Spiced ale refers to traditional ales flavored with non-traditional spices and herbs. Spiced ales are sometimes brewed as a seasonal beer, such as during the time of Christmas or other holidays. [1] [2]
Spiced ale refers to traditional ales flavored with non-traditional spices and herbs. Spiced ales are sometimes brewed as a seasonal beer, such as during the time of Christmas or other holidays. [1] [2]
An early written reference about spiced ale can be found in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Miller's Tale :
Before about AD 1700 the word ale referred to a malt beverage made without hops, in contrast to hopped beer. [4] In the early modern period the word ale can also refer to a beer brewed with a small quantity of hops. [a]
Sir Hugh Plat's Delightes for Ladies , published 1602, describes several ways to flavour previously brewed ales: [6]
I Cannot remember that euer I did drinke the like sage ale at any time, as that which is made by mingling two or three droppes of the extracted oyle of sage with a quart of Ale, the same beeing well brued out of one pot into another: and this way a whole Stand of sage ale is very speedily made. The like is to bee done with the oyle of Mace or Nutmegs. But if you will make a right gossips cup that shall farre exceed all the Ale that euer mother Bunch made in her life time, then in the bottling vp of your best Ale, tunne halfe a pinte of white Ipocras that is newly made, and after the best receipt, with a pottle of Ale, stoppe your bottle close, and drinke it when it is stale: Some commend the hanging of roasted Orenges prickt full of Cloues in the vessell of Ale till you find the taste therof sufficietly graced to your own liking.
Costmary (also called alecost) is a bitter aromatic plant and was frequently put into ale. [7] The 16th-century physician Thomas Cogan, describes "Alecoast Ale" in his Haven of Health as a pleasant drink. [8] The plant is also mentioned in Gerard's Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes in connection with ale. [b]
Thomas Short in Medicina Britannica notes about meadowsweet that an "Infusion of the Leaves, in Wine or Ale, gives them a most grateful Smell and Taste, like Burnet ". [10] Likewise, he recommends avens root for flavouring wine and ale.
Braggot is a drink brewed from ale, honey, spices and herbs. [11] It was esteemed in Wales and the West of England. [12] The drink also appears as bragot, bracket, bragget and the like in written sources. An Old English dictionary states the word derives from brag, meaning malt in Cornwall and Wales, and got, meaning honeycomb. [13] One of the laws of the medieval Welsh king Hywel Dda specifies that a farmer should render one vat of mead as a tribute. [13] If mead was unavailable, two vats of braggot were to be paid instead. Failing this, four vats of common ale would be acceptable. Historical braggot recipes can be found for example in The Customs of London (early 16th-c.), [14] The Jewel House of Art and Nature (1653) [15] and The Whole Duty of a Woman (1701). [16] Generally the drink is made by adding honey and spices to previously brewed ale and refermenting the mixture for some time. In some old recipes the base ingredient is specified either as small ale or strong ale. Wright's Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English contains a recipe from a 14th century manuscript: [12] [c]
To make Bragotte. Take to x galons of ale, iij potell of fyne worte, and iij quartis of hony, and putt therto canell ʒ. iiij, peper schort or long, ʒ. iiij., galingale, ʒ. j., and clowys, ʒ. j., and gingiver, ʒ. ij.
Some old porter recipes contain liquorice extract as an ingredient. This flavouring appears as Spanish juice or Leghorn juice in early 19th century texts. [17] [18]
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the grain to sugars, which dissolve in water to form wort. Fermentation of the wort by yeast produces ethanol and carbonation in the beer. Beer is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world, the most widely consumed, and the third most popular drink after water and tea. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation.
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.
Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients.
Hops are the flowers of the hop plant Humulus lupulus, a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to which, in addition to bitterness, they impart floral, fruity, or citrus flavours and aromas. Hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine. The hops plants have separate female and male plants, and only female plants are used for commercial production. The hop plant is a vigorous climbing herbaceous perennial, usually trained to grow up strings in a field called a hopfield, hop garden, or hop yard when grown commercially. Many different varieties of hops are grown by farmers around the world, with different types used for particular styles of beer.
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph Cantrell. The dry style, a paler drink with a much milder ginger flavour, was created by Canadian John McLaughlin.
Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar.
India pale ale (IPA) is a hoppy beer style within the broader category of pale ale.
Spruce beer is a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees. Spruce beer can refer to either alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
Fruit beer is beer made with fruit added as an adjunct or flavouring.
Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.
Beer in Wales can be traced to the 6th century. Since the 2000s, there has been a growing microbrewery industry in Wales.
Gruit is a herb mixture used for bittering and flavouring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. The terms gruit and grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit. Today, however, gruit is a colloquial term applied to a beer produced with hops, that is seasoned with gruit-like herbs.
Beer is one of the oldest human-produced drinks. The written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia records the use of beer, and the drink has spread throughout the world; a 3,900-year-old Sumerian poem honouring Ninkasi, the patron goddess of brewing, contains the oldest surviving beer-recipe, describing the production of beer from barley bread, and in China, residue on pottery dating from around 5,000 years ago shows that beer was brewed using barley and other grains.
Strong ale is a type of ale, usually above 5% abv and often higher, between 7 and 11% abv, which spans a number of beer styles, including old ale, barley wine, and Burton ale. Strong ales are brewed throughout Europe and beyond, including in England, Belgium, and the United States.
A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during various seasons, per climatic conditions during the time of the year, and also as a tradition. Furthermore, seasonal beer is produced based upon seasons, holidays, festivals and events.
Experimental beer is beer that is produced in or as a new style, using a new recipe, or as a type of beer that does not fit within present beer style criteria or definitions. The term also encompasses minor beer styles that are not covered under any of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) categories, with the exception of Belgian beers. Such minor beer styles may serve "as an incubator" for new potential categories, and may attain an official category if the style becomes of interest to the general public at a sufficient level. The Great American Beer Festival has an experimental beer category as a part of its competition, for which awards are given, as does the World Beer Cup, which also provides awards for beers in this category. The Oregon State Fair has a home brew competition that includes a category for specialty and experimental beers.
Beer in Sussex is beer produced in the historic county of Sussex in England, East Sussex and West Sussex..
Burton ale is a type of strong ale which is dark and sweet. It is named after the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent.
Bierlikör, or beer liqueur, is a beer-flavored liqueur, traditionally produced in the German state of Bavaria. As the term is not legally protected, individual products vary. Bierlikör can be made at home, but is also available commercially.
