October

The ancient Sumerians and Egyptians all enjoyed beer. To some of these ancient cultures, the making of beer was thought of as a female activity since it was an extension of bread making. In 1994, Dr. Solomon Katz of the University of Pennsylvania worked with Fritz Maytag of the Anchor Brewing Co. to recreate a Sumerian beer that was described in a hymn on a clay tablet.[1] Ancient beers were created quite a bit quicker then modern beers, and indeed, the fermentation process continued beyond the creation of the beer. Egyptian hieroglyphs depict the making and consumption of beer, drinking their brews through a wooden straw/siphon to filter out the many impurities. In 1990, The Egyptian Exploration Society approached Scottish and Newcastle Breweries for help in reproducing Ancient Egyptian beer.[2] These types of ancient beer were thick, still (no carbonation), very nutritious and of low alcohol content. Fruit and/or spices were added for flavoring to these thick, almost porridge like brews.

In around 55 BC, the Romans introduced beer to Northern Europe before the popularity of growing grapes for wine took hold. The Greeks much favored wine over beer and considered beer an effeminate drink. The Romans considered beer the drink of barbarians (after they had wine, that is). Tacitus noted of the Germanic peoples: “To drink, the Teutons have a horrible brew fermented from barley or wheat, a brew which has only a very far removed similarity to wine”. The oldest proof of brewing on German soil comes from the Hallestatt period, around 800 BC.[3] As with the Sumerians and Egyptians, the brewing of beer was woman’s work and remained so until the Middle Ages.[4]

Like ancient beers, early medieval beer was made by soaking cereals in water until the grains sprouted and then allowing them to dry. Then the gruit was added, which was a flavoring mix that contained herbs, spices and/or honey. After this, the mixture was allowed to sit in the open so that yeast could ‘infect’ it. This method is called spontaneous fermentation, and is still practiced in Europe today.[5] Indeed, brewers didn’t even know what yeast was, and usually contributed fermentation to divine intervention. I have also heard of a ‘brewing spoon’ that was caked with sediment from previous batches and always used by the brewer. In the sediment would be dormant yeast, however I haven’t been able to find documentation on this phenomenon. Regardless, with this type of open-air treatment and no sanitization, its little wonder that the beer produced frequently went off and brewers expected losses of about 20% or more through batches having gone sour. When batches of beer went off or sour, sometimes there was only one thing to do: burn a “beer witch”. Beer witches were blamed for failed batches of beer up until the late 1500s.[6]

Medieval monasteries are credited with adding hops to beer first in around 1236 AD.[7] Before that the hop plant was used as a medicinal herb, and it should come as no surprise since it is related to the nettle, and both are members of the hemp family.[8] The addition of the hop plant not only adds a nice bitterness and aroma to beer, but it also acts as a natural preservative, allowing the beer to last longer especially in the summer months. So, hops made everyone happier: beer was drinkable more often and longer, and less beer witches were burned. By the 1300s, the Low Countries were hooked on the crisp German hopped beer; by 1400, the hopped beer spread through France to England. Back in Germany, in 1420 the lager method of brewing was being developed. Meanwhile, in England, ale makers were disgusted by the spread of the use of hops, and for a while Henry VIII backed their beef by banning the use of hops in 1530. However, in 1600, the use of hops became widespread and unhopped ale was on the decline. In 1516, the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm IV created a landmark law in the food and brew world with the world’s oldest (and still valid) food purity law. Under the German Beer Purity Law, only barley, hops and pure water may be used to make beer.

Very little changed in the way beer was brewed until Louis Pasteur’s publication of Etudes sur la Biere (Studies On Beer) in 1876. Pasteur’s research explained how to handle yeast, avoid contamination during the brewing process, and apply heat to the finished product to kill any bacteria that might have contaminated the drink.[9] Another man who contributed to the evolution of beer is the Danish scientist Emil Christian Hansen. The same year that Pasteur published his book, Hansen won a gold medal for an essay on fungi. Carlsberg Laboratories in Copenhagen employed Hansen and while working for them, he discovered that yeast is a living fungi that can be cultivated. Hansen isolated one strain of yeast used in lager production and dubbed it Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis.[10] Then, in 1892, William Painter invented the bottle cap. Before this, beer bottles were sealed with a cork that was held in place with a Champaign-style cage to stop any premature popping.

The late 1880s until turn of the century saw the rise of great beer barons, such as Aldophus Busch, Captain Fredrick Pabst, Joseph Schlitz, Adolph Coors.[11] These men turned the beer making into a modern, industrialized craft. With the invention of refrigerated rail cars, the competition between the brewing giants became nation wide. The “golden age” of American brewing came to an end during National Prohibition (1920-1933). After prohibition was repealed, many of the smaller brewers had not survived, despite the widespread practice of producing “near beer” and soda pop as a means of trying to stay in business.

In 1977, small microbreweries began to pop up when then President Jimmy Carter legalized the home brewing. These companies offered small batches of delicious different styles of beer. Microbrews have steadily grown in the beer market; in fact, in 2003, there were more craft beers being bought by Americans then import beers.[12] Microbrews such as Samuel Adams, Saranac, Anchor Steam Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada have grown to large national companies but have kept their craft beer quality. Brew pubs are popping up all over America, and this can mean only one thing: there is a new “golden age” in brewing, where the popular lagers of the beer barons are taking cues from small craft breweries that are making beers our ancestors would be proud of.

[1] Brewing Techniques, Kitchen Anthropology: Home brewing An Ancient Beer, Ed Hitchcock, Republished from BrewingTechniques' September/October 1994. http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.5/hitchcock.html [2] Ancient Egyptian Alcohol, Caroline Seawright, March 12, 2001. http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/egypt_alcohol.html [3] Beer In Ancient Times, Eugenia Tesoro, 2003.http://www.eat-online.net/english/habits/beer_in_ancient_times.htm [4] Beer In Ancient Times, Eugenia Tesoro, http://www.eat-online.net/english/habits/beer_in_ancient_times.htm#TEUTONS [5] Documentation For Yeast Research Project: An Advanced Entry In Brewing Research, Rory McGowen, http://forgottensea.org/medievalbrewers/dyrp.html [6] Patron Saints of Beer, Steve Frank and Arnold Meltzerhttp://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/patron_saints.shtml [7] Regia Anglorum - Anglo-Saxon and Viking Brewing, Article by John Shulver 1992; revised by Roland Williamson 1999 & John Shulver 2004http://www.regia.org/brewing.htm [8] The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Wine, Beer, Spirits and Liqueurs, Stuart Walton and Brian Glover, Anness Publishing Limited, 1998 (ISBN 0 7548 0334 1) [9] A Concise Timetable of Beer, Prof. Linda Raley, Texas Tech University, 1998,http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/raley_timetable.shtml [10] Encyclopedia: Emil Christian Hansen http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Emil-Christian-Hansen [11] The Rise of The Beer Barons, Carl H. Miller, http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/beerbarons.shtml [12] U.S. Newswire - Association of Brewers Reports U.S. Craft Beer Production Grows 3.4 percent, Cindy Jones, http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=28382

October/November/December 2004
Calendar as posted by Kingdom:
October: 1-3 (TRM) Harvest Raid (Heronter - Bemus Point, NY) 8-10 Pumpkin Fest Demo (Riversedge - Conneaut Lake, PA) 8-10 (TRM) Crown Tourney (Delftwood - Weedsport, NY) 7-10 Known World Academy of the Rapier (Ansteorra - Austin, TX) * OUT OF KINGDOM * 16 (TRM) First Northshield Coronation (Midrealm - Rochester, MN) * OUT OF KINGDOM * 23 (TRM) Wicker Man Festival (Blackstone Mountain - Ripley, WV) 23 Hunter's Moon (Hartstone - Dansville, NY) 23 St. AEtheldreda (Audrey) Fair (Courtlandtslot - Cortland, NY) 30 Ghostbuster’s Picnic & Thrown Weapons Challenge (Hornwood)		November: 6 (TRM) Fall AEcademy (St Swithins Bog / Gael Moor - Greensburg PA) 13 Cook's Collegium (Debatable Lands - Pittsburgh, PA) 13 Sterlynge Schola (Sterlynge Vayle - Binghamton, NY) 12-14 Metalsmiths Symposium III (East Kingdom - Fort Littleton, PA) * OUT OF KINGDOM * 19-21 Fabric, Fiber, & Fighting II (Nithgaard) 19-21 (TRM) Winterfinding (Port Oasis) 20 Myrkfaelinn Fall Event
December: 11 (TRM) Baronial Investiture (Rhydderich Hael) January (2005): 8 (TRM) Kingdom 12th Night (Sylvan Glen - Martinsburg, WV) 22 (TRM) Baronial 12th Night (St. Swithins Bog)		February (2005): 4-6 (TRM) Vetr Þing (Debatable Lands) 25-27 (TRM) Tournament of the White Hart (Port Oasis) April (2005): 30 A Shoote in the Wilde Woods (Delftwood) June (2005): 3-5 Defenders of Sherwood (Misty Highlands - Morgantown, WV)
Announcements/News
Shire meeting will be on Sunday, November 14, 2004 at 6PM. The meeting will be held at the Tomb of the Unknown Fan Boy unless otherwise announced. Fighter Practice is held on Tuesday evenings at 6PM held in the basement of Stansbury Hall. Fencing/Fire Dance Fencing Practice is held Thursday evenings 5 - 8:30 pm. Fire dance without fire is practiced along the side of the fencing. Unofficial fencing practice is Sunday's at 1pm. Practice is held in the basement of Stansbury Hall. Althyngs - held on Wednesdays from 6:30 pm-9:30 pm at 41 West Street, unless announced otherwise. (Direction Questions can be directed to elizabeth@dehaan.us. A second Althyng for our southern friends in Fairmont at 6PM on Mondays. Contact deb@debrahofer.com Juliana for details. Have any announcements? E-Mail them to Renee_Hearl@Hotmail.com
Althyng Information Our weekly Arts & Sciences meetings are open to both members and non members. Please either participate in the projects scheduled or bring something to work on. A schedule of activities has been posted on our web site at www.mistyhighlands.org. For more information about Althyng meetings please contact Alexandra. Alexandra can be reached at artssciences@mistyhighlands.org.		Fire Dancing By Renee Hearl Dancing has always been a part of SCA life and dancing with fire adds that bit of danger that we all crave. Our practice ranges with Poi, Fans, candle dance, batons, staff, and other fire toys. All are welcome to come and play with us. Please bring your own toys to practice if possible. We meet on Thursdays along the side of the fencing practice. Contact Maggie McKlay or Renee Hearl for details.
A Short History of Beer By Siobhan of House Thorgard The ancient Sumerians and Egyptians all enjoyed beer. To some of these ancient cultures, the making of beer was thought of as a female activity since it was an extension of bread making. In 1994, Dr. Solomon Katz of the University of Pennsylvania worked with Fritz Maytag of the Anchor Brewing Co. to recreate a Sumerian beer that was described in a hymn on a clay tablet.[1] Ancient beers were created quite a bit quicker then modern beers, and indeed, the fermentation process continued beyond the creation of the beer. Egyptian hieroglyphs depict the making and consumption of beer, drinking their brews through a wooden straw/siphon to filter out the many impurities. In 1990, The Egyptian Exploration Society approached Scottish and Newcastle Breweries for help in reproducing Ancient Egyptian beer.[2] These types of ancient beer were thick, still (no carbonation), very nutritious and of low alcohol content. Fruit and/or spices were added for flavoring to these thick, almost porridge like brews. In around 55 BC, the Romans introduced beer to Northern Europe before the popularity of growing grapes for wine took hold. The Greeks much favored wine over beer and considered beer an effeminate drink. The Romans considered beer the drink of barbarians (after they had wine, that is). Tacitus noted of the Germanic peoples: “To drink, the Teutons have a horrible brew fermented from barley or wheat, a brew which has only a very far removed similarity to wine”. The oldest proof of brewing on German soil comes from the Hallestatt period, around 800 BC.[3] As with the Sumerians and Egyptians, the brewing of beer was woman’s work and remained so until the Middle Ages.[4] Like ancient beers, early medieval beer was made by soaking cereals in water until the grains sprouted and then allowing them to dry. Then the gruit was added, which was a flavoring mix that contained herbs, spices and/or honey. After this, the mixture was allowed to sit in the open so that yeast could ‘infect’ it. This method is called spontaneous fermentation, and is still practiced in Europe today.[5] Indeed, brewers didn’t even know what yeast was, and usually contributed fermentation to divine intervention. I have also heard of a ‘brewing spoon’ that was caked with sediment from previous batches and always used by the brewer. In the sediment would be dormant yeast, however I haven’t been able to find documentation on this phenomenon. Regardless, with this type of open-air treatment and no sanitization, its little wonder that the beer produced frequently went off and brewers expected losses of about 20% or more through batches having gone sour. When batches of beer went off or sour, sometimes there was only one thing to do: burn a “beer witch”. Beer witches were blamed for failed batches of beer up until the late 1500s.[6] Medieval monasteries are credited with adding hops to beer first in around 1236 AD.[7] Before that the hop plant was used as a medicinal herb, and it should come as no surprise since it is related to the nettle, and both are members of the hemp family.[8] The addition of the hop plant not only adds a nice bitterness and aroma to beer, but it also acts as a natural preservative, allowing the beer to last longer especially in the summer months. So, hops made everyone happier: beer was drinkable more often and longer, and less beer witches were burned. By the 1300s, the Low Countries were hooked on the crisp German hopped beer; by 1400, the hopped beer spread through France to England. Back in Germany, in 1420 the lager method of brewing was being developed. Meanwhile, in England, ale makers were disgusted by the spread of the use of hops, and for a while Henry VIII backed their beef by banning the use of hops in 1530. However, in 1600, the use of hops became widespread and unhopped ale was on the decline. In 1516, the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm IV created a landmark law in the food and brew world with the world’s oldest (and still valid) food purity law. Under the German Beer Purity Law, only barley, hops and pure water may be used to make beer. Very little changed in the way beer was brewed until Louis Pasteur’s publication of Etudes sur la Biere (Studies On Beer) in 1876. Pasteur’s research explained how to handle yeast, avoid contamination during the brewing process, and apply heat to the finished product to kill any bacteria that might have contaminated the drink.[9] Another man who contributed to the evolution of beer is the Danish scientist Emil Christian Hansen. The same year that Pasteur published his book, Hansen won a gold medal for an essay on fungi. Carlsberg Laboratories in Copenhagen employed Hansen and while working for them, he discovered that yeast is a living fungi that can be cultivated. Hansen isolated one strain of yeast used in lager production and dubbed it Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis.[10] Then, in 1892, William Painter invented the bottle cap. Before this, beer bottles were sealed with a cork that was held in place with a Champaign-style cage to stop any premature popping. The late 1880s until turn of the century saw the rise of great beer barons, such as Aldophus Busch, Captain Fredrick Pabst, Joseph Schlitz, Adolph Coors.[11] These men turned the beer making into a modern, industrialized craft. With the invention of refrigerated rail cars, the competition between the brewing giants became nation wide. The “golden age” of American brewing came to an end during National Prohibition (1920-1933). After prohibition was repealed, many of the smaller brewers had not survived, despite the widespread practice of producing “near beer” and soda pop as a means of trying to stay in business. In 1977, small microbreweries began to pop up when then President Jimmy Carter legalized the home brewing. These companies offered small batches of delicious different styles of beer. Microbrews have steadily grown in the beer market; in fact, in 2003, there were more craft beers being bought by Americans then import beers.[12] Microbrews such as Samuel Adams, Saranac, Anchor Steam Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada have grown to large national companies but have kept their craft beer quality. Brew pubs are popping up all over America, and this can mean only one thing: there is a new “golden age” in brewing, where the popular lagers of the beer barons are taking cues from small craft breweries that are making beers our ancestors would be proud of. [1] Brewing Techniques, Kitchen Anthropology: Home brewing An Ancient Beer, Ed Hitchcock, Republished from BrewingTechniques' September/October 1994. http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.5/hitchcock.html [2] Ancient Egyptian Alcohol, Caroline Seawright, March 12, 2001. http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/egypt_alcohol.html [3] Beer In Ancient Times, Eugenia Tesoro, 2003.http://www.eat-online.net/english/habits/beer_in_ancient_times.htm [4] Beer In Ancient Times, Eugenia Tesoro, http://www.eat-online.net/english/habits/beer_in_ancient_times.htm#TEUTONS [5] Documentation For Yeast Research Project: An Advanced Entry In Brewing Research, Rory McGowen, http://forgottensea.org/medievalbrewers/dyrp.html [6] Patron Saints of Beer, Steve Frank and Arnold Meltzerhttp://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/patron_saints.shtml [7] Regia Anglorum - Anglo-Saxon and Viking Brewing, Article by John Shulver 1992; revised by Roland Williamson 1999 & John Shulver 2004http://www.regia.org/brewing.htm [8] The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Wine, Beer, Spirits and Liqueurs, Stuart Walton and Brian Glover, Anness Publishing Limited, 1998 (ISBN 0 7548 0334 1) [9] A Concise Timetable of Beer, Prof. Linda Raley, Texas Tech University, 1998,http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/raley_timetable.shtml [10] Encyclopedia: Emil Christian Hansen http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Emil-Christian-Hansen [11] The Rise of The Beer Barons, Carl H. Miller, http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/beerbarons.shtml [12] U.S. Newswire - Association of Brewers Reports U.S. Craft Beer Production Grows 3.4 percent, Cindy Jones, http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=28382
Officers/Contact Information
Seneschal:	Lord Anias Fenne	Deputy Seneschal:	Lord Terrance McKlay
Exchequer:	Thorgard inn Sterki of Wulfgard	Herald:	Bastian Eisengart
Marshall:	Lord Tearlach MacCarnochan	Fencing Marshall:	Lady Katherine Vivan
Thrown Weapons Marshall:	Juliana Delamere	Chronicler:	Renee
Chatellaine:	Lady Adrienne MacLeod of Clan Wulfgard	Mistress of the Lists:	Lady Seren ferch Daffyd
Mistress of Arts and Sciences:	Alexandra of Wulfgard	Deputies of Arts and Sciences:	Thorgard inn Sterki of Wulfgard Juliana Delamere
Webminister:	Alexandra of Wulfgard	Chiurgeon:	Vacant
Full contact information for officers is available upon request from Renee.
This is The Claymore, a publication of The Shire of Misty Highlands of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. The Claymore is available from Renee It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Incorporated, and does not delineate SCA policies.