SC - Spanish beer

[Decker, Terry D.]

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you, but things have been a little
hectic.

Grapes are more difficult to grow in England, but it can be done.  England
grew grapes and had a vintning industry until Eleanor of Aquitaine married
Henry II.  This allowed the less expensive French wines to supplant the
English wine industry, which never recovered.

Ales and beers tend to spoil quickly in warm weather.  German brewing was
done primarily in winter until the monks at Munich found they could brew
year round  and keep their barrelled brew longer in the cool caverns under
the monestary.  Wines, with their higher alcohol content, spoil less readily
than brews.  The Iberian climate is quite a bit warmer than northern Europe,
which means wines keep better than beer.  

Expense would also be a contributing factor.  Where grapes are cheap, wine
flourishes.

Bear

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Stefan li Rous [SMTP:stefan at texas.net]
> Sent:	Sunday, January 30, 2000 1:46 AM
> To:	SCA-Cooks maillist
> Subject:	RE: SC - Spanish beer
> 
> Bear commented:
> > Since the references Stefan quotes are at least late Reconquest, I would
> say
> > the Islamic prohibition does not apply.  This would also be early in the
> > spread of hopped brews, so the question of whether we are talking about
> all
> > brews or only hopped beers is very valid.  I would suggest that the
> Iberian
> > climate is probably not optimal for brewing without refrigeration, so
> that
> > wine might be the beverage of choice.
> 
> Interesting comment about the climate and brewing. I was thinking more of
> the fact that grapes grow much better in Spain than England when I made my
> comment. I have only brewed mead and not beer or wine. What is it that
> makes wine brewing more suited to Spain's climate than beer brewing? Do
> the wine yeasts prefer warmer weather than those typically used in beers
> and ales? I would have thought similar conditions were needed for beer
> or wine.
> 
> -- 
> Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
> Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
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