Past Is Still Present

A wonderful accounting of Sarah Frankes, one of the first women to own a brewery in America.

A Pint of Plain

This old BBC report on porter. But not just any porter, porter the way it was poured once upon a time, when a publican had to have a pouring skill. Pouring from two different kegs meant that the publican had a great deal of power over the way the porter was experienced by the customer.

We haven’t lost the style of course, and obviously I understand that a consistent beverage is more valuable than one precisely tuned to the consumer-at least from a production standpoint. Still, I appreciate that it is a skill that has been left behind.

Hop History

This isn’t a long article but it’s definitely the kind of thing I’m thrilled to see: a short profile of someone creating a history of Polk County, Oregon’s involvement in American brewing.

The quote at the end is the cherry on top though, because it emphasizes how something like beer relates to living and why that’s important.

Where Yeast Comes From (Sorta)

Here’s a really neat post, talking about how they’re using gene sequencing to find out where yeasts that make beer originated geographically.

Using ale yeast makes sense-beer is a centuries old food, and humans would have an interest in utilizing it, much in the same way that we kept avocados around. So being able to trace it can help fill in bits and pieces of our ancient history-which I think is cool.

Old Old School

This is a neat story about archaeologists being called in to excavate one of the oldest breweries in the Northwest! Nice to know I’m part of a fine tradition.

Witchcraft

I’ve known for a long time that initially, women were the ones who brewed beer: a family staple, brewing often fell to them.

Some, as you might expect, got good enough at it that they started selling it at markets.

And I’d always figured that, with the industrial revolution, men just muscled their way into the field and pushed women out.

Buuuuut…no, No of course it’s a little worse than that.

5000 Years

They found what is possibly the oldest brewery.

I mean. Either you find that sort of thing interesting or you don’t but if you don’t…I’m not sure what else I can tell you, while you’re here.

Underground

So, they found a beer cave in Missouri. I guess the notion of men hiding out in caves to drink beer and avoid life goes back farther than I’d thought.

Then again, if we’ve got scientists recreating medieval ale from the walls, maybe scientists can learn something from how beer was made in the 1800’s, too.

The Old is New

Beer history is making for a new frontier.

Oak Park Brewing

OK, this is really cool: they’re reviving a beer made from one of the first ever Black owned breweries in the US.  Such a great way to honor history and bring it into the present.