joconn
Active Member
Getting back into the hobby brought back memories of when I was a kid growing up in a little fishing village on Prince Edward Island. Back then, my father, grandfather and many of the other men in the village always had a brew going in a two gallon jug in the attic. They knew little of hops, malt or beer yeast. There were no home brewing supplies available in the 40`s just after the war in our area if anywhere and very little money available to be spent at the "Government Store". Folks had to be very rescourceful in all aspects of life. You built you own house and your own boat. You did your own carpentry and mechanical repairs and grew much of what you ate. Likewise you put this ingenuity to work in producing your favourite alcoholic beverage, on the sly of course, using common kitchen ingredients
So, into your jug went a quart of molasses, a couple of handfuls of raisins, maybe a pound of brown sugar, a chopped up cube of bread yeast all topped up with clear, sweet well water. After two or three weeks the brew was considered fit to drink and some recipes packed a fairly powerful kick! My grandfather`s brew was thought to be one of the best around. My father called it "Liquid Hacksaw Blades".
How did it taste? Well, just from hearsay mind you, it was something like watered down yeasty molasses with raisin overtones. The colour a cloudy brown. Bottling was considered wasted effort. You poured it directly from the jug into your glass and either chewed the raisins or left them in the bottom of the glass.
So there you have my contribution to the history of brewing.
Cheers all,
Joe
So, into your jug went a quart of molasses, a couple of handfuls of raisins, maybe a pound of brown sugar, a chopped up cube of bread yeast all topped up with clear, sweet well water. After two or three weeks the brew was considered fit to drink and some recipes packed a fairly powerful kick! My grandfather`s brew was thought to be one of the best around. My father called it "Liquid Hacksaw Blades".
How did it taste? Well, just from hearsay mind you, it was something like watered down yeasty molasses with raisin overtones. The colour a cloudy brown. Bottling was considered wasted effort. You poured it directly from the jug into your glass and either chewed the raisins or left them in the bottom of the glass.
So there you have my contribution to the history of brewing.
Cheers all,
Joe
Thanks so much for these stories, they're encouraging
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