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sgtusmc_nc

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I just read a really cool articld " http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/ninkasi.htm"

and was wondering if anyone had any historic recipies for beer or where I could find some. the older the better LOL. I thinking of brewing some historic brews mabe from the 1800's and if I could find a recipie mabe some of the earliest beers.

thanks friends

bayard
 
From The Household Cyclopedia
[Methods have changed a bit over the years]

"To brew Ale in Small Families.

A bushel and three quarters of ground malt and a pound of hops are sufficient to make 18 gallons of good family ale. That the saccharine matter of the malt may be extracted by infusion, without the farina, the temperature of the water should not exceed 155° or 160°. The quantity of water should be poured on the malt as speedily as possible, and the whole being well mixed together by active stirring, the vessel should be closely covered over for an hour; if the weather be cold, for an hour and a half. If hard water be employed it should be boiled, and the temperature allowed, by exposure to the atmosphere, to fall to 155° or 160°; but if rain water is used, it may be added to the malt as soon as it arrives to 155°. During the time this process is going on, the hops should be infused in a close vessel, in as much boiling water as will cover them, for 2 hours. The liquor may then be squeezed out, and kept closely covered.

The hops should then be boiled for about 10 minutes, in double the quantity of water obtained from the infused hops, and the strained liquor, when cold, may be added with the infusion to the wort, when it has fallen to the temperature of 70°. The object of infusing the hops in a close vessel previously to boiling, is to preserve the essential oil of hops, which renders it more sound, and at the same time more wholesome. A pint of good thick yeast should be well stirred into the mixture of wort and hops, and covered over in a place of the temperature of 65°, and when the fermentation is completed, the liquor may be drawn off into a clean cask previously rinsed with boiling water. When the slow fermentation which will ensue has ceased, the cask should be loosely bunged for two days, when, if the liquor be left quiet, the bung may be properly fastened. The pale malt is the best, because, when highly dried, it does not afford so much saccharine matter. If the malt be new, it should be exposed to the air, in a dry room, for 2 days previously to its being used; but if it be old, it may be used in 12 or 20 hours after it is ground. The great difference in the flavor of ale made by different brewers appears to arise from their employing different species of hops."
 
thanks everyone, the last one is a bit confusing? LOL I await any further recipies and again thanks
 
I had a bottle of that Anchor brew years ago and it was pretty good. It was made with figs and I don't remember what else. Pretty crazy stuff. They had a bunch of loaves of barley bread baked and then soaked them in their mash tun. I think they used some honey. Boy, that was a while ago.
 
Here is the ancient text that contains the recipe, such as it is:

The Hymn to Ninkasi - Making Beer

The Hymn to Ninkasi, inscribed on a nineteenth-century B.C. tablet, contains a recipe for Sumerian beer.)
Translation by Miguel Civil Borne of the flowing water (...) Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag, Borne of the flowing water (...) Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag, Having founded your town by the sacred lake, She finished its great walls for you, Ninkasi, having founded your town by the sacred lake, She finished its great walls for you Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud, Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake, Ninkasi, Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud, Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake. You are the one who handles the dough, [and] with a big shovel, Mixing in a pit, the bappir with sweet aromatics, Ninkasi, You are the one who handles the dough, [and] with a big shovel, Mixing in a pit, the bappir with [date]-honey. You are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven, Puts in order the piles of hulled grains, Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven, Puts in order the piles of hulled grains, You are the one who waters the malt set on the ground, The noble dogs keep away even the potentates, Ninkasi, you are the one who waters the malt set on the ground, The noble dogs keep away even the potentates. You are the one who soaks the malt in a jar The waves rise, the waves fall. Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks the malt in a jar The waves rise, the waves fall. You are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats, Coolness overcomes. Ninkasi, you are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats, Coolness overcomes. You are the one who holds with both hands the great sweet wort, Brewing [it] with honey and wine (You the sweet wort to the vessel) Ninkasi, (...) (You the sweet wort to the vessel) The filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound, You place appropriately on [top of] a large collector vat. Ninkasi, the filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound, You place appropriately on [top of] a large collector vat. When you pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat, It is [like] the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates. Ninkasi, you are the one who pours out the filtered beer of the collector vat, It is [like] the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates.
 
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