Hire the Regimental Brewmeister for your Event or Site

Add excitement and authentic color to your special event, or create one for your site, with Philadelphia’s best Colonial Brewer and tradesman.  Whether it is a reenactment, motion picture, a tavern night for a private event, or other endeavor, I can bring can bring a real sense of authenticity and fun to your event and …

Historical Tidbits — Blackbeard Captured

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. November 22, 1718 – William Teach (AKA Blackbeard) was captured and executed by the Royal Navy off the coast of North Carolina.  His mythical buried treasure has not been …

Thanksgiving – 1770’s Style

In 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation designating November 26 of that year as a national day of thanksgiving to recognize the role of providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution.  Thanksgiving as a celebration of surviving the first year of the Plymouth Colony had been celebrated in Massachusetts …

Despite Today’s Politics, the Turkey was Never Considered as Our National Symbol

There is a myth that the turkey almost came to represent the United States. The story goes that after the Declaration of Independence was signed, Congress asked Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams to design a seal for our new nation. Since many of the Germanic nations, incorporate eagles into their pageantry, the eagle …

The Scourge of Slavery (#8) — Thomas Jefferson, a Slaveholder, argues to end slavery in new United States

There were 87 edits to Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence. Most were trivial, shortened phrases here or word substitutions there, but there is one glaring omission. One entire paragraph highlighting perhaps the greatest CRIME committed by King George, Parliament, the various “companies” (like the East India Company) and other agents of British …

Dutch Courage — Gin

Gin comes to us from the Netherlands and took its current form in the sixteenth century.  The predecessor to gin is Dutch ‘genever.’  There are two basic categories of genever, traditional ‘Oude Genever,’ (old style genever) with a high malt content for its base (15%-50%) and ‘Jonge Genever’, the newer style with only 15% malt …

“Beer” Recipe: Dutch East India Company Cider

The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), better known as the Dutch East India Company was set up in 1602 and head-quartered in the Oost-Indisch Huis (East-India House) in downtown Amsterdam as an official colonial agency. The company was given massive financial backing and the legal power to wage war, create overseas settlements, and uphold its own …