Hobbit Brew?

Yakima 728
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I'm pretty sure there IS mention of an orc beer or "orc draught" (something like that) in LOTR, no? Otherwise, I think Tolkien was likely imagining the hobbits drinking the types of beers he enjoyed drinking (ie. porter, brown ale, bitter, etc.) I guess that theory makes things less interesting though..
 
There is another reference to beer so brown when Frodo sings a song in the Prancing Pony.

I always saw the orcs drinking some sort of bad whiskey. Maybe its the restorative draught they force on Merry and Pippin when they capture them that makes me think this.
 
christopher tolkien has published alot of his father's notes and backstories... there's also a volume or two of letters tolkien wrote to his friends, where he explained a lot of the backstories etc. tolkien is just the kind of nut to have recipes for hobbit ales... :mug:
 
Reading the scene, there are calls for both porter and ale during the party at the beginning of the Hobbit. Also there is mention of drinking mead at Beorn's when they are there. Never quite realized how often the word beer comes up in these books, its a shame there hasn't been much that is descriptive.
 
For once I'm longing for a searchable, electronic version of LotR. Ctrl + F just doesn't work with the ol' paperback.

Seriously, as long as the recipe doesn't get too far afield, I'd love to get in on the action.

Somebody care to write a letter to one of the sons regarding their old man's beer preferences?
 
chriso said:
Wow. You have nerd cred that I cannot begin to compare with. :D
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I also flew to New Zealand by myself when I was 17 to try and be an extra in the movies. I got their about 3 weeks after they wrapped up filming :p I still got to walk around on a lot of the sets that hadn't been torn down yet, though.

Message sent, he has 860 friends on there, I hope I can get a response from him.
 
Ó Flannagáin said:
I also flew to New Zealand by myself when I was 17 to try and be an extra in the movies. I got their about 3 weeks after they wrapped up filming :p I still got to walk around on a lot of the sets that hadn't been torn down yet, though.

Message sent, he has 860 friends on there, I hope I can get a response from him.
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Now that's cool Flan. :rockin: I've always been a huge fan of his works. Have read The Hobbit and LOTR many times, along with The Simarillion and Unfinished Tales. I always thought they were beautifully crafted pieces of a whole picture. I truly wish he would have had a chance to finish the Simarillion himself but oh well. The works stand well enough, and Christopher Tolkien has done a nice job keeping Middle Earth alive.

FWIW I never wanted to dress up like and Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit or Wizard, but I love the stories, and think Peter Jackson did a fairly decent job with the movies. I didn't like some changes, but oh well...

As for the the subject of beers, meads and what Treebeard reallycooked up in the forest...

I see I have some re-reading to do for research! It's been a while since I've been to Middle Earth. :mug: :D

Ize
 
Not to throw a wrench in the whole brown ale debate, but I could've sworn that Bilbo references barleywine in "The Hobbit."

Also, regarding orc brew, it must've been some strong and nasty stuff. They force Merry and Pipin to drink it when they were kidnapped and marching back to Isengard. I beleive there are a few lines of description in the text, though I'm too lazy to pull my books out of storage and check.

It's been a couple of years since I've read any tolkien, so I may be mistaken.
 
I am down to brew one of these if you have more recipes than researchers.

Having choked down a six of Alaskan Brewer's spruce tip seasoned Winter Ale last weekend I would encourage you guys to keep your expectations low. We aren't using hops as our sole herb just because the Pope said to.
 
Madtown Brew said:
Not to throw a wrench in the whole brown ale debate, but I could've sworn that Bilbo references barleywine in "The Hobbit."

Also, regarding orc brew, it must've been some strong and nasty stuff. They force Merry and Pipin to drink it when they were kidnapped and marching back to Isengard. I beleive there are a few lines of description in the text, though I'm too lazy to pull my books out of storage and check.

It's been a couple of years since I've read any tolkien, so I may be mistaken.
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I think you mean the brandywine. It was a river.

Also..... I don't think that the Gaffer was supplying the prancing pony or the green dragon(much less the dwarves or orcs).

The way I see it,......we need a middle earth holiday sampler 12 pack...........LOL

2 Gaffer ales
2 Green Dragon Brown Ales
2 Prancing Pony GPA's (Gondor pale ales)
2 Dwarven Stouts
2 Orc Draughts and........

2 Cranberry Lambics..........(just kidding)

All right, I will do it. Everyone who will honestly do it PM me and I will let everyone know how many of us there really are, and we can then decide if we all want to brew 1 kind, or if we want to try a Middle Earth Medley.
 
cheezydemon said:
pale 2 row malt fire kilned to a "brown" (I am thinking maybe on the grill with a screen)
some light english style hopping
an interesting herb if anyone can come up with one
oak chips
lightly carbed
cool but not cold
med-high gravity
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you could throw some rosemary on the grill while you are toasting the malt
 
I had to empty my inbox, I got poindexters "I'm in", but some other ones were turned away because my box was full. Please re-send them, Thanks!

Also maybe include thoughts on ingredients you want to see used.
 
cheezydemon said:
and........2 Cranberry Lambics..........
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GAAAHHH!!! Sam Adams did it again! Not even Middle Earth is safe from their cranberry flavored crap! :D
 
Maybe that is what Smeagol drinks. I figure either he or the Balrog have a taste for some cough medicine lambic.
 
Some insight from CS Lewis forum:

can possibly narrow the selection down a little.

During his Oxford years Jack and the rest of the Inklings favoured a pub called The Eagle and Child ( aka The Bird and Baby ). During the time that the Inklings met at the Bird and Baby there were two breweries producing beer in Oxford; Halls and Morrells. Morrells supplied the Bird and Baby. Their flagship brew was 'Varsity Ale'. Apart from Morrells own beer there would have been any number of other beers including Guinness but few would have been dispensed through the beer pumps.

Statistically if Jack was drinking pints in the Bird and Baby there is a greater probability it would have been 'Varsity'.

Of course nobody drinks statistics so sadly I haven't got you any nearer to a definite answer.
 
Seriously, nice research there. Does anybody live in the area (if the place is still open)? If so, and if the proprietor is still around, perhaps we could learn which drinks were their favorites.
 
Altogether 1420 in the Shire was a marvellous year. Not only was there wonderful sunshine and delicious rain, ... The Northfarthing barley was so fine that the beer of 1420 malt was long remembered and became a byword. Indeed a generation later one might hear an old gaffer in an inn, after a good pint of well-earned ale, put down his mug with a sigh: "Ah! that was proper fourteen-twenty, that was!""
 
The Drizzle said:
There has to be a morbidly obese mid-30's guy somewhere who will pry himself away from WoW and be able to answer your question.
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Perhaps you have not seen the commercial for WoW that has Mr. T in it.

He is old but i would not call him a nerd to his face.
 
BeerAg said:
Altogether 1420 in the Shire was a marvellous year. Not only was there wonderful sunshine and delicious rain, ... The Northfarthing barley was so fine that the beer of 1420 malt was long remembered and became a byword. Indeed a generation later one might hear an old gaffer in an inn, after a good pint of well-earned ale, put down his mug with a sigh: "Ah! that was proper fourteen-twenty, that was!""
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Well, we've got some interesting naming options now, I propose something along the lines of:

1420 Gaffer Ale

Ole Gaffer 1420 Ale

or even just

1420 with a subline of text "Ale of the Shire" or something

etc., etc.
 
Ó Flannagáin said:
Well, we've got some interesting naming options now, I propose something along the lines of:
1420 Gaffer Ale
Ole Gaffer 1420 Ale
or even just 1420 with a subline of text "Ale of the Shire" or something
etc., etc.
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"1420 Proper"
 
olllllo said:
It's 1420 somewhere!
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Lol, alas, but 1420 has come and gone for us.

As Austin Powers would say "That train has sailed"

I aint putting that herb in me Dwarvish Oakenshield Stout!
 
I know it was just a joke, but I'm pretty sure that the 4:20 thing started a long time after Tolkien wrote these books.
 
Alright, just one more time incase it got buried, I have only got 5 or 6 PM's and I thought there would be at least a dozen of us:

WHO IS WITH US TO BREW SOME MIDDLE EARTH MOTHER F*CKING ALE?????

it is undecided whether to all brew a Gaffer ALE(or some variation) or to do several different brews.

PM me B*TCHES! (LOL, sorry, I am getting fired up about this)
 
Yeah I have seen you on here, and I don't take "should" to mean "have to", but you are the mod, if you are squashing this please say so.
 
Yes. Read the policy.
It reflects the wishes of the site admin.
On a getting things done basis, it also make a great deal of sense given PM restrictions, etc.
 
cheezydemon said:
Yeah I have seen you on here, and I don't take "should" to mean "have to", but you are the mod, if you are squashing this please say so.
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I'm not squashing anything. You can step up or step aside.
 
All group exchanges should be coordinated by a Supporting Member or preferably a Moderator. Exchanges may be restricted to Supporting Members or may include other members. You should state in advance who is to be included in the exchange. People may object to disclosing information to those that are not supporting members.
Click to expand...

That means OF (or someone that's supporting can run it).
cheezydemon can be in it, you just have to make it explicitly clear.
 

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