Early American Life October 2004

The American Way of Beer

By Tom Huntington

 

 

One man who understands the "mistry" behind the era's brewing is Richard Wagner of Philadelphia. Since 1990 Wagner has given demonstrations of colonial brewing methods. If nothing else, it's taught Wagner to be thankful for today's beer. "When I do my colonial brewing demonstration I'm frequently asked, 'Can you make beer the way they made them back in the day?' And I say, 'Fortunately the answer is no'. For one thing, improved grains have been developed over the past centuries. "So first of all I say you can't replicate the ingredients," Wagner Explains. "Second of all, they had no pure yeast culture. They had a bake and brew house because you used yeast for both things. Did you ever make a beer with bakers yeast? I did." The results apparently left much to be desired. Says Wagner, "These are the good old days, that's all I can say."

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Hines, Nickolaus. Civilization, as We Know it May Have Started Because of Beer. All That is Interesting. May 17, 2016.


Resnick, Marin. “Historian Brews Up Colonial-Style Beer at Bouman-Stickney Farmstead .” Hunterdon (NJ) Review. April 4, 2016.


Scott, James. “Beech Gum Used to Make New 'California Beer'.” The Brewer and Maltster and Beverageur. October 15, 1919.



Torrejon, Rodrigo. At Ringwood Manor Reading of Declaration of Independence, Political Rhetoric Rides Again.” July 4, 2018. northjersey.com. Video.


A Visit to William Penn's Brewery.” Modern Brewer. November 1939.


Wagner, Rich. “The Beers and Breweries of Colonial Philadelphia.” Mid-Atlantic Brewing News. Dec./Jan. 2005/06.


Wagner, Rich. “Colonial Brewing From Coast to Coast.” American Breweriana Journal. July/August 2007.


Wagner, Rich. “Drafting History: 19th Century Brewing Demos.” Mid-Atlantic Brewing News October/November 2011.


Wagner, Rich. "The Inadvertent Cooper." Da Schnitzelbank. Vol. 1, No. 3, April 1996.


Wagner, Rich. "Suburban Hop Farming." Zymurgy. Spring, 1986.


Zinie, Chen Sampson. Jefferson's Monticello Makes Ale Inspired by Past. AP January 28, 2011





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