| Ancient Beers Return This month column was written by Bob's friend Karl Mendal Like scientists set on reviving extinct species, todays craft brewers are possessed by a certain madness. They are re-creating steinbiers scalded with hot stones and ancient Scottish ales brewed with herbs. They are making modern interpretations of George Washington and Benjamin Franklins personal recipes. Researchers have even analyzed a 19th-century beer from a Baltic Sea shipwreck so that it, too, may be brewed once again. Then there are what might be the best-known historic beers: the widely available Ancient Ales from the US Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, including the Midas Touch, based on ingredients found in the 2,700-year-old tomb believed to have belonged to King Midas; and Theobroma, inspired by chemical analysis of a Central American fermented chocolate drink from 1200 B.C. Dogfish Head has just released its next installment, the ancient-Egyptian-style Ta Henket. Of course, re-creations of historic beers are as old as the craft beer movement itself. Many of Americas best-loved styles, such as saisons, hefeweizens and imperial stouts, were once on the brink of disappearing, and many were saved by breweries that championed them. During the 1970s and 80s, for example, San Franciscos Anchor Brewing revived interest in not only California steam beers but also chocolate- and coffee-flavored porters, which brewers had largely cast aside. Nowadays, ever-more-obscure styles are reappearing with increasing frequency, from Polish smoked-wheat beers to the English strong ales known as Burtons. Among the more prominent examples: the ancient Scottish beers resurrected by the Scotland-based Williams Brothers Brewing; the Ales of the Revolution series from Philadelphia's Yards Brewing, including Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale and Poor Richards Tavern Spruce Ale. The obscurity of the beers hasn't dulled the drama of the phenomenon. Brewers now probe history books for beers in need of rescuing and crisscross the globe to research forgotten recipes. That might sound like overstatement, if not for one key detail: Beer re-creations have proved to be great fodder for reality TV. Dogfish Heads quest to make Ta Henket, for example, was portrayed last December in an episode of the Discovery Channel show Brew Masters. Also on Discovery Channel, the special How Beer Saved the World depicted the replication by Atlanta's SweetWater Brewing of an ancient Nubian brewing technique. History Channel countered with its own History on Tap, in which home-brewers were given the task of re-creating beers in the style of those brewed by colonial Americas Pilgrims. The story is critical because its what differentiates a beer from any other beer. Just because you hear of some creepy group of Norwegians that 300 years ago put the blood of virgins into beer doesn't mean you should replicate it. You have to have a story, but can you have a story and also make a world-class beer? The answer appears to be yes. Two great examples are De Molens SSS triple stout, a re-creation of a version of the extinct style brewed in London on July 8, 1914 (tastes like thick coffee with notes of caramel and whiskey) and Norwegian Wood, from Norway's HaandBryggeriet with an understated smokiness and hints of spice meant to recall the country's wood-smoke-scented farmhouse ales, which died out in the 1800s. In a way that other drinks often don't, these types of beers explicitly convey the distinctive tastes of distinctive pasts. It's a living history lesson that beats any textbook. I'd like to thank Bob for allowing me to write this month's column and also for inspiring me to learn about beer. It's become a great hobby filled with passion and fun. |
| BeerNexus proudly presents Bob Montemurro "the ombudsman of beer" Bob and Friends Speak of Beer...... |
 |
| |
 |
| Cheers! My thanks to Karl for this month's column. See you next time to "speak about beer". Bob Montemurro |
 |  |
| Want to be a "friend of Bob" and write a guest column? Just e-mail your article to Bob HERE. |