As a historian of beer I am, of course, delighted that Guinness is progressing with its latest Open Gate project in Covent Garden, London, bringing brewing back to the site of the former Woodyard brewery, once one of the biggest porter breweries in London. But if I read once more that porter got its name… Read More No, porter was NOT named after ‘the porters of Covent Garden, Smithfield and Billingsgate’ The post No, porter was NOT named after ‘the porters of Covent Garden, Smithfield...| Zythophile
I confess I love the opportunity to wax on about the history of beer, and I was delighted to be interviewed by the Cardiff home-brewer and podcaster Andy Taylor on the subject of porter, which ended up as 40 minutes of yakking by me. If you want to know the difference between porter and stout,… Read More Me talking about porter The post Me talking about porter first appeared on Zythophile.| Zythophile
When you’ve been working on a project for more than seven years, finally being given a finishing date is almost anti-climactic. I started writing what became Porter and Stout: A Complete History in January 2018. I’ve now been told it is due to be published on June 4. I feel I ought to be much… Read More Porter and Stout: The Complete History will be published on June 4 The post Porter and Stout: The Complete History will be published on June 4 first appeared on Zythophile.| Zythophile
It’s a claim you will find repeated in dozens – possibly hundreds – of places: that the so-called “Hymn to Ninkasi”, a poem in the Sumerian language to the goddess of beer, at least 3,900 years old, known from three fragmentary clay tablets found in and around the ancient city of Nippur, which stood between… Read More No, the ‘Hymn to Ninkasi’ is NOT a recipe for making Sumerian beer The post No, the ‘Hymn to Ninkasi’ is NOT a recipe for making Sumerian beer first appeared...| Zythophile
A fascinating pair of pieces of ephemera, these, because they tells us something about brewing and beer consumption in large households and by farmers, and give a clue as to why farmers who brewed sometimes became actual commercial brewers. The first is a 163-year-old bill for malt and hops from Samuel Wright of Walkern in… Read More How much beer did a 19th century farmer-brewer brew? The post How much beer did a 19th century farmer-brewer brew? first appeared on Zythophile.| Zythophile