By Brewmaster on November 26, 2005 2:13 PM
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So we've
all heard how hops with their antioxidant properties and alchohol with it's
benefits can make us live longer, but wait, there are more health benefits to
beer.
It is
likely to strengthen your bones, according to researchers at The Rayne
Institute at St Thomas' Hospital, who have studied beer for its silicon
content. The mineral comes from the hops, although it can also be found in
mineral water, and is believed by Prof Jonathon Powell and his team to aid bone
strength and density. Dr Ravin Jugdaohsingh, a senior research fellow, said:
"One serving of beer - between 300 and 600ml - will give between five and 16mg
of silicon. We only consume up to 50mg a day, so it is a huge proportion of our
daily intake."
By Brewmaster on November 20, 2005 2:15 PM
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"the
attempt to make the consumption of beer criminal is as silly and as futile as
if you passed a law to send a man to jail for eating cucumber salad" - Stephen
Leacock (Canadian humorist, 1869-1944)
By Brewmaster on November 19, 2005 2:21 PM
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Archaeologists
working in southern Peru found an ancient brewery more than 1,000 years old.
Remains of the brewing facility were uncovered on Cerro Baúl, a mountaintop
city over 8,000 feet above sea level, which was home to elite members of the
Wari Empire from AD 600-1000.
Predating
the Inca Empire by at least four centuries, this Wari brewery was used to make
chicha, a fermented beverage similar to beer that played an important role in
ritual feasting and drinking during Peru's first empire. Ancient Peruvians made
chicha with local grains and fruit, which is quite different from today's
commercial beers typically made with barley and hops.
"We
believe this important find may be the oldest large-scale brewery ever found in
the Andes," said Patrick Ryan Williams, PhD, Assistant Curator of Anthropology
at The Field Museum.
By Brewmaster on November 18, 2005 2:19 PM
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Carolyn
from Bella Online shares her thoughts about tavern limericks. The following
three are from her article.
There was
a sweet girl from Gadzooks
Who spent
all her time coaching crooks-
As
thieves they had fun
And she
needed no gun
'Cause
she'd just knock 'em dead with her looks.
There was
a weight trainer named Joe
Had a
voice that was sexy and low -
He
attracted a lass
With his
muscular ass
And a bag
overflowing with dough.
There was
a park ranger named Dale
Who liked
making moonshine and ale-
He first
filled a mug
But drank
the whole jug
Then
passed out and drowned in his pail.
My
favorite limerick is "A Barmaid From Sale"
On the
chest of a barmaid in Sale
Were
tattooed the prices of ale.
And on
her behind,
For the
sake of the blind,
Was the
same information in Braille.
The
limerick also known as nonsense verse is a popular form of short, humorous
verse that is often nonsensical and frequently ribald. It consists of five
lines, rhyming aabba, the first, second, and fifth lines must have three
accented beats in them. The third and fourth lines must have two accented
beats.
The
origin of the limerick is unknown, but it has been suggested that the name
derives from the chorus of an 18th-century Irish soldiers' song, "Will You Come
Up to Limerick?"
Here is
another theory as to origin of the Limerick.
By Brewmaster on November 17, 2005 2:22 PM
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Preface:
It amazes
me that although events that took place in the past are completely finite and
unchangeable, history seems to have a lot of versions. It is often
intentionally or unintentionally mudded and clouded, a virtual maze for anyone
trying to find real answers.
It seems
that one is generally met with this constant of history when researching
anything that took place in the past. The history of brewing is no exception.
The
History and Origin of the Brewers Star
Brewers
as far back as the 1300's painted a six-pointed star on the ends of their beer
kegs, known as the "brewer's star". The star was the official insignia of the
Brewer's Guild as early as the 1500s. The star was hung outside breweries and
incorporated into logos for breweries and can still be seen in small village
breweries in Bavaria.
Apparently
the brewer's star was intended to symbolize purity. If a brewer attached this
insignia to his brew he was in essence declaring it to be free of any
impurities such as additives, and adjuncts. In folklore the six points of the
star represented the six aspects of brewing most critical to purity: the water,
the hops, the grain, the malt, the yeast, and the brewer.
Because
of its similarities to the Star of David, some have suggested that King David
was a brewer and this was its origin. According to scripture David was a worshipper of the true
God Jehovah, and the six sided star or hexagram had connections far from true
worship. I am not enough of a historian to know how intermixed the Israelite's were with paganism at this time.
Around
804 B.C.E a possible Biblical reference to this 'star' appears. It can be found
in the Bible at Amos 5:26, where it mentions "the star of YOUR god" making
reference to a pagan god, Rephan also known as Kaiwan. J. A. Hort remarked: "In
the LXX of Am v 26 the form used is [Rhai•phan´] or [Rhe•phan´], which is
similar to Repa or Repha, one of the names of the Egyptian Saturn (Seb)."--The
New Testament in the Original Greek, by Westcott and Hort, Graz, 1974, Vol. II,
appendix, p. 92
Possibly
connected with star worship, the hexagram no doubt existed even long before 804
B.C.E. People in the occult, astrology, and witchcraft have all long used this
symbol. It's often used as a talisman or charm.
Some have
suggested that this found it's way into the Jewish community when Israel's king
Solomon apostatized and started worshiping pagan gods. While others state that
the first use of the term "Shield of David" was about 1300 CE when a Spanish
practitioner of Jewish mysticism wrote a commentary on the central book of that
mysticism, the Zohar. They also state that the first actual linkage of the
hexagram to a Jewish community appears in the early 1300s on the flag of the
Jewish community of Prague, which was designed with permission of Charles IV
when he became king of Bohemia.
So, at
what point did this star find its way into brewing?
That is a
pretty good question. I think most answers are going to be pretty speculative.
I can see why someone may have wanted to put a symbol of 'good luck' on their
brew, much as Bacardi does with the bat emblem. I can also see how if this was
an official flag in part of Bohemia, the birthplace of Pilsner, that somehow
this star could have come to represent their product. But like I said at the
beginning when trying to find answers in History one often finds 'mudded and
clouded' answers.
(Update May 2010. Much of the data for this article comes from beerhistory.com since my blog 'crashed' in late 2007 the original attribution was lost. Please forgive any perceived plagiarism. Future writing will attempt to use MLA format for any references.)
By Brewmaster on November 11, 2005 2:30 PM
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Thanks to
Alan for the link. A good beer blog continues to be one the most up-to-date,
and in my humble opinion the best beer blog on the 'net. Although I continue to
be impressed with some of the new ones poping up and those I have seem to have
overlooked.
Another
excellent beer blog is Knut Albert's. Just today I discovered Real Beer
Blog.com. Some other popular beer blogs are Hail the ale, 1000 bars,
sudspundit, The Brew Site, BeerBytes.
There are
some others that are not so up to date such as Beer-the Blog. For a daily beer
poem see Beer Haiku Daily.
If you
frequently enjoy a beer blog that I have overlooked, contact me and I will post
it, or link it.
Scientists
at Oregon State University say the hops used in brewing beer contain a compound
called flavonids, which neutralize "free radicals:" rogue oxygen molecules that
can damage cells.
The
researchers say porter, stout and ale have significantly higher levels of
flavonids, when compared to lager and pilsner beers.
However,
according to the study, the beneficial effect of brew may be minimal and more
research is required.
"We can't
say that drinking beer will help prevent cancer," says Fred Stevens, OSU
assistant professor of pharmacy and scientist in the Linus Pauling Institute.
(Update May 2010. Alan is still blogging. When my site went to hell in a handbasket he offered to let me post at a good beer blog. Thanks Alan - someday we'll have to share a pint on me.)
Although
the exact etymology of the word growler, is a little unclear, it's 19th century
to current history is interesting. Growlers or half gallon glass jugs are
popular with local microbreweries as a way to sell 'take home' beer. Back in
the 19th century parents would at dinnertime send their child to a local bar or
brewery to fetch beer in a pail, or covered bucket, which was referred to as a
"growler."
Brander
Matthews wrote about it in Harper's Magazine in July 1893: "In New York a can
brought in filled with beer at a bar-room is called a growler, and the act of
sending this can from the private house to the public-house and back is called
working the growler".
It was
also called rushing the growler, since perhaps these children were often in a
hurry. Teenagers could make good money and get a free lunch if they would show
up at the factories and pick up the workers' beer pails to get them filled at
the taverns. They would sometime use a long pole in order to carry a quantity
of pails to refill on one trip. Another possible explanation for using the term
'rushing' the growler.
Regarding
the term 'growler the Trenton Times for 20 June 1883 said, perhaps in jest "It
is called the growler because it provokes so much trouble in the scramble after
beer"
One can
only imagine that if you spilt your fathers can of Ale that he was the growler.
It seems that it may have been a slang term, and those who "rushed the growler"
were no doubt the poorer working class looked down upon by the upper crust of
society.
It
reminds me of the part in John Barleycorn where he says "It was on a hot day,
and my father was ploughing in the field. I was sent from the house, half a
mile away, to carry to him a pail of beer".