17th century French beer?

Hello collective brewing intelligence of the internet,

This summer I'm working on an archaeological dig of a building here in Quebec city that used to be a malthouse and brewery from 1668 to 1675. I feel it might be fun to try my hand at a historic beer... Only problem that it is pretty hard to find a historic recipe, much less a French historic beer recipe.

Any ideas on brewing a hypothetical New France beer? Barley and hops were grown locally. The malt was preferably kilned with straw instead of wood to lessen the smoky taste.

Should I base myself on the only French style that seems to exists, la bière de garde? With some smoked malt to mimic the straw kilning? Are there know beer styles from Normandy that I could copy?

I wish I had some help for you, but that brew sounds like it could be fun. I eagerly await others' inut!

The sources out there indicate that spruce beer dominated the beer scene in Quebec at the time, and it seems that this would have been made by boiling spruce twigs in water and then using that as the brewing liquor. Malt, molasses and hops were all used, at least in some versions. I don't know much about Canadian hop history but maybe someone else does? Cluster or some variation I would assume.
However, spruce beer seems to have been a folk brew and as far as I can tell it wasn't brewed commercially. Jean Talon's Brasserie du Roy, Canada's first recorded commercial brewery, was built around then but failed after a few years. It's tough to guess what would have been brewed there. Biere de garde could be a starting point. But that started out as a farmhouse folk brew as well.
My bit of off-the-wall unsubstantiated conjecture is that the beer brewed would have been closer to an English style. Apparently by the mid 18th century there were Scottish brewers operating in Quebec City brewing ale and porter in the English fashion, so it's possible that Quebec could have acquired the taste before then. My uneducated guess would lean towards a blend of pale and amber malts and cluster hops. Or Canadian redvine. Are those still grown?

I will be in fact digging at the site of Jean Talon's Brewery. I've read documentation stating this was indeed a barley and hops beer, not the spruce beer (bière d'épinette) made domestically.

Jean Talon was pretty optimistic: he wanted to brew large quantities to export to the Caribbean and to supply the local colony. Turns out poor Frenchmen, especially coming from the North of France, drank beer instead of wine.

Any idea on how much smoked malt to attain a "historic" amount of smoke flavour? I'd probably make a lightly hopped, low alcohol amber ale.

I love this concept of "colonial beers!" As a New Englander, I'm interested in learning what kind of beers the first English would have brought with them to the Massachusetts coast-- does anyone have any leads on Pilgrim-era brwe recipes?


(historical note: in 1621, Samoset startled the settlers by (1) greeting them in English and (2) asking for beer)

Post some pics of the dig!!!!!!

Dauntless, I would like to talk to you more about your digging please !

I'm very interested in this sort of thing. My family came to Quebec from the Normandy area in the 1600s. Many were soldiers and Fille du Roi. I'm sorry I can't help you, but I'd love to see the final recipe, if you don't mind.

santosvega said:

My uneducated guess would lean towards a blend of pale and amber malts and cluster hops. Or Canadian redvine. Are those still grown?

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Seems that there's been some interest in the Redvines in the last 10 or so years as more and more folks are trying to grow hops outside of the traditional hop growing regions. They're looking for varieties that will grow well in those areas and are using just about any variety in their trials to see what will perform best for them.

I've been growing them since 1990 and they are a vigorous hop with a very 'wild' N. American character. Moderate alpha around 6 and a pretty 'wild' aroma. Some folks get other character from the aroma but to me, it's pretty much like a Cluster. I just grow them for fun! Hop On!!

Any luck on a recipe?

This is an interesting topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Canada#History

There is mention of brewing here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1457725&pageno=26

...go back a couple pages it talks about the local officials deciding that they had to try a merchants wares of wine and tobacco and inspect his hogsheads.

I may have to find a copy of this in print.

http://blackcreekbrewery.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/new-brew-spruce-beer/

Take 7 pounds of good spruce & boil it well till the bark peels off, then take the spruce out & put three Gallons of Molasses to the Liquor & boil it again, scum it well as it boils, then take it out the kettle & put it into a cooler, boil the remained of the water sufficient for a Barrel of thirty Gallons, if the kettle is not large enough to boil it together, when milkwarm in the Cooler put a pint of Yeast into it and mix well. Then put it into a Barrel and let it work for two or three days, keep filling it up as it works out. When done working, bung it up with a Tent Peg in the Barrel to give it vent every now and then. It may be used in up to two or three days after. If wanted to be bottled it should stand a fortnight in the Cask. It will keep a great while.

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"His personal recipe is preserved in his journal, published by his descendents in the 1930s."

Page 18:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=8mw...mherst spruce beer&pg=PR4#v=onepage&q&f=false

I see there was a Captain Brewer on the expedition too.

Page 57 there is a mention again. Page 90.

Page 137 - Being a mason was a good gig. Free beer!

Page 219 Spruce beer indexed with live links!

Anybody want to hazard a guess at what spruce does to Brewtarget? ;-)

This was an interesting little read:

http://www.agingincanada.ca/TRIVIA.HTM

Apparently this would be a rough one for me. One of the writers said it took two years to bottle condition.

80

Dauntless said:

Hello collective brewing intelligence of the internet,

This summer I'm working on an archaeological dig of a building here in Quebec city that used to be a malthouse and brewery from 1668 to 1675. I feel it might be fun to try my hand at a historic beer... Only problem that it is pretty hard to find a historic recipe, much less a French historic beer recipe.

Any ideas on brewing a hypothetical New France beer? Barley and hops were grown locally. The malt was preferably kilned with straw instead of wood to lessen the smoky taste.

Should I base myself on the only French style that seems to exists, la bière de garde? With some smoked malt to mimic the straw kilning? Are there know beer styles from Normandy that I could copy?

Click to expand...

Revvy posted a beer history thread a while back, you might find it useful:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/beer-history-sites-58021/
Regards, GF.

Just my thoughts....I would take a French pilsner malt (Franco-Belge) and put it after a quick soaking, on mesh trays in my Barbeque. I would keep heat very low, with a few coals and feed it with local straw letting it smoke for an hour. This will give that light hay smoke character and also the slightly uneven condition on the malt.
I would then brew a small beer 1.038 with cluster or other local species in the style of a standard ale. Yeast it tricky, Biere de Guarde sounds right to me, but I am not sure historically speaking.
Let us know how it comes out. I am waiting to go into an operating room for work and have to say I have a pang of jealousy that I could be digging up history, drinking beer and gallivanting with college age girls in Quebec!

Have you had any epiphanies on this yet?

Did you ever brew this? An update would be great.