Help Crafting Late 18th to Early 18th Century Style American Ale

[BrotherBock]

I've decided to try to make an authentic (as close as possible) ale from the 1790-1805 time range. I have a cousin, a bit of a historian buff, who is interested. I've done some preliminary research and found that Porters were imported from England around the 1770's but didn't catch on. Then I read that George Washington had a "buy american" campaign of sorts, in which he would only buy american made porter. So perhaps porters were more popular by then. I also know that Philadelphia was an epicenter of brewing at that time and would gain influences from German brewing traditions during the 1800's (like lagering).

Does anyone have any other information that may help me design a brew for my cousin? What were some breweries back then? What did they brew? What styles were popular then? What hops were being used? Spices? Malt varieties? Anything is helpful. I may have to contact a historical society.

 

[TheSmithsEra]

Hi, this gentleman seems to have worked out something. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f78/george-washingtons-small-beer-429161/

I want to do something similar, but I don't know too much about it . .

 

[unionrdr]

Whiskely is def an American invention that goes back to colonial times & brewed up to Prohibition. One would brew a traditional stout or porter & age it in used bourbon barrels for a time before casking it. So combining bourbon or whiskey with strong dark beers is def nothing new fangled. What I do is brew a dark beer,porter,or stout. This time,since I've progressed to PB/PM BIAB,I'm brewing a PM Traditional Stout kit I thought sounded right for the project from Midwest. I have some American oak chips I'm going to soak in a couple jiggers of Kentucky bourbon in an airtight container in the fridge during primary fermentation. When the beer is fermented & cleared,I'll put a widemouth funnel on the BB with a hop sock stretched over it,& pour the chips & bourbon through it. Tie it off & drop it in the BB. Then rack the stout onto it for about 7-8 days before testing. This one would get no more than 2.0 VCO2.

 

[BrotherBock]

Hi, this gentleman seems to have worked out something. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f78/george-washingtons-small-beer-429161/.

Cool. I also just found "Poor Richard's Ale"=," which is supposed to be a Ben Franklin era brew. Between these two I'm definitely leaning towards using molasses, english yeast and goldings. Beyond that I'm not sure yet.

 

[Whippy]

I've just made a batch of Poor Richard's Ale and have tasted it after 3 weeks. I know the molasses SOUNDS like a good idea, but I think it adds a flavor to the beer that is just not nice. It does not taste like molasses, but ... I don't know... something else.

The beer IS pretty immature now, so I'm hoping it will smoothe out with time; I wish I had bottled this one instead of having kegged it. I think the recipe would actually be very good without the molasses, and I may even be tempted to try it again some day in that manner.

If you have not done anything yet, BrotherBock, I'd suggest just skipping the molasses...really. Perhaps there is something else "different" that you can use...a spice or something. It's just my feeling on it. If, however, you just can't stand not trying it maybe a small batch would be advisable in case you don't like it either.

 

[the_trout]

I have nothing to add but I love this idea.

 

[unionrdr]

Here's some links to old English brews & the like.
http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/beer
http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/beerale.htm
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/brewing-beer-at-home-zeez1302zsch.aspx#axzz2kkVKw7ui
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/tag/burton-ale/
http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/01/lets-brew-wednesday-1879-william.html
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2011/06/10/the-mysterious-australian-ale/

 

[Whippy]

Thanks for the links, unionrdr, those are great!

 

[unionrdr]

Glad y'all enjoy them. I have more links,some about history of beer going back some 10,000 years. As for beers of the last couple centuries,let me have another look.
**OK,here we go...
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/watch-out-for-fullers-whisky-beer/
http://www.familytreecircles.com/vikings-making-the-brew-19832.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiswin
http://ryanbrews.blogspot.com/2009/09/xocolatl-fermented-food-of-gods.html
http://ryanbrews.blogspot.com/2009/12/xocolatl-review-revisions.html
Tiswin is pronounced Tizween,Xocolatl with a"Z" in place of the "X". This was montezuma's "drink of the gods".

 

[alane1]

I know brown malt was commonly used and for hops an old American variety like cluster would probably be well suited, or an English variety like EKG. I also know that ales back then had a higher O.G. than they do now and were less attenuated. A yeast like white labs 02 would probably work. Good luck, Cheers.

 

[kingwood-kid]

Starting right about when your window ends, Albany, NY became a major brewing center, as detailed at albanyaleproject.com

Here's an 1834 recipe. Brewbrothers in Portland has the malt you'll need.

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/10/lets-brew-wednesday-1834-vassar-double.html