ale-msg - 3/29/10

Medieval ale.

NOTE: See also the files: beer-msg, Ale-a-Beer-lnks, Basic-Beer-art, brewing-msg, small-beer-msg, Warm-Beere-art, wassail-msg, grains-msg, Hops-Hist-art.

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                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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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This is a very good historical reference to beer making.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

<the end>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	ale-msg	29 of 29