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ale-msg - 3/29/10

Medieval ale.

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From: miss059 at uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Rich Bainter)

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs,rec.crafts.brewing,rec.org.sca

Subject: SUMMARY: Herbs in medieval brewing... (Long?)

Date: 30 Nov 1993 09:25:18 -0600

From: COCKERHAM SANDRA L (MCVAX0::RX31852)

The new Special Issue of Zymurgy has an article by Gary Spedding about

beers without hops. He gives many examples and lists his references.

This would probably give you a running start.

From: jonathan at indial1.io.com (Jonathan David Bow)

For the time period you specified I recommend you consult John Gerard's

_Herbal_, a classic work. The complete text of the 1633 edition was

republished in 1975 by Dover Publications. Library of Congress Card No.

74-18719.

From: eden.rain at aldus.com (Eden Rain,Cnslt)

From: Luxueil on Wed, Nov 17, 1993 2:21 PM

"Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Cloves, and that gave me my jolly red nose"

Words to a song in a c.1600 collection which refer to the spiced used in

ale/beer. I am *Told* that these were used in place of hops, but since I

know nothing of brewing I don't know how accurate this

is.

From: jschmidt at spiff.Tymnet.COM (John Schmidt)

From: lynchl at attmail.com

Subject: Period Ale

Well, Well. I hope none of you mind the fact that, since I recieved so

many responses to my offer of help with period brewing, I am writing a

generized response. If I end up speaking down to someone, I am sorry.

First, a few references:

Lost Country Life, Dorothy Hartly, Pantheon Books.

This one is a must have for anyone with an interest in the 'common life'

of pre-industrial people in England. Ale and Beer are discussed in

several places. Unfortunetly, she seems to equate mashing (of malt) and

hops, as she indicates that mashing was not done until the end of the

mideval period. This is (very) false.

The Historical Companion to House-Brewing, Clive La Pensee, Montag Pub.

This is a very good historical reference to beer making. Most of it

is out of period, but there is more here on pre-hop beer making then I

have found anywhere else. This book includes many period beer recipes,

but most are of German origin, and German adopted hops earlyer the the

English. Also has very good info on mashing at home!

The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing, Charlie Papazian, Avon.

Good book on beginning and intermediate home brewing.

The New World Guide to Beer, Michael Jackson, Running Press.

Very good book on beer styles world wide. Some historical info.

All of these (except Hartly) can be purchased mail-order from the

Association of Brewers, (303) 447-0816, weekdays 8-5 Mountain Time.

Next, a simple how-to on brewing. To those of you who have brewed

beer before, this is VERY simple and general. Skip this section.

This example will brew a basic ale. Generally of an English light

ale type.

To everyone else. This procedure may sound more complex then that stated

in most beer kits. I know very few people who follow the directions on

those kits that manage to make good beer. These instructions are not

goof-proof, but they will minimize the chances for contamination.

Many of you make mead or wine. That's good, you can use much of the same

equipment. But beer has a much lower alchohol level, and generally a much

lower acidity as well. This means that it is much more suseptible to

infection. Infections in beer can only make the beer taste bad, however,

not hurt you. One other point, these instructions call for using bleach

as a sanitizer. Use it. I know you may use sulphite in wine/mead, but

it doesn't work in beer.

Basic Equipment:

Large (3-4 gal) stainless or enameled pot. No Aluminum! it will make your

beer taste funny!

5-6 gal food grade plastic bucket (with lid) or glass carboy.

Racking tube.

plastic tubing (3-4 feet).

airlock and drilled stopper for your bucket/carboy.

plastic funnel to fit carboy, if one is used.

48 empty beer or champagne bottles. Don't use other kinds of bottles,

they are not strong enough.

New bottle caps.

Capper.

Basic Ingrediants:

6-7 pounds of pale / amber / dark unhopped malt extract. This is

available in bulk at homebrew stores as a syrup or dry. Either works.

5 gal Good tasting water. If you use distilled or purified water,

you will need to add a 'pinch' (less then 1/4 tsp.) of Epsom salt to it.

The yeast need it.

1-2 oz of Hops (or whatever). DO NOT buy these from a health

food store, they are not kept well. Use 'low alpha' varieties like

Hallertauer, Goldings, Fuggles, Tettnanger, Saaz, Cascade, Willamette,

Mt. Hood, etc. Stay away from varieties like Eroica, Centennial, and

Chinook. Your friendly, local or mail-order homebrew supply person will

help.

1 T. of 'Irish Moss'. Available from a homebrew supply or a health food

store. Not nessessary, but it will make your beer clearer.

10-20 grams of dry Ale yeast. This comes in 5, 8, and 12 gram packets.

I prefer 'Whitbread', but any should do. Stay away from 'Red Star' though

Process:

Night before - boil 3 gal. water. If you are going to add epsom salt,

do it now. Let cool while covered. While cooling,

put 1 oz (a capfull) of unscented bleach in your bucket/carboy, and fill

with tap/hose water. Let stand for one half to one hour or until the

boiled water is cool enough to add to glass (if the carboy is used).

Empty the bucket/carboy and shake out the drops. Do not rinse. The

very small amount of chlorine left is less than that in your tap water.

Put the boiled water into the bucket/carboy. Seal it up and leave it

over night.

Next Day - Dissolve extract in 1.75 to 2 gal. water. Bring to a boil.

Add Hops. Boil for 1/2 hour uncovered. Add Irish Moss and boil for

another 1/2 hour uncovered. By this point, you should be down to 2 gal.

or so. What you have now is called 'wort' (sounds like 'word').

Pour the wort into the water boiled and cooled the night before.

If you are using a carboy, use a funnel sterilized by pouring boiling

water through it. The funnel will direct the hot wort into the cool

water, cooling it enough not to break the glass (usually...). Let the

(thiner) wort cool until the glass/plastic is only warm to the touch

and add the yeast. Put the air lock on, fill halfway with water, and

let it sit for a week. If a glass carboy is used, don't fill it up to

the neck, leave about 1/2 gal of headroom. If it foams over anyway,

don't worry. Just put the (cleaned) airlock back on and clean up.

After a week, sterilize your bottles by running them through a dish washer

or soaking them in a chlorine solution (1 oz to 5 gal). I have a friend

that bakes them in an oven at 250 degrees for 1/2 hour or so, then lets

them cool in the oven until he needs them...

Boil 3/4 cup of corn sugar (or table sugar, but corn sugar is better) in

3/4 cup of water. let cool. Sterilize your siphon tube and plastic

tubing in chlorine solution (see above).

Now, if you have TWO carboys or buckets, sterilize the second one, and

siphon the beer into it, leaving the spent yeast behind. If not, well,

cloudy beer is period. Add the sugar water to the beer and stir very

gently with the siphon tube. Don't splash!. Now, siphon the beer into

the beer bottles carefully. Do not splash. Fill each to within an inch

of the top. Cap them. Wait for 2-3 weeks before sampling. The beer

will continue to change over the next month or two. Depending on how good

you were with sanitation, the beer could last from 1 month (try again!) to

a year or so (you've done this before!). As Charlie says, "Don't worry,

have a homebrew!"

Now the historical stuff.

Before hops, there was Grout. If you are German, there was Gruit.

Grout was the blend of spices and herbs the brewer used to make their

beer interesting. Fermented malt water is very sweet and bland.

Because of this, brewers generally used at least one bitter herb. If

they didn't, they chose herbs that tasted good in a sweet medium.

There arn't a lot of grout recipies, because this was the brewers secret.

Incedently, most period brewers were women. It was cooking, and therefor

considered womens work, hence the term 'Alewife'. Even monisaries would

sometimes hire a woman to come in and help the brothers make beer. Once

brewing became a profitable buisness, instead of housework, well...

Bitter herbs:

Ground Ivy (Alehoof, Creeping Jenny, ...)

Buckbean

Carduus

Centaury

Nettle

Wood Sage

Wormwood

Germander

Less bitter or sweet herbs:

Juniper berries

Sweet Gale

Sweet Woodruff

Lavender

Tansey

Alecost

Comfrey

Dandelion

Elecampane

Eyebright

Hyssop

Mugwort

Pennyroyal

Sage

Coriander seed

Cloves

Seville orange (or any orange) peel

Cinnamon

Vanilla

Ginger

Cherries

Raspberries

etc.

To make a period Ale:

Follow above procedure for making beer, but don't buy hops. Reduce the

boil to 1/2 hour, and use grout instead. Some herbs are better added

just after the heat is removed, and stteped, like a tea.

Good Grouts:

1/2 oz Ground Ivy

1/2 oz Juniper

2 oz Woodruff

1 oz Germander

1 oz Coriander

2 oz Orange Peel

1 stick cinnimun

1 oz buckbean

1 oz Ground Ivy

1.5 oz Ginger

Etc. Play around with what you have!

Note: Customers didn't like hops, because they weren't used to them.

So why, you might ask, did hops take over? Because when they were used,

beer lasted longer. Hops are a preservitive. This means that the beer

made with grout will not last as long as beer made with hops. You were

warned! (Although I have no evidence to support it, I suspect that

during the transition from Ale to Beer, brewers would occationally use

both hops and spices in beer. The hops would keep the beer, the spices

would keep the customer! )

Fruit beers are very good, add 3-8 pounds at the end of the boil, and let

them soak for 15 min or so...

Richard Bainter | "I want to be called COTTONTIPS. There is something

Phelim Utred Gervas | graceful about that lady. A young woman bursting with

Pug | vigor. She blinked at the sudden light. She writes

pug at arlut.utexas.edu | beautiful poems. When ever shall we meet again?"

From: alshaw at isisnet.com (A. H. Shaw )

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Hops/Beer/Ale/AAAARG!

Date: 21 Nov 1995 00:48:35 GMT

Organization: isis inc. (Internet Provider), NS Canada.

This should be the real posting: sorry about the blank one.

Since I can't find the Hops in Beer thread I'll start over here.

Basic definitions:

Modern Usage -

ALE: brewed with a 'top fermenting' yeast.

LAGER: brewed with a 'bottom fermenting' yeast.

BEER: brewed from at least a base of malted

barley, hops and water, and usually marketed aggressively. (sorry about

the editorial)

Modern commercial breweries usually use yeasts that cannot be

easily split into "top" and "bottom" fermenting varieties; most strains

work in suspension throughout the wort and are filtered out in later

stages. There are _lots_ of various yeast strains and books have been

written about their various properties. Ale and Lager yeasts do generate

different flavours, and yeast selection is an important part of any beer

recipe.

Medieval Usage -

ALE: an _unhopped_ brew, usually from malted barley.

BEER: _hopped_ brew, as distinct from ale.

I also suspect that a difference in brewing technique was noted.

The highly modified English malts were usable in an infusion-type mash

while the less highly modified Continental barley required a multiple

stage decoction mash. This is pure, ungrounded speculation on my part

and I would welcome any further information.

In England in the 1400s the introduction of hops/beer into a

predominately ale economy was met with resistance. Brewing 'Beer' and

brewing 'Ale' were recognized as distinct trades. In 1471 Norwich bans

the use of hops in brewing. The Ale Brewers Company of London (chartered

1437) petitions the Mayor to prevent the use of hops. The ale brewers do

not object to the brewing of beer, but wish to prevent the use of hops in

ale. In 1493 the brewers of Beer are recognized as a guild. They remain

separate guilds until 1556.

Hops were mentioned as early as the late 1100's by Ste. Hildegard

of Bingen. She apparently noted both their use as a preservative and a

recipe for brewing beer with oats and hops. Even earlier, King Pepin,

father of Charlemagne, was given a gift of hop yards. By the 9th Century

hops were under cultivation in the Rheinland, Brabant and the Ile de France.

Now the fun begins. Yes, apparently other flavourings were used

in beer. I have found references to a mix called "gruit," a "bitter,

more costly mixture of vegetable substances used to flavour beer." In

1381 the Archbishop of Klon issued a decree forbidding the import of

hopped beer from Westphalia. The Bishopric had a gruit monopoly in the

area and of course moved to protect it against cheaper imported

products. The requirement for all persons wishing to brew in Klon to

buy gruit from the episcopal gruit-houses was not lifted until 1495. On

the other hand in 1487 Munich enacted an ordinance forbidding the use of

anything but barley, hops, and water in the brewing process. This was

not THE Rheinheitsgebost of current fame, but one of the many, many

other laws enacted in this era to control brewing. Most of them

stipulated the quality, age, or ingredients that were acceptable in

beer. The famous Rheinheitsgebot is only one of these ordinances,

albeit one that has demonstrated remarkable staying power.

Another flavouring I have heard of, only in passing, is

'alehoof.' Has anyone any information on this herb? I have been offered

some to try in my brewing and would really like to know more before

ingesting it.

As far as other flavourings go, don't neglect the Belgian brewing

traditions. Coriander, raspberries, strawberries, and many other things

have been added to beer in period.

Much of the information here was gleaned from

Alcohol in Western Society from Antiquity to 1800

A Chronological History

Gregory A. Austin w. staff of Southern California

Research Institute.

LoC# HV5020.A97 1985 ISBN 0-87436-418-3

This is an excellent sourcebook for brewing information and drinking

practices.

I remain yours in brewing

Robert Peregrine de Marecage alshaw at isisnet.com

Barony of Ruantallan

East Kingdom

From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Did the Vikings have Beer?

Date: 28 May 1996 14:52:25 GMT

Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

Russ Gilman-Hunt <Russ_Gilman-Hunt at continue.uoregon.edu> writes:

|> Well, my answer has usually been a safe "no," for I didn't think they

|> had hops and the like. But in reading _King_Harald's_Saga, my theory

|> has changed. In chapter 35, our hero is trying to outrun the fleet of

|> King Svein, he throws out the "malt, flour and bacon."

They may not have had hops in Scandinavia, and in any case, hops hadn't

really caught on as a beer flavouring/preservative in a major way at that

time.

If you define beer as being a fermented malt barley beverage flavoured with

hops, then the answer would indeed be that the Vikings aren't likely to have

had much in the way of beer. If you eliminate the hops from the definition,

then the answer would be different.

|> Is this the same malt as in beers? Is it a different malt? Is it a

|> case of the translator using "malt" for some other substance, as I've

|> been told was done with "silk" and "satin"? (sometimes the translator

|> will translate "fine fabrics" to silks or satins.)

I see no reason to believe that this would not be malted barley (or perhaps

rye), as used in making ale/beer. The technology of malting was already

many centuries old by that time, though perhaps not so refined as it was

eventually to become. Rather than a problem with the translation, I would

be more inclined to suspect the text, since the saga was written long after

the events described. Details of what was thrown overboard should be taken

with a grain of salt.

Some people reserve the term 'ale' for unbittered malt brews, and 'beer' for

bittered brews. Other bittering herbs were used prior to hops, so, if these

are the definitions you are using, then yes, the Vikings could have had beer.

'Pors' = Sweet gale/bog myrtle was used to flavour beers and meads in

Scandinavia in the relatively recent past.

I do not know whether or not it was used in Viking

times, but it is listed by Gayre as one of the ingredients in 'groot', an

herb mixture used to flavour medieval beers before the hop hegemony. That

puts the ingredient in the context of medieval European beers at least.

Even if they didn't have 'beer', they probably had unbittered ales.

Cheers, Rick/Balderik

From: ddfr at best.com (David Friedman)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Did the Vikings have Beer?

Date: 29 May 1996 01:46:54 GMT

Organization: Best Internet Communications

> Actually hops is a relatively recent inovation having only been introduced to

> beer in the last 400 years or so (beer being one of the oldest beverages in

> existance). In the beginning of beer (the cultivated variety, not just the

> alcoholic drink) a gruit of spices was added having been cultivated by the

> local monks. Hop growing was actually illegal in quite a few areas.

> Marcus

1. Hops go back quite a lot farther than 400 years; perhaps you are

thinking of their introduction to England. They were used earlier on the

continent.

2. While I am not certain, I think the pre-hops distinction was between

ale, which was meant to be drunk a fairly short time after it was made,

and beer, which was intended to store longer. A variety of different

preservatives were used for the latter, although not, I think, spices.

When hops came in as the most common herb used to preserve beer, the

distinction shifted to unhopped ale vs hopped beer. Eventually hops came

to be used with everything, and at this point there doesn't seem to be a

very clear distinction between beer and ale.

David/Cariadoc

ddfr at best.com

From: sylkie at ardvark.com (Richard Rogers)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Did the Vikings have Beer?

Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 09:08:55 GMT

Organization: The Sylkie Enterprise

Russ Gilman-Hunt <Russ_Gilman-Hunt at continue.uoregon.edu> wrote:

>Well, my answer has usually been a safe "no," for I didn't think they

>had hops and the like. But in reading _King_Harald's_Saga, my theory

>has changed. In chapter 35, our hero is trying to outrun the fleet of

>King Svein, he throws out the "malt, flour and bacon."

>Is this the same malt as in beers? Is it a different malt? Is it a

>case of the translator using "malt" for some other substance, as I've

>been told was done with "silk" and "satin"? (sometimes the translator

>will translate "fine fabrics" to silks or satins.)

They definitely had ale. In a number of places you will find reference

to someone making ready for a feast by setting the ale tubs brewing,

usually a few weeks before the feast. This must have made for a very

smelly, strong, green sort of drink. Talk about killer beer farts.

I don't have the exact references at hand but I do recall them from, I

believe, Egil's saga and Laxdaela Saga.

They did not have much experience with wine, and ran into problems

when they had to deal with it, (see the saga of Half-Dan the Black.)

Hope this helps a little.

Thorgeirr The Thirsty

From: matchstc at atlcom.net (Mike Vincent)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: question about medieval brewing

Date: Sat, 28 Dec 1996 04:56:59 GMT

On 27 Dec 1996 03:47:25 -0500, HPGV80D at prodigy.COM (MISS PATRICIA M

HEFNER) wrote:

>I'm reading various sources about Margery Kempe because I'm writing a

>paper about her. It's recorded in her book that "even when the ale was a

>fair standing under barm as any as any man might see, suddenly the barm

>would fall down, so that all the ale was lost". This is why her ale

>business wasn't successful!

>Does anybody know what "barm" is (or was, as the case might be)? I don't

>have a clue...

>Isabelle de Foix

>Shire of Misty Mere

>Kingdom of Meridies

I've tried to find out what I can about Dark Ages brewing so I'll give

it the good old college try.

There is a layer of yeast and froth raised on top of a fermenting

ale. According to "the Complete Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie

Papazian (which is one of the "bibles" of homebrewing) the foam is

called kraeusen foam. In modern beer making the 'disapearance of the

foam is a sign that's it's time to transfer to another fermenter ( a

good sign), in more primitive brewing that may have been different.

our degree of sanitation is much higher than the Middle Ages. We use a

closed airlocked fermenter where they fermented in open crocks, they

may have felt the need to skim the foam so as to remove impurities or

bitter flavors.

One reference I've seen to Viking beer was that they put out the "ale

pots" a few days before a celebration and started them fermenting. The

beer was drunk "green" , only a few days old. By the time it was a

week old so much contamination had developed only the truly desparate

or the pigs would touch it. As far as I've been able to find out

Brewing in the 1400's wasn't a whole lot progressed beyond that.

hope I've been some help

Mighel

mka Mike

From: afn03234 at freenet2.afn.org (Ronald L. Charlotte)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: question about medieval brewing

Date: 30 Dec 1996 21:11:43 GMT

bard at themall.net (Medwyn) wrote:

> Kel Rekuta <krekuta at tor.hookup.net> wrote:

> <...>

> >In effect, if the barm falls, the barrier is lost. The wort will be

> >infected and the ale *will* fail.

> But doesn't it fall when the beer is done? The problem with this particular

> quote is we have no indication of the timing of this occurence.

From discussions with old-style wood cask fanatics, Traditional ale

brewing casked the ale before fermentation was completely stilled,

ideally tapping the bottom of the fermentation tub above the layer of

lees at the bottom. Working with a wooden keg, or wax sealed ceramic

container, over-carbonation rupture is a far less likely problem.

The habit of post primary fermentation conditioning to provide a head is

a little more recent a development. It's a lot easier for a home brewer

to charge his ageing keg, or bottles, or batch prime the batch after a

full ferment than it is to judge the correct point to rack off while the

ferment is still active. Commercial brewers simply inject CO2 or

nitreous oxide or a combination of the two.

al Thaalibi ---- An Crosaire, Trimaris

Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL

afn03234 at afn.org

Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 11:08:42 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Culinary A&S Entries

Mark Harris wrote:

> What is a "small" ale? I assume that is not referring to size of mug it is

> served in. :-)

A small ale is made from the second mashing of malt previously mashed

for ale or beer. It's akin to the slightly weaker second cup of tea when

you add hot water to your used tea bag. Later sources simply use fresh

malt in smaller quantities. I believe the name is derived from the fact

that a given amount of malt will make a proportionate quantity of ale,

and somewhat less (1/3-1/2 the amount) small ale. There's an excellent

description of the process in Gervase Markham's "The English Housewife",

which, while not a period source by conservative estimations (my own

included), describes a process that likely didn't change much between

the Middle Ages and advent of hops as a common ale ingredient in the

16th - 17th centuries.

Adamantius

From: "Nancy R. Mollette" <NRMOLL00 at UKCC.UKY.EDU>

To: Stefan <markh at risc.sps.mot.com>

Date: Fri, 18 Jul 97 13:01:39 EDT

Subject: small ale

Small ale refers to the second, less strong use of malted barley in brewing...much in the manner of reusing a mundane teabag.

As the alcohol content and body were less than the first batch, it was also

called * table ale *, as it's best use was as a drink during meals when

getting intoxicated was not a desired goal.

Anna of Dragonsmark

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 08:32:19 SAST-2

From: "Ian van Tets" <IVANTETS at botzoo.uct.ac.za>

Subject: SC - Re. brewing trivia

Just thought I'd add my bit to the brewing trivia. According to my

lecturer in Gothic German (yes, I did study it) the word ale comes

from aluir, which means to hallucinate.

Cairistiona

*****************************************************

Dr. Ian van Tets

Dept. of Zoology

University of Cape Town

Rondebosch 7701 RSA

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 10:06:57 -0400 (EDT)

From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>

Subject: Re: SC - Re. brewing trivia

> Just thought I'd add my bit to the brewing trivia. According to my

> lecturer in Gothic German (yes, I did study it) the word ale comes

> from aluir, which means to hallucinate.

The Merriam Webster online dictionary give the etymology as:

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ealu; akin to Old Norse

ol ale, Lithuanian alus

The Microsoft Bookshelf says:

[Middle English, from Old English ealu, alu.]

Tibor

Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 10:19:57 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - SC fizzy drinks

Charles McCN wrote:

> Come to that, is there evidence that beer was particularly fizzy? If you

> make it in modern bottles with crown seals or champagne corks then it is.

> But as I recall Dom Perignon (the person) invented the methode

> champagnoise in C17 or C18. If fizzy drinks were a big thing, why did it

> take that long to figure out? I have never made and served beer in a

> barrel (poured by hand, as opposed to using modern keg/gas equipment) so

> I don't know how much gas it can keep. Does anyone have any useful

> research on this?

With a few exceptions, there is much evidence to suggest that it was NOT

fizzy, for the reasons you state. Keg-conditioned ale (which is what a

high proportion of period brews would have been, more or less) doesn't

get especially fizzy, because the keg is slightly porous, and then after

you open it, any carbonation that may have been present is quickly lost.

Kegs, after all, not coming in the convenient 12 or 16 ounce size...

Other possible pieces of this jigsaw puzzle that I'll throw into the hat

are the fact that a popular form of well-aged ale is called "barley

wine", which is of high gravity and somewhat fizzy, but then it is

usually sold in small glass bottles, like small champagne bottles,

sometimes "nips" of four or six ounces. I wonder if the appelation

"wine" may be partly due to the fact that it had aged to the point of

being stale or flat.

Another piece is the simple fact that many modern English ales, sold

from draft, are only very slightly carbonated, having only a slight

layer of suds on top, rather than the creamy head preferred by

Americans. The fact that they aren't served as cold as they are in the

States may be a contributing factor, too.

Adamantius

Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 14:06:18 -0500 (CDT)

From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at ptd.net>

Subject: SC - keg-brewed ale

Adamantius wrote:

>With a few exceptions, there is much evidence to suggest that it was NOT

>fizzy, for the reasons you state. Keg-conditioned ale (which is what a

>high proportion of period brews would have been, more or less) doesn't

>get especially fizzy, because the keg is slightly porous, and then after

>you open it, any carbonation that may have been present is quickly lost.

>Kegs, after all, not coming in the convenient 12 or 16 ounce size...

Not being an expert here, I think I'll butt in anyway. I have not tasted ale

actually brewed in the middle ages (not in this lifetime ;^D). However, I

have had keg-brewed ale, ably brewed up by my brother Tigranes, and it was

fizzy. Not as fizzy as bottle fermented, not as fizzy as force carbonated,

but definately fizzy. We got a modest head. Reminded me of slightly flat ale

(like the second half of the pitcher ordered at the sports bar!) . The

recipe was a honey-amber, and half the wort was keg-brewed, the other half

bottled. The bottled honey-amber was fizzier, no doubt about it. BUT, the

keg-brew, from a keg sealed with brewer's pitch, was indescribably

wonderful. It was not, however, as clear as the bottle brew. Flavor-wise,

Oak Chips do not do justice to a good wort. The keg's the thing. Bubbles or

not, there's no substitute for taste.

Aoife, a recent convert

Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 21:11:39 -0400

From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow)

Subject: Re: SC - vinegar drink & heather ale

I found this in an endnote (pp. 283-4) in "The English Housewife" by

Gervase Markham, ed. by Michael R. Best. The [*] notes are mine.

[*speaking of malt]

"For those who could not even afford "sand barley" [*see below] William

Vaughan has some advice: '[Q] What shall poor men drink when malt is

extreme dear? [*too expensive] [A] They must gather the tops of heath,

whereof the usual brushes are made, and dry them, and keep them from

moulding. Then they may at all times brew a cheap drink for themselves

therewith. Which kind of drink is very wholesome as well for the liver as

the spleen, but much the more pleasant if they put a little liquorice unto

it. There is another sort of drink of water and vinegar proportionately

mingled together, which in summer they may use.'" William Vaughan,

Naturall and Artificial Directions for Health (1600), pp. 8-9.

[*"The last and worst grain for this purpose is the sand barley... it is

much subject to weeds of divers kinds, as tares, vetches, and such like,

which drink up the liquor in the brewing... the grain naturally of itself

hath a yellow, withered, empty husk, thick and unfurnished of meal, so that

the drink drawn from it can neither be so much, so strong, so good, nor so

pleasant... Markham, p.181]

Cindy Renfrow

renfrow at skylands.net

Author & Publisher of "Take a Thousand Eggs or More, A Collection of 15th

Century Recipes" and "A Sip Through Time, A Collection of Old Brewing

Recipes"

Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 11:07:47 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - alcohol content in beer

Heather Law wrote:

> As beer was drunk daily by children, pregnant women, and nursing

> mothers, one hopes it had a very low alcohol content

> Caroline

Evidence suggests that ales, which tended to be infusion mashed, would

have a low alcohol content: infusion mashes tend to be fairly hot at

first, since they are made with boiling water. This causes the starches

in the malt to be converted to dextrins (heavy, non-fermentable complex

sugars) rather than sinple maltose. Only as the mash cools do the

fermentables come though. You'll find literary references to stale ale,

old ale, and strong ale; these might be said to have a somewhat higher

alcohol content. In general, though, you're right, the average beer was

chewier and heavier until the twentieth century, when a great change in

styles occurred...

I'm generalizing here, of course.

Adamantius

Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 18:22:55 -0800

From: "Laura C. Minnick" <lcm at efn.org>

Subject: Re: SC - ale/brewing

Buttercup1126 at aol.com wrote:

> women often brewed beer and ale, is this true? did they do everything, as in

> the whole process, or just parts of it?

Mattie,

Yes, women did most of the brewing (nearly all of it in the lower and

middle classes is my understanding). It frequently was a major

supplement to the household income- one would brew a batch, put the

ale-stake in the yard, and they would come (not unlike folks who will go

where a 'Garage Sale' sign is up). Usually sold by the dipper, but

larger quantites could be taken away. Some women went in for much larger

endeavors- the famed Margery Kempe bought a brewing business (apparently

a business that could be run by a woman without question) and it failed

miserably, something she chalked up to her being out of God's will. But

fact is, she was a married woman and the Mayor's daughter, and it was

acceptable practice to brew...

And yes, the whole process, from the start of the brew batch to the

sale. There are quite a few accounts and recipes of brewing, some of

them quite gross. And I agree with Adamantius- get ahold of a copy of

Henisch's _Fast and Feast_ for a thorough treatment of food, food prep,

and attitudes around food. My copy is quite worn out...

'Lainie

Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 07:25:57 -0500

From: grizly at mindspring.com

Subject: Re: SC - ale/brewing

> women often brewed beer and ale, is this true? did they do everything, as

> in the whole process, or just parts of it?

>mattie

There is a good book about the role of women in the brewing industry in england. It's by Judith M. Bennett, and is titled "Ale, Beer and Brewsters in England: women's work in a changing world, 1300-1600. ISBN 0-19-507390-8.

It highlights the roles women played in the brewing industry in England. Maltsters were a different group, generally, since the technology/tools required to malt grain are completely different from that needed for brewing. Malting requires a commitment of 3-5 days of raking room-sized beds of grain semi- constantly in order to germinate it, then ovens and fires to dry it. Too much labor-time required in earlier days when that same time would be needed for the brewing. It may have been different for smaller manners and households; I haven't really read anything about brewing in smaller manors as it seems what I read has them goimg to the town/villagew brewster for their ales.

niccolo difancesco

Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 09:36:14 -0500

From: Ian Gourdon <agincort at raex.com>

Subject: SC - ale wives

>women often brewed beer and ale, is this true? Did they do everything, as in

>the whole process, >or just parts of it?

>mattie

>buttercup1126 at aol.com

Sure, they did indeed, or so the following suggests:

...A comment on Alewives:

"Come who so wyll To Elynour on the hyll,

Wyth, "Fyll the cup, fyll," And syt there by styll,

Erly and late: Thyther cometh Kate,

Cysly, and Sare, With theyr legges bare,

And also theyr fete, Hardely, full unswete;

Wyth theyr heles dagged, Theyr kyrtelles all to-jagged,

Theyr smockes all to-ragged,

Wyth titters and tatters, Brynge dysshes and platters,

Wyth all theyr myght runnynge To Elynour Rummynge,

To have of her tunnynge:

She leneth them on the same.

And thus begynneth the game."

---John Skelton

....................

"Material copied directly from the book "Uppity Women of Medieval Times"

written by Vicki Leon, published by Conari Press, Berkeley, CA - All

Rights Reserved.

Chapter One: Making Hay in the Middle Ages

Section Four: Katharina Johans & Alewives

Whether you called them typelers, gannokers, hostelers, tapsters,

or just plain alewives, women dominated the bed-and-brew field in

medieval times. From making it to selling it, beer was a female -

dominated occupation, and long has been. Brewmasters like

Lisebette de Hond, a prosperous citizen of Ghent, Belgium, appear

often in the municipal records. This lady came from a beer-making

dynasty, married a brewster, made beer herself after he died, trained

workers, and later rented out her brewery when she wanted to sit

back and sip in the late 1300's.

Another bold brewster and innkeeper named Katharina Johans

juggled a variety of jobs. In the Germany of her day, inns served as

much more than places for food, drink and lodging. Innkeepers

acted as information centers and mediators, provided entertainment

and medical services, arranged credit for their customers, and even

served as pawnbrokers. Obviously that system broke down on

occasion. Katharina had to get ugly with one of her regulars,

writing him nasty letters to pay up his bar tab. Although this plucky

alewife was within her rights, Mr. Accounts Way Overdue was a

local figure and took the matter to the Erfurt city council -

whereupon poor Katherina had to apologize to him at a council

meeting. (It's not recorded when - or whether - she got her money.)

Vikings loved ale as much as the English; women as well as men

were judged on their ability to down huge quantities of the stuff.

English alewives were often immortalized in print and portrait. During

the time of Hery VIII, a pub at Leatherhead run by Eleanor Rummynge

became the favorite watering place for John Skeleton, poet laureate

of England and Henry's first tutor. A thirsty man with a cruelly

witty pen, John caricatured the owner's unforgettable mug and wrote

a ditty about her, called "The Tunning of Eleanor Rummynge."

(Composition Date: before 1523.)"

- --

Ian Gourdon of Glen Awe, OP, CGC

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Reference to 'stale' ale.

Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 10:32:17 -0500

> I plan to go for a very lightly hopped Bavarian lager if

> there's no suitable ale to be found.

> /Angus.

You might consider Dundee's Honey Brown which is supposed to be unhopped and

probably about as close to a period ale as one can buy. I've had some

problems with lightly hopped brews in cooking, so I really prefer unhopped.

Bear

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Reference to 'stale' ale.

Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 08:45:03 -0500

> *Ales* are beers which use an ale yeast, and are

> brewed at warm temperatures, giving them a sweet,

> rich, somewhat floral flavor (particularly if they are

> hopped). <clipped>

> Balthazar of Blackmoor

IMS, there is a description of the Vandal ale pot in Pliny. I know there is

a description of using ale barm to leaven bread.

I suspect the initial yeasting of such was by exposure to the air (as with

lambics) and that we wound up with ale yeasts because the brewers saved the

dregs of good batches of ale to start the next. This raises the question as

to when period brewers used open cooling of the wort and when they

inoculated the wort.

As for the words beer and ale, they appear in Old English as "beor" and

"alu" (or "ealu"). I haven't found any references for the derivation of

ale, but beer may come from the Latin "bibere," "to drink." I also haven't

found a solid definition of precisely what was meant by either word in Old

English. I suspect the fine distinctions began when the Germans started

producing lighter tasting malt beverages around the 13th Century and the

technical differentiation between ale as top fermenting and beer as bottom

fermenting probably dates from the same time.

Bear

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2005 10:43:17 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius"

<adamantius.magister at verizon.net>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Stefan finally succeeds in making cider

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Also sprach Craig Jones:

> My best recipe involves pasteurized apple juice, a kilo or two of honey

> boiled in a little water (just enough to make a syrup), some citric and

> malic acid to make the apple juice tarter (cider apple juice is tarter

> than normal commercial apple juice), some cassia bark (works better than

> cinnamon - a more perfumed aroma I find), the yeast and nutrient...

> My household demands regular kegs of the stuff...

Sounds loverly! Giulielma Penn (Mrs. William Penn) has, in her 1694

receipt book, a recipe for apple ale which is pretty darned

unbeatable, too. It's a pretty basic infusion-mash ale (as I recall

it is lightly hopped), but calls for apple juice instead of water.

The couple of times I made it, the filtered, pasteurized apple juice

worked beautifully. I suspect one'd have to watch out for chemicals

designed to prevent yeast growth, if such a thing were added, but

I've been lucky every time so far.

Adamantius

Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2005 11:57:51 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius"

<adamantius.magister at verizon.net>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Mrs. Penn's Apple Beer...

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Hullo, the list!

Sorry if I presume, but since a couple of people very quickly asked

for the recipe privately once I mentioned it on this list, I figured

I'd post it here, even though it is more or less OOP.

From "Penn Family Recipes," copyright Evelyn Abraham Benson 1966,

pub. George Shumway, York, PA:

"[Apple beer]

[95]

stamp apels and strain them as usuly for Cyder,

then take the Liquor and warm it

and put it upon the malt,

then when it is Com throu boyle it,

and then worke it Like other bere,

when it is put into vesells put 3 pound of hard suger

in to the quantaty of an hogsheed,

a few hops should bee boyled in it --"

I'll have to see if I can find my working notes for this recipe, but

as I say, between the fact that the recipe says to strain the cider

and the modern obsession with clear beers (this was years ago and I

still cared about stuff like that then), it worked quite well using

the filtered stuff.

Adamantius

Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:29:52 -0700

From: Dragon <dragon at crimson-dragon.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] [Fwd: Nutmeg in stale ale]

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius did speak thusly:

On Aug 2, 2008, at 5:45 AM, Laura C. Minnick wrote:

<<< So, what do you all think? Why is the nutmeg in 'stale ale'? >>>

"Stale", as in "stale ale", and in fact as in, "English ale, good and

stale," is regarded by brewers and drinkers as a good thing, in case

that matters. It means it's fully fermented, and is not only at full

potency, but also doth not engendyr wynde, etc.

So while I have no idea as to why the nutmeg's there, it's probably

not a matter of throwing good money after bad.

---------------- End original message. ---------------------

Flavor, plain and simple. Many ales of the period were flavored with

herbs or spices no longer in use today. In fact, hops, the ubiquitous

beer "seasoning" today faced a long and nasty fight for acceptance in

the brewing world.

This is yet another example of words morphing meanings over time and

across disciplines. Much like "throwing" in common use means to hurl

or toss while in the vernacular of the potter it means to twist or turn.

Dragon

Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 00:18:30 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale - was, Re: newbee cook attempting

feast for the first timeindecember

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

<<< Do we have any strong evidence for the existence of dark malts in

period? I'm pretty sure Digby and Plat never specify what kind of malt

to use, or how to make it, and Markham tells how to make it, but never

says anything (that I can recall) about roasting it; as far as I know,

what he's using is raw, white malt. >>>

<<< At our event today, I noticed that one A&S entry was a lovely brown ale.

I asked about roasted malts and was told they have roasted malt "as long

as there have been ovens". That's not proof thought.

Ranvaig >>>

Markham actually addresses this in his chapter on malt. The malt is dried

to be light in color and sweet and he warns against overcooking the malt

(apparently a common problem), which may equate to what we think of as

roasting.

A couple of other sources I looked at made a point that roasted malt is used

in producing porter and stout. From the phrasing, it suggested to me that

brown ale might not use roasted malt. A brewer's website provided some

other information that light malt is used in the preparation of most brown

ales;

http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/07/09/brown-ale-recipes-brewing-styles/ .

The site also makes the point that what we refer to as "brown ale" may have

just been "ale" prior to formal usage of the term "brown ale" beginning the

early 18th Century. While this make linguistic sense, I'm hesitant to

wholly accept the explanation without references to support the logic.

Bear

Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:46:46 -0400

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale - was, Re: newbee cook attempting

feast for the first timeindecember

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

On Jun 7, 2009, at 1:18 AM, Terry Decker wrote:

<<< Markham actually addresses this in his chapter on malt. The malt is

dried to be light in color and sweet and he warns against

overcooking the malt (apparently a common problem), which may equate

to what we think of as roasting. >>>

Possibly, except for Markham, some of whose (and even more so other

sources') brews includes some unmalted grains and sometimes even

things like beans, it appears that his desire for [I think the

expression is] "white and clear" malt is an expression of the desire

for minimal enzyme destruction. A lot of this stuff doesn't convert to

sugars on its own without help from the malt.

And he does call his process drying and refers to a gentle fire. Now,

one could make the argument that this is evidence that some people did

roast their malt brown, but I'm not sure this possibility constitutes

the basis for a style name.

<<< A couple of other sources I looked at made a point that roasted malt

is used in producing porter and stout. From the phrasing, it

suggested to me that brown ale might not use roasted malt. >>>

The really dark malts, such as the chocolate and back patent varieties

(note that these names themselves are certainly modern) are indeed

used for porters and stouts (usually in conjunction with other, paler

malts; the really dark stuff is usually pretty much enzyme-free), but

most sources seem to agree that porters and stouts are probably no

earlier than the 18th century.

But there are other malts that are roasted to some degree, enough to

give them some color, without being quite so dark: Vienna, Munich (a

fave of mine), and even English pale malt come to mind as examples.

I think the closest modern commercial malt product to Markham's white

and clear malt is Pilsener malt. And most of us know what color

Pilsener is.

<<< A brewer's website provided some other information that light malt

is used in the preparation of most brown ales; http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/07/09/brown-ale-recipes-brewing-styles/

. The site also makes the point that what we refer to as "brown

ale" may have just been "ale" prior to formal usage of the term

"brown ale" beginning the early 18th Century. While this make

linguistic sense, I'm hesitant to wholly accept the explanation

without references to support the logic. >>>

Well, why change the terminology to include the qualifier at that

point, then, if the beer hadn't changed? The only thing I can think of

is that "brown" might be used not to distinguish that form of ale from

lighter brews, but from the new, darker ones (which are almost black).

I'd just like to see some specific references to brown ale in period,

or to instructions to actively and positively roast the malt until it

has changed color to some extent. Otherwise I can't help thinking this

may be one of those imposed, misinformed archaicisms, like calling a

subdivision of a medieval feast a remove... it may have seemed like a

great idea until somebody actually sat down and did that homework.

Adamantius

Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:27:05 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale -

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Alright I logged on and searched EEBO this morning.

The earliest match in EEBO-TCP when searching under 'brown' and 'ale'

in a proximity search is 1646.

To many a youth, and many a maid,

Dancing in the Chequer'd shade;

And young and old com forth to play

On a Sunshine Holyday,

Till the live-long day-light fail,

Then to the Spicy Nut-brown Ale,

With stories told of many a feat,

How Faery Mab the junkets eat,

She was pincht, and pull'd she sed,

And he by Friars Lanthorn led

Tells how the drudging Goblin swet,

To ern his Cream-bowle duly set,

By John Milton and appearing in his

Poems of Mr. John Milton,: both English and Latin, compos'd at several

times.

-------------

It also appears in a play dated 1641 for performance and published for

the first time in 1652.

This Gentleman speaks not. Or had you rather take a Drink of brown Ale

with a Toast, or March Beer with Sugar and Nutmeg? or had you rather

drink without Sugar?

Ol.> Good Sir, a Cup of your Houshold-Beer.

Exit. Butler>.I fear he will draw down to that at last.

Enter Butler with a Silver Can of Sack.

But>Here, Gentlemen, is a Cup of my Masters small Beer: But it is good old

Canary, I assure you. And here's to your welcome.

from A joviall crew, or, The merry beggars presented in a comedie at

Drury-Lane, in the yeer 1641

by Brome, Richard, d. 1652?

---

Here's another:

While my Host does break a Jest.

Nut-brown Ale that cures the weak,

And can compell a Cat to speak:

from The Academy of pleasure. 1656.

----

from 1693 there's this long poem on Bacchanalia and drinking

that talks about ales, wines, sherries, etc.

Yet the good Oly of Barly there's none will decline:

That we as a body call'd corp'rate may stand,

And a Patent procure from your Seal and your Hand,

That none without Licence, call'd Special, shall fail,

To drink any thing else, but Strong Nappy Brown Ale

from The bacchanalian sessions, or, The contention of liquors with a

farewel to wine

Ames, Richard, fl. 1688-1694.

----

Searching under 'brown' near 'malt' turns up 3 late 17th century

mentions of malt near brown sugar

and this mention in a poem.

The marrow of Malt:

where the nut brown toast

Smiles in the flowrie Ale, whose mirthfull hoast

Makes mee turne Marriner, and hither saile

To court the confines of this famous Ale.

This noble Ale, this most substantiall liquor,

That chears the Stade, and makes the Genious quicker,

from Occasions off-spring, or, Poems upon severall occasions by Mathew

Stevenson.

1645.

Searches under roast near malt and malt near roast yielded nothing in

EEBO-TCP.

Johnnae

Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 12:51:16 +0000 (GMT)

From: Volker Bach <carlton_bach at yahoo.de>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale - was, Re: newbee cook attempting

feast for the first timeindecember

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

It's not from Britain, but there is some evidence for roasting malt in iron-age excavations from Germany (Stika, H.P.: Bodenfunde und Experimente zu keltischem Bier, in: Experimentelle Arch?ologie 19 (1998) pp. 45-54). The author supervised an experimental use of a reconstructed malt kiln.

von Blanckenburg (Die Hanse und ihr Bier, Cologne 2001) also mentions archeological evidence for later medieval malt kilns in Hanseatic cities where brewing was an export industry. Contemporary sources distinguish between 'red' and 'white' beer, the former probably made from kiln-roasted malts, the latter from mildly dried (Hamburg, a major exporter of 'white' beer, did not use the usual style of kiln).

Being no brewer, I'm still trying to figure this out in detail, but it sounds like a variety of roasting to me. How close to the fire does it have to be to qualify?

Giano

Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:15:42 -0400

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale - was, Re: newbee cook attempting

feast for the first timeindecember

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

On Jun 7, 2009, at 8:51 AM, Volker Bach wrote:

<<< von Blanckenburg (Die Hanse und ihr Bier, Cologne 2001) also

mentions archeological evidence for later medieval malt kilns in

Hanseatic cities where brewing was an export industry. Contemporary

sources distinguish between 'red' and 'white' beer, the former

probably made from kiln-roasted malts, the latter from mildly dried

(Hamburg, a major exporter of 'white' beer, did not use the usual

style of kiln). >>>

It appears that some form of assistance in drying is desired, in order

to prevent spontaneous fermentation of the moistened, fresh malt. It's

also possible that different colors of infusion or decoction could be

achieved based on oxidation or some other chemical reaction, during

mashing or fermentation, not to mention any gruit or flavoring

ingredients, or other adjunct substances, such as unmalted grains,

beans, or whatever.

<<< Being no brewer, I'm still trying to figure this out in detail, but

it sounds like a variety of roasting to me. How close to the fire

does it hae to be to qualify? >>>

At this point it's more or less a semantic issue. I just have a bit of

a personal bugaboo about making certain historical assumptions on the

line of, "Sausages are period, and pepperoni is a sausage, therefore

pepperoni is period. Chocolate is period, and Hershey Bars are

chocolate, therefore Hershey Bars are period. Ale is period, and so

are chocolate and raspberries, so my Chocolate Raspberry Stout is

obviously period, too..."

So, as someone who has participated in and judged some brewing

competitions, I've become fairly conservative in my assessments of

anything like a dark beer, at least in those situations where

periodicity and documentation are issues.

So yes, it does appear malt was usually dried in a kiln of some sort

in most places, and in theory, it would be easy enough to create malt

that would produce a fairly dark beer without actively trying too

hard. I'm just a little curious to see the references to brown ale

(which, like roast beef and the once-ubiquitous Honey and Saffron

Quiche -- that's darioles or doucetys to you and me -- is one of the

mainstays of SCA folk culture), go back to a certain date, and

appearing, on the surface, to stop.

Adamantius

Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:33:54 -0700

From: Susan Fox <selene at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale -

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,

Puts down all drink when it is stale!

The toast, the nutmeg, and the ginger

Will make a sighing man a singer.

Ale gives a buffet in the head,

But ginger under-props the brain;

When ale would strike a strong man dead

Then nutmeg tempers it again.

The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,

Puts down all drink when it is stale!

John Marston (1575?-1634)

My read on the line "puts down all drink when it is stale" means, even

when it's gone bad, it's still better than anything else around.

Selene

Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:09:59 -0400

From: Gretchen Beck <grm at andrew.cmu.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale -

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

--On Sunday, June 07, 2009 7:33 AM -0700 Susan Fox <selene at earthlink.net>

wrote:

<<< The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,

Puts down all drink when it is stale!

The toast, the nutmeg, and the ginger

Will make a sighing man a singer.

Ale gives a buffet in the head,

But ginger under-props the brain;

When ale would strike a strong man dead

Then nutmeg tempers it again.

The nut-brown ale, the nut-brown ale,

Puts down all drink when it is stale!

John Marston (1575?-1634)

My read on the line "puts down all drink when it is stale" means, even

when it's gone bad, it's still better than anything else around. >>>

The OED would disagree:

Stale (adj) : 1. Of malt liquor, mead, wine: That has stood long enough

to clear; freed from dregs or lees; hence, old and strong. Obs.

...1586 COGAN Haven Health ccxviii. 221 Good ale..must be..made of good

corne, well sodden, stale and well purged...

It also includes a quote from Chaucer:

c1386 CHAUCER Sir Thopas 52 Notemuge to putte in ale, Whether it be moyste

or stale.

So, moist would be the opposite of stale, new and old, perhaps still a

little sweet vs dry?

toodles, margaret

Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:58:26 -0400

From: Gretchen Beck <grm at andrew.cmu.edu>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] brown ale

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

--On Sunday, June 07, 2009 11:48 AM -0400 "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus

Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net> wrote:

On Jun 7, 2009, at 11:29 AM, devra at aol.com wrote:

<<< I keep on thinking of the Robin Hood and other ballads where they

seem to refer to 'nut brown ale'. But of course those were recorded

somewhat later.... >>>

Yes. It may be a little like the Old England of "The Roast Beef of Old

England" being 1825 or so...

Yes, it's old. No argument there. However...

Now you've made me want to look really closely at the ballad, "The

Nut-Brown Maid"... you don't suppose it could be a drinking song, huh?

==========

If the OED is to be believed, nut-brown is a standard descriptive term in

late Middle and Elizabethan English. I find the last "rustic" interesting,

and wonder if this is the meaning that applies in some of the later

references to ale (a country style ale, which also has a browner color).

[< NUT n.1 + BROWN adj. Compare Dutch nootbruin, notebruin, German

nussbraun, Swedish n?tbrun, Danish n?ddebrun.

Attested earlier as a surname, presumably implying existence of the

English word, although it is unclear in which sense, e.g.:

1265 Close Rolls Henry III 69 Robertus Notebrun. 1296 in W. Hudson Three

Earliest Subsidies Sussex (1910) 19 Ricardo Nutebrune. 1428 in H. C.

Maxwell-Lyte Inquisitions & Assessments Feudal Aids (1908) V. 149 Johannes

Notebrown.

N.E.D. (1907) indicates the stress as nut-brown.]

A. adj.

1. That is the colour of a ripe hazelnut; brown as a nut; of a warm

reddish-brown colour.

a. Of hair or complexion, or of (the skin of) an animal.

As applied to complexions, nut-brown was originally used with reference

to acquired colour, as from exposure to the sun, rather than to natural

pigmentation.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 18846 Berd and hefd of a heu ware, Nute

brun [a1400 Fairf. note broun, a1400 G?tt. Nutte brun] als i tald yow are.

1575 G. GASCOIGNE Hearbes in Wks. (1587) I. 356 A louely nutbrowne face is

best of all. 1595 R. PARRY Moderatvs xv. sig. S3, Her nut-browne haire

hanging about her shoulders made her beautifull visage..farre more amiable.

1672 DRYDEN Conquest Granada II. Prol. 71 Every man who thinks himself a

Wit..With his white Wigg sets off his Nut-brown Face. 1723 London Gaz. No.

6154/4, One Nut-brown Mare. 1767 'A. BARTON' Disappointment II. i. 34 She

is so charming sweet and fair, Her rosy cheeks and nut brown hair. c1780

Johnstone Hey & Young Caldwell xxiv, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads

(1886) II. IV. 293 'Nut-brown was his hawk,' they said, 'And yellow-fit was

his hound.' 1823 BYRON Island II. vii, The sun-born blood..threw O'er her

clear nut-brown skin a lucid hue. a1855 C. BRONT? Professor (1857) I. ix.

152 Her hair was nut-brown. 1900 J. CONRAD Lord Jim xxv. 274 She had a

round, nut-brown, soft face. 1951 S. H. BELL December Bride II. xiv. 157

Speeding down Knocknadreemally towards her..came a sulky, drawn by a

nutbrown high-stepping pony with yellow bandaged fetlocks. 1992 Matrix

Summer 21/1 She's a slim, compact woman, her skin nut-brown and flawless.

b. Of a person, in respect of complexion. Esp. in nut-brown maid.

c1503 Nutbrown Maid in R. Arnold Chron. f. lxxvv, Shal neyer be sayd the

Nutbrowne mayd was to her loue vnkind. 1578 J. LYLY Euphues f. 43v, If she

be well sette, then call hir a Bosse,..if Nutbrowne, as blacke as a coale.

1611 R. COTGRAVE Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Fille, The nut-browne lasse

for mirth and neatnesse doth surpasse. a1640 P. MASSINGER Guardian I. i.

345 in 3 New Playes (1655), My Tenants Nutbrown daughters, wholsom Girls.

1728 POPE Dunciad II. 299 Shown him by the nutbrown maids A branch of Styx

here rises from the Shades. 1770 E. THOMPSON Court of Cupid II. 4 With her

gay Adonis plac'd In a soft attitude of love, and joy, And fine the

contrast of the nut-brown Boy. 1820 SCOTT Monastery II. ii*. 70 The

attention which was paid to every word that he uttered by the nut-brown

Mysie. 1895 Daily News 20 Mar. 7/1 For the nut-brown maids, who strike the

happy medium between dark and fair, there is a large choice of gentle

tints. 1962 D. LESSING Golden Notebk. (1974) III. 373 She was in type

similar to Marion: another nut-brown maid, tending to a glossy and lively

untidiness. 1989 K. MILLER Authors (BNC) 60 A nut-brown man by South

Kensington standards, he is light-skinned in the West Indies.

c. Of a thing, formerly esp. ale.

1575 W. STEVENSON Gammer Gurtons Nedle II. sig. B.v, I loue no rost, but a

nut browne toste and a Crab layde in the fyre. 1602 W. WARNER Albions Eng.

(rev. ed.) IV. xx. 96 Nor lacks he gleefull tales, whil'st round the

nut-brown Bole doth trot. 1608 T. DEKKER Belman of London sig. B3v,

Nut-browne round trenchers lay in good order. a1668 W. DAVENANT News from

Plimouth III, in Wks. (1673) 14/2 Good Nutbrowne-Ale, and Tost. 1708 W.

KING Art of Cookery 6 A Prince..Quenches his Thirst with Ale in Nut-Brown

Bowls. 1770 O. GOLDSMITH Deserted Village 221 Low lies that house where

nut-brown draughts inspir'd. 1831 J. BROWN Let. 26 Oct. (1912) 23 There is

plenty of home-brewed 'Nutbrown' ale. 1892 A. AUSTIN Fortunatus Pessimist

II. iii. 104 When your loaves Turn nut-brown in the baking. 1900 Daily News

1 Sept. 6/7 A nut-brown cloth dress..has a petticoat of nut-brown moirette

to match it. 1952-7 S. J. PERELMAN And Thou beside Me, yacketing in

Wilderness in Road to Miltown (1957) 12 In fancy you are in England,

peradventure at some transpontine hostel with a goodly company, quaffing

the nut-brown October ale. 1984 S. T. WARNER One Thing leading to Another

(1985) 38 The scenes were painted in shades of green and sepia; their bases

and surrounds were nut brown.

d. Applied to colour.

1586 A. DAY Eng. Secretorie I. sig. N7v, The nutbrowne collour of seller

ale in a frostie morning. 1594 Knacke to knowe a Knaue l. 904 Ile tel the

king the maid is fair, Of nut browne cullour, comelie and fair spoken. 1630

Tincker of Turvey iv. 35 His haire in curled lockes hung downe, And well I

wot the colour was nut browne. 1742 H. FIELDING Joseph Andrews I. I. viii,

His Hair was of a nut-brown Colour. 1781 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 71 164

The jaws..being as hard as a crab's claw, and placed in a strong horny

head, which is of a nut-brown colour. 1820 SCOTT Monastery II. v. 166 Upon

whose complexion the 'skyey influences'..had blended the red and white into

the purely nut-brown hue. 1893 Science 3 Feb. 59/1 It [sc. a sea-cow] was

of a nut-brown color and covered with hair. 1994 Runner's World Feb. 33/2

(advt.) A superior technique..that exposes oak to ammonia fumes for a rich,

nut-brown color.

2. Of a sword or its blade: burnished. Cf. BROWN adj. 4. Obs.

1609 T. RAVENSCROFT Deuteromelia 47 He pulled out his nut-browne sword, And

wipt the rust off with his sleeue. 1663 S. BUTLER Hudibras I. ii. 157 The

Squire..on his nut-brown Whiniard bore The Trophee-Fiddle and the Case.

1674 S. BUTLER Hudibras (new ed.) I. ii. 102 When his nut-brown Sword was

out, Courageously he laid about. a1835 J. HOGG Wks. Ettrick Shepherd (1876)

79 He drew hys sword of nutte-browne steele, While neid-fyre kyndlit in hys

ee.

3. fig. Rustic. Obs. rare 1.

1648 R. HERRICK Hesperides sig. S8, Thy Nut-browne mirth; thy Russet wit.

toodles, margaret

Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 11:02:03 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brown Ale -

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

<<< My read on the line "puts down all drink when it is stale" means, even

when it's gone bad, it's still better than anything else around.

Selene >>>

Stale in this context refers to a brew that has stood long enough to clear

and have the lees and dregs fall out of suspension leaving a good and strong

beer or ale.

Bear

Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:56:13 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fwd: Brown Ale

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

I also received information from another of Atlantia's brewers who has

specifically researched the Hanseatic League:

"Well, there's obviously going to be differences in grain species.

Czech/Moravian malt is generally considered lighter-colored than German or

French, which is in turn lighter than English or American. But the

difference there is really minor--the flavor would vary more than the color

(I can make a fine-looking pils out of American pale ale malt--it just won't

taste quite right). "Degree of roasting," in the instance we're talking

about below (medieval grains) would include accidentally over-kilning the

grains. That would be most of it. Ooh--rye malt would darken things a

little, but I haven't seen much on that yet.

Near as I can tell, the red beers are all-barley (or only a *little* wheat),

while white beer is nearly the opposite proportion. A buddy of mine who a)

speaks German and b) married a nice German girl is going to do a better

translation for me--but it'll be "in his copious free time," and we all know

how that goes.

Interesting bit that I'm trying to track down; don't know if I mentioned it

earlier or not. Apparently, the Dutch (particularly around Haarlem) brewed

and exported a gruit-ale. Also apparently, they were fond enough of their

recipe to *set it down in their laws*--which should be publicly available

somewhere, if only I can figure out how to get to them. There are also

(apparently) still in existence recipes for Dutch beers from 1401 (a gruit)

and 1507 (a "hoppenbier"). Still digging--I'm going to send out a few

emails to some folks, see what I can wheedle from them."

Kiri

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Master Rhys Terafan Greydragon <terafan at greydragon.org>

There is some minor confusion (or perhaps mis-understanding) in the

original note about the process. The grain is soaked in water until it

starts to germinate. The germination *must* be stopped (through some method

of drying) or the grain will continue to sprout (and all the starches/sugars

will be converted to roots, stems, and leaves). The sprouting seeds won't

"spontaneously ferment". You don't get fermentation until the malted grain

is dried, cracked, and then re-introduced to water. The water has to be an

adequate amount or it won't "ferment" because the sugar to liquid ratio is

too high (although it may certainly rot, mold, or mildew). This is the

same reason that honey doesn't "spontaneously ferment".

In the surviving texts before 1700, "malt" is listed with no further

description, neither "pale" nor "brown" nor "chocolate" nor any other

descriptor, just "malt". Prior to the development of coal and coke as

fuels in the industrial age, the pre-industrial malt had to be dried some

other way. You could certainly take the natural option of drying it in the

sun, which would produce a very pale malt, however this technique would have

been somewhat limited to the warmer months of the year. Certainly the

wetness of English weather would have made it difficult to count on, (not to

mention probably not possible from Oct thru April or so).

Drying in some sort of kiln must have been used to some regular extent

(although probably not "always"). Various sources discuss the use of wood,

straw, and fern as fuel for the kiln, and they each bring different features

and end results if applied to malt.

As for the smokiness that might have been imparted to the malt, no matter

what the color was, there is some evidence that it was not desired. Corran,

in his "History of Brewing" states that Andrew Boorde, in 1542,

described the desirable properties of ale as "It must be freshe and cleare,

it must not be ropy nor smoky." (1) Corran also notes that during the

sixteenth century, "Wood or straw was used for drying, the latter being

preferred." (2)

Williams Harrison's "Description of England", 1577, has some information on

malt and malting. A description of malt quality and dryness is described

as: "The best malt is tried by the hardness and color for if it look fresh

with a yellow hue, and will write like a piece of chalk after you have

bitten a kernel asunder, you may assure yourself it is dried down".(3) A

description of the making of malt is: "The straw-dried is the most

excellent. For the wood-dried malt, when it is brewed, beside that the

drink is higher [darker] of color, it doth hurt and annoy the head of him

that is not used thereto, because of the smoke." (4)

Gervase Markham's 1615 work, "The English Housewife", describes a 'French

kiln' that burns "any kind of fuel whatsoever, and neither shall the smoke

offend or breed ill taste in the malt, nor yet discolor it, as many times it

does in open kilns."(5)

These quotes certainly lead to an understanding that malt was dried in kilns

in the 15 and 16th century, although it was probably smoky and added a

unique flavor to the beer and ale. The smokiness undoubtedly was dependent

on the type of fuel used, how wet the fuel was, how efficient the kiln

was, etc. It does seem that straw probably created the least amount of

smoke and burned the cleanest. I would never quote a "brown ale" as being

12th or 13th century, but depending on how dark it was, you could certainly

stretch that into the 15th or 16th centuries. Really dark beers (porters,

stouts, etc) weren't brewed until the 17th century or later (mostly because

we needed a more efficient kiln to roast the malt rather than

burn/smoke it).

(1) H. S. Corran, History of Brewing, (David & Charles PLC, 1975) pg. 32

(2) Corran, pg. 96

(3) William Harrison (edited by Georges Edelen), "The Description of

England: the Classic Contemporary Account of Tudor Social Life", (Dover

Publications, 1995)

(4) Harrison

(5) Gervase Markham, "The English Housewife", (re-print McGill-Queen's

University Press, 1986)

Terafan