite is EigthFive-0 American Pale Ale by Proof Brewing Co. Kyle used to live in Tallahassee so we had easy access, but now sadly no more. He promised to save me one though!
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Beer style?

Kyle: Although I love heavy stouts and Belgian quads, I find myself gravitating towards lower ABV beers (you can drink more!) like English ales, pale ales, and sours.

Kimberley: (India) Pale Ale and, dare I say it, Pumpkin beers. I don’t like some IPAs, particularly not fond of the dank flavor that is all the rage these days and overly bitter brews so my go to is to first get the Pale Ales on draft. Definitely a fan of the citrus and tropical flavors that some IPAs have and I have to admit that I am one of those girls who loves pumpkin-spice-anything, so that includes beer. Actually, Kyle is brewing me some pumpkin beers as we speak!
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What got you interested in beer history/Greco-Roman history?

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Kyle: I’ve always loved ancient Greece and Rome and I wanted to be an archaeologist since my childhood. Beer is a relatively new passion of mine that has only increased since I started homebrewing. Despite the relative popularity of beer-history, there are not many resources available to the general public on ancient Greek and Roman brews. Most publications are general syntheses and omit primary sources. I became curious about the literary evidence and decided to start the blog. My main area of research is not ancient beer, so the blog is as much a document of my own discovery of the literature.

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Foreshadowing my foray into ancient beers: in college – many years ago – I took an “Ancient Technology” course. We had the option to recreate any ancient technology for the class’s final project. A buddy and I decided to brew ancient beer. We read the “Hymn to Ninkasi” and many ancient Egyptian and Sumerian references before trying our hand at brewing. The result was absolutely revolting. Now that I know how to brew, I realize how many absurd mistakes were made for that project. It never even entered my mind that one could make real beer in his/her house until many years later.


Kimberley: Well, for me it was archaeology before anything really. During my studies, Classical Greece and Rome were part of the course work, but I chose to specialize in Aegean prehistory instead. So for me personally, Classical Greece and Rome used to be what I had to wade through to get to the good parts! Kyle is the one that got me into craft beers and recently, the beer history of the Greco-Roman world! Through his blog I am rediscovering all these places and times that I had to learn about during my undergrad and it turns out, the Classical world is far more interesting than I used to think! Nothing beats the Bronze Age though ;-)
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What was your dissertation about? 

Kyle: Identity and architecture in the Greek Bronze Age. Although the topic is unrelated to beer, beer was necessary for its completion. 

Kimberley: I am still writing up my PhD dissertation at the moment and it is about the question how connections between Greece and Italy could continue after a big crisis hit the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean around 1200 BC. To this purpose, I mainly study bronze objects and ceramics that indicate these connections in Greece, but for comparative purposes I also look at Greek ceramics in southern Italy. So no beer (yet)!
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Been on any digs recently?

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​Kyle: I used to dig/survey very frequently (3-4 projects/summer). However, I have begun to focus more on studying material that was already excavated.

Kimberley: Sadly no. The dissertation has kept me away from excavating lately. My last project was the Mitrou Archaeological Project, which was already in the post-excavation study season when I joined. It’s actually where Kyle and I met.
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What was beer's role (if any) within Greco-Roman society?

​Kyle: Beer had the stigma of being a “barbarian’s” drink or a drink that was popular on the fringes of the Roman empire. There are several great books about the social role of beer in ancient society. As a result, I try to avoid this avenue of study. In fact, the main purpose of the blog is to make the primary sources on which these studies are based accessible to the general public so that the reader can draw his/her own conclusions. 

Kimberley: Kyle is the expert here, because he’s the one that started researching beer in ancient Greece and Rome recently and founded the blog. The reason I joined initially was to help him out with social media. My role has since evolved to that of regular contributor, but so far I’ve been mainly doing reviews of modern, Classics-inspired beers rather than doing the in-depth research of beer in the ancient world. When I visit him in December, I may become more active on the research side because the plan is I will be helping him out with the experimental brewing project. 
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Was it made at home, or only for barbarian-soldiers (as those stationed at Hadrian's Wall)?

Kyle: It was certainly not a drink reserved for barbarian-soldiers. The true scale of production (especially outside of Britain) is hard to determine due to the lack of relevant sources and problems identifying brewing spaces in the archaeological record.

Kimberley: Well, they have recently been finding these brew houses in the UK from Roman times in the south, far away from Hadrian’s wall. So far, the reports do not make a connection with Roman forts or soldiers; one site (Wood Burcote) appears to be on the road to a larger Roman town (Towcester) and there are some speculations about it being an inn or pub of some sorts, while the other (Boxford) appears to be located in the countryside, not too far away from a Roman villa. In these instances, it appears too early to tell whether you can really speak of a domestic mode of production, but the location alongside an important road to a larger town could perhaps hint at production that was not (only) geared towards supplying the soldiers in the north. Hopefully, more extensive reports on these sites will clarify the situation. 
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Is the case study done by Dr. Lindy Crewe and Dr. Ian Hill ("Finding Beer in the Archaeological Record: A Case Study from Kissonerga-Skalia on Bronze Age Cyprus")

Kyle: The 2013 article about this is very detailed and comprehensive. It is a fascinating read!  However, I have not personally studied this material and, as a matter of course, I do not feel comfortable commenting on the interpretations.

Kimberley: The article presents a compelling case but, as the authors themselves readily admit, it is based on circumstantial evidence that could also be explained in a different manner. I thoroughly enjoyed their interpretation of the plastic decoration on those Cypriot vases as representing the activities taking place in a brewery as a way to support their case for having excavated a drying kiln used for making beer. It certainly is an interesting hypothesis!
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I have read before that the Romans most likely improved the production models of beer, given their expertise with wine making. Is there any evidence for that (artefacts or otherwise)?

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​​Kyle: To my knowledge, there is no definitive evidence that proves this. I would be very interested to read any articles to the contrary. My primary research interest relates to different modes of production and the transfer of technological knowledge – a related area of study. 

Kimberley: That’s a very interesting idea that seems to counter the notion that beer was only reserved for barbarian soldiers. 
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Whose research do you think doesn't get enough recognition?

​Kyle: This is a very difficult question. There are different types of “recognition” – especially between academia and the general public. Research that is very popular within the field may never make it to the popular media because it often is not “exciting” from the public’s perception. Alternatively, popular finds that appear on new sites may take years before full research and publications are prepared. Only then can academics understand the full significance and integrate into their own research.

Kimberley: Kyle definitely has a point here. Hopefully, one day the blog can grow to become a medium that bridges the gap between what’s popular in the media and what’s popular in academia – at least as far as beer in the Greco-Roman world is concerned. 
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Where do you see the research going in the next few years?



​​Kyle: Beer is becoming a much more popular direction of study. Its importance in popular culture and the development of more advanced scientific techniques have helped to make beer history and beer archaeology to become almost “trendy.” I would not be surprised if there are more discoveries/identification of ancient breweries. 

Kimberley: It’s already happening! Two Roman breweries in one month, now we just need some Greek ones!
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Is there anything people should be more involved with / discussing at the moment?

​Kyle: The most important thing is public support of the Humanities. Go to lectures/public talks (the Archaeological Institute of America has public lecture series at regional chapters throughout the USA), enroll in courses at your local universities (or declare a major!), learn foreign and ancient languages, travel to museums and sites of archaeological importance, and keep trying to learn more. I guarantee you will find the relevance of Classics, a Classical education, and archaeology, regardless of your profession/hobby.

Kimberley: Amen to that.
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History of the Week

10/7/2016

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Alcohol History links for September 30 - October 7
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Bit of a slow news week, it seems.

Beer ratings in 1893

​Beer ratings used at a 1893 competition where Pabst beats out Anheuser

“ The judges used a 100-point scale, divided into 15 for brilliancy, 20 for flavour, 20 for commercial importance, and 45 for chemical analysis (purity or absence of improper foreign matter). I find this system very interesting viewed from the perspective of a beer fan of 120 years later.”
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Pumpkin ale, a history

History of pumpkin ale.

“In one account dating to 1771, a writer complains about the flavour of “pompillon ale,” though he concedes its taste improves after being cellared for two years.”
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Those making beer will be grieved

A passage from the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, with a brief mentioning of beer brewing.
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SABMiller India documentary

A five part documentary series following Benjamin Hayward uncovering the history of his great grandfather’s brewery in India. ​
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History of the Week

9/30/2016

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Beer history links for September 23 - 30
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Notes for the Cellar

Cellar management notes from the 1950’s.

“Mild Ales… In some parts a dark, sweet ale must be served. This must be as fresh as possible and quite brilliant. In the industrial centres this beer will be in very great demand… In the residential or suburban areas, a mild ale of a lighter colour is more in favour…”
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Translations

Translations from the de Bello Civili which mentions the use of a barrel.
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Anton Shwarz

A write-up on Anton Shwarz, a Bohemian-born American who helped advance brewing science in the country.
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Stock Pale Ale 

Recently, Ron Pattinson and Goose Island teamed up to recreate Stock Pale Ale as historically accurate as possible. There are three write-ups regarding this here, here, and here, so far.
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Reviving an old beer brand

Breathing new life into a now defunct beer brand from the 1890s. 
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Chinese Rice wine

​A brief description of Huangjiu

“With a brewing history of more than 2,500 years, huangjiu is believed to be one of the oldest alcohol drinks in China. The earliest text record traces back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).”
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Shipwrecked Beer

Nice write up on the revival of yeast from a shipwreck off Australia.
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Carlsberg rebrew

​Write up on Carlsberg’s recent efforts to brew an old recipe.
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History of the Week

9/23/2016

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Alcohol History Links September 16 - 23
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Ale for the Romans

Description of the Vindolanda site in England. One of the key literature references to drinking in Roman-era Britain stem from these ‘grocery lists’ for the soldiers. 
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Teetotal Literature

​Deep analysis into temperance movement literature

“His main book, 1924’s Saloon Survey New York City, was a detailed statistical examination of various liquor and sociological issues five years after Prohibition. It looked for example at the number of shops selling distilling equipment or wine for sacramental reasons, at the incidence of illegal public drinking, the new uses the old saloons were put to, comparative rates in hospital admissions for drunkenness, and the effect on real estate values of saloon closures. He often sought to show the new businesses employed more people than the saloons had.”
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Norwegian Farmhouse Ales

​New book on Norwegian Farmhouse Ales! In Norwegian, though.
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Iowa Beer History

History of beer in Iowa

“While some might have regarded the attacks on beer as an assault on German culture, the reason for the 1884 riots was largely economic. More than 120 breweries could be found across the state at that time. They hired people to brew beer, store it, transport it, produce the barrels that held it and much more — creating deep community as well as economic ties. Ending the production of beer not only threatened the large brewers but also their workers, the urban populations they supported and even the surrounding farmers.”
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Iowan Oktoberfests

Another piece on Iowan beer history, but also promotes a local Oktoberfest.

"Located below the sidewalks at the intersection of Market and Linn Streets and the adjacent Brewery Square is a web of underground beer caves, serving as a reminder that Iowa City’s highly involved relationship with beer began long before the Iowa-Iowa State weekend.

The beer caves were initially used during the fermentation process of the three breweries — Union, Great Western, and City, commonly referred to as the “German Beer Mafia” — that used to call Market Street their home."
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Jolly Good Ale and Old

Depiction of a typical ‘Jolly Good Ale and Old’ event, hosted by the Intoxicants Project, and how they approach the question: were early modern people perpetually drunk?

“It’s a thorny issue, to which the response is too often a knee jerk cliché about the weakness of early modern ‘small’ beer and its status as a low-alcohol alternative to polluted water supplies (which, we know now, were actually pretty clean). Instead, to address the question properly, one of our expert panel – our own Dr James Brown, Research Associate on the Intoxicants and Early Modernity project – draws on recent work by Professor Craig Muldrew in his book Food, Energy, and the Creation of Industriousness (2011), which tackles the question head-on.”
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Olympia Brewing Company

​A brief history on the now defunct Olympia Brewing Company.
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Oregon's Beer History

A description of a talk which Tiah Edmunson-Morton of OHBA fame will be giving. Although not too informative, it does give info on historic brews like Wahoo and Pompion beer.
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Old Cellar

​A cellar from a brewery operating in 1865 has been discovered.
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Roman Brewery

​A Roman brewery in Towcester! 

“The remains of a number of buildings were identified, two of which contained evidence indicating they were used to prepare grains for malting and brewing. Pottery and other artefacts recovered from amongst the surviving elements of the buildings reveal that the process was being carried out during the 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD.”
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Teaching Alcohol in History

​Experiences on teaching a class on alcohol in American history

“As the class progressed, these problems continued. On one hand, much of the energy and interest of the class came because students could personally relate to the class material about alcohol and attitudes about it. I want students to feel invested in the course material, but it was very difficult to get many of them to consider what it meant that people in the past thought about alcohol very differently than contemporary Americans do.”
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Raw Ale in Berlin

9/19/2016

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Breaking tradition with a traditional raw ale

​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.

History

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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Set Up

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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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Gammel Bonde

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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. 


Recipe

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Mash length: 2 h
Boil time: 0 h
Final volume: 19l (~5 gal)
OG: 12 P
FG: 1.3 P
ABV: 5.7%

Malt: 4.5 kg Pale Malt
Hops: 84 g Fuggles @ 120 min
Other: 1 bag full of Juniper / Pine branches 
Yeast: Belgian Saison Blend from White Labs

Notes:
  • Brewed on August 28th
  • Signs of fermentation on August 29th
  • Bottled on September 4th
  • Brewed on a Braumeister
  • Tasted on September 7th
3 Comments

History of the Week

9/16/2016

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Alcohol History Links September 9 - 16
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Malting History

Write up on a recent malt & malting seminar out in Orkney.

"The ancient and traditional way of harvesting grain by hand was extremely hard work, it was a time when the whole community worked together to bring the harvest home. On Orkney, where I live, grain was harvested by hand and stacked in stooks in the field until as recently as the 1950s."
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Willkommen in Cincinnati

Brewed Culture visits Rhinegeist Brewery, which is housed in the old bottling plant for Moerlein Brewing Company from the 1800s.

"​American craft beer is great, but it has really big shoes to fill. Rhinegeist is pretty large as far as craft breweries go, producing about 30k barrels when I visited but on the cusp of an impressive expansion. Yet despite being a major regional player on the craft scene today, they still struggle to fill the space of one single part of the brewing complex of a major regional player a hundred years ago. Craft beer today is re-inventing, not creating, the local focus and diversity that once characterized American beer."
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Lentil Beer Round 2

Tasting notes for Brewing Classical's second rendition of the Armenian lentil beer.
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Budweiser Powerhouse

Personal opinions aside, AB does play an interesting role in US history. 
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"1970s beer books, written at the dawn of the craft revival, are respectful and sometimes admiring of its [Anheuser-Busch] beers even as they were then."
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Scottish Beer History Podcast

Ron Pattinson sits down for a chat about Scottish brewing heritage with the BeerSmith podcast.
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Kupiškio

Lithuanian brewery tour #7. Not quite historical but this brewery still makes traditional beers.

"Vidmantas explained that this was a WW I army ammunition store, built into the ground to minimize the damage from any explosions. That's perfect for a brewery, because it provides partly natural cooling for the maturation room. The actual brewkit is in the same building as the shop, but the fermenters, maturation tanks, and bottling plant are in the bunker. It's very clearly a modern brewery, and the batch size is the same as at Davra, 2000 liters."
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Burnt Cheese in Archaeology

Not about beer, but it highlights the general process behind residue analysis.
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Beer beginnings in Indianapolis

A chronicling of beer in Indiana.

"​The first brewery in the city of Indianapolis came in 1834 with the opening of Wernweg & Young. Wernweg & Young, sometimes called “The Indianapolis Brewery”, was established in 1834 at Maryland and West Streets. Partners William Wernweg and John L. Young set the footprint for Indianapolis’ brewing story. The National Road, a.k.a. Washington Street or U.S. 40, was and is the spur toward the current craft brewery boon around Greater Indianapolis. Modern day breweries cluster along and nearby Washington Street."
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Brewed Culture

9/10/2016

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An interview with Brian Alberts​

One of the joys of running a blog is when you unexpectedly encounter like minded people. People who have the same obsession and used it as inspiration to go down a similar path, and, somehow, make you feel a little bit more normal.

Brian Alberts is the creative mind behind Brewed Culture, a blog which aims to place beer within its context. He is currently working on his PhD in 19th century brewing in America at Purdue University. I stumbled across his blog awhile back and immediately bookmarked the site. This is a person I wish I could sit down and have a pint with.

So for now, via the power of the internet, I had a brief online conversation to get to know Brian a little bit better


Have a favorite beer at the moment?

​Officially my favorite beer is Three Floyds’ Zombie Dust, which is definitely deserving, but there are too many great beers out there to nail down just one. Some recent highlights for me have been Brickstone APA (out of Chicago), New Glarus’ Oud Bruin and Cran-bic special releases (only in Wisconsin!), and New Albanian’s Black and Bluegrass ale (southern Indiana, right by Louisville).  
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Beer style?

I don’t really “discriminate” among beer styles. I’ve encountered bad beer, sure, but no bad styles yet. Right now I’m most interested in Oktoberfest seasonals. Ayinger’s Oktoberfest märzen is far and away the best I’ve had, but on the American side I’m a sucker for New Glarus’ Staghorn.
 
But I’m also hoping to attend Cincinnati’s “Oktoberfest Zinzinnati” this year, the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States, so I’ll make sure to keep an open mind.
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What got you interested in Beer history?
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Indiana has a fantastic beer scene which hooked me within a couple years of entering grad school. I specialize in the 19th century United States, but my original dissertation topic lost its appeal, so I went shopping for a new one. I wondered whether it was possible to meld a personal interest in craft beer into a historical moment.

Make no mistake, this is very much a “Danger, Will Robinson!” kind of approach. Just because you like something doesn’t mean it’s a significant or lucrative topic of historical inquiry. But I explored it in consultation with my advisor and discovered that beer could really be a gateway into better understanding very significant facets of the antebellum United States. Facets like capitalism and the market revolution, reform movements, and German immigration and ethnicity. What’s more, the U.S. between 1840 and 1873 saw a dramatic expansion of its brewing industry that in some ways resembles the American craft beer explosion we’ve been witnessing since the early 80s or so.
 
I’m not at the stage yet where I can draw definite lines between the two eras, but the correlation is difficult to ignore. And on top of it all, I’ve seen lots of space in the literature for further study on the pre-1870s American brewing industry. And when you see a lot happening in a historical era and not enough being written about it, that’s a dissertation.


What is your dissertation about, And how do you perform research?

My dissertation uses beer as a nexus point for better understanding how German immigrants navigated a mid-19th century United States that was itself undergoing massive transformations. The market revolution was changing the face of American capitalism, which in turn affected politics and culture. Demand for labor brought millions of immigrants, notably Germans and Irish, into the country. Immigration combined with urbanization and associated issues like crime and poverty spurred both political nativism and social reform movements, specifically the temperance movement.
 
Beer is connected to all of these issues. Lager beer and its German immigrant brewers helped transform and expand the industry from the late 1840s onward despite a changing economic landscape. They faced periodic resistance from nativist and temperance groups opposed to both their products and their presence. Yet by 1873 the U.S. contained ten times as many breweries as had existed in 1850. A German-American-dominated brewing industry was flourishing, had a working relationship with the federal government, and stood poised to embrace the economic, technological, and organizational developments of the Gilded Age. My dissertation examines this process by looking at two Midwestern cities—Chicago and Cincinnati—as sites which combined proportionally high German populations, large concentrations of breweries, and urbanization patterns tightly connected to the market revolution.
 
I perform research like many historians do. I look at old paper. For me it’s government records, newspapers, pamphlets (especially temperance pamphlets—if you want to learn about something, find the people who hate it and they’ll go on for days), trade journals, Civil War court martial proceedings, records of beer-related organizations like the United States Brewers Association, things like that. A particularly fun source is a massive book titled One Hundred Years of Brewing, published in 1903 or so by a trade magazine called The Western Brewer. It describes the development of American beer in exhausting detail and is unique in that many of the historical sources its authors used no longer exist today. Read any book on 19th century brewing and you’ll probably see it cited, though I’m of course supplementing it with a number of other source bases.

What is a typical day for you?

I’ll let you know when I have one. The to-do list is always changing, and a grad student like me definitely has it easier than, say, a professor. But generally my time is split between processing the research materials I’ve collected, reading, writing, preparing content for Brewed Culture, keeping up with beer news, and stuff like conference or funding applications. Over the next few months I hope to find a publishing opportunity to work towards, as well as put together a syllabus for an American beer history course I want to teach!

Are there any general misconceptions about the history of alcohol within the US?

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I think general audiences are too quick to default to the “progressive” view of history. It’s the idea that things tend to always get bigger and better than they were before. That as we move forward in history, rights expand, technology improves, problems get solved, on and on. The stuff of the past must have somehow been worse or less developed than today, because as a society we move forward, not backward. Most historians rejected that notion decades ago.

But that idea still crops up in relation to beer. I used to mention to people that the U.S. had more breweries in 1873 than they did now (that’s no longer true as of November 2015, but it once was). They’d respond with some comment about how breweries then would have been tiny and with little reach.

Well sure, but the vast majority of breweries today are tiny and serve a local community too! Roughly 75% of American breweries today produce less than 5,000 barrels according to the Brewers Association. That’s well over 3,000 breweries. Add them all together and they’ll produce less than a single MillerCoors brewing complex!

My professional goal for the moment is not so much to clear up individual misconceptions about beer history in the U.S., but rather to establish how critical beer history is in understanding its present identity. That the craft beer revolution, while distinct, is not completely without precedent. That even modern-day giants like Anheuser-Busch-Inbev stand on the shoulders of those who came before them.
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Whose research do you think doesn't get enough recognition?

Amy Mittelman wrote a fantastic book several years back, called Brewing Battles. If you read it, you’ll notice how wonderfully specific she gets in the first couple chapters, once she begins talking about the American Civil War, the first government excise taxes on beer, and the brewing industry’s coordinated advocacy to get the U.S. government to reduce the taxes. It stands out to me in relation to the other (still laudable) parts of the book. That’s because Mittelman’s dissertation work at Columbia University focused on that very topic, the relationship between the beer industry and the federal government from 1862-1900. It’s a shame that such an important subject had to be condensed and fit into a larger work, especially when Mittelman clearly knows the subject well.
 
What deserves more recognition are these intimate connections between beer and broader society. My point isn’t that no such studies exist (take Sharon Salinger’s Taverns and Drinking in Early America, for example) but rather that rising interest in craft beer ought to contain a rising interest in the context and implications of that beer. Several popular histories of the craft beer movement already exist, but audiences and scholars alike should demand closer, deeper studies as we move forward.
 
That said, exciting new research is already appearing. I can’t wait to get my hands on Peter Kopp’s recently released Hoptopia: A World of Agriculture and Beer in Oregon's Willamette Valley (U. of California Press). Also watch out for a forthcoming edited volume called Untapped: Exploring the Cultural Dimensions of Craft Beer, scheduled for release March 2017 by the West Virginia University Press. Untapped will combine 12 essays from multiple disciplines and looks very promising.
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Where do you see the research going in the next few years?

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I honestly don’t know because I think the terms of the conversation are about to change. The Smithsonian is currently in the process of hiring a historian for its American Brewing History Initiative, who will be tasked with collecting and curating a new cache of resources devoted to tracking and interpreting the history of the American craft beer movement. The Smithsonian is a leading institution (deservedly so) and American brewing history isn’t the largest subfield out there, meaning it doesn’t have irresistible scholarly momentum of its own. So naturally I think the Smithsonian’s choices for who gets this job, and what specific directives they’re given, is going to set the tone for a lot of what’s to come.
 
It’s possible that the American Brewing History Initiative, with its focus on craft beer, will treat the movement as a watershed which is changing everything we thought we knew about American beer. They might focus on everything from the 1960s onward and its contributions to later craft beer, and ignore everything before. Alternatively, they could view craft beer as a product of longstanding trajectories and momentum and actively seek out the historical context which steered not only the diversification of late 20th and 21stcentury beer, but also the incredible consolidation that craft beer reacted to. I bet you can tell which of those I’m hoping for, but whichever paradigm the Smithsonian chooses will have a significant impact on public interest, available resources, and the terms of scholarly discussion.
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Is there anything people should be more involved with / discussing at the moment?

I would encourage more people in general to take a ‘long view’ with their interest in American brewing. Even the most ardent craft beer fan must acknowledge that the significance of American beer history runs far deeper than Sam Adams or Dogfish Head, deeper even than New Albion or Anchor Steam. And if they think beer just wasn’t interesting before that, well then they aren’t paying enough attention.
 
Regardless of anyone’s present opinion of Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst, etc, their historical significance for American beer is indisputable. But even they rest upon a historical foundation of intense economic competition, diversity, and controversy which defined the brewing industry before their rise. It’s easy to look at American beer pre-craft and see nothing but bland homogeneity. But, honestly, I see the intensely consolidated beer markets of, say, the 1950s, as the exception rather than the rule. Craft is continuing, not inventing, a tradition of diversity and local influence in American beer and calibrating it to fit a 21st century economic climate. It’s something to celebrate, and also something to put into its rightful context.
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"Craft is continuing, not inventing, a tradition of diversity and local influence in American beer and calibrating it to fit a 21st century economic climate. It’s something to celebrate, and also something to put into its rightful context."

​Cheers to that.

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History of the Week

9/9/2016

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Alcohol History Links September 2 - 9

Jugs & Mugs

Summary of the difficulties in identifying and the nomenclature of artefacts. Comes with some awesome photos as well. 

“Despite these challenges, the identification of objects is an extremely important part of the project. The artefacts used to produce, traffic, store, and consume intoxicants were as carefully chosen as the substances themselves, so it’s only be documenting these objects, and the locations in which they were found, that it’s possible to fully understand and appreciate the role of alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee in early modern society.”
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Clarity in early American Beer

“Adjunct use together with other procedures meant the beer would not cloud, from excessively high protein content, when shipped long-distance or where bottled beer was alternately exposed to cold and warm temperatures. It is evident from his remarks that both professional brewing and the public required under all circumstances a clear drink. (There were minor exceptions, e.g., “weiss” beer, and steam beer in part).”
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Kveik

Laboratory analysis of Kveik yeast.
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Some more fun with Scottish Brewing

Some more myth busting on Scottish brewing history.
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regrowing seeds

Scientists are attempting to regenerate grains from an ancient (2,800 years old) castle. Not sure how they plan to accomplish that, but hopefully it works.
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Hop beer in Alberta

A brief description of a brewery from the late 1800s to early 1900s for a promotional event at a local museum.

“Noel’s Brewery, located in the river valley and operated by Joseph Noel and partner Narcisse St Goddart, produced “hop beer.” This four per cent brew was not aged but simply cleared of sediments and sold directly after the batch was made. There was also Malcom McKenzie, who owned McKenzie House, later the Windsor Hotel, and had a large brewery in the 1880s. In 1883, Joe Hall had established a brewery in the riverbottom.”
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Domesticating yeast

I have been waiting for this for quite some time. Kevin Verstrepen’s work is fascinating and well worth a read. This paper is hot off the presses, though, so I havent had much time to have a proper read through. 
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Session #115

9/2/2016

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On Beer Books

This month’s session is on the role of beer books, a topic which I could probably rant on about for a good while. So, I will focus on those books which have been there; key literature which guided me along the path I'm on today.
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Before beer was a thought

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​I was accepted to UC Santa Cruz in the summer of 2006. I thought my future lied in exploring the deep sea, trudging along the ocean floor hunting for squids. But sometimes it just doesn't work out. 

That father’s day, I coincidentally bought my dad The Brewmaster's Table by none other than Garret Oliver. At the time my dad was getting into craft beer, but I was still under age and refrained from drinking. I wanted to wait til I was 21 to have my first proper pint, but that didn't happen (college and all). Flash forward a year or two, and I read that book out of curiosity during one summer. There in the book was the first description of beer history I ever read and laid the foundation of my love for beer.

Before the obsession

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Around the time I graduated, I jokingly told my dad he should start homebrewing. And so, naturally, calling my dare our first batch together soon followed. Within a month or so we had our 5 gallon all grain HERMs set up, along with our collection of different beer books.
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Given how much I read How To Brew by John Palmer and Brewing Better Beer by Gordon Strong, I feel like they deserve an honorable mention. Yet it was Randy Mosher’s Radical Brewing with its different recipes from history that moved my interests forward. This book showed me that beers from the past were drinkable, interesting, and could be used as inspiration for today. This then lead me to wonder how beer fits in culturally, at what time these beers were developed, and the ultimate question, how did brewing begin?



Wanting to know more about beer history, I ordered a copy of Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Richard Unger. I need to order a new copy since mine is essentially in ruins. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I frequently reread it to pick up information. Reading up on Richard Unger (and others like him), and how it was professionally possible to pursue the history of beer in academia - coupled with my dissatisfaction in marine biology - was the final straw in attending graduate school to research into beer archaeology.

Durham University

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​So, as it happens, one of my good friends was attending Durham University for his Ph.D. Given his recommendation, I decided to give it a shot. I somehow got in and ‘moved across the pond’ as they say. The library here was phenomenal, and I was able to find books I couldn’t find before, the dissertation by none other than Merryn Dineley, and books I had no idea existed. Out of all of the books, I used A History of Beer and Brewing by Ian Hornsey. This book was a treasure trove of information, and I always used it as a starting point to begin research. I need to get myself a copy, as it is a great book.

The Move

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​During my time at Durham, I bought two books which I thought were fantastic:
 Boak and Bailey’s Brew Britannia, and Pete Brown’s Shakespeare’s Local. I was about halfway through these books, but as the story goes, I met Her (at a pub no less), fell in love, and decided to move to Berlin after we graduated.

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​Now, I only had a backpack with me (and her suitcase thankfully enough) to move everything I had over to Germany (with one quick stop off to Switzerland).  I, unfortunately, had to throw away Pete Brown and Boak and Bailey’s books. They both are excellent books, and I would recommend them to anyone, but I had to bring the essentials, and we quickly ran out of luggage space. I wish instead I could write about books I could've kept, but that’s just not how it happened. Now that I am back on my feet with a bit of permanency, I am slowly building up my own brewing library.

Ich bin ein Berliner

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So, now after what seems a lifetime ago of living in England, I live and work in Berlin away from academia (for the time being). I have just started to accrue my brewing equipment, made friends with those in the business, and started teaching myself the German language. A unique place to be, for sure, given that I never imagined myself to be in such a place. But, I am lucky enough to have the luxury to learn a language, and to research/write about beer history in my free time.

That is why I think for this point of time in my life, I would recommend (if you speak German) Das Bier: Eine Geschichte von Hopfen und Malz, by Dr. Franz Meußdoerffer and Dr. Martin Zarnkow. Bear in mind, though, that I speak/read at a child’s level of German, and so reading this book is slow. But because I had had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Martin Zarnkow, I trust that it will be an interesting take on the history of beer. By the end of it, hopefully, in addition to some beer facts, I’ll improve my German some as well.



​There are plenty of books I am skipping over. One on the history of countryside brewing in England, fermented beverages in the Sudan, the cultural role of consumption, etc etc. But these were the books that guided me onto my current career path and of brewing obsession. In the end, I just hope this month’s session inspires more reading, more learning, and more writing!
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    Jordan Rex

    Beer archaeologist

    From California, migrated to the UK to study,  drank in Berlin, now settled in Switzerland

    @timelytipple
    instagram.com/timelytipple/
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