In the summer of 1775, George Washington and the fledgling Continental Army was unable to effectively lay siege to British-occupied Boston because the Royal Navy had a firm command of the sea-lanes and the harbor. All George Washington could do was observe the flow of enemy supplies into Boston harbor and wondered if intercepting a …
Tag Archives: Beer
Beer Recipe: Battle of the Kegs — British Brown Ale
Early in January, 1778, David Bushnell, the inventor of the American Torpedo, and other submarine machinery, prepared a number of “infernals,” as the British termed them, and set them afloat in the Delaware River, a few miles above Philadelphia, in order to annoy the royal shipping, which at that time lay off that place at …
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Beer Recipe: Kartoffelferienbier
Potatoes are native to the Americas and were first brought to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadors during the mid-16th century. The English buccaneer, Sir Walter Raleigh, is known to have gifted them to Queen Elizabeth as an American delicacy. Since then, potatoes have become a staple food source for many people all over the world. We …
Basic Colonial Brewing #16 — Making Sense of the Beer Menu
I am going to deviate from my normal focus on the 18th Century to discuss some brewing terminology that seems to be confusing people in craft brew pubs. The other day, my wife and I visited a brewery and her questions about the beer menu prompted me to clarify some jargon that are too often …
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The Yeast Ring
This year, I am adding a somewhat archaic bit of brewing equipment to the gear brought out by the Regimental Brewmiester. The yeast ring or gjarkrans is a piece of traditional brewing gear from medieval Sweden and Denmark. This tool resembles a complicated wreath of small pieces of whittled wood. Yeast harvested from one batch …
Beer Recipe: Common Sense Cherry Pils
Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries. Before the era of radio communication and television, when you wished to convey a message to a large audience, you published it. Originally published anonymously, “Common Sense” not only advocates independence but explains how the …
Basic Colonial Brewing #15 — Necessary Anachronisms in Colonial Brewing
One question I frequently get asked at reenactments is “is that the really the way beer was made in the 1770’s?” For the most part, the answer is “yes” but there are some very necessary exceptions. Not all “Colonial Beers” are good and some of the methods used in the 18th Century were unsafe by …
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A New England Beer Run!
On August 15, 1620; the Mayflower and the Speedwell set sail for VIRGINIA. Unfortunately, after only about 200 miles in the rough waters of the north Atlantic, the Speedwell sprang began taking on water and had to turn back. The decision to abandon the Speedwell and transfer many of its passengers onto the Mayflower set …
Beer Recipe: Act of Parliament — Small Beer
In the days before proper sanitation, drinking water could be very dangerous. There are many waterborne parasites (like the amoebas that cause dysentery) and pathogens (like cholera) and as people formed settlements and cities, these diseases were easily spread. Fear of drinking the water was so strong that in 1620 when Puritan settlers arrived in …
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Beer Recipe: Flippen Pompkin Ale
When the British imposed the Stamp Act of 1765, John Hancock helped lead the opposition in urging a boycott of British-made goods. Far from an act of patriotism, Hancock, a smuggler of tea, rum, and wine, used these boycotts earn obscene profits. But the boycotts did impact the Crown and eventually lead to the repeal …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 