Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Brewing in Colonial America
Lately, I’ve been reading about archaic brewing methods looking for inspiration. Although I’m a Philadelphia native of 30 years or so, I have only recently come to know of Pennsbury Manor. William Penn and his family spent much of the year at a country estate in the suburbs and would return to the city in winter. Since then, it has been set aside as a historic site. Last Sunday, they had 17th-century beer and cider-making demonstrations and I was sure to attend.
We walked past the manor house as well as sheep, chickens, and horses on our way to the beer and cider-making locations. A man in a colonial outfit crushing apples greeted us and explained the varieties of apples grown in Penn’s orchards. They made use of crab apples and a particular strain of Washington red apples. Many of them were too sour and tart to eat but, when crushed, released tannins preserving the cider. Apples were harvested through September and October and crushed at this time of year. They did not add anything. Wild yeasts were relied upon for the fermentation. Six months later in early spring cider was ready for consumption. While this process was demonstrated out doors the beer brewing took place in a building dedicated to baking and brewing.
Beer, in colonial America, was seen as a healthy substitute for water. Early settlers had the effects polluted European drinking water in recent memory and carried that fear with them. At the time, they did not understand that the boiling process involved in brewing killed off most harmful bacteria. They simply knew that drinking water resulted in illness, beer did not. Beer was the beverage of choice in the 17th-century and drank in large quantities. It was such a staple that the wage of a house servant was partially paid in beer. Both adults and children drank beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As such, it had to be brewed in large quantities to supply a well-to-do family and pay their servant’s wages. They used the traditional ingredients of barley, hops, water and yeast. The yeast from the prior batch was preserved and tossed. One must assume that they brought beer with them from England to retain the family recipe. The woman of the house was typically responsible for supplying the estate. Brewers were not typically men until the Industrial Revolution when brewing moved from private production to commercial enterprise.
Till next time,
- John
We walked past the manor house as well as sheep, chickens, and horses on our way to the beer and cider-making locations. A man in a colonial outfit crushing apples greeted us and explained the varieties of apples grown in Penn’s orchards. They made use of crab apples and a particular strain of Washington red apples. Many of them were too sour and tart to eat but, when crushed, released tannins preserving the cider. Apples were harvested through September and October and crushed at this time of year. They did not add anything. Wild yeasts were relied upon for the fermentation. Six months later in early spring cider was ready for consumption. While this process was demonstrated out doors the beer brewing took place in a building dedicated to baking and brewing.
Beer, in colonial America, was seen as a healthy substitute for water. Early settlers had the effects polluted European drinking water in recent memory and carried that fear with them. At the time, they did not understand that the boiling process involved in brewing killed off most harmful bacteria. They simply knew that drinking water resulted in illness, beer did not. Beer was the beverage of choice in the 17th-century and drank in large quantities. It was such a staple that the wage of a house servant was partially paid in beer. Both adults and children drank beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As such, it had to be brewed in large quantities to supply a well-to-do family and pay their servant’s wages. They used the traditional ingredients of barley, hops, water and yeast. The yeast from the prior batch was preserved and tossed. One must assume that they brought beer with them from England to retain the family recipe. The woman of the house was typically responsible for supplying the estate. Brewers were not typically men until the Industrial Revolution when brewing moved from private production to commercial enterprise.
Till next time,
- John
# posted by John @ 7:22 AM 
