Elspeth Payne on…

It’s amazing to me how many brewers ask me where to find medieval brewing recipes for beer, mead, whatever . Let’s start with some basics. When you’re looking for documentable historical sources for medieval brewing recipes, it’s important to know which ones to quote. What is a primary source? The […]

A quick mead takes 10 days-2 weeks, and tastes like slightly alcoholic soda pop. It runs 2-4% alcohol – just enough so it’s more than honey water, but not so much that a long cold drink will hurt you. Quick meads are great for camping events, particularly when you’ll be there […]

You can imagine my extreme hesitation at the idea of making a bochet mead. I am a cold-method meadmaker.  I heat water as little as possible to mix with the must, and heat the honey not at all.  the days of pasteurizing my own honey are long past.     Heat drives […]

In my last two posts:  the Anglo-Saxon words beor, ealu, medu and wyn may not be what they seem.  British beer blogger Martyn Cornell takes a crack at sorting out the word histories and what we actually know about any of them. I am reprinting this with Mr. Cornell’s permission.  his Zythophile blog […]

As I started to say in my last post, the Anglo-Saxon words beor, ealu, medu and wyn may not be what they seem.  It may be that we’ve been telling the wrong story about Anglo-Saxon feasts for long time.  Martyn Cornell takes a crack at sorting out the word histories and what we actually […]

The Book of Taliesin is a late Middle Welsh version of the ales of Gwion Bach and Taliesin, mostly around the court of Maelgyn Gynedd.  It was written in the 1550s, the same time Henry VIII was on the throne (or maybe collected then? Middle Welsh is 12th-14th c, and Taliesin was tenth c).  […]

 Can you answer this riddle? I am man’s treasure, taken from the woods, Cliff-sides, hill-slopes, valleys, downs; By day wings bear me in the buzzing air, Slip me under a sheltering roof-sweet craft. Soon a man bears me to a tub. Bathed, I am binder and scourge of men, bring […]

For you medievalists who might be able to actually attend, and all you crazy brewers who like getting together with other brewers to see what’s shakin’, may I recommend this weekend’s  Brewers’ Roundtable?  It’s something we do a lot of in the historical brewing world that you modern types may […]

I’m back home from medieval summer camp (where I and ten thousand of my closest friends re-create camps and life in different eras prior to 1600 AD, complete with battles, bards, and all manner of arts displays, tournaments, and competitions – have I mentioned the parties?).  I am thinking about […]

Most recently updated Aug. 18. 2015 Here is my list of historical brewing secondary sources; the references I reach for regularly.  I’ve already posted my personal list of primary sources on this site.  I’m planning three or four of these.   I think my next one will be modern how-to brewing […]

Most recently updated August 18, 2015 I am chagrined each time I see someone online asking whether there are period sources.  You bet there are!  Here is a running list of historical primary sources for brewers. Secondary sources are on another blog post, yet another has modern how-to books,  and there’s one […]

I used to know it as a fun fighting event. It all started like this In the world of medieval enactors in the Society for Creative Anachronism, an integral part of an event is the afternoon Court.  The local baron and/or baroness preside, and sometimes we have Royalty as well […]