Historical Tidbits — Give me Liberty or Give me Death!

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. March 23, 1775 – Patrick Henry addressed the Virginia Legislature with a rousing speech – “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, Give me …

Give me LIBERTY or give me DEATH!

Patrick Henry was a Virginia-born lawyer and skilled orator who was unreservedly passionate about American freedom.  The outspoken Henry delivered his fiery “Liberty or Death” speech on March 23, 1775, famously concluding with a challenge: “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”  Henry’s …

Precedent for the Stamp Act

We are all familiar with The Stamp Act of 1765 which was a tax on all paper documents levied on American colonists in order to pay off debt from the Seven Years’ War (1756-63).  Coming in the midst of economic hardship in the colonies, the Stamp Act aroused vehement resistance.  Parliament pushed forward with the …

UPCOMING EVENT — The Purging of the Kegs: A Fundraiser for Fort Mifflin

Fort Mifflin on the Delaware6400 Hog Island Rd Philadelphia, PA 19153Saturday, March 302:00 – 4:00pm A Beer Lover’s Nightmare – we’re dumping beer into the river. Okay, the Regimental Brewmeister has a robust schedule of brewing planned for 2024 and unfortunately last year’s beer has got to go.  The reality is I brew way faster than …

Historical Tidbits — STAMP ACT 

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. March 22, 1765                 STAMP ACT  The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first internal tax levied directly on American colonists by the British Parliament. The act, which imposed …

Historical Tidbits — MASSACRE AT HANCOCK’s BRIDGE

When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. March 21, 1778 – MASSACRE AT HANCOCK’s BRIDGE In Thomas Fleming’s novel, Liberty Tavern, there is a chapter telling the story of General Howe’s army burning houses as they …

Unfiltered Beer is Good for You!

For thousands of years beer served as food and medicine; it had antiseptic, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.  The health benefits of beer not only come from the grains and yeast but also the hops. Hops contain a flavonoid called xanthohumol that strongly suppresses CYP1A2 (suppressing is good), a liver enzyme that metabolizes various environmental procarcinogens …

Basic Colonial Brewing #5 –Why use Copper?

Go to almost any brewery or distillery and you will see lots of gleaming copper. This is not some quaint historical holdover nor is it there for show. We use copper in brewing for real and practical purposes. The reasons for using copper were well understood by the Colonial Brewer but why it worked has …

To the Last Extremity – Spruce Ale

Americans love the idea of a last stand, a battle to the end.  We see this in the Battle of Bunker Hill, WE see this during the War of 1812 at both Fort McHenry and at Chalmette, Louisiana, we see this during the Texas Revolution at the Alamo, at the Little Big Horn, WWII’s during …