Beer and Brewing in Colonial AmericaEssay Preview: Beer and Brewing in Colonial AmericaReport this essayBeer and Brewing in Colonial AmericaHistory 1301 – TR 8:00am25 October 2011Beer and Ale, and other beverages based on malted barley, has been in North America since the very first ships arrived filled with settlers dreaming of a new life on unknown shores. It has been at various times since a vital food staple, social drink of the people, safe alternative to possibly contaminated drinking water due to its boiling during manufacture, and the vilified drink of drunkards, usually all at the same time. Beer and Ale have played a vital part in the history of early Colonial America, and is truly the drink on which colonial America was built.
History 1301 —-8. The Great Beer-and-Alcohol-Swirl in Colonial America: 1866-1976. Edited for: Science and Technology, Volume 14, Issue 4, pages 49-57.
A detailed look at the history of beer, ale, wine and other beverages in North America from its earliest beginnings as a staple of English colonists, particularly during the time of the Spanish Succession. This review of the book by Dr. Stephen H. Wigginton, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, highlights what may be the largest brewing industry to have emerged to date in the North American United States, and presents a unique perspective on the development of beer, ale, wine and other beverages for which it took over and over in North America. Dr. Wigginton takes a detailed look at the development of beer, ale, wine, and other beverages in North America in an easy-to-read and efficient manner that is well illustrated by the text. From the beginning of the colonies to the present, beer is a staple drink, with the earliest settlers who brew them providing evidence that it is their own food supplement.
A wide variety of beverages come from a variety of sources and flavours, and the ingredients must meet various requirements and limitations of each of them. It is not uncommon that brewers from the earliest days may have relied on beer for food, as well as to drink drinks from vessels from which they could be brewed. An alcoholic drink is often made by boiling barley in alcohol, but some brewers use brewing liquor which derives its name from barley. Thus, the brewing of beer often serves as a source of food, and it is this food and drink that will continue to be used for centuries to come. More than one million North American colonists were affected by the rise of brews that have been grown in large quantities at home, and the growing thirst for alcoholic foods has made the beer and ale industry the national beverage of choice among the English and North Americans.
Historic Beer and Wine in North America and the Early American Colonies. (Editor’s Note. The original edition, which was originally published in 1826, is now reprinted in the American Mineralogist, Vol. III, issue 6, pp. 815-815.)
The book also provides extensive reference to the history of brews that were grown at home in the North American colonies, and they include detailed descriptions of their malt products, beer from the malt cellar, wine that has been fermented with them at home, and other recipes that have been described for the fermentation of other crops. The book also explores the origins, evolution, and origin of craft beers, the history of brewing, and recipes for blending brews. In addition, it includes a comprehensive discussion of recipes used at first in brewing in the colonies, as well as many recipes that have been adapted in more recent times
History 1301 —-8. The Great Beer-and-Alcohol-Swirl in Colonial America: 1866-1976. Edited for: Science and Technology, Volume 14, Issue 4, pages 49-57.
A detailed look at the history of beer, ale, wine and other beverages in North America from its earliest beginnings as a staple of English colonists, particularly during the time of the Spanish Succession. This review of the book by Dr. Stephen H. Wigginton, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, highlights what may be the largest brewing industry to have emerged to date in the North American United States, and presents a unique perspective on the development of beer, ale, wine and other beverages for which it took over and over in North America. Dr. Wigginton takes a detailed look at the development of beer, ale, wine, and other beverages in North America in an easy-to-read and efficient manner that is well illustrated by the text. From the beginning of the colonies to the present, beer is a staple drink, with the earliest settlers who brew them providing evidence that it is their own food supplement.
A wide variety of beverages come from a variety of sources and flavours, and the ingredients must meet various requirements and limitations of each of them. It is not uncommon that brewers from the earliest days may have relied on beer for food, as well as to drink drinks from vessels from which they could be brewed. An alcoholic drink is often made by boiling barley in alcohol, but some brewers use brewing liquor which derives its name from barley. Thus, the brewing of beer often serves as a source of food, and it is this food and drink that will continue to be used for centuries to come. More than one million North American colonists were affected by the rise of brews that have been grown in large quantities at home, and the growing thirst for alcoholic foods has made the beer and ale industry the national beverage of choice among the English and North Americans.
Historic Beer and Wine in North America and the Early American Colonies. (Editor’s Note. The original edition, which was originally published in 1826, is now reprinted in the American Mineralogist, Vol. III, issue 6, pp. 815-815.)
The book also provides extensive reference to the history of brews that were grown at home in the North American colonies, and they include detailed descriptions of their malt products, beer from the malt cellar, wine that has been fermented with them at home, and other recipes that have been described for the fermentation of other crops. The book also explores the origins, evolution, and origin of craft beers, the history of brewing, and recipes for blending brews. In addition, it includes a comprehensive discussion of recipes used at first in brewing in the colonies, as well as many recipes that have been adapted in more recent times
Beer and Ale then was much the same beverage then as we drink now, and it first came aboard the ships which ferried settlers and soldiers to the new shores of Englands colonies in wooden barrels. Indeed, most ships at that time had a copper (barrel maker) aboard to care for them and the water barrels of the vessel. One ship of the time, the Arbella, is known to have carried over 10,000 gallons of English beer to the American colonies in 1630 alone. (McWilliams 543) The Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock though it had been bound for Hudson Bay, in part because of poor navigation and weather effects, due to its dwindling beer supplies aboard the vessel. When put ashore, the Mayflower settlers brought with them barley, hops and equipment to brew their own beer as soon as they settled, which was fortunate as the Mayflower sailors did not leave them any. (Mittleman 6)
• In the 18th century, a new kind of ale was created – American ale. It was also called, simply, “American English Ale.” (McWilliams 543) • The Mayflower Brewery soon began using American beer to meet demand from their native peoples. It was able to sell many varieties of beer, such as black wheat, barley, and rye, for a relatively low price. (McWilliams 543) • But despite this low-price appeal, the beer still had its share of problems, for many brewers the brewers faced the fact that alcohol was increasingly scarce in the American diet, and that the beers were much too strong for the poor. [In “The Mayflower Brewery in America,” by W.J. Gaffney (1872-1970), pp. 23-34] The brewers of the Mayflower Brewery faced great hardship, but by 1837 they had made their brewery one of the world’s most sought-after and popular breweries, and over 30 years later, they were selling over 15,000 barrels of beer. (McWilliams 543) • An excellent illustration of the challenges brewing and selling American beer can be found in the April 27, 1918, edition of the June 29, 1918 edition of the Irish-American Quarterly News, available here: http://www.irqn.org/library/r.htm It is a wonderful example. The July 30, 1917 edition of the Irish-American Quarterly News, from the page shown at right, in its entirety, lists: “It has been found that this is the most expensive beer ever brewed in North America.” That’s actually in the top 10 most expensive beer, all within three or four hours of each other. (McWilliams 543) • While some brewers went on to brew even more expensive beer (such as “Aldrich,” “Eureka,” “Otis” and “Icky’s”), others came up with a recipe that required brewing gallons of wine. (McWilliams 543) • As the term “beer shortage” is widely misunderstood, many brewers chose to sell American beer (and the U.S. population) at a lower price, as did many other brewers. (McWilliams 543) -• Many craft brewers have attempted to do just that to raise money and have succeeded, some of which, though they may not be getting the attention they should, have taken on a more national character by making American-brewed beer at a lower price than anyone else. (McWilliams 543) • It is quite evident that the number of American breweries has increased dramatically in the last three years. By the end of the war, nearly 2,000 American brewing establishments had sold more or less all their craft beers in just three months, many of them in small localities or towns outside cities (McWilliams 543). (McWilliams 543) -• And finally, some brewers have not only succeeded in making American beer, but so have many of their patrons, including millions of immigrants. (McWilliams 543) • Many of the craft brewers of the present generation have enjoyed the success brewing their own unique domestic beers, even as the numbers of foreign-born American brewmasters have diminished exponentially (McWilliams 543) • And many brewers today have their own craft beers in the mix, in both domestic and international production. (McWilliams
{note. I never really know how the Mayflower settlers did it, but if you looked from afar to see what the exact source (I don’t even know what to say this is any better), you can clearly see where it is from… there’s some evidence, you might guess. The original Mayflower settlers had a small boat, at the back of the deck, at their side. These settlers would often carry with them their small bottles of wine and rum, and then bring home a gallon or two of white wine to drink from one of their barrels of beer (I guess the idea was there for a good while, but we didn’t see it), when in actuality they were going to drink (no, wait a minute, the Mayflower and others of their kind didn’t always just bring a gallon of booze. These settlers were often not even a full-blown brewer. The Mayflower was not used to the “fishing in the Atlantic”. Instead, they were known to have had ships bound, which they would drive around the Atlantic each year, to help those who needed it. As such, I don’t believe we have known anything about what the Mayflower brewers did, but I can tell you that there were some Mayflower traders and merchants sailing across the Atlantic each year. After the ships were loaded onto the vessels, they would take up their craft into the moorings and they would then spend the morning and evening on the sea and in it drinking as they worked till they ran out. (McWilliams 543) Also before they entered the moorings of the mooring, there was a small boat, the Noyes, which stayed for some months before being taken to the shore to wait for an invitation by the Mayflower traders. It was named for the Spanish explorer Alvaro Noyes, who was sailing through the Mediterranean from Spain in 1619 (see above. Alvaro’s name in the earliest versions of the Mayflower’s manuscript is also dated to about the same time as William E. White, so you get that). The ships of this ship were owned by Richard Jones, John Whitney, and others, so they were never really used for shipping or for any other purposes. We have little evidence to suggest that this Mayflower ship also had a “small boat”, because the ship would only take up the same berth in the middle of the day. The crew are all very much like the Mayflower traders you know, but the crew members are not quite as large as the Mayflower traders (even though the captain is an experienced Mayflower merchant from Connecticut) and may not even be wearing their own shirts. Also the ship was never really used either for shipping or for any other purpose… in fact one of the Mayflower’s early ships went off from the Bahamas for more than six months. (In the end, however, the ship was always sailing through the Bahamas in good weather, making it possible for the crew to leave their craft and head back to the new lands they had landed). However, there were some other people who made early versions of the Mayflower, and some people brought in some bottles containing alcoholic liquor that a certain James McFarland and the Mayflower’s ship’s crew did drink, or perhaps they brought some bottles of “the Irish liquor” or some bottles of wine that a ship’s
{note. I never really know how the Mayflower settlers did it, but if you looked from afar to see what the exact source (I don’t even know what to say this is any better), you can clearly see where it is from… there’s some evidence, you might guess. The original Mayflower settlers had a small boat, at the back of the deck, at their side. These settlers would often carry with them their small bottles of wine and rum, and then bring home a gallon or two of white wine to drink from one of their barrels of beer (I guess the idea was there for a good while, but we didn’t see it), when in actuality they were going to drink (no, wait a minute, the Mayflower and others of their kind didn’t always just bring a gallon of booze. These settlers were often not even a full-blown brewer. The Mayflower was not used to the “fishing in the Atlantic”. Instead, they were known to have had ships bound, which they would drive around the Atlantic each year, to help those who needed it. As such, I don’t believe we have known anything about what the Mayflower brewers did, but I can tell you that there were some Mayflower traders and merchants sailing across the Atlantic each year. After the ships were loaded onto the vessels, they would take up their craft into the moorings and they would then spend the morning and evening on the sea and in it drinking as they worked till they ran out. (McWilliams 543) Also before they entered the moorings of the mooring, there was a small boat, the Noyes, which stayed for some months before being taken to the shore to wait for an invitation by the Mayflower traders. It was named for the Spanish explorer Alvaro Noyes, who was sailing through the Mediterranean from Spain in 1619 (see above. Alvaro’s name in the earliest versions of the Mayflower’s manuscript is also dated to about the same time as William E. White, so you get that). The ships of this ship were owned by Richard Jones, John Whitney, and others, so they were never really used for shipping or for any other purposes. We have little evidence to suggest that this Mayflower ship also had a “small boat”, because the ship would only take up the same berth in the middle of the day. The crew are all very much like the Mayflower traders you know, but the crew members are not quite as large as the Mayflower traders (even though the captain is an experienced Mayflower merchant from Connecticut) and may not even be wearing their own shirts. Also the ship was never really used either for shipping or for any other purpose… in fact one of the Mayflower’s early ships went off from the Bahamas for more than six months. (In the end, however, the ship was always sailing through the Bahamas in good weather, making it possible for the crew to leave their craft and head back to the new lands they had landed). However, there were some other people who made early versions of the Mayflower, and some people brought in some bottles containing alcoholic liquor that a certain James McFarland and the Mayflower’s ship’s crew did drink, or perhaps they brought some bottles of “the Irish liquor” or some bottles of wine that a ship’s
Brewing had, over the course of the 15th and 16th centuries in England, undergone a major paradigm shift from do-it-yourself in the home homebrewing operation to a Guild ran system of increasing sophistication, with brewing itself becoming a craft demanding training and skill. Ale and beer production became more economically viable to produce on a commercial level with dropping grain prices and advances in the brewing art resulting in greater efficiency of alcohol production from grain bills. Also, its widespread popularity with people of all social classes in England helped to exponentially fuel its popularity. It was this level of technical skill and ability that Colonial authorities tried to plant in the Colonies from their start, but where largely unsuccessful. In 1637 in Massachusetts Colony, comprehensive laws were passed to curb a swiftly growing number of brewing endeavors, including licensing fees to be a commercial brewer in the amount of ÂŁ100, to be intentionally restrictive. (McWilliams 543) Due to the frontier nature of the 1630s Colonies, with the lack of a reliable transportation infrastructure, casks to ensure beer did not spoil enroute, and reliable couriers. In 1639, the beer laws were rescinded due to their unenforceability and transferred to local towns to govern. Due to this and the day to day realities of life in the Colonies, brewing became simpler and decentralized and it was more than 20 years before any larger then local village brewing, called Ordinaries, ventures arose. Brewing, and beer in general, was more popular in the northern colonies then southern due to beers inherent danger of spoilage in the souths hotter climates, where rum was a larger staple. Still, brewing maintained a steady and daily presence in the vast majority of Colonial Americans lives, north and south, with it mostly being done in home for family consumption, including children by women brewers mostly as a course of their daily duties.
Beer and Ale is, in the context of the Colonies, one and the same item. Ale is produced by yeast that thrives in slightly warmer temperatures and over a large temperature range, and was harvested and dried to be reconstituted for fermenting later batches. Lagering, cold fermenting and conditioning of beer in temperatures of 50 degrees or less was not much done at that time due to its much more temperature restrictive nature and would not take hold in America until the large influx of German immigrants in the 1800s, Lagering being a primary style characteristic of German and Austrian brewing. Hops, malted barley and other grains, where are grown