So now we know what people were eating but what were our peasants going to wash it all down with? The commonest beverage in England during the Medieval period was ale, in fact it was such a common and essential part of the diet that, at various times, legislation was passed regarding it's production, distribution and price. During the 15th Century ale was produced from malted barley and flavoured with a mixture of herbs called gruit. Hops as a bittering or preserving agent in beer were not introduced in England (or at least not widely available) until the mid to late 16th Century. Ale brewed to recipes from this era would not have been as powerful as we are used to today partly due to advances in brewing technology but also by intent. Ale was consumed everyday and at regular intervals in quantities that would have made it impossible for the consumer to work had his beer contained a great deal of alcohol. Wine was largely a drink for the better off, although not entirely the preserve of the wealthy it was sufficiently expensive for us to assume our peasant not have had access to anything but the cheapest of wines and then only occasionally. Finally we come to Mead, the drink we most associate with the period stretching from the "Dark Ages" to the Renaissance largely due to the romanticised or fictional depiction of the period presented to us by Hollywood and works of popular fiction. Mead however was part of life in this country both before and after this period and would have been an important drink to all classes.
In the paragraphs below I intend to detail my experiments in brewing in an attempt to reproduce beverages with a similar taste to those our ancestors would have enjoyed.
In the paragraphs below I intend to detail my experiments in brewing in an attempt to reproduce beverages with a similar taste to those our ancestors would have enjoyed.
I'll begin my experiments with a confession. It will come as no surprise to those who know me and it is by now a fact accepted by Elenna that one of my first considerations when selecting a new plant for the allotment or garden is: "Can I eat it or can I make booze out of it?"
It is largely due to this interest in food and drink that I became interested in gardening in the first place and it has always been one of the areas of particular fascination for me when involved in historical research or reenactment. Our kitchen window sill is rarely without a row of bubbling demijohns, most of which are filled with wine made from fruit gathered on our foraging expeditions (after all, if some booze is good then lots of free booze is even better!) and there is always at least one batch of mead amongst them. This year I have invested in a brewing bucket with the intention of brewing some inexpensive beer as well as experimenting with the production of unhopped ales.
It is largely due to this interest in food and drink that I became interested in gardening in the first place and it has always been one of the areas of particular fascination for me when involved in historical research or reenactment. Our kitchen window sill is rarely without a row of bubbling demijohns, most of which are filled with wine made from fruit gathered on our foraging expeditions (after all, if some booze is good then lots of free booze is even better!) and there is always at least one batch of mead amongst them. This year I have invested in a brewing bucket with the intention of brewing some inexpensive beer as well as experimenting with the production of unhopped ales.