They say “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”[i] and this has become my view on mead. Technically, mead should not be part of my portfolio[ii] as it was not particularly popular in colonial America. Keeping bees and processing honey into mead, while a straightforward and simple process, was not nearly as …
Continue reading “Colonial Hospitality – Spiced Pineapple Mead”
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. May 14, 1787 Constitutional Convention Four years after the United States won its independence from England, 55 state delegates, including George Washington, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin, convene in …
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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. May 14, 1796 – Edward Jenner publishes his procedure for smallpox vaccination. His procedure differed from previous attempts at vaccination in that he injected a milder “attenuated” version of …
Continue reading “Historical Tidbits — Smallpox Vaccination.”
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. May 14, 1787 Constitutional Convention Four years after the United States won its independence from England, 55 state delegates, including George Washington, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin, convene in …
Continue reading “Historical Tidbits — Constitutional Convention”
The first major step in brewing beer is to extract the fermentable sugars and starches from the malt kernels. This process is called mashing (from the German maisch: to mix). The basic idea is to harness the enzymes already present in the grain in order to digest the complex inert starches into fermentable simple sugars. …
Continue reading “Basic Colonial Brewing #9 — Mashing and Decoction”
13 May 1779 On 13 May 1779, soon after John Adams, American Commissioner to France, arrived at the Port of L’Orient, France, on board the Continental frigate Alliance, he and 16 other officers and gentlemen were given an elegant dinner by John Paul Jones at L’Epee Royal, a fashionable inn situated on the port’s waterfront. …
During Antiquity and the Middle Ages, sugar was rare and expensive commodity. Beginning in the 15th century, however, sugar cane plantations developed in the West Indies, then South America, particularly in Brazil. Sugar was the top colonial commodity. It was at the root of the ‘triangular trade’, where European shipowners exchanged trinkets for African men, who were then sold as slaves …
Continue reading “Sugar Cones or Loaves and the Making of Rum”
Come root for the Regimental Brewmeister as we submit our Spruce Beer to the judges. This will be the beer that we brew on the green at historic Old New Castle on May 20 so there is time to see it brewed the drink as much of it as you like in Norristown on July …
MAY 27TH, 28TH, & 29TH AT FORT MIFFLIN! Philly Faire, the Philadelphia Renaissance Faire®, returns this year for a three-day holiday weekend run, Saturday through Monday, May 27-29, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. all three days. Attendees can explore a bustling marketplace filled with artisanal crafts, clothing, and jewelry, while enjoying a hearty meal from …
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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. May 10, 1775 – BATTLE OF FORT TICONDEROGA: Benedict Arnold joined Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in a dawn attack on the fort, surprising and capturing the …
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