[Herbalist] Re: A Beer Question It's all in the hops

[rachel-wellman@another.com]

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I have just spent 10 days doing 16th Century style brewing at Kentwell Hall, England so I will try to answer your question. There is still debate about this question so this is my version (I am quite new to the subject so feel free to correct me).

The process of making ale has not changed much in 400 years.
First barley is partially germinated to turn the stored starch to sugar. Germination is stopped by heating the grain.  This is called malting.
THe malt is soaed in hot water for about 4 hours to dissolve the sugar into the water. This is called mashing.
THe liquid is then reheated with a herb to give it flavour.
The liquid is then put into yielding vats, when it is hand-hot the yeast is pitched in.
After 4 days the yeast has turned the sugar to alcohol and the quantity of yeast has doubled. Some of the resulting yeast is used ot bake bread, some to make the next day's ale.

Originally beer and ale meant the same thing, the drink made by the process above.  Hops began to come in from Holland and a small quantity was sometimes added at the second boiling stage to give a bitter flavour. THis was hopped ale.

Then it was discovered that adding a large quantity of hops (and maybe adding them at the mashing stage I am not sure) increased the shelf life of ale from a few days to a year or more and also reduced the quantity of malt needed.  This drink became known as beer.  Henry VIII banned the use of hops because of the reduction in strength of beer compared to ale and because of the reduced quantity of malt used.  Despite this, by the end of the C1600 hops were used in most brews and beer became more common than ale.

If you would like more information email me direct and I can rfefer you to some websites.  For more information on Kentwell Hall look at www.kentwell.co.uk. or email me. It is well worth a visit if you are in the uk as it has a large herb garden and a still room.

Rachel




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