Bog Myrtle Brew Day

Another in our series of SMASH Herbal beers (see Meadowsweet and Heather): Bog Myrtle! Please follow the links below for the archaeological and literary evidence for bog myrtle beers during the Greco-Roman era (and elsewhere): Bog Myrtle in Archaeology Bog Myrtle Pt. 2 Our brewday largely followed that of the previous SMASH beers. This allows…

Heather Tasting

For the previous entries in our heather brewing trial, see: Heather in Ancient Sources Heather in Archaeology Heather SMASH(erb) Brew Day The heather ale began fermenting immediately and produced the strongest fermentation that I have witnessed from any of the beer experiments. The krausen nearly doubled the size of the original wort in less than…

Heather SMASH(erb) Beer

For the previous entries in our heather brewing trial, see: Heather in Ancient Sources Heather in Archaeology Heather is among the more common plants/herbs used in modern gruits and historic ales. Perhaps the most well-known of the commercial heather ales is made by Williams Brothers Brewing in Scotland. Their drink, Fraoch Heather Ale, includes bog…

Heather in Archaeology

Heather in Ancient Literature. The archaeological evidence for ancient heather beers (or other fermented beverages) is minimal compared to that of meadowsweet. Heather has been widely used in gruits and ales in the past several centuries and, in folklore and myth, is often associated with Celtic drinking traditions. Buhner (1998: 25-35), for instance, devotes several pages…

HBW: Meadowsweet Beer Tasting

For the previous entries in our meadowsweet brewing trial, see: Meadowsweet in Ancient Sources Meadowsweet in Archaeology Meadowsweet SMASH(erb) Brew Day How did the meadowsweet beer turnout? FG: 1.011 ABV: ~3% Appearance: Pale straw-yellow, quite clear. Aroma: Caramel malt, floral, slight plastic. Mouthfeel: Dry. Taste:  The meadowsweet balances the sweetness of the malt quite well….

Classical Beer Review: Weyerbacher Heresy

I am thrilled to review a Weyerbacher beer. I have a soft-spot for Weyerbacher because I grew upin the same town and my family occasionally ate at their old brewpub when I was a child. Of course, I was too young to drink, but my father seemed to enjoy their brews. Later, when I came of…

Brewing a Meadowsweet SMASH(erb) Beer

It is brewday! (or, at least it was brewday last Sunday). After obtaining meadowsweet from an online herbal distributor and the base grains from the local homebrew shop, I brewed a quick beer, adding meadowsweet at the beginning of the boil. The process (see below) largely follows the previous experimental brews on this site. This…

Einkorn Beer Tasting

Emmer/Einkorn Beer Overview Malting Emmer in Antiquity Brewday #1 (emmer – unsuccessful) Emmer in Brewing Brewday #2 (einkorn – success!; emmer – unsuccessful) It’s judgement day for our home-malted einkorn beer. The beer fermented for two weeks with a bread yeast and attenuated quite well. The final gravity was 0.999, resulting in a beer with nearly 3.5%…

Meadowsweet in Archaeology

Relatively speaking, there is a significant amount of archaeological evidence for the use of meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) in ancient fermented beverages. Much of this evidence is from Bronze Age sites (mostly 2nd millennium BCE), but there are some Iron Age sites (contemporary with classical Greece and Rome) where meadowsweet residues were found. This chronological distribution…

Florus, Epitome Bellorum Omnium Annorum 1.34

Sic redacto in disciplinam milite commissa acies, quodque nemo visurum se umquam speraverat factum, ut fugientes Numantinos quisquam videret. Dedere etiam se volebant, si toleranda viris imperarentur. Sed cum Scipio veram vellet et sine exceptione victoriam, eo necessitatum conpulsi primum ut destinata morte in proelium ruerent, cum se prius epulis quasi inferiis implevissent carnis semicrudae et…

HBW: Emmer and Einkorn Beer

As part of this ongoing series of homebrewing ancient grains, I continue to explore the viability of brewing with emmer and einkorn. Previously, I malted an emmer and attempted to brew an emmer beer. I suspected that my lack of success was due to the tough exerior of the grain that resulted in difficulties during the…

Emmer in Antiquity

For this week’s Classical text, I include a non-exhaustive list of Greco-Roman references to emmer. This serves to complement the ongoing HBW series, brewing ancient grains – emmer beer is currently on deck (malt, brew pt.1, brew pt.2, taste). This list supplements, but does not replace, Nelson’s list (2001, 98) in which he describes the…