tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91005232713790067802024-03-28T15:04:40.570+00:00ancient malt and ale an archaeologist, a brewer and a blog about how the ale was made Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06815653967372313451noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-7956731007495344002022-04-25T17:44:00.056+01:002022-04-27T11:54:35.404+01:00If you go down to the British Museum there's a neolithic beer surprise! (until July 17th 2022)<p>The surprise is that there's some seriously solid evidence in the British Museum "World of Stonehenge" Exhibition that people in early Neolithic Britain were brewing beer. And it looks like it was on a large scale. The World of Stonehenge has been described as a 'once in a lifetime' experience and has taken ten years to organise. It opened on February 17th and will close on the 17th July 2022 when the exhibits will be returned to their original locations in museums all over Europe. There are fabulous gold artefacts, beautiful flints and even part of a timber circle. But the most interesting part of the exhibition, for me, is the acknowledgement that brewing beer was an important part of the Neolithic lifestyle six thousand years ago. People knew how to <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2021/03/lost-blogs-1-prehistoric-brewing.html" target="_blank">transform</a> cereal grain into alcohol. It seems that this <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/controversy-in-grooved-ware-bucket.html" target="_blank">once controversial idea</a> is now acceptable in academic archaeological circles and it's time to talk about it. Thanks to the British Museum. <br /></p><p>What is this surprising evidence? I contacted the organisers in early February when I first heard about this forthcoming exhibition. I asked them whether malt and ale were included. The response was that, yes, they had written a few sentences on 'beer' on page 50 of the accompanying <a href="https://www.english-heritageshop.org.uk/bk-hb-the-world-of-stonehenge" target="_blank">book</a>. I wondered what that evidence could be. Graham and I have been doing <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merryn-Dineley" target="_blank">research</a> into ancient and traditional beer brewing techniques and the potential archaeological evidence for malt and ale for over twenty years. We have been arguing that there's more to grain processing than flour and bread, porridge or gruel. Grain can be malted. </p><p>Could the evidence be the analysis of burned cereal residues on large Grooved Ware pots? Was it the discovery of carbonised malted grains, which are associated with beer brewing activity in the past? I had to buy the book to find out. It's neither of these established archaeological aspects of evidence. <br /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"The tridents may have been used for fishing or eel trapping, or
in agricultural activities as hay forks, and <b>even as mashing forks in
the process of beer brewing. It is likely that farmers were using some
of their cereal harvests to make alcohol for social and religious
gatherings rather than consuming only sober porridge and savoury
foods." </b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span>(Garrow, D. & Wilkin, N. The World of Stonehenge, published by The British Museum, 2022 page 50)</span></span></p><p></p><p>This is how I discovered that the archaeological evidence for beer brewing in early Neolithic Britain on display is in the shape of two very large and very solid oak tridents. They were discovered in 2008 during excavations at Stainton West, Cumbria, by <a href="https://oxfordarchaeology.com/news/963-cumbrian-neolithic-archaeology-artefacts-in-new-british-museum-stonehenge-exhibition" target="_blank">Oxford Archaeology North.</a> Details and excellent photographs of the excavations and the discoveries can be found <a href="https://cndr.oxfordarchaeology.com/" target="_blank">here</a> on their web page. As the photographs show, it was a complex and very wet and muddy dig. Wellington boots were obligatory. Congratulations to the team on their work.<br /></p><p>Until now, apart from a few comments on social media and a private conversation, these tridents have been described as mysterious and enigmatic, a rare and unusual find. Nobody knew what they were used for. Nevertheless, they are deemed important and significant objects. Similar
wooden tridents were recovered during the 19th century at Ehenside
Tarn, near Ravenglass, on the Cumbrian coast of England in 1874, and another was found in a bog during excavations at Armagh in
Northern
Ireland (1857). These other mysterious wooden tridents are held in the
British Museum stores and are, apparently, in poor condition. </p><p>The Stainton West
tridents are well preserved, having been in waterlogged conditions for 6000 years. They have been beautifully restored by experts. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Neolithic-wooden-trident" class="caption" height="274" longdesc="(© Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust)" src="https://www.archaeology.org/images/News/1312/Neolithic-wooden-trident.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(© Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This
image is from a news item in Archaeology, Friday December 6th 2013.
see:https://www.archaeology.org/news/1610-england-neolithic-wooden-tridents</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">The two enigmatic six foot long tridents went on display at the Tullie
House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, in 2013. They attracted quite a
lot of attention. Here, above, is a photo of them in the original display case
taken from an article in Archaeology magazine, December 2013. You can
find more images on the internet by searching for 'neolithic tridents'. </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p>There was talk on social media. Archaeologists argued, as they often do, about what they might have been. It's difficult to find these discussions now. Some of the places where it was discussed (eg Past Horizons) no longer exist. If you can find any from this time then do let us know! Suggestions from archaeologists and historians included eel spears, hay forks or supports for fishing nets. <br /><br />I suggested that they may have been mash forks, similar to those used by Arnold of Soissons, the patron saint of brewing. <a href="https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/WSlH4ux2sB/" target="_blank">A mash fork is one of the traditional symbols of the brewer. </a>These wooden "tridents" would have been ideal as mash forks. That's the
tool used for stirring the crushed malt into hot water in the mash tun, a
crucial part of the beer brewing process, the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html" target="_blank">saccharification</a>, when the malt sugars are made. Sometimes referred to as a mash rake, it is a piece of equipment that is crucial to the 'mashing in' stage of the brewing process. Don't confuse it with a malt rake, which is a tool the maltster uses to rake and turn the grain on the germination or malting floor. <br /></p><p>This is a well known image that many brewers and brewing historians are familiar with. It's a stained glass window in the Sainte-Glossinde Chapel in Metz, Moselle, France, that depicts St Arnold (1040-1087) with Bishop's mitre and his mash fork. <br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU8xgD9bqWckG8ZKw2pkzdDnrOiYWQGqER1PNhfYSj8PecZ9jjbrn0I2ylXZxbsCCCR7p8SWoNHf1X2PwoDpoi2B4UsSqM0N5Zqm3mon1izxkZaFBb3bAKTCnE7C82YHMXnxmr4BM7Rd8am1On12If5dwoqjGwyMuJ9PvP5grhgmnLtbS304cG5Ep/s600/St-Arnoldus1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="412" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU8xgD9bqWckG8ZKw2pkzdDnrOiYWQGqER1PNhfYSj8PecZ9jjbrn0I2ylXZxbsCCCR7p8SWoNHf1X2PwoDpoi2B4UsSqM0N5Zqm3mon1izxkZaFBb3bAKTCnE7C82YHMXnxmr4BM7Rd8am1On12If5dwoqjGwyMuJ9PvP5grhgmnLtbS304cG5Ep/w275-h400/St-Arnoldus1.png" width="275" /></a></div><p>The idea of tridents as mash forks was an idea that was not taken very seriously at the time. But, interestingly, I was not the only person to suggest mash forks or an early form of mashing rake. Here's a comment on the article on <a href="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/28210?fbclid=IwAR37cNFC3MKgCYUve26Glu8ucuJnNxV6ahoq9xWXdYFKIwAck61f9Phl8hg" target="_blank">The History Blog</a> entitled "Mysterious wood tridents on display" from 2013: <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJR0CuIHJAmNjh89Ji5PAVqWUOGhlfcdLuwrLqLjAGZvqZxrhkdWo2EQ_fEQITuuI2IacmMiYSBgkWXq8QbSGCcyoLWjEWyEKcQYFQTRvix_Nx-zQ7TdLRVSyFFoP3meKntQFYzPJ_UJcyyVDENiuTJlKKR05NYIvI8ek2-00LKpGd8g8FZ1vUjuA/s944/Screenshot%20sophie%20trident%20comment.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="944" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJR0CuIHJAmNjh89Ji5PAVqWUOGhlfcdLuwrLqLjAGZvqZxrhkdWo2EQ_fEQITuuI2IacmMiYSBgkWXq8QbSGCcyoLWjEWyEKcQYFQTRvix_Nx-zQ7TdLRVSyFFoP3meKntQFYzPJ_UJcyyVDENiuTJlKKR05NYIvI8ek2-00LKpGd8g8FZ1vUjuA/w640-h272/Screenshot%20sophie%20trident%20comment.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Sophie must be a brewer. She knows what a mash fork is. In her comment she gives two links, one to St Arnold of Soissons and another that shows the brewer's traditional tools of the trade. These are a malt shovel for turning the germinating grain on the malting floor, a mash fork (or rake) for the mash tun and a long handled brewer's ladle. The mash rake in this image has struts to strengthen it. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnCZowHYYy4TKbZLmuRTrSsb3pLp6C1KLtcnTFPCHDN-T0cem-xG0zqE_dz53klaHObFpp_18kF3Q1oc-TkTHq87-3ZO4C_tgoJLw8xWpPT_00mYYq36-2aJNvxF3i2Glo4uCk6t_n1afqm4xdERWsO0Y5x9ZymmxZsc1rLo1jRHEJ2B6Cv59IIMQ/s801/trident%20mash%20fork%20Wappen.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="801" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnCZowHYYy4TKbZLmuRTrSsb3pLp6C1KLtcnTFPCHDN-T0cem-xG0zqE_dz53klaHObFpp_18kF3Q1oc-TkTHq87-3ZO4C_tgoJLw8xWpPT_00mYYq36-2aJNvxF3i2Glo4uCk6t_n1afqm4xdERWsO0Y5x9ZymmxZsc1rLo1jRHEJ2B6Cv59IIMQ/s320/trident%20mash%20fork%20Wappen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See http://www.schlenkerla.de/biergeschichte/brauerstern/bilder/Wappen.jpg</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Mash fork design has developed over the years. Modern brewers still use them. Here is a photo of Catalonian brewer Carlos Rodriguez, standing beside the mash tun and holding a mash fork, as described by Martyn Cornell, renowned beer writer and brewing historian. Some brewers might call it a mash paddle. Whatever the name might be, it serves the same function as the 6000 year old wooden tridents from Stainton West, Ehenside Tarn and Armargh. <br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvU-QFPNSxPMbD4k3UGM-ty1Znn3d3yT4V0RuBEB0uuoMYkd0L_Nr6o0th7Fr1c89EW9CZEqkpMdFQOeyBWtPsTCpfelR5mFV79wo90vJvsqy3z7m_uNDO_xuJjT-LODKWk7GoLGZac1JphLFuKiGFd1oZGigw3HDjycc_yv9z2h7HYee6aKUUcss/s1930/mash%20fork%20Carles-Rodriguez.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1930" data-original-width="1417" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvU-QFPNSxPMbD4k3UGM-ty1Znn3d3yT4V0RuBEB0uuoMYkd0L_Nr6o0th7Fr1c89EW9CZEqkpMdFQOeyBWtPsTCpfelR5mFV79wo90vJvsqy3z7m_uNDO_xuJjT-LODKWk7GoLGZac1JphLFuKiGFd1oZGigw3HDjycc_yv9z2h7HYee6aKUUcss/w294-h400/mash%20fork%20Carles-Rodriguez.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Carlos Rodriguez holds his mash fork inside the Agullons brewery, one of
the first microbreweries in Catalonia, founded in 2005 at his masia
(the typical Catalan farmhouse) in Sant Joan de Mediona. The first
thought of any visitor to the gravity-powered brewery, which looks like
an overgrown shed alongside the farmhouse, and will make only 500 litres
at a time, is: ‘Whoa! Can anything decent be brewed here?’ Fears are
driven far away as soon as Rodriguez’s beers are tasted: he may be
self-taught, but his English-style pale ales and Belgian-style
spontaneous fermentation beers are as good as you’ll find" Thanks to Martyn Cornell, Zythophile, for use of this image and his words. <br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">See https://zythophile.co.uk/2018/04/04/homage-to-catalonian-beer-tourism/</span><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The neolithic tridents, carved from planks of solid oak, would have been
fit for purpose as mash forks 6000 years ago. Their potential function as mash forks
is a practical interpretation,
far more likely than eel spears, hay forks or fishing
net supports. Here is a description of the tridents written in 2019 by the archaeologists who discovered them. The woodworking techniques alone are
impressive. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"The two early Neolithic fork-shaped tridents were amongst the most fascinating and enigmatic artefacts from Stainton West. They may have been fishing spears, paddles, net anchors, agricultural forks or <b>even mash forks (for brewing beer)</b>. Whatever their use, both had obviously been deliberately placed, at the eastern end of the channel, indicating that they were significant objects. <br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span><i>The
tridents had been expertly crafted, using stone tools, from single
radially split planks, cut from mature oak trees. A long shaft was
tapered at one end, at the other end widening into two projecting wings,
or steps, a</i></span><span><i>nd then three, long, tapering tines. Only one of Trident 1's
tines survived, while one tine from Trident 2 had broken off, but
remained closely associated with the object. Both tridents were
approximately 2m long and would have been heavy, unwieldy objects, made
from logs that were much larger than strictly necessary; these appear to
have had near-identical diameters of 0.4m. These logs had been split in
half, then into quarters, and finally eighths, forming a wedge
sectioned plank."</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">from Bridging Time's Deep River, An archaeological journey along the Carlisle Northern Development Route. Pub Oxford</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b> Archaeology Ltd. 2019, page 32. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">See: https://oxfordarchaeology.com/articles/251-cndr-carlisle-northern-development-relief-road</span></div><p>This is the first time that I can find a published reference to "mash forks (used for brewing beer)". Until 2019 this idea was, as far as I know, only discussed on social media. In 2018 I had a private conversation with one of the Oxford Archaeology North team on Twitter, giving them details of mash forks, their design and function in the brewing process. The next thing I know it's an accepted interpretation in the World of Stonehenge, both in the British Museum and in the book. I'm still trying to figure out how a private twitter conversation in 2018 becomes a possible interpretation in the British Museum Exhibition. There is no acknowledgement or detail about where this new interpretation came from. </p><p>Nevertheless, as I wrote earlier, many thanks are due to archaeologists of Oxford Archaeology, to the British Museum curators of the exhibition and to the authors of the World of Stonehenge book. They have corroborated our idea that, in the Neolithic, <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2021/07/lost-blog-2-malt-ale-and-neolithic-feast.html" target="_blank">cereals were cultivated to make malt, malt sugars and ale rather than flour, bread, porridge, gruel </a>or even <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/pr-neolithic-style-mince-pies/" target="_blank">pastry for mince pies</a>, as has been suggested recently by archaeologists at English Heritage. It seems that they have completely missed the fact that grain can be malted and mashed to make malt sugars and wort for fermentation, even though we wrote a <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/blog/blog-posts/neolithic-drink-at-feasts/" target="_blank">blog</a> about it for them.<br /></p><p>A mash fork needs a mash tun. <br /></p><p>When Graham makes beer he "mashes in" using a small five gallon mash tun. A long handled plastic spoon is enough to agitate the mash as crushed malt is added to the hot water. These 6000 year old neolithic tridents are around six feet long. Obviously, they would have been used in a very large mash tun. Given that the archaeologists <a href="https://cndr.oxfordarchaeology.com/burnt-mounds/" target="_blank">excavated five burnt mounds, with evidence of associated troughs, at Stainton West</a> there is no need to look further for a potential mash tun. I have asked the archaeologists for more details on the troughs and was told that they measured roughly 2x1.5m. I was not given a measurement of the depth. They are probably a similar depth to most burnt mound troughs and may have held a volume of 200 to 400 litres. <br /></p><p>The first archaeologists to suggest that the <a href="http://www.mooregroup.ie/2007/10/the-archaeology-ireland-article/" target="_blank">troughs at burnt mound sites were used as mash tuns</a> were Declan Moore and Billy Quinn from The Moore Group, based in County Galway, Ireland, where these sites are known as fulacht fiadh. Billy and Declan did all the research and followed it through with practical experiments and demonstrations. In 2008 they did an impressive presentation at the World Archaeology Conference (6) in Dublin. I was happy to help out. They had made a large wooden trough, sealed it with bitumen, and heated stones in a fire, using a garden fork to transfer them into the trough. Crushed malted barley was added to the hot water, a traditional technique to mash in. It was a successful mash and a spectacular demonstration. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfD5usMJ7YjGfg6CeadhI-Vn2i4waa53-r36qvHhu80DB4F1kkXtAolhmAwSMzdeS5ECefihBGdemAP6UjVY8zPHkTnCkdDtsOajW5ozLsDdngdkFhAafBBQ7IriroC3tBsJhmwvA2LRQoGvrmkKlUuQgjm_KIpg-fUy-DpI0URVoca4cTYqjG-yMB/s2592/021%20hot%20stones%20in%20trough.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfD5usMJ7YjGfg6CeadhI-Vn2i4waa53-r36qvHhu80DB4F1kkXtAolhmAwSMzdeS5ECefihBGdemAP6UjVY8zPHkTnCkdDtsOajW5ozLsDdngdkFhAafBBQ7IriroC3tBsJhmwvA2LRQoGvrmkKlUuQgjm_KIpg-fUy-DpI0URVoca4cTYqjG-yMB/w640-h480/021%20hot%20stones%20in%20trough.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Moore Group added hot rocks to a trough using a garden fork at WAC 6 Dublin 2007.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"></p>I was inspired by their demonstration and told Graham about it when I got home. He built a small trough and we demonstrated the technique at the Tomb of the Eagles Visitor Centre, Orkney, later that year. In 2010 we were invited by Lauren Doughton to do demonstration in the replica stone trough at Bressay, one of the Shetland islands. She was investigating possible uses of fire cracked stones, burnt mounds and troughs for her <a href="https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-most-curious-class-of-small-cairn-reinterpreting-the-burnt-mounds-of-shetland(c3cd55e7-784f-429c-9700-30315112d5a5).html" target="_blank">PhD thesis</a> which was completed in 2014. Our mash was successful. You can find more details on trough mashing in the Neolithic and Bronze Age <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/trough-mashing-fire-cracked-stones-and.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /></div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yQoh2j3tZLe1F52fJDL7dGStxioENlW4yixmtVPdxDCnBg7YSwkl7Hws48MLE-tgi-Tpsho9KqPO-59Ouip8YEftx4hx8JjXTdwDwjDb6KikRa6wh3eM26nwpG4ncdUSMJzek4PyipLiFY5Z7OqVMS98YObAOwF8gS0VVOSDbDhueW0TbCFPPGET/s4000/041%20add%20malt.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2248" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yQoh2j3tZLe1F52fJDL7dGStxioENlW4yixmtVPdxDCnBg7YSwkl7Hws48MLE-tgi-Tpsho9KqPO-59Ouip8YEftx4hx8JjXTdwDwjDb6KikRa6wh3eM26nwpG4ncdUSMJzek4PyipLiFY5Z7OqVMS98YObAOwF8gS0VVOSDbDhueW0TbCFPPGET/w640-h360/041%20add%20malt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Bressay strike in 2010: hot water, crushed malt, stone trough and a garden fork. We used 200 litres of water and 50kg of crushed malt. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div> </div><div>I know of another successful trough mash by David Chapman of Ancient Arts. In 2010 he demonstrated the technique. An article published in the magazine British Archaeology announced <a href="https://ancientfoods.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/burnt-mound-theory-tested-to-perfection/" target="_blank">'Burnt mound theory tested to perfection'.</a> </div><div> </div><div>It must be said that, since these archaeological experiments, brewing historians <a href="https://beerandbrewing.com/fire-and-brew-stone-the-real-story-of-steinbier/" target="_blank">Lars Marius Garshol</a> and <a href="https://www.brewingnordic.com/books/" target="_blank">Mika Laitinen</a> have documented the ancient and traditional practice of hot rock mashing. I wrote a piece about the ancient magic of malt for <a href="https://exarc.net/issue-2021-2/at/ancient-magic-malt-making" target="_blank">the EXARC Journal</a> last year. In beer brewing circles and amongst many traditional brewers all over the world hot rock mashing is now an acknowledged and regularly practiced mashing in technique. </div><div> </div><div>There is so much online about the use of hot stones in the brewing process that I am surprised that the archaeologists who excavated Stainton West burnt mounds are unaware of it. Instead they go for the consensus archaeological interpretation that burnt mounds represent a sauna, sweat lodge or steam bath. These kinds of bathing facilities use large stones. A small amount of water is used to create steam. Troughs at burnt mound sites are deep and large, can contain a lot of water and small stones are used to heat it. They shatter and crack under the heat shock of immersion. There is no comparison between a sauna, sweat lodge or steam bath and a hot rock mash tun. <br /></div><div></div><div> </div><div>A similar mistake has been made in the interpretation of some Viking sites. Buildings and installations have been identified as bath houses and saunas when, in fact, it is the brew house that has been excavated. Graham wrote a <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/06/the-origins-of-viking-bathhouse-myth.html" target="_blank">blog</a> about this and we have an <a href="https://exarc.net/issue-2013-2/ea/where-were-viking-brew-houses" target="_blank">article</a> in the EXARC Journal, published in 2013. That's another story though. </div><div><br /></div><div>Excavations at Stainton West reveal a lot of evidence for the transformation of grain into malt, malt sugars and ale in the early Neolithic through to the Bronze Age. It helps to understand the beer brewing process in order to identify it. As well as the wooden tridents as mash forks there are several mash tuns, lots of fire cracked stones and a piece of pottery from a <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/07/big-pots-fermentation-and-storage.html" target="_blank">large Grooved Ware pot</a> (suitable for fermentation).</div><div> </div><div>Finally, there is evidence for a large Neolithic ceremonial monument close by the meander in the river Eden, where Stainton West is situated. This takes us back to the comments made in the World of Stonehenge book (page 50) where the authors propose the idea that "<i>it is likely that farmers were using some of their cereal harvests to make alcohol for social and religious gatherings." </i><br /></div><div> </div><div>So, to conclude, it's quite clear to us <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2018/01/some-sort-of-alcohol.html" target="_blank">what sort of alcohol</a> they were making and how they were making it. Here's a map of the excavations at Stainton West, taken from the CNDR booklet that Oxford Archaeology North sent to me, in digital form. It shows the river Eden, the extent of excavations and the proximity of a Neolithic ceremonial centre, indicated by a henge on the map below. <br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5Uom1L7izDIU5BCmVAEhrNYklujQJ4ovyV3kRrMNv7jG8T6VAM3JuWTUrUO1swuQSY5QoIYGImlxMWcUemI8Fcyl722WAQCOoi3nh9zV0ikRECAwoin8LcAcZzWe67RqQeiioZeZku6psH9n5ST8eZ_giq3F-ua8_rUs5jAwXYey8mBI7FmQXJ9w/s885/Screenshot_2022-04-25_16-54-43.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="885" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5Uom1L7izDIU5BCmVAEhrNYklujQJ4ovyV3kRrMNv7jG8T6VAM3JuWTUrUO1swuQSY5QoIYGImlxMWcUemI8Fcyl722WAQCOoi3nh9zV0ikRECAwoin8LcAcZzWe67RqQeiioZeZku6psH9n5ST8eZ_giq3F-ua8_rUs5jAwXYey8mBI7FmQXJ9w/w640-h493/Screenshot_2022-04-25_16-54-43.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Stainton West excavations from<br />Bridging Time's Deep River, produced by Oxford Archaeology North 2019, p 38<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>There are Neolithic ceremonial sites throughout the British Isles. It seems that ceremonies included the transformation of grain into malt, malt sugars and ale to be consumed and enjoyed at places like Stonehenge and Durrington Walls, where caried pig teeth indicate that pigs were fed spent grain. Other sites include the Ring of Brodgar, the Ness of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness and the Barnhouse settlement, Callanish, Arbor Low and many many more. Some of the best archaeological evidence comes from these excavations at Stainton West. But you have to know what to look for, understand the brewing process and interpret what you find.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As we have said many times, if archaeologists are looking for a ritual activity then they need to look no further than malting, mashing and the fermentation of a sweet wort. </div><div><br /></div><div>The recognition and acknowledgement from archaeologists at Oxford Archaeology North and from the curators of the World of Stonehenge Exhibition at the British Museum that these wooden tridents may have been used as mash forks is good news. If this is the case then they are the oldest mash forks that have yet been discovered in Britain. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's time to talk seriously about grain processing technologies of the Neolithic. Comments and questions to this, or any of our blogs, are welcome. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i> </i></div><div><i> </i></div><div><i></i></div><div><i></i></div><div><br /></div>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-60587013869619871852021-11-30T19:21:00.037+00:002021-12-01T08:29:47.120+00:00Beakers were for beer part 4<p>This is Graham Dineley writing this blog. All ideas, opinions and mistakes are entirely my own and my responsibility. I welcome comments and discussion, please feel free to do so. </p><p>It's a long time since 'beakers were for beer' parts <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/03/beakers-were-for-beer-part-one.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/04/beakers-were-for-beer-part-two-birch.html" target="_blank">2</a> and <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/04/beakers-were-for-beer-part-three_26.html" target="_blank">3</a> were written by Merryn. Something happened recently that caught our attention and so the brewer decided to write part 4. It involves a television series, the Achavanich Beaker and there's some Grooved Ware thrown in at the end for good measure.<br /><br /><b>BBC's "A History of Ancient Britain" with Neil Oliver</b></p><p>Early last year, April I think, we were making silk face masks during lock-down to give to family and friends, as PPE was virtually unobtainable. We were idly watching TV when these Neil Oliver episodes were repeated on PBS America. We had contributed some meadowsweet ale to this series, at the request of the production team and we looked forward to seeing it again. In the final episode about the Bronze Age Neil is seen walking around Dartmoor discussing villages. Then the camera cuts to Neil sitting in a pub discussing developments of this civilisation. We were shocked and surprised to see that the next sequence of him drinking beer from a beaker had been removed. However Merryn still appears in the credits. <br /><br />I was so surprised at this, that for confirmation I bought the boxed set of DVDs to confirm that editing. On the second DVD at 1:51:35 he enters the pub, and then at 1:52:57 it cuts to him walking around Dartmoor again and the bit where he drinks from a beaker has been excised.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQvUqZfFsk9lHt_FkMSO5f2efXMpRlg0zWV0oJESoEon3AIPfwk-k2GAfSxSfnAEWK6zke-14LhawNA8rcE0ZhlDSfZ0WEE3hDGlSFy97AFSpHN8ljO025fqiSF35XE5zKb8b4urNCstd/s1581/Screenshot_2021-11-25_07-28-39.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1581" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQvUqZfFsk9lHt_FkMSO5f2efXMpRlg0zWV0oJESoEon3AIPfwk-k2GAfSxSfnAEWK6zke-14LhawNA8rcE0ZhlDSfZ0WEE3hDGlSFy97AFSpHN8ljO025fqiSF35XE5zKb8b4urNCstd/w640-h358/Screenshot_2021-11-25_07-28-39.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Back in March 2010, a member of the production team for this series approached us with a view to us providing them with some of our prehistoric beer. They wrote:<br /><br />"While we figure out exactly when we might want to feature your beer in the series, I thought it might be a good idea to commission some from you, so that it's on hand when we need it! Would that be OK?"<br /><br />We were delighted, at last someone was taking us seriously and we might get an opportunity to put the idea to a wider audience. So I replied:<br /><br />"Graham here, the brewer. Yes I will make some meadowsweet ale for your programme. It will take about 4-6 weeks, longer if you want it to be very clear. At the moment I am waiting for more malt from my suppliers, and I will let you know when I start it. The name "meadowsweet" comes from the Saxon "medhu" for mead. The Saxons and the Vikings did not readily distinguish between ale and mead, and in fact meadowsweet ale tastes very much like mead. This kind of drink came to Britain with the first farmers in the Neolithic, as part of their package, and it was definitely drunk in the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Saxon era and Viking times, right through to the introduction of hops by the church in mediaeval times.<br />Regards."<br /><br />The reply came back: <br /><br />"Dear Graham,<br />Many thanks indeed for this email. Please could you send us the 2 litres of ale to arrive by next week? The address to send it to is:<br />Room MC5A4 BBC Media Centre<br />201 Wood Lane.<br />London<br />W12 7TQ</p><p>Please also let us know how we can pay you for the ale and the shipping costs. Thanks again and best wishes."<br /><br />I replied:<br /><br />"Hi, the ale and wort are in the post, and they should arrive tomorrow or Saturday. The postage was £8.22, so you could send a cheque. <br />The meadowsweet ale is free, as I can only give it away; customs and excise regulations prohibit the sale of home brew :-). However you could repay us for the ale by giving some exposure to our idea that "The first farmers in Britain brought not only cattle, cereals and ceramics, but also the skills to brew ale for their rituals and ceremonies. It came as a complete package." Also if you could please report to us any feedback or opinions on this idea that the other contributors to this production may offer.<br />We believe that this meadowsweet ale is not very different to that brewed in the Neolithic through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman Era (strong ale, slaves and hunting dogs were major exports from Britain according to Julius Caesar) and Viking times until the Mediaeval times when hops were introduced from Europe. Of course the Georgian industrial breweries were a major change.<br />The meadowsweet ale contains salycilates from the meadowsweet flowers and so should not be consumed by anyone allergic to aspirin.<br />Cheers.<br />Graham.<br />P.S. There still some 15 litres of ale left, so if you would like any more of this batch you should let me know soon!"<br /><br />This reply came back:<br /><br />"Hi Graham<br /><br />Sorry about this, but could you send us another 2 litres so that we have 4 in total? We will of course pay you for this but have to do it by bank transfer so please send me your bank account details.<br /><br />Please confirm this is all OK."<br /><br />Thanks again.<br /><br />I replied:<br /><br />"Hi, yes I can send you another 2 litres, but the first opportunity now will be Tuesdays post, which should arrive Wednesday/Thursday.<br />I guess someone will have tasted it by now, any comments or feedback?<br />One thing I forgot to mention, ingredients. 15lbs crushed malt, 5 gallons of water, ½ oz dried meadowsweet flowers and 2 teaspoons of yeast. NO SUGAR, NO HONEY.<br />All the alcohol comes from the malt sugars from the barley malt, that is the wort.<br />That is also where most of the flavour comes from too!<br />I will send you the bank details when I know how much the second posting costs.<br />Regards."<br /><br />We heard absolutely nothing more from the BBC team after that, except that I had to sign and return a form which stated that, "This beer is fit for human consumption." I did this and also added, with an impish sense of humour, "Sole intended purpose." So we waited for the series to be aired on TV.<br /></p><p>Neil Oliver's series 'A History of Ancient Britain' finally aired on TV in 2011. We eagerly waited to see what they showed. In the fourth episode about the Bronze Age Neil Oliver is discussing villages, whilst walking around Dartmoor. The camera cuts to him entering a pub, and sitting with a pint of beer, discussing developments of that culture. Then it cuts to him sitting on a rock, drinking beer from a Bell Beaker. I could tell instantly that it wasn't my beer, because it was frothy and had bubbles in it. My beer was flat. So it must have come from a bottle or a can of beer. They did not use our beer. I often wonder if anybody even tasted it, or whether it was thrown away and poured down the sink.<br /><br />There was no mention of us, or our work, but at least we were happy that the idea that 'beakers were for beer' was being promoted.<br /><br />It could only be some powerful and influential archaeologists who could persuade the BBC to edit the beaker beer from that episode. We are quite accustomed to being ignored, and even bullied by some, but this a gross abuse of power and influence, for personal or political reasons, and it verges on totalitarian thought police.<br /><br /><b>The Achavanich Beaker</b></p><p>The Achavanich Beaker was found in Caithness, Scotland, in February 1987. Below is archaeologist Robert Gourlay's description of the site and also a pamphlet guide, with a map and illustrations. The words are the same in both documents. <br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8lz0OiqCk3sTk0SU2XsdARoyAmCEmmkqcwnDv7LMwaHb-UgRdv6zOcS7ctYnRCI3cQ-q7Y8qWebYYGdBsHH2Wm8CuGVUgWiesRhi56slXDWbruYQ8YwOtTBRP-hUiXpiqH1hm3Cdn9Ze/s1556/gourlay1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1128" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8lz0OiqCk3sTk0SU2XsdARoyAmCEmmkqcwnDv7LMwaHb-UgRdv6zOcS7ctYnRCI3cQ-q7Y8qWebYYGdBsHH2Wm8CuGVUgWiesRhi56slXDWbruYQ8YwOtTBRP-hUiXpiqH1hm3Cdn9Ze/w464-h640/gourlay1.jpeg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gourlay's report, page 1.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jMtQ84bYur5rtLZ-qWamhkMAdRvdvnGO9A_j5YUNy7Fm7sQCDsbK29Jv2ezGuIQiDPJBrTpMqDi5LgdqiKaY08w-zZdtnolKoFOYdumgqUGpLeX81meqBT2_G5Zk-IHsxbSUkYJPiDPk/s1556/gourlay2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1128" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jMtQ84bYur5rtLZ-qWamhkMAdRvdvnGO9A_j5YUNy7Fm7sQCDsbK29Jv2ezGuIQiDPJBrTpMqDi5LgdqiKaY08w-zZdtnolKoFOYdumgqUGpLeX81meqBT2_G5Zk-IHsxbSUkYJPiDPk/w464-h640/gourlay2.jpeg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gourlay's report, page 2.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeeO7ucLQ95fSKvkEFjGrmLW9QOJ-FcvfkckAWm9qtWhcLsSVl7YPYEJagK7L82waPxrjWuRtOt3J8AGYemxnHslkj3I6RvITahSshiSYosi0TUgjtLuwdH-RLUoknrLe2ixxuU_aQmer/s1556/beaker.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1128" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioeeO7ucLQ95fSKvkEFjGrmLW9QOJ-FcvfkckAWm9qtWhcLsSVl7YPYEJagK7L82waPxrjWuRtOt3J8AGYemxnHslkj3I6RvITahSshiSYosi0TUgjtLuwdH-RLUoknrLe2ixxuU_aQmer/w464-h640/beaker.jpeg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Achavanich Beaker</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6L2wEcu10TeG2k_pAENZ3Q9RjLqY3-qKMbowXPEn0VZZTtg2iBX06snVEeUn3l_Yai6RLltrHaRWJ2V81pEGUTPS1XzArkEm9xOt7tFUTkaovBYTijo3hyXJRRC7coEiA7czwABS1A7X/s1556/brochure1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1556" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6L2wEcu10TeG2k_pAENZ3Q9RjLqY3-qKMbowXPEn0VZZTtg2iBX06snVEeUn3l_Yai6RLltrHaRWJ2V81pEGUTPS1XzArkEm9xOt7tFUTkaovBYTijo3hyXJRRC7coEiA7czwABS1A7X/w640-h464/brochure1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brochure, outer page. Folded in three.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNmkowq9Bik1ThQPfvRY9Vsu61iVNHAB2nXINZcViBQagMeZXzBbWotYTyCJpHAVMm4Huw8xksrYumUHbkBnChSKoJCidvzJVyWrFukwAYW0bBbW7WBAlZeKpoUaQOUc1H-F_jNtft5eS/s1556/brochure2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1556" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNmkowq9Bik1ThQPfvRY9Vsu61iVNHAB2nXINZcViBQagMeZXzBbWotYTyCJpHAVMm4Huw8xksrYumUHbkBnChSKoJCidvzJVyWrFukwAYW0bBbW7WBAlZeKpoUaQOUc1H-F_jNtft5eS/w640-h464/brochure2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brochure, inner page. Folded in three.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This five page document was available online on the Highland Regional Council's web site as a PDF. I downloaded it on 15th May 2015, as at that time it was the best evidence for early beer brewing in Scotland. The pages were in a different order then, first the illustration of the Beaker, then the archaeologist's report, and then the illustrated brochure, inner first, and outer last. </p><p>Now, with the re-evaluation of the site by the Achavanich Beaker Burial Project, that document has disappeared. Only Dr Gourlay's<a href="https://her.highland.gov.uk/api/LibraryLinkWebServiceProxy/FetchResource/293539/full_293539.pdf" target="_blank"> report</a> is available as a PDF. I have copies of the original five page PDF, if anybody wants it. Contact us please.<br /><br />The report on the residues from the beaker make very interesting reading for any beer or brewing historian. The original report says:<br /><br /><i>"The contents of the beaker - no more than a slight smear on the inside - were analysed by palaeobotanist Dr Brian Moffatt in Edinburgh. His preliminary results suggest that the vessel originally held a mixture of the following:<br /><br />(a) Prepared cereal - a course mixture of barley and oats with much chaff and stem. Judging from the still visible 'pour-mark' on the inside, it was a thin porridge or gruel.<br /><br />(b) Honey - probably wild, it contains pollen from flowers which grew in a variety of habitats such as moorland, woodland, meadowland and pasture, scrubland, watersides, and even by the sea.<br /><br />(c) Added flowers and fruits - presumably for extra flavouring. These include meadowsweet, bramble, and wood sage.<br /><br />(d) The sap of birch and alder trees.</i><br /><br />Dr Moffatt concludes: <i>'There are here multiple bases for fermentation, and the outcome of collecting them would be an "alcoholic hotchpotch".' This then, could have been the earliest known alcohol from Caithness' "</i><br /><br />I don't know why, but there seems to be a concerted crusade against Beakers being used for ale or beer. This aspect of the contents of the beaker seems to be controversial, perhaps even unacceptable to some archaeologists. <br /><br />The burial, the beaker and its' contents were recently re-evaluated by Maya Hoole and a team of archaeologists, including Dr Scott Timpany of the University of the Highlands and Islands who did the pollen analysis. The conclusion was that the beaker contents were purely medicinal. This was based upon the identification of Meadowsweet and St John's Wort pollen. See <a href="https://www.socantscot.org/research-project/the-achavanich-beaker-burial-project/" target="_blank">here</a> for a summary of the Achavanich Beaker Burial Project's findings. Please note that there is no longer any mention of cereal residues or alcohol. <br /><br />Both Meadowsweet and St John's Wort are gruit herbs, they were traditionally used to preserve ale and beer.<br /><br />The fact that Brian Moffat's pollen analysis differs so much from Scott Timpany's could be explained by the pot being contaminated by background pollen since it's excavation. It has certainly been around quite a few places since it was first found. Moffatt had the benefit of working on the pot when it had been freshly excavated. Timpany's analysis conveniently excludes the cereal residues.<br /><br />It is important to consider that some archaeologists are primarily sociologists and not scientists and sometimes make unwarranted assumptions. The active ingredients in Meadowsweet and St John's wort are alkaloids, and are only soluble in alcohol and not in water. The term alkaloid is derived from the word alcohol, itself an Arabic word in origin. By eliminating alcohol from the contents of the beaker their interpretation as purely medicinal has been rendered impossible. They have shot themselves in the foot! <br /><br />Many traditional herbal remedies and medications are based upon the alkaloids in their herbs, and these preparations are all alcohol based. Many of the specialist ancient Egyptian brews were medicinal.</p><p></p><p><b>Balfarg/Balbirnie</b></p><p>One of the largest and most important prehistoric ceremonial sites in eastern Scotland is known as Balfarg/Balbirnie and the Balfarg Riding School excavations. According to Canmore, the National Record of the Historic Environment of Scotland:<br /></p><p><i>"These two sites (Balfarg and Balbirnie), along with structures that were
found between them, form one of the most important groups of monuments
of neolithic and bronze age date in eastern Scotland. The visible
monuments are a henge and a small stone circle, now re-sited to the
south-east of its original position; excavations between them have,
however, revealed a ditched enclosure, two timber structures, cairns and
burials as well as a large quantity of pottery."<br /></i></p><p>See <a href="https://canmore.org.uk/site/29990/balfarg">https://canmore.org.uk/site/29990/balfarg</a> and <a href="https://canmore.org.uk/site/29959/balfarg-riding-school">https://canmore.org.uk/site/29959/balfarg-riding-school</a> for all the details. <span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span><br /><i></i></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSJXEa0vLcddGTKvw5h_UrXq-3SXDoEbFDU5e8paA8ju3l-q2OOOmg7R83fGt7U3vPjfjRqrczrfMQSCDUJddgS7Qo31xXKGAA5JVnx678Lm6Ma5Uia3qJ8XKn7ktCytIS2RpxiF2-AzC/s1556/plan.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1556" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSJXEa0vLcddGTKvw5h_UrXq-3SXDoEbFDU5e8paA8ju3l-q2OOOmg7R83fGt7U3vPjfjRqrczrfMQSCDUJddgS7Qo31xXKGAA5JVnx678Lm6Ma5Uia3qJ8XKn7ktCytIS2RpxiF2-AzC/w640-h464/plan.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plan of excavations at Balfarg, Balbirnie and Balfarg Riding School<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: small;">Map: Barclay and Russell-White, G J and C J eds</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>'Excavations in the ceremonial complex of the fourth to second millennium at Balfarg/Balbirnie, Glenrothes, Fife'</i><i>, </i></span></i><span style="font-size: small;">Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol. 123, 1993, page 50</span></p><p></p><p>It was an extensive site, now a housing estate, and spanned from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. There was a henge, two stone circles and two rectangular timber structures. Many Grooved Ware pottery sherds from large pots were found there and two of them, 63 and 64, had residues in them. </p><p>This is what interests us, as brewing historians. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz6vo-5AGTAQb7-SAZ1fDwy6xAYLZPvGKWWqM1Ju1EIqsUAONHYLb6tGQhlLpTqj1UzOe2MOjv_Q1w_Cp7OUcp7BrFzjaE0MrgndEbsLu8L0gvJ6V4hufIr95QI1ZuREjbHxPefOJJ8vK/s1556/balfarg.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1128" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz6vo-5AGTAQb7-SAZ1fDwy6xAYLZPvGKWWqM1Ju1EIqsUAONHYLb6tGQhlLpTqj1UzOe2MOjv_Q1w_Cp7OUcp7BrFzjaE0MrgndEbsLu8L0gvJ6V4hufIr95QI1ZuREjbHxPefOJJ8vK/w464-h640/balfarg.jpeg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This a composite image, formed from pages 101 and 103. The scales have been preserved.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Merryn had been studying the archaeological literature on Bronze Age Beakers for residues indicative of beer brewing. When she read the descriptions of the residues on these two sherds of Grooved Ware, it was a light bulb moment for her. I can remember how excited she was at finding similar residues to those in Bronze Age pots to the ones from the Neolithic. </p><p>This meant that the Neolithic people had probably been making malt and ale too. An idea that is still <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/controversy-in-grooved-ware-bucket.html" target="_blank">controversial</a>, even 22 years after she submitted her M.Phil <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321301736_Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic_BAR_S1213" target="_blank">Thesis</a> "Barley, Malt and Ale in the Neolithic", available in full on her Researchgate page. To make it easier to access, Merryn has put the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/08/pieces-from-my-thesis-1-introduction.html" target="_blank">Introduction</a>, <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/09/pieces-of-my-thesis-2-summary-and.html" target="_blank">Summary and Discussion</a> and <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/09/pieces-from-my-thesis-3-conclusions.html" target="_blank">Conclusions</a> as blogs, entitled 'pieces from my thesis parts #1, #2, #3'. Follow these links if you are interested. There may be more to come. <br /></p><p>Some archaeologists still reject this idea of beer, and they will not incorporate it into their interpretations. For example, the archaeologists currently excavating at the Ness of Brodgar refuse to discuss it with us. Maybe this is because they are theoretical sociologists, formerly known as<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-processual_archaeology"> post-processualists</a>, and find the topic to be too scientific and technological to understand.<br /></p><p>Brian Moffatt's analysis of the cereal based residues in 63 and 64 is that they contained;</p><p>"<i>Processed cereal, both barley and oats, with meadowsweet, pollen and macroplant. Sample 14 had clumps, indicating a flower head of meadowsweet."</i> </p><p>There are other things that he identified in the residue, such as minute droplets of beeswax, fat hen pollen and even small amounts of <i>solinaceae</i> (hemlock family) pollen.</p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13FQrMfm0Ng95sxYDDzNDI4HcOgcaHdkgfLVr9-uJQpIyUhRGsXIdIzEOIBoEcg3Jj5wYX6KH2dmHO6oblb8lrPponikCUZL8Ir3opj22lP0IwVFFhum97QFLIv3jEIJpOzgrzc88D5lI/s436/burnt+encrustation.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="436" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13FQrMfm0Ng95sxYDDzNDI4HcOgcaHdkgfLVr9-uJQpIyUhRGsXIdIzEOIBoEcg3Jj5wYX6KH2dmHO6oblb8lrPponikCUZL8Ir3opj22lP0IwVFFhum97QFLIv3jEIJpOzgrzc88D5lI/w640-h432/burnt+encrustation.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Encrustation on the outside of a sherd from pot 63.<br />Illustration from Gordon Barclay's booklet 'Balfarg:the prehistoric ceremonial complex' published by Historic Scotland, page 17<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Interestingly, on the outside of a sherd of pot 63 Moffatt found an encrustation with black henbane pollen and broken henbane seeds in it. He says that black henbane can be used "to procure sleep and allay pains". This property of henbane has been known about for a long time, for example, from a Babylonian cuneiform tablet ~ 2250BC.</p><p>Brian Moffatt suggests that henbane can be applied topically or that it can be ingested. Ingesting henbane is very dangerous. It takes about 50% of the lethal dose to effect pain relief. The concentration of the toxins varies widely, both between plants and even within the same plant, as much as 6 fold or more. The only safe way to take henbane is by inhaling the smoke from the seeds, then it is easy to stop when the correct level has been achieved. Scribonius Largus, the physician to the Emperor Claudius, writes of the use of henbane in his Scriptorium Medicantorium, by placing henbane seeds on a hot plate of metal and inhaling the fumes. Mediaeval physicians also write about driving out the "tooth worm" with the fumes from burnt henbane seeds.</p><p>A broken pot sherd would be very good as a substrate for heating a henbane paste for the inhalation of the fumes. This could easily explain the presence of henbane seeds in the encrustation on the outside of the pot 63 sherd from Balfarg. <br /></p><p>Interestingly henbane seeds were also found at Skara Brae, the Neolithic village on Orkney.</p><p></p><p>Henbane can also be a used as a hallucinogen. It seems that the thought that "hallucinogenic practises" had been performed at the ceremonial Neolithic site at Balfarg incensed some archaeologists. They quickly assembled a team to discredit Moffatt. This resulted in the rapid publication of an article in the Journal of Archaeological Science, by Long et al in 1999. I can't find a copy available other that the 'pay to view' paper <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440398903089" target="_blank">here</a>. <br /></p><p>In their paper "<i>Black Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger L.) in the Scottish Neolithic: a reevaluation of Palynological Findings from Grooved Ware Pottery at Balfarg Riding School and Henge</i>" they made one fatally flawed assumption. See the underlined sections below:<br /></p><p>"<i>These residues occur as hard concretions that can be quite thick. They are <u>assumed to be residues from the contents of the pottery vessels</u> used in activities at the henge monument. <u>One difficulty with this interpretation</u> is the high frequency of residues adhering to the outside of the vessels (see table 1). These may be residues from spillage or boiling, <u>but their location on the exterior surfaces means that the relation between the vessel contents and the crust is not a direct one</u>." </i>(see page 46)<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>If you have enjoyed reading this and would like to discuss any of the issues, please comment below. </p><p></p><p><br /></p>Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-36994277145098419562021-11-20T10:26:00.109+00:002021-11-27T09:29:59.959+00:00Beerstone is not calcium oxalate and calcium oxalate is not beerstone<p>This is Graham Dineley writing this blog. All ideas, opinions and mistakes are entirely my own and my responsibility. I welcome comments, please feel free to do so. </p><p>Why am I writing this blog about beerstone? Because it is the one hard, certain and unequivocal piece of evidence for brewing beer in any era. Techniques may vary, but the fundamental processes of turning barley into beer remain invariant, they are dictated by the biochemistry of grain growth. This is the fundamental tenet to Merryn's research, as she states in her <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321301736_Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic_BAR_S1213">thesis</a> and in her <a href="https://exarc.net/issue-2021-2/at/ancient-magic-malt-making" target="_blank">most recent publication.</a></p><p>As far as I know nobody has inspected any British prehistoric pottery for traces of beerstone yet. Maybe it is because they do not know what beerstone is, or maybe they have never considered it as a possibility. It could be a useful and productive investigation. Beerstone is robust enough to survive scrubbing, whilst organic residues are not. In fact, it should even be easier to to spot the traces of beerstone on older sherds from those days when scrubbing was a routine operation. </p><p>A recent <a href="https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/basketry-marks-inside-a-grooved-ware-vessel-another-ness-pottery-mystery/" target="_blank">discovery</a> at the Ness of Brodgar presents an interesting example for analysis for beerstone. A sherd from a Grooved Ware pot has linear parallel striations on the internal surface. The archaeologists and pottery specialist are baffled. </p><p>Why am I discussing barley and not cereals in general? It is because I have, so far, only worked with barley malt and therefore I know only about the fermentation of barley malt causing beerstone. </p><p>I have been brewing traditional British cask conditioned ale on a domestic scale, according to Dave Line's wisdom, from his "Big Book of Brewing" for nearly 40 years now. I started with making about 5 or 6 gallons (imperial) at a time from all malted barley grain and have progressed to 10 gallons, the limit of my current mash tun. I feel that I now have some <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2019/02/brewing-vintage-and-antique-beers.html" target="_blank">experience and expertise</a>. I have been doing it for long enough to have made most of the possible mistakes and to have learned something from them. <br /></p><p>I use modern equipment, plastic and stainless steel for my vessels and electricity for heating, but we have demonstrated the principle of making malt sugars from malt with a wide variety of techniques in our research. However, we have not and do not make our own malt because we have neither the resources, the facilities nor the experience to do so reliably. It is a very skilled process in itself. I rely upon commercially made malt, as I also rely upon commercial yeast. This is to avoid some of the uncertainties of beer production.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Beerstone<br /></h3><p>In this post I am, of course, referring to the brewer's beerstone, and not the fine limestone that is quarried from the caves behind the Devonshire town of Beer:</p><p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Quarry_Caves</p><p>Any experienced brewer has encountered beerstone in the course of their activities. It is a robust precipitate of a complex of proteins and amino acids, which lock crystals of calcium oxalate into the matrix. It is a pale brownish pink in appearance, a little like hen's egg shells in texture.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUwJpu6a6wm99bs7-DMNMrzmWOEWjSdJULyXwH86ZbRVpvJ994M9GmMpvKc-SyRBLpHduAAdnOwwsrb2dN2BN6aWTU9fZwHFYWgsT8pdDWN-QRWHtJFxVPnVnDxqLVgWri7LONitAtUpD/s2048/beerstoneflakes2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisUwJpu6a6wm99bs7-DMNMrzmWOEWjSdJULyXwH86ZbRVpvJ994M9GmMpvKc-SyRBLpHduAAdnOwwsrb2dN2BN6aWTU9fZwHFYWgsT8pdDWN-QRWHtJFxVPnVnDxqLVgWri7LONitAtUpD/w640-h480/beerstoneflakes2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beerstone</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Beerstone can be a problem to modern day brewers as it can harbour bacteria. It can also contaminate equipment and cause problems for further brewing and storage. It is notorious for doing this to aluminium beer kegs. It has never been a particular problem for me so far.<br /></p><p>As far as I know beerstone is formed in only three particular
circumstances, in heat exchanging wort coolers due to the heat shock,
and in fermenting wort in both primary and secondary ( storage )
containers due to the carbonyl ions from the dissolved carbon dioxide.
It can also form in beer dispensing lines in a public house. The
precipitation process is very slow, so that a container will have to be
used repeatedly for a long time to display any accumulation.</p><h3>Brewing vessels and beerstone<br /></h3><p></p><p>In the archaeological literature I often read about "brewing vats" and "brewing vessels" as if there is only one kind. I have 8 different containers that I use in my brewing.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTxYpT1HIz6K5piAbtTNkpWaGEE7m_1-he8uIJ1SbPRtWmcOgbZn1MHcbFuQqEHOBrKQuUalglJxvew9r5hcFwgEw5buMblaS-O4HNYF_xAf75_aQLIFZ0X5CNolvWzncubUwBUrSVS9j/s2048/20210722_164430_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTxYpT1HIz6K5piAbtTNkpWaGEE7m_1-he8uIJ1SbPRtWmcOgbZn1MHcbFuQqEHOBrKQuUalglJxvew9r5hcFwgEw5buMblaS-O4HNYF_xAf75_aQLIFZ0X5CNolvWzncubUwBUrSVS9j/w400-h300/20210722_164430_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demijohns and a siphon tube<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaFwFymMEN_pVMV8-A7rKQd7GTp36musYzclB0RrT3HB1UQbdApHZH1DuWLaHnuLbK58332ExgpYAgSnqFN9BelzLSXfTyqQIe0cCO9buzFVK6E3xZs8y9RuLsN450BKleRTs62DsyxIL/s400/IMG_5582.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaFwFymMEN_pVMV8-A7rKQd7GTp36musYzclB0RrT3HB1UQbdApHZH1DuWLaHnuLbK58332ExgpYAgSnqFN9BelzLSXfTyqQIe0cCO9buzFVK6E3xZs8y9RuLsN450BKleRTs62DsyxIL/w300-h400/IMG_5582.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">demijohn used to drain mash tun</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYivl3-HhV25ys-SdUPyWoPCyGMdPHnr4P6ck4GzMpTxN6GahhESCSVZi2jHDZ_t3uzYk7e0cFK_Gx3ahyphenhyphenpRklDyUYbuds7CfBdtT2l2qzCgV3ZXhhxWL5nbhHujIn_1B74MYQ3NqXwFAm/s2048/20210722_164426_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYivl3-HhV25ys-SdUPyWoPCyGMdPHnr4P6ck4GzMpTxN6GahhESCSVZi2jHDZ_t3uzYk7e0cFK_Gx3ahyphenhyphenpRklDyUYbuds7CfBdtT2l2qzCgV3ZXhhxWL5nbhHujIn_1B74MYQ3NqXwFAm/s320/20210722_164426_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from left to right, sparge water heater, boiler and two primary fermenters</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIEO8TzavYDpNl7E_RPb_qfXCVmCFFOeSLewfeGdCEFz13Me8cRbO4VptozPoITFD9sZ5G87Tg3_x3baRdtj7qi2lPntkFAHBi0MfUoMHftT-a_qbP7FL6ZF6fMr-K5Ss5Ed4nshk2IGA/s2048/newmashtun1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIEO8TzavYDpNl7E_RPb_qfXCVmCFFOeSLewfeGdCEFz13Me8cRbO4VptozPoITFD9sZ5G87Tg3_x3baRdtj7qi2lPntkFAHBi0MfUoMHftT-a_qbP7FL6ZF6fMr-K5Ss5Ed4nshk2IGA/w300-h400/newmashtun1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New mash tun used about 15 times<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The new mash tun has an electric heating element. I had to replace the old mash tun when the male steel socket pins became corroded whilst storing it in damp conditions, and would no longer make a good connection with the female plug. Note this is not a gender issue, it is the correct Electrical Engineering terminology. I couldn't find a suitable replacement element. The new mash tun is thermostatically controlled and is much easier to use. Note there is no staining, or any other marks.<br /></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0orpPcoadosYWBB529V4jsI1b1O1wpo3RW8AJrl9t0JYGqmNIwfkb3FNDqRTQHbbVWD7au5YpGXZN230PkCPwYecgBYtD-eePiHw5k9MM7ia-qXpRNjadlMikNdfjyNAlpWeQgOegWJls/s2048/oldmashtun2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0orpPcoadosYWBB529V4jsI1b1O1wpo3RW8AJrl9t0JYGqmNIwfkb3FNDqRTQHbbVWD7au5YpGXZN230PkCPwYecgBYtD-eePiHw5k9MM7ia-qXpRNjadlMikNdfjyNAlpWeQgOegWJls/s320/oldmashtun2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">old mash tun used over 100 times, note staining but no beerstone</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7L6Kn2LrMGPDY_QETFdgGo5E8E1gi8twdWg1nbxRL5Mf-HlJo7y2S5KmcP6qJJO-T_2mzIVyzHAO_7hy9fhVK0JW3IWDxyrt-8LYQesIsekSQl36GbYvjPyXyyYMT9yoSSwLW4iThMHLM/s2048/oldpressurevessel2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7L6Kn2LrMGPDY_QETFdgGo5E8E1gi8twdWg1nbxRL5Mf-HlJo7y2S5KmcP6qJJO-T_2mzIVyzHAO_7hy9fhVK0JW3IWDxyrt-8LYQesIsekSQl36GbYvjPyXyyYMT9yoSSwLW4iThMHLM/s320/oldpressurevessel2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamilton Bard beersphere for dispensing beer, used over 1000 times</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGepA4QX8ZgyaFyFAO3jg9r18lSVzpHuqUKn53X_LMMtMupD0T-IghhsrCTFloNW596PjrhQy5ooTNN1gH5ZFiOlYbRqY9WIC6canyUCOmwxPsf913LtJXr3ScHPQwpKCuGOLJgpVk6t_/s2048/oldpressurevesselbeerstone2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGepA4QX8ZgyaFyFAO3jg9r18lSVzpHuqUKn53X_LMMtMupD0T-IghhsrCTFloNW596PjrhQy5ooTNN1gH5ZFiOlYbRqY9WIC6canyUCOmwxPsf913LtJXr3ScHPQwpKCuGOLJgpVk6t_/s320/oldpressurevesselbeerstone2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of beersphere, note beerstone</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jWYRYSu519YtUXx0oQ-5fTq7cWP5pWrRuvCLoW7ebM3p8lV_XLFM1KuetBTnroxKYoO-azGU8QwwPNKfFzFev92aMVfAvs0omiUU_j3p97QzUX-P7kdHPlviT3gfZphGhqZQlogVY8zL/s2048/vessels2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jWYRYSu519YtUXx0oQ-5fTq7cWP5pWrRuvCLoW7ebM3p8lV_XLFM1KuetBTnroxKYoO-azGU8QwwPNKfFzFev92aMVfAvs0omiUU_j3p97QzUX-P7kdHPlviT3gfZphGhqZQlogVY8zL/s320/vessels2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right, wort transfer vessel, secondary fermenter for storage and two primary fermenters under the sleeping bags for insulation.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXRfsavz4TIj_cZ8wYB8BTJypFMmmdep2BGM7ip4n_UXEb5VxILKu8xfe9OxGqN0RtS1-F534qT3vPl4jy7Vzw-iI0Z0m5f-OkpU70GvbstI-BAG6u3pkICaqbX2lyb4PgMKLHG5F2D4o/s2048/wortvessel2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXRfsavz4TIj_cZ8wYB8BTJypFMmmdep2BGM7ip4n_UXEb5VxILKu8xfe9OxGqN0RtS1-F534qT3vPl4jy7Vzw-iI0Z0m5f-OkpU70GvbstI-BAG6u3pkICaqbX2lyb4PgMKLHG5F2D4o/s320/wortvessel2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of wort transfer vessel, note no staining and no beerstone</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPwCkoCSrq6XHWnFAbw14t52iaF6TrkiWILsvrcuUh62m7-1h1mKGOt2wrM7er2jgFCVZGJoC_0Y2x8fGLPg2F_Stkt2hgMgidCX7Ir93Cy72TARbaOBkmJtdOL3xfTu1zZM8SRnLCIXW/s2048/secondaryfermenter2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPwCkoCSrq6XHWnFAbw14t52iaF6TrkiWILsvrcuUh62m7-1h1mKGOt2wrM7er2jgFCVZGJoC_0Y2x8fGLPg2F_Stkt2hgMgidCX7Ir93Cy72TARbaOBkmJtdOL3xfTu1zZM8SRnLCIXW/s320/secondaryfermenter2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of secondary fermenter/storage vessel used over 1000 times, note beerstone.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The flakes of beerstone in the first illustration came from this fermenter when I scalded it with very hot water. I was trying to eliminate a persistent infection, more about this topic in a later blog. The infection was nothing to do with beerstone. It was, in fact, in the mash tun tap, which I now boil along with the mash bag before use. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBXibqaOeCAzLo-9gdqEYCOAUfotc6Cf5jmZrp3a5T6XFf5H4ZesAxnkPHrxbas6lvJjmlSxjnuA-cuXaCAJpGqO7BtR0PYcE_GIzVP2rBX_9mNNn3Iq1VJW9p4VkJNFDGyP4I5hjwt0C/s2048/primarfermenter1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFBXibqaOeCAzLo-9gdqEYCOAUfotc6Cf5jmZrp3a5T6XFf5H4ZesAxnkPHrxbas6lvJjmlSxjnuA-cuXaCAJpGqO7BtR0PYcE_GIzVP2rBX_9mNNn3Iq1VJW9p4VkJNFDGyP4I5hjwt0C/s320/primarfermenter1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of a primary fermenter used about 150 times, note light accumulation of beerstone.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I replaced old primary fermenters with these new ones, when trying to eliminate that same infection.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQ2yvG9oskeWZyC7VZ3eG4CZ5xvaQPsZ_TjmG2q6BdbpU32Xwa_NC8SLsF4csjQK6OBhzXCFjzbD5d0GxDm0DXSYCRfz6asFjXVYOQZLqqlGEPVXKUwiB3vS2U9W0rOQHi1ODMV8iMRL8/s2048/boiler1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQ2yvG9oskeWZyC7VZ3eG4CZ5xvaQPsZ_TjmG2q6BdbpU32Xwa_NC8SLsF4csjQK6OBhzXCFjzbD5d0GxDm0DXSYCRfz6asFjXVYOQZLqqlGEPVXKUwiB3vS2U9W0rOQHi1ODMV8iMRL8/s320/boiler1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of boiler, note varnish but no beerstone.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"></h3><p>Calcium oxalate is a completely different thing from beerstone. Calcium oxalate is virtually omnipresent in minute traces and so is no indicator of brewing whatsoever. It is present in large quantities in some plants, like rhubarb leaves, where there is sufficient quantities to render them toxic.<br /></p><p>Prehistoric brewers did not have wort coolers and neither do I. So the only place that prehistoric beerstone will be found is in the fermenting and storage containers, as do I.</p><p>In 1993 Dr Virginia R. Badler and others published a paper on <a href="https://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/wp-content/uploads/firstwinebeeranalytchem.pdf" target="_blank">the possibilities for the chemical detection of ancient fermented beverages</a>. As far as I know, it was the first paper on this topic and is a seminal and authoritative work. The first part of the paper is on wine. For her discussion of beerstone see the section "another fermented beverage" on page 412. <br /></p><p>Many scholarly academic beer "experts" have never actually made beer, and so have no experience or expertise. Brewing beer is a particularly experiential process, where the subtleties and nuances are necessary and essential for the full understanding. Many of these "experts" confuse beerstone with calcium oxalate. </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T605tVgEC2s">Here</a> is a link to an interview of Prof. Pat McGovern by the BeerSmith.</p><p>At 4:43 McGovern says the striations on the interior of a pot sherd "are to capture beerstone which is calcium oxalate which has a bitter and even poisonous character". They are in fact to capture yeast, so that when the pot is stored upside down, it will dry in those striations and start a new ferment when fresh wort is added. It is then a "magic pot" that spontaneously starts ferments. Those striations will however also collect beerstone over many uses. This is the sort of thing that Dr Virginia R. Badler identified.</p><p>At 7:44 McGovern says that people used to ferment tubers, which are starch rich. Lactic fermentation maybe but not alcoholic, as this requires the action of yeast on sugars, and those tubers must first be converted into sugars. How that could be done? I have no idea, and he doesn't explain that either.<br /></p><p>At 13:53 McGovern talks of Marula fruit and drunken elephants. That is a hoary old <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/news-elephants-drunk-wild-myth">myth</a>. You need anaerobic fermentation to make alcohol. Rotting fruit is not alcoholic, otherwise we would be drinking rotting fruit bowls.</p><p>Finally at 20:52 he says that he has never made a beer but perhaps he should do so for the experience. I agree he should do, and he should use the traditional methods of mashing the malt in a mash tun to make the wort, liquid malt sugars. Then maybe he will know something about what he is trying to talk about in ancient brewing.</p><p>I will leave yourselves to judge the rest of his interview.</p><p>He has collaborated with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head breweries, who use malt extracts, syrups and fruit pulp in their brews. <br /></p><p>In his second book, "Ancient Brews", all the recipes involve malt extract and other exotic ingredients that were not available until after the industrial revolution. He collaborates with Doug Griffith, who uses the American BIAB or "brew in a bag" technique. This a method that I am unfamiliar with, and seems to me to be a particularly American tradition, where the grains are used for colour and flavour, and not primarily to produce the fermentable sugars.</p><p>It seems to me that Professor McGovern is not aware that Prohibition in America completely changed their brewing style, from all grain mashing to produce the fermentable sugars, to a largely extract brewing tradition.<br /></p><p></p><p>Then there is the Heiss paper "<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231696">mashes to mashes crust to crust</a>". It is a fascinating paper, with some excellent archaeological examples of grain residues, but the processes in brewing are so sadly ill-informed that it is obvious that they have never made a beer. They use the terms germinated, sprouted and malted as if they refer to the same thing. They are obviously using the archaeological literature for this. There is no illustration of these things so that it is impossible to see what they are actually talking about. </p><p>They seem to think that a few barley grains grown in a Petri dish is malt, but without any illustrations it is difficult to tell just exactly what they were analysing.<br /></p><p>In their diagram of the <i>chaine operatoire</i> of brewing, they mention calcium oxalate in actions 6, 7 and 8. <i>Chaine operatoire</i> is an anthropological phrase and it has no place in brewing science and technology. There is so much wrong with this illustration below. Brewing beer is not a two step process. It takes at least 3 steps, 1) malting the grain, 2) making the wort, or liquid sugars and 3) fermenting that wort.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtDRBlqm7Db9TlTHpIzsCyJqN3_M5yuohrUGUkcQgzPBbRm8qxChaJwGh4d5HWG9lsdYOOLntShszkuXPJOyFj-_fgvt4ldWnD1Cidq6kCtskcf6sUjkq6TgNU14RHt9LD-PDb4pcXAHr/s2048/hesissbrewing.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1722" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtDRBlqm7Db9TlTHpIzsCyJqN3_M5yuohrUGUkcQgzPBbRm8qxChaJwGh4d5HWG9lsdYOOLntShszkuXPJOyFj-_fgvt4ldWnD1Cidq6kCtskcf6sUjkq6TgNU14RHt9LD-PDb4pcXAHr/w538-h640/hesissbrewing.png" width="538" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>chaine operatoire </i>of brewing actions acc to Heiss et al (2020)<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>Action 1: "soaking". The correct term is steeping or <a href="http://edsbeer.blogspot.com/2017/06/on-origins-of-beer.html" target="_blank">imbibification</a>. The grain is a living organism and needs to breathe, otherwise it will drown. It needs oxygen and ventilation. The traditional way on Orkney is to place the grain in a sack in a bubbling stream, or if using a steeping container it needs frequent air rests.</p><p>Action 2: "sprouting". Once the grain begins to show signs of growth, after 2 or 3 days depending on the ambient temperature it is ready. "Twa Taes" is the Orcadian phrase, or "two toes". It must then be turned out onto the malting floor and turned and raked to confuse the geotropism and inhibit the growth of the shoot for the next 4 or 5 days. Again, this depends upon the ambient temperature, and will not work successfully if the grain bed temperature exceeds 20°C. Any growth of the shoot is lost potential sugars, for that starch is lost to growth which could have been converted into sugars in the mash tun by the enzymes produced in the malting process. This flooring also allows the grain to complete germination, without growth, and for the proteolytic enzymes to degrade the protein matrix that binds the starch granules together. This make the malt friable and easy to crush when dried.<br /></p><p>Action 3: "drying or roasting". The green malt must be gently dried at a low temperature over 2 or 3 days, to preserve the enzymes. Roasted malts have been introduced after the industrial revolution, when coke was used to dry the malt. Coke produces pale malt which has a better conversion, but the lacks the colour and flavour of traditional fuel fired kilning. Kilning can be a confusing term, because most people think of pottery kilns, which are run at high temperatures. Grain (corn and malt) kilns must be run at a low temperature, to preserve the seed corn for germination. This not the archaeological "parching". The malt must also be dried at a low temperature to preserve the enzymes for later conversion. This not roasting. </p><p>All this was known long ago, before scientific explanations, as preserving the "spirit" of the grain, see <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Malt_and_Malting/G8RBAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1" target="_blank">Stopes (1885).</a><br /></p><p>Nowadays these 3 stages are performed in huge, highly technical rotating drums on an industrial scale, but again the processes remain the same.</p><p>Action 5: "crushing or grinding". Malt must be crushed to preserve the husks, they perform an important role in filtering the wort during lautering and sparging.</p><p>Actions 6 and 7: "soaking and heating". These are actually one process, mashing. One easy way of mashing is to raise the water temperature to about 74°C, and then adding the crushed malt, the strike. The temperature is lowered by the malt to the desired 65-67°C and maintained at this temperature for about an hour or so for the enzymes in the malt to convert to starches into malt sugars. The harder way is to start from cold, and to slowly raise the temperature to the conversion point and then to hold it there for the hour or so.<br /></p><p>Action 8: "fermentation". This is the only stage that causes beerstone to be precipitated.</p><p>I think that the authors of this paper would benefit from making a beer too. Then perhaps they would also understand what they are trying to talk about. <br /></p><p>That fact that they have 197 entries in their Bibliography reminds me of the old joke about the bespoke tailor, "Never mind the quality, feel the width." Many of them are obscure and not easily accessible. <br /></p><p>This is not Science as I know it!</p><p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Update</b></p><br />A recent <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/716610">paper by Oliver E. Craig</a> discusses several types of fermentation including the potential for identifying 'cereal fermentation' on pottery. He thinks that the use of the Feigl Spot test to identify fermentation is inconclusive and controversial:<br /><br /><i>"The chemical identification of fermented alcoholic beverages is one of the most controversial areas of biomolecular archaeology, and few claims are accepted without challenge."<br /></i><br />He goes on to say that:<br /><br /><i>"Even though, as noted above, there is no reason to dispute these claims on theoretical or contextual grounds, the chemical analysis is lacking. These claims invariably rely on the detection of calcium oxalate (a major component of “beerstone”) using a chemical spot test (Feigl 1956), which would seem wholly inappropriate considering that the test itself is not specific to the target analyte and that the oxalates may occur in many substances other than beerstone." <br /><br /></i>Since he talks of 'fermenting cereals' and not malt and malt sugars, it seems to me that he has no practical experience of brewing ale or beer or of beerstone. <br /><br />If you don’t know what you are looking for how do you know whether or not you have found it? <br /><br />This lack of knowledge is exemplified by our visit to a Viking age archaeological site on Orkney, Snusgar. When we asked one of the archaeologists “Have you found any evidence for brewing?”, they replied “None whatsoever.” We asked “Have you any idea what to look for?”, they replied “I haven’t got a clue.” <br /><br />Dr Virginia R. Badler had first identified the beerstone on the inside surface of a pot sherd from Godin Tepe. She then confirmed this identification with the Feigl spot test. <br /><br />I note that most of the entries in the Bibliography are from archaeological or anthropological literature. It is as if the archaeological community believe that the “font of all wisdom” resides entirely within their community. Archaeologists frequently talk of interdisciplinary research, but I think that until they step outside of their community and embrace malting and brewing science, they will make no significant progress in understanding and identifying the archaeological evidence for making malt, malt sugars, wort, ale and beer. Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-9494815561178673482021-11-03T10:23:00.028+00:002021-12-20T10:47:19.241+00:00Barm and the magic spoon. Godisgoode. ( part two )<p>This post is written by Graham Dineley, the brewer. The opinions, mistakes and misunderstandings are entirely my own, and I welcome corrections.</p><p>What is our research all about? Well the clue is in the Latin name for brewer's yeast "<i>saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>", a sugar fungus of beer. Only sugars can be fermented into alcohol, not starches. Cereals can be tricked into digesting themselves into malt sugars by malting and mashing. Malting is the careful and skilful controlled germination of the grains. Mashing is skilfully providing those malted grains with hot water so that their enzymes can complete the trick of saccharification, making sweet liquid wort. Anyone who talks about making ale or beer and does not mention those sugars is missing something crucial, the key ingredient. These malt sugars in themselves are very palatable and attractive and this is why the "first farmers" grew cereals. For the<a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/08/the-land-of-milk-and-honey.html"> sugars</a>. Once you have those malt sugars then alcoholic fermentation is an inevitable consequence and this also attractive.<br />
https://merryn.dineley.com/2018/03/mashing-and-bit-on-fermentation.html<br />
When this post was first started nearly five years ago, I thought I knew a little bit about yeast. Then things happened that made me realise just how small that little really was. I picked it up again in March 2020, but never got around to publishing it yet again. Procrastination. So I must also update this prefix.</p><p></p><p></p><p><i></i></p><p>Brewing historian Lars Marius Garshol <a href="https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2019/7/22/a-fire-being-kindled-the-revolutionary-story-of-kveik-norways-extraordinary-farmhouse-yeast" target="_blank">discovered kveik.</a> Follow this link to read more about Norway's now famous farmhouse yeast, it's a great article by Claire Bullen on the Good Beer Hunting blog.</p><p>He also discovered the kveik yeast ring, which is the "<a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/barm-and-magic-spoon-godisgoode-part-one.html">magic spoon</a>" on steroids.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegQRyPyoIGOSD1fMI22kwuOSJr89On7GSRGry4z5nkCl433Rxj9e66shWW3aKRvgyLxZH4LVHXI0XemVNNYOEHgHnGC2ZQh6BxcoM3A5MHExSfCpjaKEKOvgJy-eW213XGDlWK4NAdAMZ/s2048/20200526_084107-scaled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegQRyPyoIGOSD1fMI22kwuOSJr89On7GSRGry4z5nkCl433Rxj9e66shWW3aKRvgyLxZH4LVHXI0XemVNNYOEHgHnGC2ZQh6BxcoM3A5MHExSfCpjaKEKOvgJy-eW213XGDlWK4NAdAMZ/w400-h300/20200526_084107-scaled.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>These can now be bought from my favourite "goods" supplier <a href="https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/">The Malt Miller</a>.<br /></p><p>Back then I had looked forward to working with kveik. It seemed to have the qualities of my once favourite bakers yeast. </p><p>I have now had the privilege of using two kveiks generously provided by Lars Marius: Espe #20 and Rivenes #2. I can confirm that Espe is a vigorous high temperature yeast that imbues the beer with a fruity plum like flavour. It was very tasty.<br />
<br />
Also my favourite bakers yeast changed into a bread making yeast, and became unusable. It stubbornly refused to drop out, even after four weeks settling, the taste is still "muddy". It still does the same today and is no longer fit for my brewing purposes. I now use a commercial brewers packet yeast that has a wonderful coagulating and clumping action.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlja-oklzo2OzEumUTwPL03OHMvLYuuid4SpY7jCb_9r2KxzVDa-HvmOF0W9bhjKNZh4wyxraOhnTE8N5yt9iGN-RaveKiJfGpydDKf0Uaw6x4HRviQGANY1cTcdpPR_rW0AKZWjyYiBm/s2048/IMG_2787.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlja-oklzo2OzEumUTwPL03OHMvLYuuid4SpY7jCb_9r2KxzVDa-HvmOF0W9bhjKNZh4wyxraOhnTE8N5yt9iGN-RaveKiJfGpydDKf0Uaw6x4HRviQGANY1cTcdpPR_rW0AKZWjyYiBm/w640-h360/IMG_2787.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>On the left is the baker's yeast, middle is bread makers yeast and right the commercial yeast. The bakers yeast changed before the packaging did. This confused me at the time.<br /></p><p>I also looked into sourdough because so many people have said that it can be used for brewing. Mostly not, because it is a different fermentation mostly lactic, but some sour-doughs do contain<i> Saccharomyces Cerevisiae</i>. Sourdough is a whole other warren full of wonderful rabbit holes, if one has the time and curiosity to study it.<br />
</p><p>I am prompted to publish it now because of two recent experiments,
where people have tried to recreate ancient brews and have relied upon
the vagaries of "wild wind borne" yeasts. This "wind borne" yeast is an
archaeological myth that will not die.</p><p>The first is the Dietrich's experiment to recreate a <a href="https://www.academia.edu/44536065/Investigating_the_function_of_Pre_Pottery_Neolithic_stone_troughs_from_G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe_An_integrated_approach" target="_blank">Gobekli Tepe</a>
brew. If you look closely you can see that their "beer" has a greenish
tinge (page 17). Click on the link above to read their paper. It must have been made with sprouted grain. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDUtgLs2Cesp8VtqajheC0KcMAAERNLbKtM40e1SBYgm9OilLQJtbQlOQwTxkT5pGyXSCGHYwPnFkSFvR15EvRMU1y6bNG5Mmou5FRyOZ9iuaewZoOg14o_0y1reJ8lj-O8MKYKlF3jvt/s679/Screenshot_2021-10-31_09-03-19.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="679" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDUtgLs2Cesp8VtqajheC0KcMAAERNLbKtM40e1SBYgm9OilLQJtbQlOQwTxkT5pGyXSCGHYwPnFkSFvR15EvRMU1y6bNG5Mmou5FRyOZ9iuaewZoOg14o_0y1reJ8lj-O8MKYKlF3jvt/w640-h299/Screenshot_2021-10-31_09-03-19.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>I
wonder whether they managed to make any malt sugars to ferment. I'm not
so sure that they did. This is another archaeological myth, that malt
is sprouted grain with green shoots. For a discussion of this see my <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/08/origins-of-grain-agriculture-some.html" target="_blank">blog</a>, where there is a picture of archaeological malt from the <a href="http://plantcult.web.auth.gr/en/research-eng/workshops/106-beer-workshop" target="_blank">Plant Cult workshop on Ancient Beer</a>.
Merryn was invited to present a paper at
this meeting in February 2019, however, due to illness she was unable to
attend. Fortunately, she has just published an article based upon this
presentation. It is called 'The Ancient Magic of Malt' and you can read
it online in the EXARC Journal <a href="https://exarc.net/issue-2021-2/at/ancient-magic-malt-making" target="_blank">here</a>. <br /></p><p>The second experiment is a Czech scientist brewing a 3000 year old "<a href="https://english.radio.cz/czech-scientists-brew-beer-according-3000-year-old-recipe-8732300">beer</a>",
using millet and potato? starch. What no malt? So no sugars! It must be
a lactic fermentation and not lambic. Wild yeasts are notoriously
unreliable. The beer was sour, like lemons. Chemist Lukáš Kučera from
the University of Olomouc brewed the "beer". He says of his recreated
brew:<br /></p><p><i>“What makes this beer specific is that it needs to be fermented
with wild yeast. You cannot buy this type of yeast in a shop. That's why
I purposely fermented the beer in the vicinity of apples.</i></p><p><i>“The
beer has a characteristic acidic flavour that will remind you of cider
or wine, rather than beer. It has the colour of beer, it smells like
cider and tastes a bit like lemon.”</i></p><p><i> </i></p><p>Both of these two experiments also rely upon the widespread misconception, or myth that it is easy to capture a wild yeast that will start an alcoholic fermentation.<br />I do not rely upon this myth. On the two occasions that we demonstrated mashing and have got back too late to deal with the mash that day, we have left a the mash overnight.<br />Both times we have found the next morning that the mash is sour and fizzy. They had become infected with a lactic fermentation. It is impossible to make a mash with primitive equipment and keep it hygienic. To effect a decent fermentation it is necessary to inoculate the fresh wort with a vigorous yeast starter.<i> <br /></i></p><p><i>
</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">I am beginning to
suspect that the root cause here is that there is widespread
confusion and misunderstanding about fermentation. That there is only
one kind, and this would lie behind the idea that one can ferment
anything. There are many kinds of fermentation, but the two most
commonly encountered are lactic fermentation, e.g. sauerkraut, and alcoholic fermentation, turning sugars into alcohol, e.g. wine and
beer.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Professor Keith Steinkraus has
written a definitive <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Handbook-of-Indigenous-Fermented-Foods-Revised-and-Expanded/Steinkraus/p/book/9780824793524" target="_blank">book</a> about fermentation and here is a good
<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0956713597000509" target="_blank">paper</a>.</p>
<p><i><style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120% }</style> </i></p><p>So here are some random ramblings about yeast, slightly updated.<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Apparently <i>Saccharomyces Cerevisiae </i>is a "killer" yeast, that is, it secretes toxins that inhibit the growth of other yeasts and bacteria. This is how it can predominate given favourable conditions. How it does this is fascinating.<br />
<br />
How it replicates is even more interesting. It has two forms, haploid and diploid. Both forms normally replicate by mitosis, they bud daughter yeast cells. Under stress, e.g. drying, the haploid form normally dies, but the diploid form sporulates, that is it produces spores. These spores can then mate to provide new yeast cells and this gives it the chance to hybridise with other yeasts. This doesn't happen very often, but it can lead to new strains and varieties with different properties.
<br />
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKhx8Cpf9wiv3bN1HshQNSVuY3P30ZzH6U3Iv1gol4KjIBfxUJQafwx4aO3xlKgbuWj1IY1UGoPMUPg71j9hh5rw4M7nzqQVyj1nRd73tOHd41Q-6Drethr-d2fULi8kfwk_FtGkU6vEd/s1600/800px-Yeast_lifecycle.svg.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKhx8Cpf9wiv3bN1HshQNSVuY3P30ZzH6U3Iv1gol4KjIBfxUJQafwx4aO3xlKgbuWj1IY1UGoPMUPg71j9hh5rw4M7nzqQVyj1nRd73tOHd41Q-6Drethr-d2fULi8kfwk_FtGkU6vEd/s1600/800px-Yeast_lifecycle.svg.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From wikimedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><p>
<br />
The spores can be wind and air borne on dust and insects. This became obvious to me in our last house in Manchester. After about 12 years of brewing and washing equipment there, any sweet juice drinks left out overnight by the kids in the summer months would be slightly fizzy by the morning, as did any yoghurt. <br />
<br />
It was obvious to me that the yeast had established itself in the microbiome of the house, along with 130 years worth of other micro-organisms. This sort of thing must happen in every brewery, no matter how much attention is devoted to hygiene and sterility.<br />
<br />
<b>Airborne yeast.</b><br />
<br />
Recently I was listening to a radio interview about the archaeological discovery of the earliest physical evidence for beer in Britain, a fourth century BC site by the A14 near Oxford. Apparently examination of carbonised cereal residue found "micro structures of remains had changed through the fermentation
process and air bubbles are typical of those formed in the boiling and
mashing process of brewing". What!? This makes absolutely no sense to me, the processes are in the wrong order. Where did they get this from? Did it come from the academic literature, or did they just make it up, or perhaps both?<br />
<br />
The beer writer said something like "It would have been a wild yeast. It would be wind borne, and so it would taste like this Belgian Lambic Beer".</p><p>
I thought to myself, that is three naive assumptions in a row.<br />
<br />
1) I would never trust the vagaries of the wind to get the right yeast. These people should know how to manage yeast if they were making beer regularly.<br />
One thing learnt from our ancient brewing research is that if one uses "rustic" methods to make a wort, it is already heavily infected with all kinds of things, mostly various lactic bacteria. If one is making raw ale, that is unboiled ale, then one has to quickly overcome these infections with a vigorous ferment.<br />
<br />
2) The Belgian Lambic beers are air inoculated, not wind inoculated, as is shown by the Cantillon brewery. When they refurbished their brewery with a new roof they found that the open wort would not ferment, like it used to. They had to put some of the old roof tiles back into the roof fabric to maintain the ferments, so the microbes are coming from the building and not the wind.<br />
<br />
3) That particular Belgian flavour of beer is a local tradition and is not universal. <br />
<br />
<b>Windborne yeast.</b><br />
<br />
In the late 80s I was following an American e-mail brewing discussion list digest. I was surprised and intrigued by one post. A brewer had visited a Founding Fathers re-enactment settlement, and he spotted a hop plant. When he asked what it was for, the lady replied that it was to make hop-tea to capture the right yeast for making bread. This means that there was a pre-existing<i> </i><i><i>Saccharomyces Cerevisiae</i> </i>in North America, suitable for both baking and brewing before brewing had been established there. I have heard that this was a common practise in North America, particularly on the West Coast, until the advent of dried yeast, and the rail-roads.<br />
Perhaps this was a close relative of <i>S.C. Californiensis</i> that is found in some sourdoughs.<br />
<br />
It is an experiment I have often thought about, could I capture the right yeast here on Orkney with a hop tea.<br />
<br />
<b>Hybrids.</b><br />
<br />
In 1980 I was still living in shared accommodation and for convenience I was making beer from kits. At work we had a retirement celebration for some colleagues and one of the refreshments was a polypin of Pollard's Ale. Beer writers and bloggers Boak and Bailey have written a blog about <a href="https://boakandbailey.com/2017/04/only-a-northern-brewer/" target="_blank">Pollards.</a></p><p>Pollard's beer had a very distinctive, dry almost musty flavour, that was very popular. At the end of the celebration there were a few pints left with the lees ( sludge at the bottom). So I took it home and added it to a 5 gallon kit brew that had just finished primary fermentation. I expected it to settle out, but instead it took off with a very vigorous fermentation and a strong sulphurous aroma that lasted just over a day. The Pollard's was obviously metabolising something that the kit yeast had not. The resulting beer had that distinct Pollard flavour too. I have often wondered if that was a hybrid yeast. Pollard's ales did not last that long, despite being very popular. The story that I heard at the time of it's demise was that they had lost that unique yeast, and with no back up brewery to restore it, that was the end of Pollard's. <br />
<br />
<i>Saccharomyces Carlsburgensis</i> has been said to be a hybrid of an Ale yeast and a Patagonian forest yeast, or even two forest yeasts. Another story I have heard is that it is a hybrid with a Mongolian desert yeast. I don't know, but here is a link to an early use of <i>Saccharomyces Eubayanus</i>:<br />
<br />
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/found-the-earliest-evidence-of-lager-yeast-being-used-to-make-alcohol <br />
<br />
<b>SPECULATION</b><br />
<br />
One thing that intrigues me still is the Bronze Age practise of burying cremations in large ceramic "food vessels", because they are always found upside down. If these pots were used for fermentation, then it would make good sense to store them upside down when not in use. This would dry the yeast residues and protect them from dust, so that when reused these pots would spontaneously start a ferment. They would then be considered special, maybe even life giving, and this would make sense for a burial, a kind of sympathetic magic.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></p>Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-74813461081508003012021-07-07T20:54:00.004+01:002022-12-21T12:28:48.629+00:00lost blog #2 what did neolithic people drink at feasts?<div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCPFgFx8VEfK2JfPYV9ZoSi_sL6ofRLycm7xTQIqUyYd9K5ZP4wyEbYVCsASVPipuGWs-7L2_etXCivOtQDSxli4RbBV0quekta8N1drrrb0q_qor-0UBPuUCDzk2172SOe8tmVpTq34/s2048/img_2357.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCPFgFx8VEfK2JfPYV9ZoSi_sL6ofRLycm7xTQIqUyYd9K5ZP4wyEbYVCsASVPipuGWs-7L2_etXCivOtQDSxli4RbBV0quekta8N1drrrb0q_qor-0UBPuUCDzk2172SOe8tmVpTq34/s320/img_2357.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>one of our ancient ales<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table>The practice of making malt and ale in Britain and Ireland probably began around six thousand years ago. Crops such as barley and wheat began to be grown and the lifestyle of the hunter gatherer changed. What were they doing with the grain? Flour and bread? Porridge? Was grain a staple crop? Or was it a high status, maybe even a sacred crop for making malt and fermentable malt sugars? I reckon it was. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">The archaeological evidence for making malt and ale in the Neolithic is minimal and ephemeral. There is still controversy, disagreement and just a little suspicion amongst some archaeologists about <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2018/01/some-sort-of-alcohol.html" target="_blank">what sort of alcoholic beverage</a> they could have been drinking at feasts held at Stonehenge, Durrington Walls, the Ness of Brodgar and other stone circles and ceremonial centres of the Neolithic. I know this because some of the famous and important archaeologists continue to tell me so. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ale in the Neolithic seems to be an unacceptable idea for some archaeologists. Others refuse to consider or discuss the idea with me and prefer to turn a blind eye to it. There's no evidence for neolithic ale, so they tell me, and you haven't proved it! You cannot be right, you must be wrong. I wish they would tell me why. I'm happy to discuss the evidence. <br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">My usual response is that the clues are there when you know what to look for, as we explain in this lost blog #2 and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merryn-Dineley" target="_blank">elsewhere</a> in academic papers. We originally wrote this for English Heritage at the time of their exhibition at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, suitably named Feast! which ran for a year from September 2017. After much deliberation and editing the blog was eventually published a week before the exhibition closed in September 2018.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've also been told that, in the neolithic, "we know that they liked getting sloshed on something or other". This comment was made during an online meeting a few months ago. It was directed at me. I was shocked and angry to be spoken to like this on a public archaeology forum. Our research is not about "getting sloshed" but rather the archaeological evidence for grain processing technologies of the Neolithic. We've come to the conclusion that the first farmers grew grain as a status crop. Not as a staple crop. See lost blog #1 for more details. <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The original blog from three years ago is <a href="https://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/neolithic-drink-at-feasts/" target="_blank">here</a>. As in lost blog #1, this is an updated version to include a few new thoughts, ideas and evidence. A book about the Ness of Brodgar was published in November last year. The thorny question of what they may have been doing with the grain is not addressed in this beautifully illustrated volume "As It Stands". However, the discovery of carbonised grain with missing embryos, large Grooved Ware pots, and an extensive drainage system point towards the possibilities of processing grain into malt, malt sugars and ale. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Lots of things happened at the Ness of Brodgar. It was a place for meeting, eating, drinking and celebrations. Visitors may have come from far and near. The magical <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2021/03/lost-blogs-1-prehistoric-brewing.html" target="_blank">transformation of grain into malt, malt sugars and ale </a>is just one aspect of the huge story of the Ness. <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">What did Neolithic people drink at feasts? </span></b><br /></div><div> <br /> It’s traditional to have an alcoholic drink at a celebration or a feast. There’s a wide variety to choose from today. But what did they drink 4500 years ago at <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">feasts at Durrington Walls</a> and other Neolithic ceremonial centres, for example, the Ness of Brodgar on Orkney? Were they drinking alcohol? If so, what were the ingredients? How was it made? We've been investigating the archaeological evidence from a practical, scientific and technological perspective for over twenty years. </div><div> </div><div><b>Sugar and alcohol in the Neolithic</b> <br /></div><div>All alcoholic drinks are made from sugar. Grapes are a high sugar fruit and can be fermented into wine. Honey can be diluted with water and fermented into mead. Grain is made up of starch and is processed in a totally different way. Malted grain provides the fermentable sugars to make ales and beers. The malt needs to be crushed, then 'mashed in' or, in other words, heated with water to make fermentable liquid malt sugars. This is the wort. Yeast converts the sweet wort into alcohol. This is alcoholic fermentation. There are other kinds of fermentation that don’t result in alcohol, such as making yoghurt from milk, food preservation and much more. See <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Steinkraus</a> for a detailed review of all sorts of fermented foods from all over the world. <br /> <br />What sugars were available 4500 years ago in Neolithic Britain and Ireland? </div><div> </div><div>The possibilities are limited. We can eliminate grapes, because there is no evidence for grape cultivation in the British Isles at this time. Country wines made with flowers, for example dandelion or elderflower, can also be ruled out. Why? Because flowers don’t ferment – it’s the added sugars that make the alcohol. <br /> </div><div>There were no native fruits sweet enough to ferment into alcohol. Blackberries, elderberries, sloes and crab apples are all sour fruits with very little sugar content. They require several bags of added modern sugar to make an alcoholic drink. <br /> </div><div>There were only two options in Neolithic Britain: honey for making mead, and cereals for malting, mashing and fermenting into ale or beer. Honey could have been gathered from wild bees’ nests, but there would only have been enough for small amounts of mead. The best source of abundant sugars for fermentation was the grain that those first farmers were so eager to grow.</div><div> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/making-malt-sugar.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a simple demonstration by Merryn Dineley of making malt sugar at
Eindhoven Open Air Archaeology Museum in April 2009. Crushed pale malt
is in the pots beside the hearth. It is transformed into a sweet, dark
brown mash by gentle heating with water in a bowl on the hot ashes of
the fire. Pottery made by Flor Buchuk Gil. Image © Merryn Dineley </td></tr></tbody></table><div><b> </b></div><div><b>The malting and mashing processes </b><br />Grain is usually associated with making flour, bread or porridge. However, it can also be malted. The malting process (partial germination) transforms the grain. When grains begin to germinate, enzymes are released that convert grain starch into sugar. It’s possible to make plenty of malt sugars by mixing crushed malt with water, then heating it gently. The enzymes reactivate in the mash tun and complete the conversion of starch into sugar. This is the saccharification and it’s the basis for all ales and beers made from the grain. It results in a ‘sweet mash’ of grain and liquid. <br /><br />Separate the liquid from the mash and you have what brewers today call ‘spent grain’ and ‘wort’, the sweet liquid that’s fermented into ale or beer. The ale is consumed. Spent grain is fed to pigs and cattle, so doesn’t survive in the archaeological record. Nevertheless, although the evidence for malting, mashing and fermentation is rare, some indications that the brewing process took place in the Neolithic can be found in the archaeological record.</div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/pig-jaw-with-caries.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">an example of a pig jaw from Durrington Walls with teeth caries (the hole at the base of the tooth). © Stonehenge Riverside Project </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Spent grain as animal fodder.</b> <br />The discovery of pigs’ teeth with caries (signs of decay) at Durrington Walls is very interesting. They indicate that these pigs were fed something sweet to fatten them up. The official explanation was that the pigs were fed honey. This is not a reasonable explanation. Honey is only mildly cariogenic. You would have to feed the pigs prodigious quantities of honey to produce caries. It is unlikely that honey was available in large quantities. Such a valuable food resource would not have been fed to the pigs. It would have been made into mead. Spent grain from the mash tun is still slightly sweet and it is highly nutritious, a far more likely source of animal fodder than honey. <br /> </div><div>What is spent grain? Most people don't get to see it, unless you happen to be a brewer or a farmer. Today, as ever, brewer’s spent grain, also known as ‘draff’, makes excellent animal fodder. Breweries sell it or give it away to local farmers to feed their animals. We give our spent grain to neighbours for their hens. We get eggs in return. If the spent grain is thrown away, it will be eaten by slugs, worms, rodents and birds. Spent grain is completely biodegradable. <br /></div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/spent-grain.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spent grain left over in the mash tun after the process of washing all the sugars out in the brewing process. © Merryn Dineley </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><b>Grain survival </b><br />Carbonised grain is not biodegradable. It can survive on an archaeological site for thousands of years. This charred or burnt grain, often damaged and with missing embryos, is found throughout the British Isles at excavations of rectangular timber buildings dated to the Neolithic. The condition of the carbonised grain indicates the sort of processing involved. When grain has partly germinated, the embryo of the grain is missing; this is the part of the grain where growth begins.</div><div> </div><div>In Bronze Age, Iron Age or medieval contexts, archaeologists have interpreted finds of carbonised grain with missing embryos as good evidence for malting. Could a similar interpretation apply in a Neolithic context? We think so. <br /><br />In the late 1970s, thousands of carbonised grains were found during excavations at Balbridie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This was the site of a large rectangular timber building dating from the early Neolithic period. What kind of grain processing happened here? When some of the grains were examined by the author, some were missing their embryos. This could mean that these first farmers knew how to make malt, the fundamental ingredient for ale and beer, and they also knew how to make fermentable sugars from the grain by ‘mashing in’. <br /><br />Another possible grain barn or malt house has been excavated at Hallbreck Farm on Wyre, Orkney. Thousands of carbonised grains were found in the remains of an early Neolithic timber building with stone footings. It had a well repaired clay floor, perfect for malting. Both these buildings, Balbridie and Wyre, were destroyed by fire. This is a common fate for malt barns, when drying the malt goes wrong and the fire gets out of control.</div><div> </div><div>In the recently published book about the Ness of Brodgar excavations 'As It Stands' there is a short chapter entitled 'Grain and Fire'. Sadly there is no discussion of potential grain processing strategies at this ceremonial and impressive Neolithic site, although there is talk of a great feast involving the slaughter of four hundred cattle. I find this incredible and I wonder how they managed to kill and process so many animals for a single feast. <br /><br />Carbonised naked barley grains were discovered in Structure 14 at the Ness of Brodgar. I was most intrigued to see that some of them appear to have missing embryos. Could this be a sign of malting? If so then there is some evidence for ale at the Ness of Brodgar. This collection of carbonised grain is certainly worth much further investigation. </div><div> </div><div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u-1_Kpi4aKMPOi2GdGIwMa8wCdu28u97zYnzV4Z0EIdF7yVzVcygEQZ1smj9x6wPq9hTr41TaYaiIcua_e0IQeAGrNEEwcSSqmotphk1RrKFokKPm3g64kQz-ZIj7u609Sn0m4x2Cag/s2048/20210207_152902_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u-1_Kpi4aKMPOi2GdGIwMa8wCdu28u97zYnzV4Z0EIdF7yVzVcygEQZ1smj9x6wPq9hTr41TaYaiIcua_e0IQeAGrNEEwcSSqmotphk1RrKFokKPm3g64kQz-ZIj7u609Sn0m4x2Cag/w640-h480/20210207_152902_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carbonised naked barley grains from the Ness of Brodgar with missing embryos, an indicator that this is malt. Photo from From As It Stands, 2021, Card et al p178 <br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Danish archaeologists have done some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440320302181?dgcid=coauthor" target="_blank">recent research into the potential archaeological evidence for malt in carbonised naked barley grains</a>.
They have found that missing embryos is one of the potential markers.
Their paper was published in Journal of Archaeological Science in
January 2021. <br /></div><div> </div><div><b>Large Grooved Ware pots as ale fermentation vessels </b><br />Ceramic pots are needed for ‘mashing
in’ and also for fermentation. Thousands of sherds of Grooved Ware – a
flat-bottomed, bucket-shaped pottery – were found at Durrington Walls.
Some of the pots had a volume of up to eight gallons, perfect as
fermentation vessels. </div><div> </div><div>At the Neolithic village at Skara Brae, Orkney, a huge Grooved Ware pot
with a volume of 20 gallons or more was found during Vere Gordon Childe's excavations in the
1930s. This pot had been placed beside the hearth, the best place for
fermenting ale. <br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img src="http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Grooved-Ware-pot.jpg" /></a></div><div>A complete Grooved Ware pot from Durrington Walls. Larger examples of
these pots would have been ideal for fermenting wort into ale. ©
Historic England, with permission of Salisbury Museum <br /><b> </b></div><div><b>So, what were they drinking at the neolithic feast?</b><br />All this evidence makes it possible that the builders and users of Stonehenge and other Neolithic ceremonial sites in the British Isles knew how to make malt and ale from grain. The transformation of grain into ale can easily be described as a ritual activity. You have to know what to do with the grain and how to do it, providing the right conditions for success at each stage of the brewing process. <br /><br />What did Neolithic ale taste like? It was probably similar to traditional farmhouse ales that are still made today, but without the hops. Traditional brewing plants and herbs, for example meadowsweet, yarrow, heather, juniper or bog myrtle, could have been used as flavourings and preservatives. <br /><br />Grain was probably a high-status crop, grown for making malt and ale. It was not just for flour, bread, porridge or gruel as is often assumed in much of the academic literature.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to read more about our research into malt, malt sugars and ancient ale here is my latest paper in the EXARC Journal in May 2021. Here is a link: </div><div><a href="https://exarc.net/issue-2021-2/at/ancient-magic-malt-making" target="_blank">The Ancient Magic of Malt</a><br /></div><div> </div><div></div><div><style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120% }a:link { so-language: zxx }</style><p><style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120% }a:link { so-language: zxx }</style></p></div>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-37068049458648714772021-03-21T20:38:00.005+00:002021-07-21T09:20:02.227+01:00lost blogs #1: The prehistoric transformation of grain into ale: magic, ceremony, ritual and more<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lost blogs? What might they be? I thought it would be fun to look at and review the blogs that we wrote several years ago for other people's blogs. Some of them have become lost in the mists of time or they have just faded away, as things do. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">This one was written for Sigurd Towrie who created the website <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/" target="_blank">Orkneyjar</a>. It's an excellent resource if you want to know about the history, archaeology and prehistory of the Orkney Islands. We were asked to write briefly about some of the potential archaeological evidence for making malt, malt sugars and ale from grain. I think that it was written about ten years ago, but I'm not sure. There must have been a strict limit on the number of words that we were allowed to write because, as I read this blog back to myself, it is far, far too brief in places! So now I've added a bit more detail, as well as putting in a few links to some papers and blogs for those who might want to read more about it. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">The original is <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/prehistoricbrewing.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. This blog is different. It's an update, inspired by and including some of the original. Perhaps it has a slightly pompous title, I don't know. The thing is: if archaeologists want a mysterious ancient ritual then here's a good one to consider:<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The prehistoric transformation of grain into ale: <br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Magic, ceremony, ritual and more.</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinifaAr33ygn17NNpXNNopkbTHKHAZ0QoMehqLMENTTOuK4F9vhGq3Buy0GWIdWrhK07_oOGChOUolzi2kIQoVTFmziudZNb83xP5cC6Dotn43nJUn8jDgzYsM5BsmDcujsCng_N1kQNk/s2048/IMG_5308.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinifaAr33ygn17NNpXNNopkbTHKHAZ0QoMehqLMENTTOuK4F9vhGq3Buy0GWIdWrhK07_oOGChOUolzi2kIQoVTFmziudZNb83xP5cC6Dotn43nJUn8jDgzYsM5BsmDcujsCng_N1kQNk/w400-h300/IMG_5308.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We grew six row bere in our garden, it's a local landrace barley<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">My research began in 1995 as an investigation of brewing techniques in Bronze Age Britain. As an archaeology student I was taught that '<a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/03/beakers-were-for-beer-part-one.html" target="_blank">beakers were for beer</a>' and I wondered how they made it. Archaeological discoveries inspired me. Cereal based residues similar to those on a <a href="https://canmore.org.uk/site/26006/north-mains-strathallan">Bronze Age food vessel </a>were identified on <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/controversy-in-grooved-ware-bucket.html" target="_blank">5000 year old Grooved Ware sherds from the Balfarg ceremonial site, Fife, Scotland.</a> Suddenly the focus of my research turned from the Bronze Age to the Neolithic. I've been investigating and researching ancient and traditional malting and brewing techniques since then. It was an important element of ritual and domestic life in the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">There's a general assumption that, in the Neolithic, grain would have been ground into flour to make bread, or perhaps it was boiled in water to make some sort of porridge or gruel. But grain can also be malted. Traditional malting and brewing techniques are, I think, the key to understanding grain processing activity in prehistory. Modern and medieval maltsters and brewers use the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/09/a-morning-with-maltsters-part-one.html" target="_blank">same techniques as their prehistoric ancestors</a>. The biochemical processes of grain germination remain the same and, although science has only recently explained malting and brewing, our prehistoric ancestors discovered what worked and what did not work. The techniques and skills necessary to convert grain into malt, malt sugars, wort and ale evolved and developed over the millennia, originating in the Fertile Crescent over ten thousand years ago. This type of grain processing was a major aspect of the Neolithic Revolution as it spread throughout Europe. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's possible that women were the primary hoe agriculturalists, the nurturers and the main processors of food in the epi Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. If this was so then it follows that they were the ones who first learned and practised the complex rituals involved in the transformation of grain into malt, malt sugars and ale. Was this the first alchemy? I don't know about that but, nevertheless, it's an activity steeped in ritual. It could easily be described as something magical and mysterious. There is specialised knowledge, skill and experience involved in making good malt and ale. Maltsters and brewers are renowned, even today, for being secretive about their craft. Perhaps it was so in the past and those with the knowledge and skill held high status in their community. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Evidence for making malt and ale in the archaeological record is minimal. Why? Because it is an ephemeral product. The ale is consumed. Spent grain is fed to animals. Even if it is thrown away, the wild birds, the slugs, snails and worms will eat it. Over the years we have put tons of spent grain on our garden since it is a great soil improver and it feeds the worms. There is no trace of it left. In the archaeological record some of the material culture survives and it provides sound evidence for malting and brewing activity, provided that one understands the fundamental processes and the necessary equipment and facilities. (see <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321301736_Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic_BAR_S1213">Dineley, M. 2004 Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic, British Archaeological Reports, BAR S1213</a>).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">The earliest grain agriculturalists of the British Isles (c 4000 BC) were also the megalith and monument builders. Associated with them is the integrated "cultural package" of grain cultivation and processing, the management of domesticated animals and the manufacture of ceramics. Grain was very likely a special and sacred crop rather than a staple crop. Making malt, malt sugars and ale was an important part of this Neolithic "cultural package". </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">The skills involved in the construction of megalithic monuments and buildings are often acknowledged and investigated by archaeologists. How did they move those big stones? Where did the stones come from? The complexities of animal husbandry are also recognised, as is the craft of making and firing pots. The crafts of prehistoric life are studied in detail by experimental archaeologists and ancient technologists. But the skills and rituals of the maltster and brewer have been neglected in archaeological interpretations of British Neolithic material culture. As I read the original blog back to myself in the Spring of 2021, several years after writing it, I have to say that, sadly, this is still the case in most areas of the academic world of British Neolithic academic archaeology. It's time for archaeologists and archaeobotanists to talk about grain processing strategies of the Neolithic. What were they doing with the grain? Why were they so keen to grow it? Were they making flour and bread, porridge and gruel or were they making <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315694020_Neolithic_Ale_Barley_as_a_source_of_sugars_for_fermentation">malt and malt sugars</a> for fermenting into ale? Or were they doing all of these things? <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">The archaeological evidence shows that, in the British Isles, grain was being made into ale, an intoxicating beverage to be ritually consumed at ceremonial sites from the Neolithic period onwards. The making of ale in Neolithic times was as much a ritual activity as its' consumption at feasts in ancient places, for example, at Durrington Walls and the Ness of Brodgar. Grain was a sacred crop grown to make a special and sacred drink, ale. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ale and beer are made from the grain. The most popular grain to use is barley, but wheat, oats and rye can also be malted. The processes of malting and mashing convert the grain into liquid malt sugars (wort) that can be fermented into alcohol. Sugars ferment, starch does not. Flowers, for example meadowsweet or heather, cannot be fermented into an alcoholic beverage. They are the flavouring, perhaps adding medicinal or other properties, and they can also act as a good preservative. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are many kinds of Neolithic pottery that survive in the archaeological record of the islands now known as Britain. There are the remains of bowls, small and large, as well as bag shaped pots and bucket shaped pots of all sizes. One of these pottery styles is Grooved Ware, once known as Rinyo-Clacton Ware because it is found at Neolithic sites throughout the islands, from Clacton to Orkney. This bucket shaped pottery comes in all sizes, ranging from tiny vessels to huge pots. It was probably used for a variety of purposes. The larger pots are often around eight to ten gallons in volume and are <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/controversy-in-grooved-ware-bucket.html">suitable for the fermentation of barley wort into ale</a>. They could also have been used for storage.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1-JTbxO7bgZpEnu3QyXEeThdgsY6XYWuX8nTey8m6DPf24qGPT0SLXRzl7qvPjjQ2GZmlX8OX-K8YU9cOiktFe-lN7ospL8BBx0w-ymK7uvcPcf_acFha5KE2AS4mSO3rJJnhOu1Fn0/s2048/Piggott+Grooved+ware+Clacton.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1425" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1-JTbxO7bgZpEnu3QyXEeThdgsY6XYWuX8nTey8m6DPf24qGPT0SLXRzl7qvPjjQ2GZmlX8OX-K8YU9cOiktFe-lN7ospL8BBx0w-ymK7uvcPcf_acFha5KE2AS4mSO3rJJnhOu1Fn0/s320/Piggott+Grooved+ware+Clacton.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some typical Grooved Ware pottery drawn by Stuart Piggott<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">It would be useful to analyse sherds of Grooved Ware pots for beerstone, a precipitate that is found on the internal surface of vessels used for fermenting wort or for storing ale and beer. The identification of beerstone on pottery is definite chemical evidence for the transformation of grain into ale. Beerstone was first identified by <a href="https://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/wp-content/uploads/firstwinebeeranalytchem.pdf">Dr Virginia Badler on pots from Godin Tepe</a>, a Sumerian village or trading post in the Zagros Mountains of modern day Iran, dated to the 4th Millennium BC. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I studied archaeology as an undergraduate in the late 1990s I was taught that Grooved Ware is often found in association with ceremonial and ritual sites dated to the Neolithic. For example, sherds of a large Grooved Ware pot were found in the central hearth at the Stones of Stenness, Orkney. At Barnhouse Neolithic village, situated only half a mile from the impressive stone circle of Stenness, archaeologists found lots of finely decorated sherds from small, medium and large Grooved Ware vessels. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sherds of Grooved Ware have been found in great quantities at the Ness of Brodgar excavations, just a stone's throw from the Ring of Brodgar. The Ness, as it is affectionately known, has been interpreted as an important Neolithic temple precinct or ceremonial centre. It's a place where there would have been ritual ceremonies, celebrations and feasting on a regular basis. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">So what were they drinking at these feasts? I've asked this question of the experts at the excavations. I was once told "We know they were drinking some sort of alcohol!" Usually I am ignored, as if it is an unreasonable thing to ask. In a Neolithic context such as this there are no options other than ale or mead. And yet, at the time of writing this, there is still no academic discussion or curiosity about what they may have been drinking at the feasts held at this site five thousand years ago. The recent publication on the Ness excavations "As It Stands" makes no mention of malt or ale, as if this aspect of ceremonial feasting is unimportant, irrelevant or insignificant. I don't understand why because there is substantial evidence to be considered. Here are a few examples:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Some evidence for making malt and ale in Neolithic Britain</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Barnhouse, Neolithic village, Orkney<br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Making the malt:</i> there's a possible malting floor in structure six, a circular stone building. The clay floor had been improved, repaired and enlarged over the years. It had a polished surface as if it was used frequently. Floors can have many potential functions. Careful repair and resurfacing indicates that it was perhaps used for malting. Why? The maltster doesn't want cracks for the grain to fall into and a smooth surface for turning the germinating grain is desirable. When we visited the Corrigall Farm Museum in the late 1990s there was a beaten earth floor in the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2019/07/traditional-floor-malting-and-neolithic.html">grain barn</a>. We made an ale from the last grain malted on this floor. The fundamental technology of floor malting has not changed in millennia.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Crushing the malt:</i> barley husks were found in structure two. How do you de-husk barley? It's not easily possible unless the grain is malted. Once barley has been partially germinated (malted) and dried it becomes friable and easy to crush. The husks naturally detach during this process. Malting and crushing are an efficient way of de-husking the grain. Barley husks found on archaeological sites probably indicate this kind of grain processing. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Fermentation, ale storage and drinking vessels:</i> the Grooved Ware pottery assemblage consisted of a few very large pots of several gallons, a number of medium sized pots and many smaller ones. This is an assemblage that might represent fermentation, storage and drink</span><span style="font-size: small;">ing vessels. The large pots were in the houses and were static, too large to be moved. Sherds from many Grooved Ware flat bottomed pots with a volume of a pint or two were found in structure eight, the largest building in the village and interpreted as a ceremonial building. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Residues:</i> organic residues were identified on Grooved Ware pottery sherds. Among these were 'barley lipids' and 'unidentified sugars'. Intriguing results. The sugars could be either from grain processing (malt sugars) or they could be from milk processing. Further analysis of the pots would clarify things. Lipid analysis techniques have improved a lot since the 1980s, so I am told. Barley lipids are the product of lautering and sparging, that is, washing hot water through a sweet barley mash to extract the liquid wort. Lipids are washed out in the latter stages of sparging. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Drains</i>: there is a drainage system that serves both roof drainage and the removal of liquid waste from certain buildings. In his book "Dwelling among the Monuments", the story of the <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/dwelling-among-the-monuments-the-neolithic-village-of-barnhouse-maeshowe-passage-grave-and-surrounding-monuments-at-stenness-orkney/oclc/60462569">excavations at Barnhouse</a> between 1986 and 1993, Dr Co</span><span style="font-size: small;">lin Richards mentions a 'liquid product' on pages 138/9. What could it have been? Was it ale? We think so. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">There was a drain around the dresser in structure eight which was later replaced by a stone trough. We are not suggesting that Barnhouse was a brewery. There would have been a variety of activities in the village five thousand years ago. However, they did have the necessary facilities for making malt and ale and there is some good evidence for brewing, some of the best in Scotland. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Details of the excavations and photos of the reconstruction see <a href="https://canmore.org.uk/site/2152/barnhouse">here</a><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Skara Brae, Neolithic village, Orkney</b> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a student of archaeology in the late 1990s, I read all the excavation reports that I could find on Neolithic Orkney. Gordon Childe wrote detailed notes on his excavations in the 1930s. I've read and studied them all. Later excavations at Skara Brae are still not fully published. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sherds from a large decorated Grooved Ware pot were found by the central hearth in house seven. The pot measured two feet in diameter and was two feet deep, having a volume of up to 30 gallons. Why did they make pots of this size? Why was it kept beside the central hearth? One good reason could be to keep a fermenting wort nice and warm. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Drains and a strange green slime were identified by Childe in his excavations. The slime was never analysed. It might possibly be the partially decayed moulds that readily grow on the sugars washed from the equipment used for processing grain into ale. Childe suggested that it might be the remains of excrement, but this is most unlikely when it was found in the pit at the foot of the dresser in hut seven. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the Skara Brae visitor centre there is a mention on one of the information boards that the neolithic inhabitants may have drank some sort of "beer made from plants and herbs". This is still there today. No change, in spite of the fact that ale and beer are products of the grain. Flowers and plants cannot be fermented into alcohol. They are useful for flavourings, medicinal purposes or preservation. You can't brew beer with them.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Details of Skara Brae <a href="https://canmore.org.uk/site/1663/skara-brae">here</a><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Durrington Walls, neolithic henge and settlement near Stonehenge</b> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">A curious and, I think, unique potential piece of evidence for brewing was revealed here, an important Neolithic ceremonial site associated with ritual, ceremony and <a href="https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history-and-stories/history/food-and-feasting-at-stonehenge/" target="_blank">feasting</a>. Grooved Ware pottery was found in abundance. Pig teeth were found to have decay, as if fed on something sweet. This decay on pig teeth was initially ascribed to feeding the pigs on honey, in order to make honey roast ham. I don't think so. This is an unlikely explanation. The young pigs were probably fattened up on spent grain, also known as draff. This practice of feeding spent grain, a waste product from the mash tun, is well attested throughout the centuries. It continues today with all grain breweries selling or giving it away to farmers, if they can. It is a nutritious food for cows, pigs and goats. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>And finally, the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney</b><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the time of writing the original blog the Ness of Brodgar had just been discovered. Over the years this excavation has turned out to reveal a major ceremonial and feasting
site of the Neolithic with huge stone buildings a stone's throw
from the Ring of Brodgar. It has attracted worldwide attention and
interest. It is an internationally important site. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was disappointed to see that in the recently published book on the Ness of Brodgar excavations 'As It Stands' (published November 2020), there is no discussion nor is there any mention of what they may have been doing with the grain or what the large Grooved Ware pots were used for. I've tried to talk to the archaeologists several times over the years. There doesn't seem to be any interest in malting and brewing archaeology. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the questions that I have been asking as a visitor on the public site tours and on the annual Orkney Archaeology Society tours is this: have you found any carbonised barley? I usually don't get an answer. Sometimes there is laughter at such a question. Brewing is seen as something of a joke, I fear. The photo below is taken from the recent book. It seems that carbonised naked barley has indeed been found, and in some quantity in house number 14. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">It looks to me, from the photograph on page 178 from 'As It Stands', that the embryo is missing from a couple of the grains and that they are damaged. Could these be indications that the grain has been malted? And if so, could that be an indication of the sort of grain processing that was going on at the Ness? Malting the barley to make ale for the festivities and celebrations? We think thahttps://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/book-review-the-ness-of-brodgar-as-it-stands/t it could be evidence for this. More analysis would certainly clarify things. </span><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAPkScj_rm0n-UM7sqPSjsNfGOz9Zw8fL92wmwyD-kOQPwM2NBow0-PKTmn0Wk3Y8x3a3YSQhZwYwZO39VcWt65a2ct4IreC1OYpwoSQebe7gcR4kwNRAtUQz0GdaAslNStgBjuwyGnw/s2048/Ness+barley+02.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAPkScj_rm0n-UM7sqPSjsNfGOz9Zw8fL92wmwyD-kOQPwM2NBow0-PKTmn0Wk3Y8x3a3YSQhZwYwZO39VcWt65a2ct4IreC1OYpwoSQebe7gcR4kwNRAtUQz0GdaAslNStgBjuwyGnw/s320/Ness+barley+02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">carbonised naked barley, Ness of Brodgar</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Research
has been recently published about techniques for the identification for malt in the
archaeological record (<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231696" target="_blank">Heiss et al 2020</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440320302181?dgcid=coauthor" target="_blank">Cordes et al 2021</a>). Heiss et al look at changes in
the cell walls of the aleurone layer in ancient carbonised grain and in burned cereal mashes. Cordes et al investigate pitting in
individual starch granules. These have been shown to be suitable markers for malting in
ancient carbonised grain. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the case of ancient carbonised naked barley, a detached embryo is good evidence for the grain having been germinated or malted. This can be seen without the use of scanning electron microscopy and could be a simple and useful analytical technique for archaeologists and archaeobotanists to use.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> <br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-79932878674755231652020-09-07T19:58:00.000+01:002020-09-07T19:58:00.019+01:00pieces from my thesis #3: conclusionsAs a bit of a celebration and also to help kick start our blog again, I decided to publish some pieces of the M.Phil thesis that I wrote twenty years ago. The book has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I read it recently and, apart from new archaeological evidence and a better understanding of malt and malting technologies, there is little I would change. <br /><br />There's a copy on my Researchgate page <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321301736_Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic_BAR_S1213">here.</a> It's not quite like the familiar red BAR books of the International Series because I made a new front page but the rest is the same. I aim to publish some more pieces of it on this blog in the future. Other published papers and articles can also be found there.<br /><br />I hear that BAR (British Archaeological Reports) will be re printing the old BAR reports and mine is one of them. So that's something to look forward to. If you have access to a University Library they should be able to obtain a copy. The previous two blog posts are the introduction and the summary and discussion. I'm happy to answer any questions, respond to comments and would love to hear from people. Get in touch via the comments section if you have something to say! <br /> <br />And so to the conclusions. <br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b><br /><br />This research has established an assemblage and a material culture pattern for brewing activity in prehistory. Suitable buildings are required for grain storage and for malting and otherwise processing the grain. A malting floor can be made of beaten earth or clay and needs to be kept smooth and in good repair. Hearths, ovens or kilns are useful for drying the malt and as a heat source for mashing and fermentation. Suitable vessels for mashing, fermentation, storage and consumption must be made and access to running water and/or drains is essential. Such conditions and material culture are good indicators of malting, mashing and brewing activity.<br /><br />Women were the very first grain cultivators and processors in the Near East, the Levant, Europe and the British Isles. Grain was a special crop because of its unique ability to produce sugars. Women, with their understanding of grain cultivation and processing rituals and their knowledge of the use of wild plants and herbs for both culinary and medicinal uses, held positions of status and significance in Neolithic society. <br /><br />Brewing uses few ingredients, only requiring malted grain, herbal preservatives, water and yeast. These ingredients may survive in the archaeological record in a number of ways. Accidents in drying the malted grain, as happened at Eberdingen-Hochdorf can occur. <br /><br />Residues or sediments of the brewing process may occasionally survive in unusual contexts, such as in the sealed Bronze Age cist graves at North Mains and Ashgrove. Residues of barley without any other plant remains indicate the residues that result from washing the sugars from the mashed barley or ‘sparging the wort’. Those barley residues that contain pollen or macro plant remains indicate the addition of herbs during the boil prior to fermentation.<br /><br />The ease with which the barley malt and mash can be made convinces me that the manufacture of these products was a main interest and concern in the collection and cultivation of grains by Epi-Palaeolithic and Natufian cultures. The production and manufacture of this liquid product would have created a need for vessels and containers that were suitable for the storage and processing of the product, hence the bitumen lined baskets and experiments with White Ware and ceramics. <br /><br />The spread of grain cultivation and processing from the Levant across Europe and into the British Isles was accompanied by a developing ceramics technology and the domestication of animals. The animals would have eaten the ‘spent grain’ with as much relish as people, adults and children ate the sweet malt products and drank the ale.<br />
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<style type="text/css">h1 { margin-top: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; }h1.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }h1.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }h1.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; }p { margin-bottom: 0cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; }p.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }</style>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-5260653588695605482020-09-02T18:30:00.000+01:002020-09-02T18:37:01.435+01:00pieces from my thesis #2 summary and discussion<div style="text-align: justify;">
It has been said that quite a lot of people only bother to read the Introduction and Conclusion of any piece of academic work. I have no idea whether or not this is true. I like to read the bit in the middle as well.<br />
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I posted the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/08/pieces-from-my-thesis-1-introduction.html" target="_blank">introduction</a> to my thesis in the previous post. It was an M.Phil submitted to the University of Manchester in 1999 and published as a British Archaeological Report (BAR) S1213 "Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic" in 2004. Here's the summary and discussion of my study into malt and ale in the Neolithic. Since submitting my thesis I've gone on to look into malt, malting, beer brewing technologies and the archaeological evidence for this kind of grain processing in more depth. I've worked with beer historians, beer writers, maltsters, brewers and cereal scientists. <br />
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The conclusion to my M.Phil will be in the next post. It's a lot shorter than this, you will be pleased to hear. Reference details are at the end. I hope you enjoy reading this piece from my thesis, written between 1996 and 1999:<br />
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<b>Summary</b></div>
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This research began as an investigation into the probable methods and techniques of Bronze Age maltsters and brewers in the British Isles and Northern Europe. The original intention was to re-create a Bronze Age ale, based on organic residue evidence that has been discovered in Beaker drinking vessels (Dickson 1978, Barclay et al 1983) and using similar equipment to that available during the Bronze Age.</div>
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Debate within academic archaeology about wine, ale, beer and other alcoholic drinks usually tends to concentrate on the social aspects of consumption rather than on the practicalities of manufacture. With this research I aimed to redress the balance and explain the fundamental biochemical reactions and processes that are involved in the malting, mashing and fermentation of grain into ale. These processes remain unchanged across the millennia and allow us to understand something more of past rituals and daily lives.</div>
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It has been argued that beer drinking was a Bronze Age phenomenon and that it was part of a ‘cult package’ that spread across Europe from one group to another (Burgess & Shennan 1976:312). More recent analysis of the origins of alcoholic drinks has suggests “the most plausible scenario for the beginnings of alcohol production lies in the domestication of the sugar-rich tree crops of the Mediterranean”, such as date, olive, fig, grape and pomegranate (Sherratt 1995:25). Certainly, this is an area where the fermentation of naturally occurring fruit sugars could have been the impetus for the first fermented wines. But beer and ale are products of the grain, a crop that was first gathered and processed by epi Palaeolithic and early Neolithic groups in the Levant and the Near East from the 9th millennium BC onwards. </div>
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Grain cultivation and grain processing eventually spread from the Near East and Levant across Europe reaching the British Isles c4000 BC. This research has covered a broad geographical and archaeological range. It has investigated the evidence of the earliest grain processing communities in the Neolithic Levant, Near East, Northern Europe, Orkney, Ireland and Britain. These early agricultural communities have been investigated with one question in mind - was the material culture suitable for the manufacture of malt and ale from the grain? </div>
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The emphasis throughout this research has been on the practicalities and the specific rituals that are involved in the transformation of grains into malt, malt sugars and ale. </div>
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Ian Hodder (1997) has argued that there is a need for archaeologists to question long-held assumptions and ‘taken-for-granted’ interpretations in archaeology. He has stressed the need to re-interpret the available archaeological evidence holistically, not just looking at isolated aspects of a site but looking instead at the whole cultural and material assemblage. My research has taken this approach. </div>
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<b>Discussion</b></div>
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It has been assumed in most of the archaeological literature that barley, wheat and other cereal grains were a source of carbohydrate in the prehistoric diet and that grain was grown to be processed into only bread, flour, porridge or gruel. It has also been assumed that the main function of quern stones was to grind grain into flour for bread. Querns are just as useful to crush the malted grain prior to mashing. A search through the index and contents lists of books and articles related to the Neolithic cultures of Europe and Britain shows a significant lack of references to malt, beer, ale, grain processing techniques, brewing or malt sugars. Cereal grains, when discovered in the archaeological record, are often noted as having been ‘parched’ or ‘roasted’, the assumption being that the grain has simply been harvested and then dried for optimum storage. If this ‘parching’ of grain occurred after the grain had begun to germinate then the necessary enzymes to convert the starch into sugars have been released. With a minimum of equipment and resources the malted and dried barley could then very easily be transformed into a sweet malt liquid that can then be fermented into an alcoholic drink, such as beer or ale. </div>
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In order to assess the suitability of Neolithic material culture for such grain processing techniques it is essential to understand the processes, methods and techniques that are involved in malting, mashing and fermentation. Because the biochemical laws governing these processes are unchanged across the millennia it is possible to accurately re-create ancient grain processing techniques experimentally, as shown in Chapter One. The biochemistry is complicated but the techniques and methodologies are relatively simple. Brewing is a craft requiring knowledge, skill, practice and experience to successfully transform grain into ale. Pasteur and Tyndall’s experiments into Fermentation in the mid 19th century demonstrated the scientific explanation for a biochemical process that had, for millennia, been believed to be a magical and a spontaneous event. </div>
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Wild barley and wheat grew naturally in the area known as the Fertile Crescent, that is, the Levant, the Tigris/Euphrates valley and the mountains in northern Syria. Cereal grains were first gathered by Natufian groups in the 9th/8th millennia BC alongside other species of plants, such as lentils and peas. These people were hunters and gatherers. They exploited the natural resources of their environment to the full and this, of course, would have included the gathering of wild grain. </div>
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If these wild cereal grains were allowed to grow a little before being ground or crushed with stones, then people would have noticed that there was an obvious visible and practical benefit - the husk of the grain would be broken down and malt flour would be produced naturally. The task of crushing or grinding slightly germinated grain is much easier than crushing ungerminated grain. Invisibly, germination has released enzymes that convert the starch of the grain into malt sugars and produce malt flour. Any gentle heating of the now malted and crushed barley with water would produce a sweet barley mash and malt liquid, so long as the enzymes were not killed in water temperatures that were too hot, that is, above 67 degrees centigrade. </div>
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This saccharification of the barley malt can be seen, smelt and tasted. Knowledge of the existence of enzymes and an understanding of the complex enzymatic reactions are not necessary for this simple process of mashing to be successful. Malting and the subsequent mashing of grains were perhaps among the first grain processing activities in the Fertile Crescent. It is easy to appreciate the wonder and the amazement of these early Neolithic cultures when first introduced to this phenomenon. Here was a food resource that could be processed into sweetness. It was quite unlike other food processing activities that would have been involved with the other locally gathered natural resources, such as the preparation and cooking of peas or lentils. Prior to the discovery of sweet barley mash, the only other source of sugars would have been fruits or honey. </div>
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The Biblical lands, that is, the area of the Levant, are known as and referred to as ‘a Land flowing with Milk and Honey’. Could this description originally have referred to a land where milk was obtained from domesticated animals and sweet malts were processed from the grain, a land where people had learnt to tame the wild animals and to process grain into sweetness? </div>
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Malt liquid and barley mash are easy to make, versatile food products and they are very good to eat. They can be mixed with milk to make a delicious and highly nutritious food resource. Malt contains digestible B-Vitamins that would have improved the health of those who began to eat it, although the evidence of the early Natufians’ dental caries might suggest an adverse effect on their dental health. </div>
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The step from the malting and mashing of barley to that of alcoholic fermentation is not a difficult one to imagine. Wild yeasts would have flourished in a sweet mash or in malt liquids that had been left to stand. Within covered vessels, conditions are perfect for an alcoholic rather than a lactic fermentation. With careful observation, practice and experimentation, the earliest grain processors would have learnt to manage the several stages from grain to ale. These techniques would then have been passed on from one generation to the next. </div>
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Because of its unique properties, grain was probably regarded as a special or as a sacred crop in Neolithic times. There were many complex rituals surrounding the cultivation, harvesting and processing of the grain in both prehistoric and historic times. Many of these rituals are still celebrated today, such as the annual Harvest Festival, although now within the context of the Christian religion rather than pagan female deities. </div>
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Hilda Ellis Davidson (1998) has produced a detailed and fascinating study of the various goddesses who were worshipped in Northern Europe in prehistoric and historic times. She discusses the important part played by women in ancient and prehistoric cultures. It is the culmination of many years that she has spent studying North European mythology, legends and traditions. She notes that there are very many complex rituals surrounding grain cultivation, such as the preparation of the ground for the sowing of the grain in spring (Davidson 1998:58-68). Some are described in historical texts and some are evidenced by archaeological finds of ards buried in ritual contexts, for example a perfectly preserved ard was discovered in 1994, buried in the ditch of a henge near Dumfries and dated to the early 3rd millennium BC (ibid:60) She describes the ritual uses of the plough, for marking territorial or village boundaries (ibid:64) and for the cutting of ritual furrows to celebrate the beginning of Spring and the new season for cultivation (ibid:59). There were strong associations between the sowing of the seed and the goddess of the grain, with springtime rituals involving human and animal sacrifice taking place in Northern Europe until the 19th Century AD (ibid: 67). </div>
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Hilda Ellis Davidson’s work has been referred to occasionally throughout this thesis, but since the emphasis of my study has been on the practicalities of the manufacture of malts and ale, many of her ideas were not raised or discussed in the earlier Chapters. It is therefore apt to refer to her work here in the context of a discussion of ritual activity, belief systems, magic, barley and the Neolithic. She writes of a rapidly growing interest in the importance of “women as innovators in many fields at a time when small nomadic communities were extending their activities from hunting and gathering to herding and agriculture” (Davidson 1998:8). Women in prehistoric times were largely responsible for the sowing of seed, for the raising of crops, for the processing of grain and for the preparation of a variety of foodstuffs in early agricultural communities. Women also grew and gathered the herbs required for healing and the treatment of injuries, as well as being skilled in midwifery and in the nurturing of children (ibid:154). She concludes that women were the mainstay of the domestic environment, caring for house, home and all within it. </div>
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These are very similar ideas to those of Ian Hodder (1990) who has proposed the ‘domus’ and ‘agrios’ theories of social development in Neolithic Europe. Hilda Ellis Davidson’s emphasis is on female influence and female power in prehistory. Her book concentrates upon the many and varied “special skills and mysteries of women” one of which was the cultivation and specialised processing of the grain into ale (Davidson 1998:138). Her work is an invaluable study and it should be read by any archaeologist who wishes to better understand the role of the female in prehistory, as well as the ancient belief systems and rituals of the past. It provides an insight into many aspects of domestic, spiritual and ritual life in prehistory. </div>
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Early Neolithic communities in the Levant and the Near East would have learned the necessary methods and techniques of grain processing through repeated trial and error. This knowledge then spread through the complex and far-reaching trade and exchange networks that made use of land, sea and river routes into Europe. The practice of and the ideas behind grain cultivation and processing spread rapidly into northern Europe. The similarities in lifestyles and material culture of the inhabitants of the Bulgarian settlement tells of the 6th/5th millennia BC and those of 6th millennium BC in Anatolia have been noted in Chapter Four of this thesis. Many more archaeological examples could have been selected for a similar comparison. For example, Whittle (1996) describes the Vinca culture of the 6th and 5th millennia BC and the elaborate and complex late Neolithic buildings of the Hungarian plain. These were cultures that also possessed the basic requirements for making malt and brewing ale. </div>
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The coastal groups and communities of northern Europe maintained a hunting, gathering and fishing lifestyle for almost a millennium longer than the agricultural communities in Central Europe, who lived in settlements along the river valleys. However, there is some evidence of organic residues on Ertebolle pottery vessels that have been interpreted as being the remnants of fermented grain and blood (Tilley 1996:25). This suggests the probable trade and exchange of grain between agricultural and non-agricultural communities of the 5th and 4th Millennia BC. It also suggests interesting and as yet unknown ritual behaviour in both the manufacture and in the consumption of this alcoholic drink. Eventually, the Northern European Mesolithic groups began to cultivate their own grain, some time in the early 3rd millennium BC. </div>
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Many different theories have been put forward concerning the reason for the acceptance of grain cultivation within these groups and some of these have been discussed in Chapter Four. It seems likely that Mesolithic groups were interested in the products of the grain, that is the sweet malts and the ale, rather than a change of lifestyle to that of farming. </div>
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‘Farming’ is a cultural concept and use of the word creates an image of an organised and regulated farmstead as we are accustomed to seeing today or in historical times. Farming is a way of life that has evolved and developed over the years as a result of people’s desire to grow and to process grain and other crops and to keep domesticated animals. To refer to these early cultivators and processors of grain as ‘farmers’ does not really seem to be appropriate. </div>
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One of the most striking aspects of the European and British Neolithic was the construction of huge communal monuments, standing stones and finely constructed tombs. Ritual behaviour and activity is one of the most discussed and well known aspects of the Neolithic. The people who made and used Grooved Ware during the 4th and 3rd millennia BC were the earliest grain cultivators and processors in Britain. They continued to exploit the natural resources of the seas, the rivers and the woodland whilst they began to cultivate grain and to manufacture malts and ale, as argued in Chapters Five and Six of this thesis. They also constructed impressive and lasting monuments, such as the two stone circles on Orkney, numerous timber and stone circles throughout the mainland, elaborate tombs and burial chambers as well as standing stones, cursus monuments and henges. My research indicates that there was a powerful female element to this culture that was closely related to ritual activities and to the cultivation and processing of barley. </div>
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Organic residues containing potentially dangerous psychoactive substances, such as the crushed Henbane seeds that were discovered on Grooved Ware sherds at Balfarg (Barclay et al 1983), indicate that mind-altering alcoholic brews were sometimes made for ritual occasions. It is impossible to know whether the purpose of this brew was for shamanic and magical practices or as a poisonous drink for use in a ritual funerary context. Its potential use as an ‘external medicine’ as noted by Thomas Culpepper, perhaps for toothache, cannot be ignored. </div>
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<br /></div>
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This research, which began as being a relatively straightforward examination of the likely brewing methods of British Bronze Age people has revealed many fascinating and previously unconsidered aspects of Neolithic life. There is much further work to be done in this area. The role of women in the Neolithic needs to be re-evaluated, for example, what was their role in healing, medicine and in ritual activity and what was their knowledge and use of herbs? Archaeobotanical study and analysis can be very useful in answering these questions. A serious plea has to be made to all archaeologists to retain and to analyse the organic residues on pottery sherds rather than destroy such important evidence by routinely scrubbing the pottery. </div>
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<br /></div>
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One aspect of the Neolithic that has been unexpectedly illuminated by this research is the importance of malt in prehistory. Although the manufacture and the consumption of ale and of other alcoholic drinks is seen as being important ritually, socially and economically, the manufacture of the malt may be just as, if not more, important. Mixed with milk or eaten as a product in its own right, malt would have been a nutritious addition to Neolithic diet and appealed to young and old alike. In the public demonstrations and tastings of the barley mash that I have undertaken as part of this research the overwhelming response has been positive. People have expressed a liking for the sweet mash and return for a second tasting.</div>
<br />
<b>References </b><br />
<br />
<span lang="en-US">Barclay, G. et al 1983 Sites of the 3rd Millennium BC to the 1st Millennium AD at North Mains, Strathallan, Perthshire <i>Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland</i> Volume 113, 122-282.</span><br />
Burgess, C. & Shennan, S. 1976 'The Beaker Phenomenon: some suggestions' in Burgess, C. & Miket, R. (eds) <i>Settlement and Economy in the 3rd Millennium BC. </i>British Archaeological Reports 33, 309-327.<br />
<i></i><br />
<span lang="en-US">Davidson, H. 1998 <i>Roles of the Northern Goddess </i>Routledge.</span><br />
<span lang="en-US">Dickson, J. 1978 Bronze Age Mead<i> Antiquity</i> 52, 108-11.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="en-US">Hodder, I. 1990 <i>The Domestication of Europe. </i>Blackwell.</span><br />
<span lang="en-US">Hodder, I. 1997 'Always momentary, fluid </span><span lang="en-US"><span lang="en-US"><i>Conference publication from the Neolithic Studies Group meeting </i></span>and flexible: towards a reflexive excavation methodology.' <i>Antiquity 71, 691-700. </i> </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="en-US">Sherratt, A. 1995 Alcohol and its alternatives: symbol and substance in pre-industrial cultures in Goodman and Graham <i>Consuming habits: Drugs in History and Anthropology</i>. Routledge.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="en-US">Tilley, C. 1996 <i>An Ethnography of the Neolithic: early prehistoric societies in southern Scandinavia. </i>Cambridge University Press. </span><br />
<br />
<span lang="en-US">Whittle, A. 1996 'Houses in Context: Buildings as process.' in Darvill, T. & Thomas J. (eds) <i>Neolithic Houses in north west Europe and Beyond. Oxbow Monographs 57, 13-27.</i></span><br />
<span lang="en-US">Publication from the Neolithic Studies Group conference of the same name. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; }p.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }</style>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-34384527369641890332020-08-20T16:03:00.000+01:002020-08-21T11:28:42.920+01:00pieces from my thesis #1: the introduction<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The previous couple of blogs, <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/08/the-land-of-milk-and-honey.html" target="_blank">the land of milk and honey</a> and <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2020/08/origins-of-grain-agriculture-some.html" target="_blank">the origin of grain agriculture: some thoughts</a>, were written by the brewer with me doing the editing. I must admit that I couldn't resist adding a little bit of archaeological detail here and there. His theme was the origin of grain agriculture in the ancient Near East and Levant in the epi Palaeolithic over twenty thousand years ago. How did these</span><span style="font-size: small;"> hunter gatherers of the Fertile Crescent learn how to make malt? What happened?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The idea that they were eating the green and unripe grain first and that they gradually learned how to process the ripe grains into malt and malt sugars is his idea. Not mine. It's a new aspect to our investigation of how the art and craft of making malt and ale from the grain began.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I submitted my M.Phil thesis "Barley, Malt and Ale in the Neolithic" to the University of Manchester in 1999. It was published in 2004, by invitation, as a BAR <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321301736_Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic_BAR_S1213" target="_blank">(British Archaeological Report S1213</a>) and is now out of print.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> I've</span><span style="font-size: small;"> heard that the BAR publishing people are in the process of reprinting some of the old ones,
mine included. I look forward to that. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We stand on the shoulders of giants. Here's some of the inspiration for my research: the <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1953.55.4.02a00050" target="_blank">Braidwood "Bread/Beer debate</a> in the 1950s and his team's extensive excavations in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilly_Flanks" target="_blank">hilly flanks of the Zagros mountains</a>. Also, the excellent paper on 'Bread and Beer: the early use of cereals in the human diet' by <a href="https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/28-2/Bread.pdf" target="_blank">Katz and Voigt</a> (1986) and an article published in Archaeology in 1991 by <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40082948" target="_blank">Katz and Maytag</a> "Brewing an Ancient Beer". Delwen Samuel's recreation of an ancient Egyptian beer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/26/world/in-ancient-egypt-the-beer-of-kings-was-a-sophisticated-brew.html" target="_blank">made the news</a> in 1996 and this was another reason why I began investigating the topic of ancient beer brewing techniques. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I particularly like John Tyndall's investigations and remarks on fermentation and the brewing process. His work continued the research of Louis Pasteur. The explanations of the biochemistry of the malting and brewing processes by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Line" target="_blank">Dave Line</a> were invaluable. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sometimes
people tell me that I should write a book. I already have. I've also
been told that many people only read the introduction and the conclusion
of academic publications. So here, for your interest and enjoyment, is
something I wrote earlier:</span></span><br />
<br />
<h1 class="western" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">INTRODUCTION</span></h1>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Our prehistoric fathers may have been savages, but they were
clever and observant ones ... the art and practice of the brewer are
founded on empirical observation ... the brewer learnt from long
experience the conditions not the reasons for success”</span></div>
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John Tyndall, extracts from his speech on Fermentation Glasgow Science Lectures Association</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="text-align: center;">
October 19th 1876</div>
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<h1 class="western" lang="en-US" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Grain
in prehistoric diet</span></h1>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
The preparation and consumption of food and drink are important
aspects of prehistory that can provide a valuable insight into the
daily lives of people in past societies. The introduction of the
cultivation of grain in the Near East and the spread of the
agricultural lifestyle across Europe and into the British Isles was a
great change in the lives and habits of Mesolithic people. It is one
of the most important changes to have occurred in prehistory. After
millennia of subsistence activities based on hunting, gathering and
fishing people began to cultivate and therefore to have control over
a variety of crops, including wheat and barley. They also began to
domesticate animals. Much has been written of this so-called
“Neolithic Revolution”, that is, the period of change from
gathering, hunting and fishing to that of farming and herding. It was
a change of lifestyle that occurred at different times in different
parts of the world, but what was it that made people choose to
cultivate wheat and barley, in particular?</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="en-US">Cereal
grains are a major source of carbohydrate in the human diet, being
useful for making porridge, bread and flour. They are also unique as
a potential source of malt and malt sugars that can be fermented into
beer or ale. With a minimum of simple equipment, such as containers,
water and heat, it is possible to trick the barley into digesting
itself into sugars. This aspect of grain processing has been
overlooked in much of the archaeological literature relating to the
transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic.</span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> </span>
</div>
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Brewing
in the 21<sup>st</sup> century has become a global, multi-million
pound technological business, with large breweries producing billions
of gallons of beer annually. Many of these large breweries whose
names are so familiar today such as Bass, Worthington, Younger and
Guinness have only been in existence since the middle of the 18<sup>th</sup>
Century. Prior to this quite recent<span lang="en-GB">
industrialisation</span> malt, beer and ale were manufactured either
domestically or locally on a small scale.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 1.27cm;">
The techniques of brewing small amounts of beer from malted grain
have become largely neglected and the skill of domestic brewing is no
longer a part of most peoples’ daily experience. This thesis, based
upon the biochemistry of malting and brewing and upon small-scale
domestic brewing methods (Line 1980) proposes that Mesolithic
cultures were interested in making particular products from the
grain, that is, sweet malts and ale and that this was a major factor
in the decision to selectively cultivate grain. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The
‘bread or beer’ debate</b></span></div>
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Robert Braidwood of the Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago (1953) first posed the question ‘Did man once live by beer
alone?’ and this debate still continues today. Solomon Katz (1986,
1991) has coined the phrase ‘biocultural evolution’ and he
argues for the importance of the transference of specialised food
processing techniques to subsequent generations. Certain processing
activities, such as brewing, become enshrined in ritual. Brian Hayden
(1996) agrees with Katz and Voigt that grain was first domesticated
to produce ale for consumption at feasts and at other special
occasions. However, he notes the difficulty of finding direct
archaeological evidence for early farming techniques and such grain
processing activity as brewing (Hayden 1990). </div>
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Most recently Alexander Joffe (1998:297) has proposed “the
production, exchange and consumption of alcoholic beverages form a
significant element and regularity in the emergence of complex,
hierarchically organised societies, along with the restructuring of
labour and gender relations.” Although these arguments are in the
context of early Neolithic cultures in the Near East, the Levant and
Egypt, they are equally as relevant to grain cultivation and
processing across Europe and in the British Isles during the
Neolithic.
</div>
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<div class="western" lang="en-US">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Brewing in history and prehistory</b></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> Both
the manufacture and the consumption of a wide range of alcoholic
beverages are understood to have been important aspects of social,
economic, religious and ritual life in Iron Age Europe (Dietler
1989), in Viking cultures and in early medieval Europe (Woolf &
Eldridge 1994, Davidson 1998). Drinking horns and a huge bronze
cauldron that contained the remnants of mead was found in a rich
‘princely’ grave at Hochdorf, Germany, dated to the 1</span><sup><span lang="en-US">st</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
millennium BC (Biel 1996). A large quantity of
carbonised malt, accidentally burnt as it was being kilned, was found
at Eberdingen-Hochdorf (Stika 1996). Malt is the primary
ingredient for beer or ale.</span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> </span>
</div>
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<span lang="en-US">The earliest written references to ale being made
in the British Isles can be found in the Vindolanda tablets, dated to
the early 1</span><sup><span lang="en-US">st</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
millennium AD. Roman soldiers recorded their purchases of barley ale
made by the local tribes. Pliny refers to the Gallic tribes of
Northern Europe making “intoxicating drinks from corn steeped in
water...that are capable of being kept until they have attained a
considerable age” (Pliny XIV Ch 29). There are also many references
to the manufacture and consumption of ale and mead in the myths,
legends and skaldic verse of the Viking Age in northern Europe. </span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> </span><span lang="en-US"></span><span lang="en-US">Ale and mead were consumed on many occasions, for
example at religious feasts and festivals, at funerals, in drinking
competitions and before the men departed to sea in the spring (Gayre
1948:45, Davidson 1988:11,12). Women were usually responsible for the
manufacture of alcoholic drinks in the societies cited above and
there were close associations between the consumption of ale and the
worship of deities (Dietler 1996, Joffe 1998, Davidson
1988). Ale is manufactured from malt, with herbs added for
flavour and preservation. Mead is fermented honey and water with
similar flavourings and preservatives as those used in the brewing of
ale, such as Meadowsweet (</span><span lang="en-US"><i>Filipendula
ulmaria</i></span><span lang="en-US">). Honey was frequently added to
the malt and so it is difficult to be clear as to the precise nature
of the ‘ale’ and ‘mead’ referred to in ancient texts, myths
and legends.</span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> </span>
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<span lang="en-US"> There
is convincing evidence for the manufacture of both ale and mead
during the Bronze Age in Europe and in the British Isles. Organic
residues within a beaker accompanying a female burial in a
stone-lined cist at North Mains, Strathallan, Fife, were analysed and
found to consist of cereal residues and Meadowsweet pollen. They were
dated to c1540 BC (Barclay et al 1983). The excavators interpreted
this as being the probable remains of a fermented cereal-based drink.
At Ashgrove, Fife, Scotland, a beaker containing significant
quantities of Lime Flower (</span><span lang="en-US"><i>Tilia
cordata</i></span><span lang="en-US">) and Meadowsweet pollen was
discovered, again in a stone-lined cist accompanying a burial
(Dickson 1978). The contents of the beaker were probably mead rather
than ale. Vessels made of birch bark have been found at Egtved and at
other Danish bog burial sites. Analysis of the contents indicates the
“debris of wheat grains, leaves of bog myrtle (</span><span lang="en-US"><i>Myrica
gale</i></span><span lang="en-US">) and fruits of cranberry”
(Dickson 1978:111). Bog myrtle was an additive used regularly as a
preservative in the manufacture of ale prior to the introduction of
hops in the late Middle Ages (Vencl 1994, Bennett 1996).</span></div>
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<h1 class="western" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Neolithic
Britain</span></h1>
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In recent years organic residues that might indicate the manufacture
of alcoholic drinks have been found on Neolithic pottery assemblages
at ritual and domestic sites within the British Isles. Residues on
sherds of Grimston-Lyles pottery and Grooved Ware from pits at
Machrie Moor, Arran, were analysed and found to contain cereal pollen
together with macro plant remains. These were interpreted as the
probable remains of a mead-type drink (Haggerty 1991:91). </div>
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Cereal based residues were found on sherds of large Grooved Ware
vessels that had been buried in pits situated close by a rectangular
timber structure at a Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial site at
Balfarg/Balbirnie, Tayside. Pollen from plants including Meadowsweet,
Henbane, Deadly Nightshade, Cabbage and Mustards were noted in these
residues, an interesting mixture of additives perhaps indicating some
kind of fermented mead/ale type brew with special properties (Moffatt
in Barclay et al 1993). At the Neolithic village at Barnhouse,
Orkney, barley residues have been identified on some of the Grooved
Ware vessels (Jones 2000). Scientific analysis, specifically Gas
Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry, has indicated the presence of
‘unidentified sugars’ within the fabric of some of these vessels.
These sugars might be maltose. </div>
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<span lang="en-US">Thousands of charred cereal grains were found at
the site of a large timber hall at Balbridie, Kincardine, dated to
the early 4</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
millennium BC (Fairweather & Ralston 1993). Charred grain was
also found at the site of a rectangular timber building at Lismore
Fields, Buxton (Garton 1987). These finds and the cereal based
residues described above are an indication of grain processing,
perhaps for the manufacture of malts and ale, during the early
Neolithic in the British Isles. </span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"><br /></span></div>
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The possibility that grain processing activities during the early
Neolithic of the British Isles included malting, mashing and
fermentation should be considered and further investigated. Ian
Hodder (1997:695) has argued for a destabilisation of
‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions in the interpretation of
archaeological data and for the need to look at material culture
assemblages as a complete whole. This multidisciplinary research and
the subsequent interpretation of Neolithic grain processing
techniques take this approach.</div>
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<span lang="en-US"> Brewing
is “one of the oldest biotechnological processes of all”
(</span>Kretschmer 1996) requiring<span lang="en-US"> skill as well
as specialised knowledge. Each stage of the process requires very
specific and different conditions. In prehistory, the transformation
of grain into malts and ale was very likely to have been an important
social, symbolic and economic activity, as well as being a
specialised and skilled craft that was passed on from one generation
to the next. Malting, mashing and brewing have a great potential for
apprenticeships, for the creation of social hierarchies and status
and for the possession of secret or specialised knowledge. These
grain processing activities may also have been extremely significant
in terms of both ritual and social behaviour.</span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> </span>
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Andrew Sherratt has investigated and discussed the possibilities that
drugs, such as cannabis and opium poppy seeds, were consumed in the
Neolithic and Bronze Ages, perhaps as ritual or specialist activities
(Sherratt 1991, 1995, 1996). Ale is also an intoxicant and a great deal of
evidence exists for its manufacture and consumption during the
Neolithic. There is also some tentative evidence for the ale to have
been enhanced, at times, with psychoactive drugs such as Henbane and
Deadly Nightshade although there is some contention and debate
surrounding this issue (Long et al 1999). Whether or not alcoholic
brews were enhanced with such additives is difficult to prove. </div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<h1 class="western" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Malting
and brewing in prehistory</span></h1>
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In order to recognise the extant archaeological evidence for malting,
mashing and fermentation it is helpful to understand the basics of
the biochemistry as well as the methods and techniques of grain
processing for malt sugars and ale. Chapter One examines the specific
craft skills of the maltster and the brewer. Chapter Two examines
some of the traditional and ancient use of herbal additives that
preserve, flavour or strengthen the ale. The archaeological evidence
for malting, mashing and brewing activity in the Levant, in the Near
East and in Egypt is assessed in Chapter Three. Chapter Four assesses
this evidence with respect to the European early Neolithic and
Chapter Five examines the stone buildings of Neolithic Orkney in
terms of grain storage and processing activities. Chapter Six
investigates whether the Grooved Ware Culture of mainland Britain had
a suitable material culture to make malt and ale from the barley
grain that they grew. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
Research
for this thesis initially began with the Bronze Age of the British
Isles. The original intention was to investigate the manufacturing
techniques of Bronze Age brewers. However, barley has been cultivated
in Britain since the early 4<sup>th</sup> millennium BC (Ashmore
1996). The focus of research soon turned to the Neolithic of the
British Isles. In order to place British Neolithic grain cultivation
and processing techniques into context it was necessary to look at
the earliest development of cereal cultivation in the Near East, the
Levant and Europe. The remit of this thesis has changed considerably
as it has developed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US"> The
Neolithic extends from the 9</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">/8</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
millennia BC in the Levant and Near East to the 4</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">/3</span><sup><span lang="en-US">rd</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
millennia BC in the British Isles. This thesis covers a wide
geographical area and an extensive timescale. It has not been
possible to investigate every area in detail. Therefore selective
sites have been chosen for analysis. This is an initial investigation
into the possibilities for malting, mashing and brewing during the
Neolithic. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="en-US">References:</span></b></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Ashmore, P. 1996 <i>Neolithic and Bronze Age Scotland </i>Historic Scotland, Batsford</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Barclay, G. et al 1983 Sites of the 3rd Millennium BC to the 1st Millennium AD at North Mains, Strathallan, Perthshire <i>Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland</i> Volume 113, 122-282</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Bennett, J. 1996 <i>Ale Beer and Brewsters in England: Womens's work in a changing world, 1300. </i>Oxford University Press </span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Biel, von J. 1996 <i>Experiment Hochdorf:Keltische Hanwerkskunst Wiederbeleb herausgegeben</i>. Wais & Partner. Stuttgart</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Braidwood, R. 1953 Did man once live by bread alone? <i>American Anthropologist</i> 55, 515-526</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Davidson, H. 1998 <i>Roles of the Northern Goddess.</i> Routledge</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Dickson, J. 1978 Bronze Age Mead<i> Antiquity</i> 52, 108-112 </span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Dietler, M. 1989 Driven by Drink: the role of drinking in the political economy and the case of early Iron Age France <i>Journal of Anthropological Archaeology</i> 9, 352-406</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Fairweather, A. & Ralston, I. 1993 The Neolithic timber hall at Balbridie, Grampion region, Scotland: a preliminary note on dating and macrofossils<i> Antiquity</i> 67 313-323 </span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Garton, D. Buxton <i>Current Archaeology</i> 9.8 No 103 </span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Gayre, G. 1948 <i>Wassail! in Mazers of Mead</i> Philimore and Co Ltd</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Haggerty, A. 1991 Machrie Moor, Arran: recent excavations of two stone circles. <i>Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries</i> Volume 121, 51-94. </span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Hayden, B. 1990 Nimrods, Piscators, Pluckers and Planters: The Emergence of Food Production. <i>Journal of Anthropological Archaeology </i>9, 31-69</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Hayden, B. 1996 Feasting in prehistoric and traditional societies. In Weissner, P. and Schiefenhovel, W. (eds) <i>Food and the status quest: an interdiscpliary perspective.</i> Berghan Books.</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Hodder 1997 Always momentary, fluid and flexible: towards a reflexive excavation methology. <i>Antiquity</i> 71,691-700</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Joffe, A. 1998 Alcohol and Social Complexity in Ancient Western Asia. <i>Current Anthropology</i> Volume 9 No 3, 297-322</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Jones, A. 2002 <i>Archaeological Theory and Scientific Practice</i> Cambridge University Press</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">(information was initially obtained from his unpublished PhD thesis 1997. It was later published here.) </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Katz, S. and Maytag, F. 1991 Brewing an Ancient Beer <i>Archaeology</i> Volume 44 No 4, 24-33</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Katz and Voigt 1986 Bread and Beer: the early use of cereals in the human diet <i>Expedition</i> Volume 25/2 23-34</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Kretshmer, von H 1996 Brauen fruher und heute. In <i>Biel</i> 1996 </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Line, D. 1985 <i>The Big Book of Brewing</i> (14th edition) Argus Books, GW Kent Inc USA</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Long et al 1999 Black Henbane in the Scottish Neolithic: a re-evaluation of palynological findings from Grooved Ware pottery at Balfarg Riding School and Henge, Fife.<i> Journal of Archaeological Science</i> Vol 26, 45-52</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">(published after my thesis completed but reference included in the 2004 BAR.) </span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"><br /></span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Sherratt, A. 1991 Sacred and Profane Substances: the ritual use of narcotics in later neolithic Europe in Garwood et al <i>Sacred and Profane, Proceedings of a conference on Archaeology, Ritual and Religion</i> Oxford University Committee for Archaeology Monograph No 32, 51-64</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Sherratt, A. 1995 Alcohol and its alternatives: symbol and substance in pre-industrial cultures in Goodman and Graham <i>Consuming habits: Drugs in History and Anthropology</i>. Routledge.</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Sherratt, A. Flying up with the souls of the dead <i>British Archaeology</i> June, No 15, p14</span></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Stike, H-P 1996 Traces of a possible Celtic brewery in Eberdingen-Hochdorf, Kreis Ludwigsburg, SW Germany. <i>Vegetation History and Archaeobotany</i> Volume 5, No 1-2, 57 -65</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="justify" class="western" style="orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span lang="en-US">Vencl, S. 1994 The Archaeology of Thirst. <i>Journal of European Archaeology</i> 2.2, 299-326</span></div>
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<span lang="en-US"> </span>
</div>
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<style type="text/css">h1 { margin-top: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; }h1.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }h1.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }h1.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p { margin-bottom: 0cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; }p.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }</style><br />
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0cm; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; }p.western { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt; }</style>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-88562842861657610202020-08-15T19:59:00.030+01:002022-12-06T16:11:52.316+00:00origins of grain agriculture: some thoughts from a brewerThis is written by Graham Dineley, an all grain brewer for almost 40 years now. All ideas, opinions and mistakes are my own.<br />
<br />
The widely accepted view of the first grain farmers of the Fertile Crescent is that they grew the grain to grind into flour to make bread. Grain was a staple crop that would see them through famine and hard times. Being a brewer I have a different perspective on grain. When I look
at a field of grain I see the potential for malting and brewing beer. When non brewers look at a field of
grain they just see flour and bread.<br />
<br />
The homeland of the grains such as wheat, einkorn, barley etc. is Anatolia and the Levant. Deep in the last Ice Age, when Britain and northern Europe was under kilometres of a huge ice sheet, the people living in the Fertile Crescent were hunting, fishing and gathering wild seeds and plants. They lived in caves, for example, the Shanidar Cave.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Shanidar_Cave_-_overview.jpg/1280px-Shanidar_Cave_-_overview.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Shanidar_Cave_-_overview.jpg/1280px-Shanidar_Cave_-_overview.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excavations by Ralph Solecki at Shanidar Cave, in the mountains of Kurdistan, revealed that it was inhabited for thousands of years from the Palaeolithic onwards. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
What were they doing with the grain? How did they discover malt? The <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2018/09/12/crafting-beer-lead-cereal-cultivation/" target="_blank">earliest scientific evidence for malt in the Fertile Crescent </a>dates to c13,000 years ago according to research by Professor Li Liu and her colleagues of Stanford University. Malting and making malt sugars from the grain is an ancient technology. <br />
<br />
Grain, when it is still green on the ear and not yet quite ripe is slightly sweet. Sweet enough to be attractive to eat. This is confirmed by our own bere crop. We have tasted the unripe green grain, it was sweet and grassy. Ripe grain is hard, difficult to chew and not sweet. If these people gathered the ripe grains and stored them, they may well have wetted them to soften them. This would start the germination and would again make them slightly sweet. They could easily have then dried these damp slightly sweetened grains in the sun for storage, if left undried the grain would spoil.<br />
<br />
Now for the trick.<br />
<br />
If they had started germinating them and there was period of heavy rain and no sun lasting for days, then I could imagine that they could take the grain into the cave and spread it out on the floor to dry. It would, of course, not dry but they may have continued turning the grains in an attempt to dry them, until the sun returned. An excellent tool for doing this would be a large scapula, maybe an ox's shoulder blade. This is essentially floor malting. It is the trick that is often overlooked by many archaeologists in the literature. Malt is usually described as sprouted grain, which it is not. In 2019 Merryn was invited to attend a workshop: Ancient Beer in Europe. It was organised by a number of archaeobotanists from around the world and an image of sprouted grain was used in the promotional material. See below. Merryn was unable to attend the meeting due to illness and so she was unable to present her paper on malt, malting and traditional techniques of making malt sugars. Her paper was read in her absence by one of the participants. She is in the process of writing it up. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0-Exsh9gS0x4c0o7B3G9vaOljkuNocuXiOP7FD27lsU9bzSRx2RAH5p4O9vYhDP78SadkIkkcbgNV636btu2G8ALCRCHPiddMj4v7d0NjBHFTrufGrdx5b4YAmKWdsrUHBzQDzCWrIA/s1600/image_sprouts.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="1600" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0-Exsh9gS0x4c0o7B3G9vaOljkuNocuXiOP7FD27lsU9bzSRx2RAH5p4O9vYhDP78SadkIkkcbgNV636btu2G8ALCRCHPiddMj4v7d0NjBHFTrufGrdx5b4YAmKWdsrUHBzQDzCWrIA/s640/image_sprouts.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This image is of sprouted grain. It is not malt.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSDOD4qGcpNpl9uNAvqtPTEgCUxwTUCzcgdP-JObeG_8PY6Usglb2je18_JcAjrv7LV6vEo_T3UxXlKJvRUC_d-x_cYzj668fo-7nprdpLW_bTHkF09cp_7Ds-YdxOMm_9l-O8WH973k-/s1600/1024px-Gr%25C3%25BCnmalz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSDOD4qGcpNpl9uNAvqtPTEgCUxwTUCzcgdP-JObeG_8PY6Usglb2je18_JcAjrv7LV6vEo_T3UxXlKJvRUC_d-x_cYzj668fo-7nprdpLW_bTHkF09cp_7Ds-YdxOMm_9l-O8WH973k-/s400/1024px-Gr%25C3%25BCnmalz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This is brewers malt. Courtesy Wikimedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><p>
Any growth of the grain is from starch turned into sugars, which in turn is converted into cellulose. When grain has sprouted to the point of having green shoots, it has lost potential sugars. Malt is fully germinated grain with minimal growth. In all the literature that I have read, including that by maltsters, the turning and raking of the malt is to prevent the roots from tangling. I have seen unturned malt in the corners of a malting floor and it is indeed matted, with both roots and shoots, greenish in colour. <br />
<br />
I think that the turning and raking of the malt confuses the <a href="https://www.lexico.com/definition/geotropism" target="_blank">geotropism</a> of the shoots. The poor shoots are desperate to grow upwards, but never get chance to find out which way is up, so they don't grow. The grain continues to germinate for the next 3 to 5 days until complete conversion of the grain is achieved, normally with minimal sprouting. The shoots are less than the length of the grain.<br />
<br />
Inside the grain alpha and beta amylase enzymes have been produced in the aleurone layer and just underneath there are erosion pits in the starchy endosperm. Merryn has some scanning electron microscope pictures which show this. They were taken for her research funding bids between 2000 and 2004. The grains were 6000 year old carbonised grain from the excavations of a large neolithic rectangular timber building at Balbridie, Scotland. There were thousands of grains and Professor Ian Ralston gave her six to examine. They were scarcely bigger than grape pips. More on this in a later blog.<br />
<br />
The proteolytic enzymes that are also produced have degraded the protein matrix that binds the starch granules into a hard grain. Once properly converted and dried, gently, so as not to degrade the alpha and beta amylase enzymes, we have malt. This has completely different properties to unmalted grain. It is friable and easily crushed to release malt flour. No grinding is needed, just a flat stone and a pounder.<br />
<br />
This turning and raking of the germinating grain is such a clever trick, like fire lighting, that once discovered it would never be forgotten. A perfect tool for manipulating the grain like this is a scapula. However, inhibiting sprouting fails at temperatures close to and above 20 degrees Centigrade in the malt bed. This is why traditional floor maltsters did not make malt when there is no R in the month name. An exception to this are the caves at Nottingham, England, which have a low constant temperature. Malt was made all year round in medieval times and earlier. A cave is an ideal place to make malt. <br />
<br />
Interestingly a scapula was found in one of the large stone cisterns at the epi Palaeolithic site <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe" target="_blank">Gobekli Tepe.</a><u> </u>One was also found in the Bronze Age "food vessel" cist burial of a young woman at Achavanich, Scotland. The original interpretation of the residues in this beaker by Moffatt was one of a grain based beer, the earliest evidence for beer in Scotland. See our blogs on 'Beakers were for beer' parts one, two and three for more details. <br />
<br />
I think that sometime before 23,000 years ago the seed gatherers of the Fertile Crescent had cracked the trick of malting by turning the damp grain on the floors of caves with scapulas. They could then have made sweet malty biscuits. Merryn has done this on hot stones beside a fire. These "malt cakes" are sweet, tasty and attractive, far nicer than bread. She made some at a demonstration of "mashing in" techniques at the Eindhoven Open Air Archaeology Museum in 2009. They were quickly consumed by the visitors. </p><p>A recent paper <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/cooking-in-caves-palaeolithic-carbonised-plant-food-remains-from-franchthi-and-shanidar/0CB510C9E528CD7AD923469D78E14E42">"Cooking in caves"</a>, shows that the people of the paleolithic would have had the sophisticated resources and technology to make malt, and sweet malt and pulse baked patties. See Figure 10D.<br /></p><p><br />
There is a site called Ohalo II on the shore of Lake Galilee where excavators found traces of starch granules on a large rock and fire blackened stones nearby. They interpreted this as bread making. As far as I know, they did not look for morphological changes in the starch granules consistent with malting like Professor Li Liu did at Raqefet cave.<br />
<br />
Once the art of malting and making sweet biscuits on hot stones has been mastered, fermentation by serendipity only requires some sort of container and water. At Gobekli Tepe, an epi Palaeolithic site in Turkey, they found limestone cisterns cut from rock. When I first saw a photo of one of these cisterns in a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235799794_The_role_of_cult_and_feasting_in_the_emergence_of_Neolithic_communities_New_evidence_from_Gobekli_Tepe_south-eastern_Turkey" target="_blank">journal article</a>, it had a few rocks in the bottom. I emailed one of the excavators Jens Notroff and told him that I thought that this was a hot rock mash tun and they were making beer. I asked whether they had found any cisterns with small holes in or near the base. He replied that they had not, as yet.<br />
<br />
I was wondering how these people could be lautering and sparging their mashes to obtain a wort. It was also a puzzle to me when we demonstrated a hot rock mash at the replica burnt mound trough on Bressay, Shetland. When I read Lars Marius Garshol's work and learned about kuurnas the problem was solved.<br />
<br />
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WPlQzebT-75X4ySGZm0uXEpxkhA89JFMyYZrqP7gM21eMVVxyUn9Hi_xNkkJkKROhU12sU_LZ1evfc_Bin2MeXHw8_f91E2es5qMc9KOlC-6LtxsGbtaO7nSvknmzQjl0xRRVZ0aL3X9/s1600/Screenshot_2020-08-17_15-31-28.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="658" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WPlQzebT-75X4ySGZm0uXEpxkhA89JFMyYZrqP7gM21eMVVxyUn9Hi_xNkkJkKROhU12sU_LZ1evfc_Bin2MeXHw8_f91E2es5qMc9KOlC-6LtxsGbtaO7nSvknmzQjl0xRRVZ0aL3X9/s400/Screenshot_2020-08-17_15-31-28.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A kuurna, photo by M. Rasanen 1965, courtesy of Lars Marius Garshol</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
There is a burnt mound trough at <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/uwp/stce/2017/00000051/00000001/art00001;jsessionid=i6jfq32jfp3i.x-ic-live-02" target="_blank">Nant Farm</a>, Porth Neigwl, Gwynedd, Wales, where they found piece of a sewn plank boat in the trough. This could be the remains of a kuurna. What better place to store one. A kuurna made from a log would leave no archaeological evidence, except when someone is buried in one and it is interpreted as a log coffin, as at the <a href="https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-bronze-age/the-egtved-girl/" target="_blank">Egtved burial</a>.<br />
<br />
By the time of Gobekli Tepe, people were gathering wild grains and processing them into malt and ale for their feasts. This was winter cereals, gathered in late spring and consumed in the summer.<br />
<br />
Then came the Younger Dryas changing the climate to a cooler condition when these cereals would no longer grow in sufficient quantities for their purposes and cultivation of cereals began. Interestingly this was caused by the impact of bolides in North America and Northern Europe. Professor <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg16121685-700-exodus-to-arthur-by-mike-baillie/" target="_blank">Mike Baillie</a> has proposed, over 20 years ago, an interesting theory that many climate changes have been caused by passing comets, bolide impacts and bolide air-bursts.<br />
<br />
So the answer to the great 1953 "bread or beer" debate by <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1953.55.4.02a00050" target="_blank">Braidwood</a> is neither. It was malt and malt sugars, as Merryn argues at the end of her Master's <a href="https://www.academia.edu/209786/Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic" target="_blank">thesis</a>. This was published as a BAR by invitation in 2004.<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Further reading</b><br />
These books have been very useful in our understanding of the science and practicalities of malt, malting and wort production. Rather expensive to buy but they should be available through inter library loan and are to be found in many University libraries. <br />
<br />
Bewley, J.D. and Black,M. 1985 <i>Seeds: Physiology of Development and Germination.</i> Pub Plenum Press<br />
Second Edition 1994 see in particular Chapter 8<br />
<br />
Briggs, D. E. 1998 <i>Malts and Malting</i>. Pub Springer<br />
<br />
Briggs, D.E., Stevens, R. and Young, T. W. 1981 <i>Malting and Brewing Science Volume 1: Malt and sweet wort. </i>Pub Institute of Brewing.<br />
<br />
Stopes, H. 1885 <i>Malt and Malting: An Historical, Scientific and Practical Treatise </i>Pub Lyon<br />
This has been scanned in by the University of Oxford library. It is available to read online<a href="https://archive.org/details/maltandmaltinga00stopgoog" target="_blank"> here</a>: <br />
<br />
<br />Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-66667119027320303712020-08-09T22:07:00.067+01:002022-12-06T15:40:44.759+00:00The land of milk and honey <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <i>"O, while you live, tell the truth and shame the devil!"</i></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="font-size: small;">(Henry IV, Part I Act 3 Scene 1)</span><i> </i><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>This Blog is written by Graham Dineley, and the opinions, ideas and mistakes are entirely my own. <br />
<br />
The land flowing with milk and honey is a Biblical phrase used to describe a fertile land.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></p><h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="font-weight: normal;">ארץ זבת חלב ודבש</span><span class="tpos"> <abbr></abbr></span><span class="gender"><abbr title="feminine gender"></abbr></span><span class="mention-gloss-paren annotation-paren">(</span><span class="tr Latn" lang="">éretz zavát ẖaláv udvásh</span><span class="mention-gloss-paren annotation-paren">)</span></span></span></span></h1><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
</h1><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span>As I understand this, it is better translated as "The land gushing with goats milk and 'debash'". Debash is not bee's honey but some sort of synthetic sweetness derived from something that grows. It seems to baffle the Biblical scholars. The origin of the word is lost. It is normally interpreted as being made from dates, figs, or even grape juice, for these are the only sources of sweetness that grows that these scholars know of. The term "synthetic sweetness", suggests that thing that is growing is not sweet in itself, but can be processed into sweetness. Liquid malt sugars are a perfect candidate for Debash. <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span> </span></span>
<br />
<br />
</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Fertile_crescent_Neolithic_B_circa_7500_BC.jpg/742px-Fertile_crescent_Neolithic_B_circa_7500_BC.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="742" height="468" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Fertile_crescent_Neolithic_B_circa_7500_BC.jpg/742px-Fertile_crescent_Neolithic_B_circa_7500_BC.jpg" width="451" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fertile Crescent. courtesy of wikimedia commons</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
It is easy to make the assumption that grain processing practises in the Fertile Crescent, the origins of grain agriculture, continue as they always have done. However to do so is to overlook the rise of the Moslem culture in this area. Alcohol production is prohibited under Moslem law. The current indigenous cereal drink, Boza, has a very low alcohol level, around 1%, at which level it is very difficult to get drunk. As a consequence the arts of malting and "mashing in" to make wort is no longer commonplace there.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> I propose that "debash" is actually wort. Then that Biblical phrase "land of milk and honey" makes more sense. It is a metaphor for a land fertile for both grazing animals and cereal crops. It tells me that the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/first-farmers-first-maltsters.html" target="_blank">first farmers</a> of the ancient near east were making malt. They kept caprovids (sheepy goaty things) and grew their cereals primarily to make into malt sugars. This would be about 10,000 years ago when most of Britain and Northern Europe were under ice sheets.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On reconsideration "debash" is more likely to be concentrated wort, much like bee's honey is concentrated flower nectar. There is a modern equivalent of concentrated wort: malt extract. This is a Victorian invention first made by Nestle, when they were experimenting with baby foods in the 19th century. Malt extract is evaporated under a vacuum at a low temperature. This preserves the amylolytic enzymes which convert starches into sugars. If you want to know what "debash" would have tasted like, all you have to do is purchase a jar of malt extract from a whole food shop, or pharmacist. A word of warning, do not get one with added cod liver oil!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFG-sTBQl_vofChyphenhyphenNUz-RxuAfg6WUgayxqfOc077aGMreFglUofJKoTx699cc7dd2Pp-1OLjujoQU0Czdjm7JnRcaK1WfvV5qtLwYW1S285e70PuVIc2g6as-9vdqK5EQoqObe1McV3Bv/s2048/maltextract.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFG-sTBQl_vofChyphenhyphenNUz-RxuAfg6WUgayxqfOc077aGMreFglUofJKoTx699cc7dd2Pp-1OLjujoQU0Czdjm7JnRcaK1WfvV5qtLwYW1S285e70PuVIc2g6as-9vdqK5EQoqObe1McV3Bv/w673-h506/maltextract.jpg" width="673" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the bottom of Potter's label is the caption "One of Nature's natural sweeteners"<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I talk to people about malt extract, I still find some people confuse malt extract with yeast extract. Both are brown and sticky, but malt extract is sweet like honey and yeast extract is extremely salty. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Older people might remember their mothers giving them spoonfuls of malt extract when they were children, for the vitamins.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-JvqchRyvjaE-nI8g-PYVszVHeeXT387fJN66FikUrmhkReEpIDiA1gKsZva_Bra2f6g2JOfzjoZQfq_wGPO-g2mubW6-jx-SuDcQglJm34-rRWZ9H-KMAhrsNsfovZiP4kMaSvaa-JyAxfemlMDDPmt3319UxyGKYVinbxyoo-6kwVF3v4SSBauyg/s4000/IMG_2829.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2248" data-original-width="4000" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-JvqchRyvjaE-nI8g-PYVszVHeeXT387fJN66FikUrmhkReEpIDiA1gKsZva_Bra2f6g2JOfzjoZQfq_wGPO-g2mubW6-jx-SuDcQglJm34-rRWZ9H-KMAhrsNsfovZiP4kMaSvaa-JyAxfemlMDDPmt3319UxyGKYVinbxyoo-6kwVF3v4SSBauyg/w713-h386/IMG_2829.JPG" width="713" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the left malt extract, on the right yeast extract.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The absence of wort in this middle eastern culture has more consequences than just baffling the scholars. It also baffles the archaeologists, for they know nothing of malting or "mashing in", it is not part of their experience, but as a brewer it is part of mine.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /> The two pioneering archaeobotanists who first researched cereal processing, Gordon Hillman and Jack Harlan, both did their field work in Moslem countries, so they never saw or experienced the production of malt, "mashing in" and wort production. This is why it has been overlooked by the archaeological comm</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">unity and is such a mystery to them. As far as I can tell Gordon Hillman(1984) also introduced the concept of "parching the grain" into Archaeology. This is a particularly Arabic practise for nearly ripe grain, and was and is not practised in European agriculture. "Parching the grain" would kill seed corn and also prevent germination for malting.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /> As I have said in the<a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2019/02/oven-mashing.html"> oven mashing blog</a>: when Merryn first started her research into prehistoric brewing, 25 years ago, she amassed all the scholarly literature she could find on the subject. At that point I had nearly 15 years experience of making beer from the grain. Sufficient successes and failures to have a good idea of what works and what does not.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> I found the archaeological literature to be confused and confusing, often contradictory and sometimes downright wrong. It was useless. It had all been written by people who had never made a beer from the grain, and their sources were also from people who had never done it. Being scholarly meant that the scholars and archaeologists believed it, and they still do.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> The only archaeologists that I know of, out of more than a handful, that have tried to make a prehistoric beer and succeeded are the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6K03ovxCM" target="_blank">Moore Group</a>. They came to Orkney to see us in 2005, and to learn how to make beer. All the other attempters have said that they did not need our advice, for they already had a brewer. They mistook fermenting malt extract with brewing, and all their brews have failed, often spectacularly, because they believed the literature. They seem to think that brewing was somehow different in prehistory, and that it has been steadily refined into the modern product.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /> The Moore Group archaeologists tasted our wort and said "God, that's sweet. That is nice!". At all of our demonstrations no other archaeologists would ever taste the wort. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Merryn gave her <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315694020_Neolithic_Ale_Barley_as_a_source_of_sugars_for_fermentation" target="_blank">first paper</a> about malt and ale in the Neolithic in 1998 at the Neolithic Studies Group annual meeting held at the Royal Society in London. We took samples of crushed malt, wort and ale. No one wanted to taste the wort or the ale. During her presentation there was some heckling from a red faced drunken archaeologist at the back. He kept shouting "But the pots aren't big enough!" The last speaker was allowed to run 15 minutes over time so that there was no time for questions. I think this is called filibustering. Here's a <a href="https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/assemblage/html/6/fairbairnrev_web.html" target="_blank">review</a> of the papers presented at this meeting. It seems that this reviewer thought that only big breweries can make beer and that it's not possible to brew on a domestic scale as I do. Merryn did not say that Skara Brae was a brewery, only that they had the necessary material culture and facilities to make malt and ale. Merryn did not say that rectangular timber buildings were breweries, only that they were suitable as grain stores and malt barns. It seems to me that when Merryn said malt and ale, they heard brewing and can only imagine huge modern breweries. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">At the Neolithic Fair at Skaill House, Orkney, in 1999 we had a table set up like a market stall, with samples of malt, wort and ale. When offered a taste the archaeologists all backed away and said "No thanks!" The fair was part of the Neolithic Orkney conference. We were not accepted to present a paper, however, we were allowed to contribute to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315694053_From_Grain_to_Ale_Skara_Brae_a_case_study" target="_blank">chapter 16</a> of the McDonald Institute Monograph about the conference and the associated fair. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2009 we gave a demonstration of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKHB47Hhu_E&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Viking style hot rock mashing</a> at the ancient technology event organised by the Orkney Archaeology Society in Harray. Only two Orkney archaeologists turned up. They backed away, looking horrified, and said "No thanks, we've got to go now" when we offered them a taste of the sweet mash. Their loss. We also gave demonstrations of mashing at Skara Brae for Historic Scotland in the reconstructed Hut 7 for four years, between 2008 and 2012. We actually got paid for these. Tourists and visitors were fascinated by the aroma and the taste of the mash. Sadly no archaeologists ever came to see our demonstrations or wanted to talk to us about our work.<br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLn-47BIkOE-q2S_HSlG0DJp7xmhuzKAwkog2SuHAGPm62N-LXd-aDaOVnZt-ZEvaT6Um7_Mx3Oh45OkGKn89tSElYgdFDiNjULMOVNjoD0_vrT60Xt3A_hDDA1jgWPREBFpd9cttwuQ/s2048/me%252C+demo%252CSkara+Brae.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1151" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsLn-47BIkOE-q2S_HSlG0DJp7xmhuzKAwkog2SuHAGPm62N-LXd-aDaOVnZt-ZEvaT6Um7_Mx3Oh45OkGKn89tSElYgdFDiNjULMOVNjoD0_vrT60Xt3A_hDDA1jgWPREBFpd9cttwuQ/s640/me%252C+demo%252CSkara+Brae.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When Merryn studied to be an Orkney tour guide, part of the training was at Skara Brae. She was told that "some woman says that they were brewing beer at Skara Brae, but the College has pooh poohed it". We are treated as "nutters" and are made fun of by the Orkney College archaeologists, even though they were the first to hear of our work. At our last visit to the Ness of Brodgar excavations, 2019, Merryn was trying to talk to a professor and I saw some passing archaeologist performing a "monkey dance" behind her back. Again their loss.</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> So how, when and where did this malting and making sugars happen? This is discussed in the next blog. </span><br />
<span class="mention-gloss-paren annotation-paren"></span></p>Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-7247427510265424232019-07-24T22:08:00.000+01:002019-07-24T22:08:28.028+01:00<span style="font-size: large;"><b>traditional floor malting and neolithic grain barns (updated)</b></span><br />
<br />
The first malting floor that I ever saw was about 200 years old and made of
local clay. It was at the Corrigall Farm Museum on Orkney, a late 19th
Century farm with two fine stone built barns, one for the
animals and
the other for processing and storing the grain. It has a threshing and
malting floor, good dry storage and a grain
dryer. We visited Orkney in the summer of 1996 to see Skara Brae,
the stone circles and other neolithic sites. Our visit to this farm
museum was a significant day in our
understanding of traditional grain processing techniques - threshing,
winnowing and making the malt to be brewed into ale.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Corrigall Farm Museum." id="pic1" src="http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Images/Community-Life-and-Leisure/Museums/CorrigallExterior.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Corrigall Farm Museum." /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grain barn and kiln at the Corrigall Farm Museum, Orkney.<br />see <a href="http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/corrigall-farm-museum.htm" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
The curator and custodian at the time of our visit 23 years ago was Harry Flett, a
man with plenty of practical experience
of farming, malting and brewing ale. He talked to us about the traditional
way that grain, usually bere barley, was turned into
malt. He explained how the grain barn worked. It gave us an insight into how the
"first farmers" of the Neolithic could have processed the grain they
grew.<br />
<br />
It's not just about grinding grain into flour to make bread or boiling up some kind of gruel or porridge.<br />
<br />
Grain can also be malted. This makes sugars. <br />
<br />
Malt is the main ingredient for ale and beer. It's the source of sugars
for an alcoholic fermentation. The brewer takes the malt, crushes it lightly, mixes
it with hot water in the mash tun to make a sweet liquid, the wort. This can be fermented by the
addition of some barm, the yeasty froth from the previous brew.<br />
<br />Harry Flett told us he would make some bere malt in the barn for us, so
that we could
brew a traditional Orkney beer. He was as good as his word. Some time
later, back in Manchester, we received an 18 kg sack of malt from him,
in the post. This was the last batch of malt to be made in the Corrigall
grain barn. Graham used it to make an ale. He added a few ounces of dried meadowsweet
flowers instead of hops. There was three times more draff or spent grain
than you get from modern barley but only half the potential sugars.
This is because bere is an older strain of barley It is much skinnier than
the barley that is grown today.<br />
<br />
<b>threshing & winnowing</b><br />
The earth and clay floor of the grain barn is ideal for threshing. A stone floor could break the flail or damage the grain. As this brief film shows, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAmyKYPE3vo" target="_blank">Working the flails</a> requires skill, team work and care. The grain barn at Corrigall has two opposing
doorways so that grain can be winnowed indoors in rainy or bad weather. That's what Harry Flett told us. Winnowing
is the process that separates the grain from the chaff. The principle is simple. You throw
the grain up into the air on a windy day.
The fine chaff blows away. The grain falls to the ground.<br />
<br />Today the job of grain threshing and winnowing is done by the combine harvester. A traditional grain barn is no longer essential. <br />
<br />
<b>making the malt</b><br />
Harry Flett told us that, traditionally, a sack of bere barley would have been left in a
shallow stream for a few days. A convenient stream flows just behind
the Corrigall Farm grain barn. Steeping is a very specific process. As the grain awakens
from dormancy it needs oxygen as well as fresh water. A shallow, fast
flowing, tumbling brook is perfect for steeping and aeration. We now understand the science. In the past, folk just knew what to do. <br />
<br />
The clay floor of the barn is used for
the malting process. When the grain has been steeped in the stream for 3 or 4 days, it is heaped onto the floor, where it can drain a little. It is gradually spread out, as it warms up, into a layer a few inches deep as
germination progresses. Making the malt requires experienced, skill, knowledge, time
and patience.<br />
<br />
There are a historical accounts of how the malt was made. John Firth, in his book Reminiscences of an Orkney
Parish (1920) writes that every farmer was his own maltster. The bere
would lay on the floor for several days, by which time it had begun to
germinate, or "show twa taes". This refers to the rootlet and shoot.
Next the grain was rubbed or trampled to remove them and to prevent
further growth. It was then piled into a 'sweet heap', covered with
sacks and straw insulation and left for a few days. This seems to be a
particularly Orcadian tradition of making the malt, and the effect is
that the heap heats up and the enzymes in the green malt begin to digest
the starches. This makes a very characteristic aroma, and a sweet
liquor begins to ooze from the heap. What green malt is not used
immediately is dried gently in the kiln so that it can be stored for
future use.<br />
<br />
Traditional malting involves mimicking the natural conditions in
which grains grow. This is done by laying the steeped grain on a smooth,
well maintained floor surface in a dark, well ventilated building, such
as a barn, until the process of germination is visible. Then it is
called 'malt' and it is dried, slowly and gently, in a grain drying
kiln.<br />
<br />
The kiln fire is not situated directly beneath the malt, rather it is
set to one side. A flue takes the warm air to the bowl-shaped base of the kiln. The flue will hopefully lose any sparks on the way. The
bowl has a ledge. A lattice of sticks is spread over this ledge and a
central shaft, called a kiln lace. Straw is spread over this, and the
damp green malt spread over that. It takes a long time for the malt to
dry, and the fire must be tended with care. Towards the end, when the
malt is dry the underlying wood and straw is very dry, and prone to
ignition. If this occurs the kiln lace is withdrawn and the assembly
falls to the bottom of the bowl, and hopefully extinguishes.<br />
<br />
Many malt
barns have been known to burn down.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSP5sr19Mtu2O8viXCf00eW_HxpuRx33SVWOqFZLx8iFruLx_N5eyvu7wKQZ8oH80r6NpU8Z5RXX9dwlZiW8QSkqI-sdUqiYfgCro_A8CB75Y2RM2RDhsGwZr3cdAkVV_h3ZvfuYv6t8/s1600/smallIMG_1116C.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">left to right: the fire hole, the drying kiln, a mash paddle and malt
shovel and the malt, grain or oats mill, used to bruise or lightly crush
the malt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The grain drying kiln at Corrigall is, perhaps, the best preserved on Orkney, but
there are other traditional grain barns that are still standing. <br />
<br />We have only recently begun to understand the biochemistry of malting, mashing and fermentation.
Maltsters and brewers have known the necessary techniques for thousands of years. Once known as
the 'ubiquitous craft' there were maltsters in every town and village, and on large households and farms. Most farmers knew how to make their own
malt and ale. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and improved
transport and communications, malting became more centralised and industrialised. For example, <a href="http://www.fawcett-maltsters.co.uk/" target="_blank">Thomas Fawcett & Sons Ltd</a> of Chesterfield is built on the banks of the canal. The later railway is close by. Eventually small scale malting
ceased except in remote rural communities.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Kirbuster Museum" height="299" src="https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/westmainland/kirbustermuseum/images/kirbustermuseum-450.jpg" width="450" /></div>
<br />
<br />
The grain barn at <a href="https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/westmainland/kirbustermuseum/index.html" target="_blank">Kirbuster Farm Museum has</a> buildings ranging from
early Medieval to Victorian. The grain barn has lost its' roof, but the
grain drying kiln seems to be mostly intact. The nearby clear, bubbling stream cannot seen on this photograph.<br />
<br />
We can summarise the necessary features that a Grain Barn requires.<i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>... it must be close to a reliable source of fresh, running water</i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>... a dark, well ventilated building</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>... a smooth, regularly repaired, well maintained floor made of beaten earth or clay </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>... a way of drying the malt by gentle heating</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>... dry storage facilities</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>... people who have necessary skill and knowledge - a maltster</i><br />
<br />
</div>
<b>neolithic grain barns, malting floors and fires</b><br />
The "first farmers" of the British Isles began to grow and process grain
about 6000 years ago. They lived in circular houses, such as the ones
that have recently been <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/02/neolithic-houses-recreated-at-stonehenge" target="_blank">built</a>
at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre. They also built structures that
archaeologists call 'rectangular timber buildings'. These vary in size,
from the huge timber hall at Balbridie, Fife, Scotland, to much smaller structures, such as one dated to the early neolithic at the <a href="http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/orkneys-first-farmers.htm" target="_blank">Braes of Ha'Breck</a>, on the island of Wyre, Orkney. <br />
<br />
These two buildings were involved in grain processing and
storage. Thousands of carbonised grains of wheat and barley were found
at both sites. Balbridie was completely burned down and Wyre was
partly damaged by fire. The timber building at Wyre was re
floored, re built and used again after the fire.
Most of the early <a href="http://eja.sagepub.com/content/9/2-3/229.abstract" target="_blank">neolithic rectangular timber buildings in Ireland</a>
were destroyed by fire. Between fifty and sixty rectangular timber
structures have so far been identified in Ireland. Carbonised grain,
spikelets, glumes and other indications of grain processing activity
have been found in many of these excavations.<br />
<br />
Current archaeological
theory suggests that these buildings were deliberately burned down as a kind of special memorial event for the community. It has
even been interpreted as a 'ritual event', one that would have been
spectacular and visible for miles around.<br />
<br />
I suggest that it is far more likely that these buildings were destroyed
or damaged by an accidental kiln fire, caused by the drying of the
grain or the malt when it went very badly wrong.<br />
<br />
Fires at Maltings have
been a common event throughout the years, even in the 20th century. The
photo below was taken in the 1990s and shows the kiln fire at the
Maltings in Newark.<br />
<br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCP15ZxAxSRMVAy7o9t1dVU0dG0VoRv7nS-bEwXmd5kH0FlgiA-9ICt_IT1Tz4mDCZlflmayebDfg-XhPLwuDSQgEik3rV3oR-FuvSBhNy_y65RCI32qrUelCQJYUaMHu4NPV8d7N_mXM/s1600/A-kiln-fire-in-Newark-in-the-1990's.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" />
<br />
<br />
There are so many rectangular timber buildings of Neolithic date that
have burned down that it is not practical to name them all. Here are some thoughts on a neolithic building that did not burn down. <br />
<br />
<b>Lough Gur, Co Limerick, Ireland, Building A</b><br />
The Lough Gur excavations were published in
the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Volume LIV, Section C,
Number 2, 1951. I got special permission to access this volume
from the stacks at John Rylands University Library, in the final months
before the submission date for my Master's Thesis.<br />
<br />
It was well worth it.
This building is a very good candidate for a grain barn, with
facilities for winnowing, a threshing area, a malting floor and evidence
of a hearth, or grain drying area. The illustration below is from an, as yet, unpublished paper of mine. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Zcku1whTUFFFTY0tcs68dgvpy0cEcOkPBX_QUIRXK-UehSz3sJ8GBk_ZIpqlUW2qtQOCLABOxKwEAUid32h9-V8tM2FiZNKof9_cCpmU4kLwZ7ATJMk16g2cbL5RO5nTC363ML3clTQ/s1600/Lough+Gur+a+grain+barn.jpg" width="452" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Not every neolithic building
was a house.<br />
<br />
Some of them were used as grain barns - something that would have
been very useful for those grain processing 'first farmers' of Neolithic Britain.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-41347072156855311582019-02-17T16:42:00.000+00:002019-02-19T09:41:32.954+00:00Hearth mashing<br />
In the summer of 1997, before Graham did his <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2019/02/oven-mashing.html" target="_blank">oven mashing</a> work in the autumn, I'd been doing some hearth mashing experiments in the back garden. I wanted to see whether I could make malt sugars using basic equipment and facilities, something similar to that used by people in the neolithic era: an open fire and pots. I did some baking on a stone beside the fire as well. I used pale crushed malt from Fawcett's. It was simple, straightforward stuff. <br />
<br />
Graham was dubious that it would work. He reckoned it might not be easy to meet the narrow specific temperature band, between 62 and 70 degrees Centigrade for the successful enzymatic reduction for the saccharification. But I thought I'd have a go anyway. <br />
<br />
Replica neolithic pots were not easily available then. However the local garden centre had some suitable unglazed earthenware pots, so we bought and used them. The bowls were porous and, given they were to be used for liquids, they had to be sealed. We sealed some with beeswax, others with lard or butter. But this is another story - fats in prehistoric pots and what they might or might not represent. It's complicated. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>The first hearth</b></div>
</div>
Using stones from the garden, I made a small hearth and lit a fire. I went for the classic camp fire style, a round hearth. In one of the bowls I mixed some <span id="goog_635245486"></span><span id="goog_635245487"></span>crushed malt with cold water, as below, and started to heat it in the hot embers. I had some cold water ready to cool it down, should it become too hot.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiyvQyI-C3mj4yUYyLIc7ZuY563sXavOkeGIUszXkNh3L7nrqU1i3wz5-m-1O-VG_UOnu6PMzs2NC7OF2z8iaoX0CKOlLvknjOGGY5RZ_Nz8hHoLdLgg0rqKZNVlNZTl3M68pTyzwd1k/s1600/fig1.7+C.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiyvQyI-C3mj4yUYyLIc7ZuY563sXavOkeGIUszXkNh3L7nrqU1i3wz5-m-1O-VG_UOnu6PMzs2NC7OF2z8iaoX0CKOlLvknjOGGY5RZ_Nz8hHoLdLgg0rqKZNVlNZTl3M68pTyzwd1k/s400/fig1.7+C.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the first hearth and the start of the mash</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
After about half an hour, the mixture was beginning to smell like one of Graham's mashes. There was that familiar sweet, delicious, malty aroma. The mash slowly began to change colour, becoming darker brown. It tasted sweet.<br />
<br />
Although the conversion from starch into sugars was working, albeit slowly and not very efficiently, I found it difficult to control the temperature in such a small hearth. The embers were cooling too quickly. The mash was getting cold. The hearth was far too small to be a working hearth. I never needed to use that cold water.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNNamnhfP3VkL1j_Jp6UQmj_Sx_PK8o079mniQc03J1JM3eTHicKsWlctMlbXXvfaTSISUKXSgWQBnk7IYURp39YMfKEvMquYIUb8rsFjq48hNnjwBM0ZvZjopr-INIuz7CjkXQ4RYNY/s1600/bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="902" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNNamnhfP3VkL1j_Jp6UQmj_Sx_PK8o079mniQc03J1JM3eTHicKsWlctMlbXXvfaTSISUKXSgWQBnk7IYURp39YMfKEvMquYIUb8rsFjq48hNnjwBM0ZvZjopr-INIuz7CjkXQ4RYNY/s400/bowl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">saccharification begins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I tried adding wood to the fire. This didn't work. The wood produced flames but not sufficient radiant heat. I moved a hot stone next to the pot, that didn't work either. Quite clearly, a lot more practice using an open fire was required.<br />
<br />
I needed a bigger hearth. More of that later.<br />
<br />
<b>Making sweet barley cakes, malty biscuits: bappir</b><br />
By now the large flat stone was hot to the touch. So I decided to use it for a kind of baking or mashing experiment. I had no idea what would happen. I'd never done anything like this before. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Uy7ydxnIVyYd7fkIFfzM22YaMe4RkjytR-qpj4wyzFy7y_M7zFUT3lWFv4jSx2hJOACCabVCVhAezNiI65uwlyzPktvQQXJnlRT8ONCXFUZ6Vm3snfushPutISnSw6nzw1sHCLb8Kh8/s1600/first+round+hearth+with+starchy+malt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="902" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Uy7ydxnIVyYd7fkIFfzM22YaMe4RkjytR-qpj4wyzFy7y_M7zFUT3lWFv4jSx2hJOACCabVCVhAezNiI65uwlyzPktvQQXJnlRT8ONCXFUZ6Vm3snfushPutISnSw6nzw1sHCLb8Kh8/s400/first+round+hearth+with+starchy+malt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">making malt flat breads or sweet bappir - what should we call them?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Crushed malt was mixed with cold water to
make a thicker mixture than I had made for the bowl mash. A few little 'cakes' or 'biscuits' were gently warmed up on the hot flat stone. It was not a fierce heat. Provided
that we kept splashing them with water, they too began to turn a nice golden brown colour. Water is necessary for the enzymatic reduction, both as a physical transport and as a chemical component in the hydrolysis.<br />
<br />
After about half an hour, the malted barley biscuits began to taste sweet. This is a simple demonstration
that sugars can be made from malted grain with no need for a container. I'm not sure what to call them; they are not like modern cakes or biscuits. Perhaps the best description is the Sumerian word <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bappir" target="_blank">bappir</a>, which seems to have been a kind of beer bread.<br />
<br />
There was no honey, dates or yeast in my bappir. The only ingredients were crushed malt and water. All of the malty sweetness came from the malted barley, by the process of the enzymatic reduction of starch into malt sugars. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lhqHIXa_LSk23lfQNgbgG_O4A4jbeLBctDbJlo0zeKomUE1vun8aVu962Yd06rObG5iq7gNC9xjCNKDmLgXeoG11mxRvZPtmA-tWYtfrtrQU5ab1_-GO-4jXc8yiB0rHVwO04RbOZgI/s1600/hearthcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="833" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lhqHIXa_LSk23lfQNgbgG_O4A4jbeLBctDbJlo0zeKomUE1vun8aVu962Yd06rObG5iq7gNC9xjCNKDmLgXeoG11mxRvZPtmA-tWYtfrtrQU5ab1_-GO-4jXc8yiB0rHVwO04RbOZgI/s400/hearthcakes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>The second hearth</b><br />
I mentioned earlier that I needed a bigger hearth. So I built one, based upon the large rectangular hearths that we had seen at the neolithic village of Skara Brae, Orkney. It was so much easier to use than the small round hearth. I could have a fire running at one end, then rake the hot embers to surround the bowl that I was mashing in. The temperature of the mash was a lot easier to sustain for the necessary hour or so for the conversion from starch to malt sugars.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20Ssmtcd6u3PaHTJnLCi1EeEt5W_56OZqqSCKacAcj4N2SzSVHoO9xvYpsmvtmrzCcTQudMROl5Rz9xJQG_VaikX0pGdVTLaJMmwF-edpHrxzUvxApE28MHM034q7zDoHs_wcCCPj5yQ/s1600/starchy+bowl1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20Ssmtcd6u3PaHTJnLCi1EeEt5W_56OZqqSCKacAcj4N2SzSVHoO9xvYpsmvtmrzCcTQudMROl5Rz9xJQG_VaikX0pGdVTLaJMmwF-edpHrxzUvxApE28MHM034q7zDoHs_wcCCPj5yQ/s320/starchy+bowl1.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the second hearth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
I could see, smell and taste the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html" target="_blank">saccharification</a> in my mini mash tun. Today experimental archaeologists talk about the experiential and the experimental aspects of what they do and what they try to re-create. In this simple hearth mashing experiment I was experiencing the aromas, the taste and the effectiveness of this simple technique.<br />
<br />
I successfully made malt sugars from malted grain and hope that there is enough information for this fundamental experiment to be repeated by others. If not, then please get in touch and ask me about it. <br />
<br />
<b>Doing a demonstration, no longer an experiment</b><br />
These simple hearth mashes and making sweet bappir from crushed malted barley and water formed a part of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321301736_Barley_Malt_and_Ale_in_the_Neolithic_BAR_S1213?_sg=j3OsK8lfJMucMiRxVbzZY4bS59SlMzfK1nm0AdynXTMUyZMn7dfMv7UDp8UlozfRNxmkLR5gOIcnBw-4stBdSzKmeFAjCGFvbygVRZQy.CikwkVnL9JZ0molKAFr__MQQarQ-TClmCWg1tVfe9FZ9YInyqiB_ih4gIiasw3Jvxd2wuWrsWsznGCZ4bkJYag" target="_blank">my M.Phil thesis</a> 'Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic' which was completed in 1999 and published (by invitation) as a BAR in 2004. The experiments were repeated several times. Every time the crushed malt and water became sweet and the saccharification worked. Eventually, what had started as an experiment in my back garden became a demonstration. <br />
<br />
In the spring of 2009 I was invited by <a href="https://exarc.net/" target="_blank">EXARC</a> to the Eindhoven Open Air Museum to take part in a beer brewing workshop. I arrived with nothing. I had no malt and no pots. I wasn't sure what I was going to do.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, the medieval brewers had plenty of crushed malted barley for their demonstration and they were happy to give me some. The museum potter, Flor Buchuk Gil, had some fine pots and she was happy for me to choose and use one of hers. For the mashing in demonstration I selected a beautifully made wide earthenware bowl that had been burnished to make it watertight.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fSCJiFyi2SQZ0m959wudZKVOmFzMutncVJ9gVA6Hr1vKsBfyu2N1KFypN3_QWX5QjWznHBCHqmtZTGNBd9ff5aibhNMIXKMPV65tidN5aMKvullnxjrQFmGW1-FC8lzTONeIgCI6LXA/s1600/Figure+7+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fSCJiFyi2SQZ0m959wudZKVOmFzMutncVJ9gVA6Hr1vKsBfyu2N1KFypN3_QWX5QjWznHBCHqmtZTGNBd9ff5aibhNMIXKMPV65tidN5aMKvullnxjrQFmGW1-FC8lzTONeIgCI6LXA/s400/Figure+7+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mashing in a bowl and sweet bappir or malt flat breads at Eindhoven Museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The hearth was large and round, so there was plenty of space to burn wood and use the hot embers from that to heat the bowl mash. The conversion was excellent. The initial saccharification occurred within the first hour of mashing. I was busy talking to visitors, explaining the process and what was happening. In that time I neglected to stir the mash. It became caramelised and ended up being incredibly tasty and sweet.<br />
<br />
Some small flat stones were found. They were used to make some sweet bappir, as I had done in the back garden. Once again, the saccharification worked very well indeed. Visitors tasted the mash from the bowl and declared it to be delicious. I noticed that, at the end of the day, most of the sweet bappir or malt flatbreads had been eaten. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITjalljPhGV3cF7A1qtwc5qy6eKzaYMIvOIhuq7Ec5ufbLxh0tMYRWFD4fk6jl85aWGvIsZTKmgtAUSPd2_lrRHBjTFuwexuG556BSweSPVtONRHvVzK2WwN3KK0IMWwRDC8uEal11Xc/s1600/img_0378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITjalljPhGV3cF7A1qtwc5qy6eKzaYMIvOIhuq7Ec5ufbLxh0tMYRWFD4fk6jl85aWGvIsZTKmgtAUSPd2_lrRHBjTFuwexuG556BSweSPVtONRHvVzK2WwN3KK0IMWwRDC8uEal11Xc/s400/img_0378.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pale crushed malt, a bowl mash and most of the sweet bappir have been eaten. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
Making malt sugars from crushed malt requires water, but it does not require a container for that water. Malt flat-breads (aka sweet bappir) can be made on a hot stone beside a fire with nothing other than malt, stone, water and fire. This technology, or alchemy, was available to the first seed gatherers of the ancient Near East. All they needed was the knowledge and experience of malting the gathered cereal grains.<br />
<br />
Professor Li Liu and her team at Stanford University have recently identified morphological changes in starch granules that are consistent with malting. These date from 13,000 years ago. See <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2018/09/12/crafting-beer-lead-cereal-cultivation/" target="_blank">here</a> for more details. <br />
<br />
This technology could be many tens of thousands of years old, beginning with the first seed gatherers. These malt flat-breads are so attractive and tasty that people eat them. They would have been more attractive than un-malted flat-breads. Once this trick with cereal grains was discovered it would not be lost. Today we probably eat some malt every day. It's added to breakfast cereals and confectionery to make them more attractive.<br />
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<br />Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-73594917543867692842019-02-11T17:29:00.006+00:002021-11-19T16:36:25.690+00:00brewing vintage and antique beers<div style="text-align: center;">
<b> Beers from a bygone era</b></div>
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When I stumbled across Boak and Bailey's blog about Pollards : <a href="https://boakandbailey.com/2017/04/only-a-northern-brewer/" target="_blank">Only a northern brewer</a> it took me down memory lane to when I first started brewing with all grain. It was Autumn 1982. I had just bought a house in Withington, South Manchester. I could do what I liked, without disturbing or disturbance from shared accommodation house-mates. I had got a second hand Baby Burco boiler, formerly used for nappies, and plastic buckets and 20 litre snap lid containers.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9RA1XjAFgoR1MGeDRm4CyqSA_Wq9AIrrDFGqi1Dj5bS41QpWybnQzmEWe6nB006ROBBbossMwUufQKFQd-DRVaNbcV0_L4Fal-kw0XTHOdNcYEAPp5KraBUFSn-xZwA2lHCXyenw6uU4/s1600/IMG_2756.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9RA1XjAFgoR1MGeDRm4CyqSA_Wq9AIrrDFGqi1Dj5bS41QpWybnQzmEWe6nB006ROBBbossMwUufQKFQd-DRVaNbcV0_L4Fal-kw0XTHOdNcYEAPp5KraBUFSn-xZwA2lHCXyenw6uU4/w640-h358/IMG_2756.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brewery in the garage</td></tr>
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My first Baby Burco on the left, on it's third element, is now relegated to heating sparge water. In the middle is my last remaining beer sphere, Peco mash tun and demi-johns. Inside the blue sleeping bags there is 10 gallons of beer in the final stages of primary fermentation. </div>
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I bought my ingredients from Hillgate Brewing Supplies in Stockport, the shop mentioned by Boak and Bailey. It must have been just after the shop had changed hands from Pollard. The man running it was John Hoskins, if my memory serves me right. I would phone in an order: "Two of page 88 please" and pick it up the next day. He would make up recipes from David Line's "Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy", which was a boon for a novice brewer without any scales. </div>
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That book and it's brother "The Big Book of Brewing" were my guides throughout my initial brewing experiences. I had developed a taste for traditional cask conditioned ales as championed by CAMRA, and was determined to make my own beers like that.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The books</td></tr>
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With the repeal of the brewing license laws in 1963 by <a href="https://boakandbailey.com/2013/04/maudling-homebrewers/" target="_blank">Reginald Maudling</a> home brewing beer became popular. David Line was a pioneer in small scale domestic, kitchen, beer brewing. He developed a lot of techniques and went on to try and recreate recipes like the commercial beers. </div>
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When we first moved up to Orkney I thought that I should get new copies of these books, as the old ones were getting a bit battered. I bought them on-line which gave me the opportunity to review them, which I did with glowing praise. A few months later I checked the reviews again to see what others had said. There was a comment for TBBoB: "This guy recommends fermenting in a trash can! Eugh, I don't think I'll bother with it!" or words to that effect.</div>
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A review for BBLTYB said "I've tried brewing three of these beers, and not one of them tastes anything like those you buy." Actually they were quite right. But they had completely missed the point that it was the beers that they bought that had changed over those 22 years and not the recipes.</div>
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So if any of you readers want to try making beers and ales like they used to taste in the 1970s and 1980s I recommend BBLTYB. I lent it to a friend who was also starting up brewing at that time. He recommended:</div>
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86 Eldridge Pope : "Royal Oak"</div>
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87 Fullers : "London Pride"</div>
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91 Greene King : "Abbott Ale"</div>
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I tried the following beers with success:</div>
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88 Gales : "HSB" still my favourite. Now I add 1/2lb of flaked oats for the mouth feel. I never did add the saccharine.</div>
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94 Hook Norton : "Old Bill"</div>
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109 Shepherd Neame : "Best Bitter"</div>
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142 Stella Artois</div>
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148 Grolsch</div>
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I can still remember Stella Artois changing in the late 1980s, so that I would only buy imported Stella. That made in the UK was just not the same. Come to that when I bought some cans of Guinness five years ago, it was just not right either. To me it is so sad that these traditional beers, lagers and ales have changed their manufacturing methods and now taste nothing like their original forefathers. </div>
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Fashions change. American citrus hops have become popular, Mango IPA and other exotic recipes, all these leave me cold. I prefer the old traditional British cask conditioned ales, and so I will continue to brew my own.</div>
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On a completely different tack, I have been wondering why it is that Merryn and I have so much difficulty in explaining the science and biochemistry of malting, mashing and fermentation to archaeologists.</div>
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David Line was an Electrical Engineer, as was my father. He was one of the engineers involved in building the National Grid after the 2nd world war, and he used to make hedgerow wines at home. I used to be a Computer Systems Engineer and I am from a scientific/engineering background. I wonder how many other brewers have a science background and if there are any with a humanities background.</div>
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I wonder if C.P. Snow's concept of two divided cultures (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultures" target="_blank">Two Cultures</a>) has something to do with this communication gap. Archaeologists, anthropologists and sociologists are all usually from a humanities background. Maybe they see things completely differently from myself and other engineers. When
I try to explain a scientific fact to an "ologist" they often tell me it is
just an opinion. In the absence of corroborative evidence from their
own literature it cannot be considered significant. Whereas to me it is a truth, like gravity and other phenomena.</div>
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Graham Dineley</div>
Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-61797838525400042982019-02-05T12:00:00.000+00:002020-08-19T10:10:51.501+01:00Oven mashingThis blog was written by Graham the brewer. Opinions are entirely his own. <br />
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When we first started investigating the origins of beer brewing, I was fortunate enough to have been making beer from the grain in the traditional* way for some 15 years. Brewing on a small scale of 5 to 10 gallons at a time, which would be about the volumes of some of the large Neolithic Grooved Ware buckets that Merryn had found in her research into the literature. So I thought this was quite a relevant experience. The processes for making beer can vary according to climate and equipment, but the fundamental biochemistries are invariant.<br />
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*) By traditional here I mean the European tradition, as from around the 18th Century, when brewing first became industrialised. The American tradition was interrupted by Prohibition, when malting and mashing was turned into making malt extract for the food industry. Malt extract is a late 19thC invention. It was marketed as a <a href="https://www.kcet.org/food/from-beer-to-cookies-malt-syrup-through-the-years">health supplement</a>. When Prohibition was repealed American brewers mostly used extract, because it is a lot easier to make and to control extract brewing; their mashing arts were largely lost. Many American home brewers use extract or "brew in a bag" or a mixture. Americans would call what we do "conventional all grain brewing" see <a href="https://biabbrewing.com/" target="_blank">"brew in a bag" explained.</a><br />
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I had made enough beer and enough mistakes to have a good idea of what works, and what doesn't. So when I read the Archaeological/Anthropological literature on beer brewing that Merryn had gathered I realised that it was useless. It was largely anecdotal, confused and confusing, for it was written by academics who had never made a beer, and their source material was also from academics who had not made beer, they kept repeating the same old myths. They are considered to be experts in this field, but none of them had ever made a beer. How can one be an expert when one has no experience?<br />
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A lot of the archaeological literature on beer brewing is completely wrong. There seems to be an unshakeable idea that somehow there was some sort of primitive or primordial beer that had been discovered when a loaf of bread fell into a bucket of water, or grain in a pot was rained upon, and they then spontaneously turned into some sort of beer. It was a primitive beer, but it was steadily refined into the modern product.<br />
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I knew that this was utter nonsense for making beer requires a three stage process: <br />
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1) preparing the grains for converting into sugars : malting<br />
2) converting the malt into liquid sugars : mashing or saccharification<br />
3) turning the liquid sugars into alcohol : fermentation<br />
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All three stages require completely different conditions, so there is no way that any two or even all three could be conflated, they have to be separate.<br />
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So I set out to see if I could make this beer-bread or Bappir that both the Egyptians and the Sumerians had used.<br />
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I could see that there was no point in baking a yeasted loaf of dough or even malt in a conventional oven, and then expect to make sugars from it. The heat would kill the yeast and any enzymes long before the bread had conventionally baked. Bappir could not be anything like bread as we know it. The naive academic assumption is that anything baked in an oven must be bread, just as there is an assumption that all querns were for grinding grain into flour to make bread.<br />
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However, I thought that if crushed malt was mixed with water into a very thick mash, and if this was placed in a very low oven, there was a chance that the mash would pass through the band of temperatures necessary for conversion and hopefully stay within that band for long enough to effect a conversion.<br />
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We had an old 1960s very heavy gas cooker that had been converted from town gas (pyrolised coal) to natural gas (methane). It had an oven with the lowest setting , gas mark 1/4. It was very much like this illustration below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwAYnW1V6kKvUKl8Pxf5ARHmv3UWHYVLiobUNuJhoivn4yJ6MyLGUwhiI1jZlZY82F-UJvkJhtLDf623z9YYK4i9QwZWgGRUDxM0Ujzgjcbsb5aHXBxIGjmzrZ1luE9eJuyNzjcDvSAq2/s1600/%2524_876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="449" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfwAYnW1V6kKvUKl8Pxf5ARHmv3UWHYVLiobUNuJhoivn4yJ6MyLGUwhiI1jZlZY82F-UJvkJhtLDf623z9YYK4i9QwZWgGRUDxM0Ujzgjcbsb5aHXBxIGjmzrZ1luE9eJuyNzjcDvSAq2/s320/%2524_876.JPG" width="140" /></a></div>
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Two metal cup-cake trays were filled with a stiff mash of crushed pale malt and cold water and were put on the bottom of the oven late one evening and left overnight.<br />
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As we went to bed we were encouraged by the aroma of a mash that was just beginning. In the morning the kitchen was filled with a rich beautiful aroma and the contents of the trays was a deep brown, crispy, crusted and almost dry. I now know that what had happened was that the mashing had at least partially succeeded, and then as the temperature had increased, the Maillard reaction had created the delicious aroma and flavours. The product was baked so hard onto the trays that the only way to remove it was to add hot water to transfer it to the pan. Malt sugars are incredibly sticky and make a very powerful glue.<br />
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Unfortunately there was not enough to make a beer with, but it demonstrated a proof of concept. This was in 1997 and the only digital camera I could borrow was of very low resolution. I didn't take any pictures of the cup cake trays.<br />
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Recently I was trawling through the pictures of Merryn's thesis and I found a picture of the oven mash in bowls, the two on the right. The one on the left is unmashed crushed pale malt. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_0vU0R5__ZpnkDlKf2pFOqXDbT47KOTyzTASbz2nVcxIXXW4GcyMuJ2OdjYcnM0iQT-qmPuajlLaUEDPbl4xLgJDZb-vyiDM9crcTcEQth9rSPgm558elsumh2-bJZULgfgt3SM-9zAB/s1600/pots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1511" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_0vU0R5__ZpnkDlKf2pFOqXDbT47KOTyzTASbz2nVcxIXXW4GcyMuJ2OdjYcnM0iQT-qmPuajlLaUEDPbl4xLgJDZb-vyiDM9crcTcEQth9rSPgm558elsumh2-bJZULgfgt3SM-9zAB/s640/pots.jpg" width="603" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three bowls, one containing crushed malted barley and two with sweet barley mash, showing the contrast in colour. <br />
ref: BAR S1213 Dineley, M. 2004 Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic Fig 1.12, p 8</td></tr>
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We took a bowl of this mash to a presentation that Merryn gave to the Manchester University Archaeology Society in 1997. Those people who were prepared to taste it thought it was sweet and delicious, a bit like granola. One person liked it so much he ate nearly half the bowl.<br />
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Below is the malt liquor that oozed out of the oven mash and was left in the bottom of the pan. I think you will agree there is not enough to make beer with, but if this oven mash was <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/06/lauter-and-sparge.html" target="_blank">lautered and sparged</a> there may be enough for a litre of wort.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQq8E79H_kORB55VALFwcgouYyuz9oPb22eVhGqPVcuO8bCrWNm25UKxTPd7M11c0ijwlmK2vEd8-tTCd1sp6Op7NGCeU-cB-WymCPYpWwxaFhXaxtTtb0T5K6edYbd5Bh09p9LFhyRJiV/s1600/pan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1523" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQq8E79H_kORB55VALFwcgouYyuz9oPb22eVhGqPVcuO8bCrWNm25UKxTPd7M11c0ijwlmK2vEd8-tTCd1sp6Op7NGCeU-cB-WymCPYpWwxaFhXaxtTtb0T5K6edYbd5Bh09p9LFhyRJiV/s640/pan.jpg" width="608" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure sweet malt liquid has filtered through the mash and husks to collect at the bottom of the vessel used for temporary storage of the barley mash. This malt liquid is highly nutritious, being rich in B vitamins. It can be used in several ways. If added to milk it makes a delicious malted milk drink, just like Horlicks. It can be added to other foods or dishes as a sweetener. The mash can also be sparged using hot water to extract more malt sugars (the wort) that can be fermented into ale. <br />
ref: BAR S1213 Dineley, M. 2004 Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic Fig 1.13 p8</td></tr>
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This is why there is no substitute for actually doing these things,
to get an understanding of what is actually happening. There is so much about the
brewing processes that is experiential, the smell, the colour and so many little indicators to give an experienced person feedback as to what is happening and how to regulate it. One really has to do it, to get one's hands sticky, to really appreciate the <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html" target="_blank">saccharification</a>. It is one of those clubs that one can only join by doing it.<br />
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This blog is about trying to recreate this experiment, only this time I would measure, record and take pictures. I have the benefit of much more experience, knowledge and understanding. Enough for me to realise how little I really know, and how much more there is to know.<br />
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I also have the benefit of Lars Marius Garshol's research into traditional Farmhouse brewing. It is an excellent ethnographic study of North European traditional brewing, often using equipment and techniques dating back to at least the Iron Age, e.g. wooden barrels, buckets and other wooden vessels. One needs iron tools to make staves easily.<br />
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Here is his blog on Keptinis : <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/394.html" target="_blank">Traditional oven mashing.</a><br />
And here is a youtube : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4CdMlUpZUI" target="_blank">Keptinis Alus</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The experiment.</span><br />
Our new cooker is also gas (bottled propane), but smaller and of a much lighter construction. It would not take two cup-cake trays on one level. It also has a different control for the oven, no 1/4 only a very low S, which I take to mean Standby or pilot. As I wanted to try making a beer with this batch I decided to use one cup-cake tray and two aluminium food trays. I chose a silicone tray in the hope that if the cakes set solid, they would be easier to remove. However as I discovered the sugars will stubbornly stick to anything!<br />
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I made a stiff mix of water and crushed pale malt at 60C. This was probably a mistake, it should have been 20C. Then I found a shelf that gave a steady 70C, about half-way up the oven for the cup-cake, and put the two deeper trays on next shelf up and left it for two hours. After that I moved them to the top of the oven and turned the heat up slightly and left it for a further two hours. I wasn't prepared to leave it on overnight, because I didn't know how much gas was left in the bottle.</div>
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There was not much darkening, so it had obviously not got hot enough to cause much of a Maillard reaction. Again a mistake it should have been much hotter.<br />
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This was transferred to a mash bag, and hot water added to just cover the grains. The mash bag was drained, and hot water again added to cover the grains. A second covering produced a liquor with very little sweetness and was discarded.<br />
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About six pints were recovered, enough for fermentation. An iodine starch test showed that it was not a complete conversion, but there was enough sugars for a 4 day ferment. Then I added dried meadowsweet flowers as a preservative, too many I think.<br />
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<br />
The finished product, quite light, maybe 3% and far too much meadowsweet, so much so that is no discernable malt flavour, but it is still drinkable and alcoholic.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Conclusions.</span><br />
<br />
I need to do an awful lot more work on this until I can reliably repeat oven mashing.<br />
<br />
Yes it is possible to successfully mash in an oven, but it requires a very low temperature, much lower than needed for a Maillard conditioning, which again needs a very much higher temperature. The two are exclusive.<br />
<br />
So were the Egyptians mashing with their beer bread, or were they conditioning an already converted mash? We may never know, but certainly <a href="https://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/index.php/explore-the-predynastic-settlement/the-brewery">Heirakonpolis </a>has six large and very fine mash tuns, and also the Egyptian texts describe many different beers, of a variety of colours and darknesses.<br />
<br />
So on balance I think that beer bread was just a way of conditioning an already converted mash, to give it colour and flavour.<br />
<br />
We were just very lucky that our old cooker in Manchester had such a thermal inertia that it could spontaneously both mash and condition.Graham Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10544510381162295248noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-8821076557756358182018-03-10T18:12:00.001+00:002018-03-21T10:48:02.360+00:00mashing (and a bit on fermentation)The beer recipes that the brewer of the house follows are inspired by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Line" target="_blank">Dave Line's </a>home brewing book, Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy. This is the same guy who wrote The Big Book of Brewing, which explains the biochemistry of mashing and fermenting so well. Dave Line was an electrical engineer. He was also a pioneer of home mashing and beer brewing, enabling people to make good quality beers from the grain at home using simple equipment, authentic ingredients and traditional techniques. Published in the 1970s, these could be called heritage recipes. In the book, Line explains what mashing is, what happens in the mash tun and how to 'mash in' successfully. There are plenty of ale and beer recipes to follow, from pale ales to imperial stouts. <br />
<br />
The brewer bought these books in 1982 when he got his own house. Before that, he'd only used beer kits which are basically just a large tin of <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/02/crushed-malt-v-malt-extract.html" target="_blank">malt extract</a>. That's all you can do in a shared house with a communal kitchen. Extract brewing. Since 1982 he has brewed nothing but all-grain beers, starting off by following Line's recipes in detail, making mistakes along the way and learning from them. Over the years he has adapted them and now has a brewing recipe of his own that combines different aspects of these traditional beer recipes. First, mashing in some crushed pale malt, then <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/06/lauter-and-sparge.html" target="_blank">lautering and sparging</a> to obtain the wort, adding treacle and dark brown sugar for colour and flavour in the boil. Sometimes, but not always, porridge oats are added to the mash tun. Hops are used, usually Goldings, Bramling Cross and Fuggles. He's made ancient style ales, when the wort is not boiled, a <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/331.html">raw ale</a>. Dried meadowsweet flowers were added for preservation and flavour. The recipe was based upon the analysis of residues on a <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/03/beakers-were-for-beer-part-one.html">Bronze Age beaker </a>from Strathallan, Scotland.<br />
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Line's recipes reflect the brewing industry of his day. There is no mango puree or other novel additions to his recipes, as craft brewers do today. There are some added sugars, specialty roasted malts and a couple of Line's recipes use malt extract. The <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/prehistoricbrewing.htm" target="_blank">transformation of grain into ale</a> is a multi step process: malting, mashing, obtaining a wort and fermenting. It's easily possible to get all the fermentable sugars you need from the malt in the mash tun, when you know how to do it. There is no need for adjuncts or extras in the mash tun unless you want to add them. <br />
<br />
The advent of <a href="https://www.brewersassociation.org/brewers-association/history/history-of-craft-brewing/" target="_blank">modern craft brewing</a>
in the USA in the 1980s has changed the brewing industry. A wide range
of innovative adjuncts are now being added to the mash tun. Many people
have asked the question: what is craft beer? It seems to be quite a
difficult thing to define. Some <a href="https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/craft-brewer-defined/" target="_blank">modern craft brewers</a> use extracts and syrups, adding all sorts of unusual ingredients, such as peaches, mangoes, chillies or chocolate. That's fine. Other craft brewers are
all-grain brewers, starting with crushed malted grain in the mash tun
and adding their novel extra ingredients to that. That's also fine. The
aim is to make good, unusual and innovative beers. Some craft brewers
are small businesses, producing their beer for the local market. Others
are huge breweries, producing vast amounts of beer for the global
market. I'll leave my attempt at defining 'modern craft beer' there. It's a confusing thing.<br />
<br />
When I began to investigate the archaeological evidence for beer brewing in the Neolithic and Bronze Age (back in 1996) I started from a practical, scientific and technological point of view. I wanted to understand
how beer is made from grain. What's the science behind it? What techniques and skills does the brewer need? The obvious place to start was The Big Book of Brewing. I read the mashing chapter several times and, after that, I went on to study the more complex and detailed work of brewing scientists. My approach was this: if I wanted to recognise and appreciate the evidence for beer brewing in the archaeological record then I needed to understand the fundamentals of the beer brewing process<b>. </b>I was not going to completely rely upon the anthropological or archaeological literature. <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>mashing</b><br />
This is something that only an all-grain brewer does. It's the <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html" target="_blank">saccharification </a>process. When making malt, enzymes are activated in the steep and on the malting floor. These enzymes, alpha and beta amylase, are kept viable by the maltster during the careful, slow drying process in the kiln. In the mash tun, these same enzymes re-activate and, at the right temperatures, they convert the grain starch into malt sugars. Here's a technical explanation of mashing by David Line in the Big Book of Brewing. I've been to quite a few archaeology conferences over the years, given presentations and said that this is an excellent book if you want to understand how to mash the malt and make a beer from the grain. It usually raises a laugh from the audience. I don't know why. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9OxBiPsPE9JMFcA25oMqnBl4NN6xO6bxQ4uCwMNXXndQbDp2hKe9C7YEI22O1JKFRBgs7kiZLNhptYl9qcc7oou3dKrjHnTOu-vejWqxXLuyNXV969qn23nMBjzaMX59jEmc1puZRpM/s1600/diastasecrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1106" height="543" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9OxBiPsPE9JMFcA25oMqnBl4NN6xO6bxQ4uCwMNXXndQbDp2hKe9C7YEI22O1JKFRBgs7kiZLNhptYl9qcc7oou3dKrjHnTOu-vejWqxXLuyNXV969qn23nMBjzaMX59jEmc1puZRpM/s640/diastasecrop.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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As mentioned in the previous post, we buy in our malt. We have no facilities to make it. We do our mashing in a modern plastic mash tun, using a grain bag. There are two boilers, one for the hot water which always necessary when beer is being made. You need it for sparging. The other is for boiling the wort. Our mash tun has an electric heater, so we heat the water for the mash in there until it reaches around 74 degrees Centigrade. That's the right temperature for the 'strike' when the crushed malt is added to the hot water. As Dave Line explains above, striking chills the water to 65 degrees Centigrade. Perfect for the enzymes to work.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfdqrc6jPnukaZrehTCS0KHHlhbx7DESd3YyaAgp4EGe6GV_FER-r3XdK6lrO0WY53wx_ucLclzIBE-NK-0DiZFbYzkUEu0_buxBadVyVSaMkg8USoVaeJIeZUKZ3WK_YHlBR1kCEzl4/s1600/mashing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfdqrc6jPnukaZrehTCS0KHHlhbx7DESd3YyaAgp4EGe6GV_FER-r3XdK6lrO0WY53wx_ucLclzIBE-NK-0DiZFbYzkUEu0_buxBadVyVSaMkg8USoVaeJIeZUKZ3WK_YHlBR1kCEzl4/s320/mashing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the strike: crushed malted barley meets hot water</td></tr>
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The crushed malt is left in hot water for about an hour. We put a sleeping bag over the mash tun to keep the temperature stable for the starch converting enzymes to get to work. After about an hour, they have done their job and we have a mash tun full of sweetness. The mash is brown, no longer the pale crushed malt we started with. When the lautering and sparging is finished and we have our wort, the grains in the mash tun look as if they are whole. They are not. Only the husks remain. The starchy endosperm has all been converted into malt sugars by the enzymes. This leftover grain is draff, also known as spent grain or brewer's grains and it makes excellent animal fodder. One of the reasons why the archaeological evidence for mashing is minimal. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKC2quwMQ_HFdesbD4HbIOCYEcUZp1xV_ZUkVkqm7IcssXU5BWAms2qEWkbgnWgg1O-CD4u3CmbslA8VobNt2sav_W4zWE2GQe6M8DggvCuANId9GEAY8ReeFFu0I9sbh4Zlzj0rLA8o/s1600/IMG_5586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCKC2quwMQ_HFdesbD4HbIOCYEcUZp1xV_ZUkVkqm7IcssXU5BWAms2qEWkbgnWgg1O-CD4u3CmbslA8VobNt2sav_W4zWE2GQe6M8DggvCuANId9GEAY8ReeFFu0I9sbh4Zlzj0rLA8o/s320/IMG_5586.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spent grain, after mashing, lautering and sparging</td></tr>
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<br />
<b>our mashing experiments and demonstrations</b><br />
Fire is the obvious way to heat a mash in a sealed earthenware pot, but you have to be careful - too much heat and the saccharification will not work. I made a hearth in our back garden and decided to find out whether I could mash in a pot. Here's a couple of photos of my first mashing experiments. Almost twenty years ago now. This work was done as part of my M.Phil research into the archaeological evidence for brewing in prehistory. I took some crushed pale malt and mixed it with cold water in an earthenware bowl. The porous bowl had been previously sealed with beeswax. I put the bowl on hot ashes to provide a gentle, consistent heat. I decided to start with cold water. The reason being that I could watch over the pot and wait for the correct temperature for the saccharification as the water slowly heated up. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSFYECUP53SRxIZrl7miwtD3loMJq_48XLXJhWFgtbL88PKiv41BSY5oGTs6ZCpIfSar53kvJ0aqfc_FJo1w_6typTzzuezDIJBuu3vkykNJiIQLX8DujjgACHsY0cAP0gPovXjMtHgs/s1600/fig1.7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1600" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSFYECUP53SRxIZrl7miwtD3loMJq_48XLXJhWFgtbL88PKiv41BSY5oGTs6ZCpIfSar53kvJ0aqfc_FJo1w_6typTzzuezDIJBuu3vkykNJiIQLX8DujjgACHsY0cAP0gPovXjMtHgs/s320/fig1.7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a starchy start to the mashing process</td></tr>
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<br />
With no thermometer how would I know when the temperature was correct for mashing? This, in practice, turned out to be very easy. The mixture in the bowl began to smell sweet and delicious. The mash changed colour. I tasted it. It tasted sweet. The saccharification was obvious. While I watched the mash pot I made some little 'cakes' or 'biscuits' by making a thick mixture of crushed malt and water. These were put on the flat stone beside the fire. It had become quite hot by now. Splashing water on them occasionally to keep them a bit damp, it was again obvious that sugars were being made. I knew that the enzymes were transforming starch into sugars. I understood the technology and the science. In prehistoric times this transformation of inedible grain into sweetness was, perhaps, deemed to be magic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBI2MZ5Bk0OLVrjo3XoU4EX2rgsfKKxkeqgUZygmugjVy4a2BsM89Tfbrd841tCdY0sEAL1ZNY7jL5ONqBzh9KXV_mSqzwkpjqNUV6C0j1vY2akqNCgguGSEbMafaQsXGZa9V_REojgM/s1600/fig1.10C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOBI2MZ5Bk0OLVrjo3XoU4EX2rgsfKKxkeqgUZygmugjVy4a2BsM89Tfbrd841tCdY0sEAL1ZNY7jL5ONqBzh9KXV_mSqzwkpjqNUV6C0j1vY2akqNCgguGSEbMafaQsXGZa9V_REojgM/s320/fig1.10C.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
saccharification in the bowl and sweet barley cakes on a hot stone<b> </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We've done several
demonstrations of this 'mashing in a bowl' technique. A couple of times a year we used to work in Hut 7 at Skara Brae, showing
visitors that there is more to neolithic grain processing than just
making flour, bread, porridge or gruel. Fires are not allowed in the replica hut, for
obvious reasons. We overcame this by having a mash we'd made at home earlier. We put it in a bowl on the central hearth,
surrounded by samples of modern barley, bere, crushed malt, wort and
beer. The mash smelled delicious, people came in to see what was going on. It's much easier to explain the brewing process to people when there are samples available, to smell and to taste. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The most enjoyable event so far was the one I did at Eindhoven Open Air Archaeology Museum in April, 2009, as part of a small beer brewing meeting organised by <a href="https://exarc.net/">EXARC</a>. The mashing
was very successful, being caramelised by the end of the day. Visitors to the museum
'stole' some of the sweet biscuits made on hot stones and ate them. Those who tasted the mash
said it was delicious. The medieval brewers who had done a demonstration the day before were impressed at our mash in a bowl. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOo7qQZBQXn-hiVP7aoQYb8QoxZ_FSbwBdKg-Ew_X7G_X2xWKVMhivTmM7rVuSqkicUUkNKTha1hZQPCOHiZjnPMgkZPxfnaI2GwEfzUFnIxLtD-0LI1p93GgIkY9OiMcbClka2mRpyMY/s1600/Figure+7+%2528Medium%2529+%2528Small%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOo7qQZBQXn-hiVP7aoQYb8QoxZ_FSbwBdKg-Ew_X7G_X2xWKVMhivTmM7rVuSqkicUUkNKTha1hZQPCOHiZjnPMgkZPxfnaI2GwEfzUFnIxLtD-0LI1p93GgIkY9OiMcbClka2mRpyMY/s400/Figure+7+%2528Medium%2529+%2528Small%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A caramelised mash in the bowl, sweet barley 'cakes' by the hearth </td></tr>
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<b></b></div>
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<b>tub and trough mashing</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The shape of the mash tun isn't important. Mika Laitinan explains how <a href="https://www.brewingnordic.com/farmhouse-ales/ancient-homebrew-sahti/">Sahti brewers</a> traditionally use both tubs and troughs for mashing and lautering. The ancient tradition of farmhouse brewing in northern Europe still exists in some areas today. Techniques are handed down from one generation to the next. A few years ago I was not aware of this traditional all-grain brewing. I certainly know about it now. I reckon anyone interested in ancient beer brewing should take note of this tradition and study the farmhouse brewing techniques. <br />
<br />
In our experimental work we were inspired by archaeologists Declan Moore and Billy Quinn of the Moore
Group, based in Galway, Ireland. They did a trough mashing demonstration at the 8th World
Archaeology Conference in Dublin in 2008. I realised that I was simply not
making enough mash in my small earthenware bowls. These guys did the job
properly. It was a spectacular demonstration of one of the functions of a burnt mound and trough - as a mash tun. Follow <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/07/trough-mash-and-wort.html">this link</a> for more details.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We've mashed in a wooden
tub, using hot stones to heat
the water and maintain mash temperature. Below, a couple of photos
from the mashing demonstration we did at an Ancient Technology event
for the Orkney Archaeology Society, organised by local potter Andrew
Appleby in 2010. </span>We heated the water with hot stones, adding crushed malt when we could
see our reflection in the hot water. This is an old technique for
judging when the water temperature is correct for the strike, before
thermometers were invented. It works. We used the hot stones to maintain
mash temperature. It all worked perfectly. </div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlSdmxUHvVm-J-BwdS_aJnXkaND079GDUPOiVp-hMiF-77XZ-LSmkal5JkTkaDmJbabjqfvGtA6Qi3A_0L833OIPp_EUghE8dQ_q4om0c3ajUN2_LYZXiONMlG9Xjloga85QKreK2yO8/s1600/mash+tub.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlSdmxUHvVm-J-BwdS_aJnXkaND079GDUPOiVp-hMiF-77XZ-LSmkal5JkTkaDmJbabjqfvGtA6Qi3A_0L833OIPp_EUghE8dQ_q4om0c3ajUN2_LYZXiONMlG9Xjloga85QKreK2yO8/s320/mash+tub.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">heating water with hot stones</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBD9H6M_lOcaqV9nHWgjj3LnshzNysNzNchlioOoS7jLdvtdugDPDTEXMfZpKHtSBLv490XktX5LzRY3nwrQz1ak-d0GO_-6ltB6bpNmygoSUk5XmyM6Gs9fa7Qxb7wNhF4oHowUQ-9EQ/s1600/the+strike+mash+tub.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBD9H6M_lOcaqV9nHWgjj3LnshzNysNzNchlioOoS7jLdvtdugDPDTEXMfZpKHtSBLv490XktX5LzRY3nwrQz1ak-d0GO_-6ltB6bpNmygoSUk5XmyM6Gs9fa7Qxb7wNhF4oHowUQ-9EQ/s320/the+strike+mash+tub.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the strike</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
About ten years ago when I was working as a tour guide at Tomb of the Eagles/Liddle Burnt Mound, Orkney, we did a small trough mash for the Orkney Tour Guides Association. The brewer had made a small wooden trough specially for the event. The sweet, delicious aroma of the mash brought people to our demonstration behind the Visitor Centre. They were curious. What was that lovely smell? Some tasted the mash and were surprised how sweet it was. That's the saccharification, we told them, we're making malt sugars. There are more photos of the event <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/AncientAle/photos/?tab=album&album_id=913484232111088">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3fIGe_BlfUy05OSJeD9S5EO1pG0MCsls45Nm7jR0Pa54hgaczHBcpCtylszMAWQgr2RPkOszrBCpxf70irAPcDUrnVd-Y6P_ed2N_-YwcJUoxENo-f3LwAJ9lyEHgxeNQGCiAU4zY6c/s1600/pict3665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3fIGe_BlfUy05OSJeD9S5EO1pG0MCsls45Nm7jR0Pa54hgaczHBcpCtylszMAWQgr2RPkOszrBCpxf70irAPcDUrnVd-Y6P_ed2N_-YwcJUoxENo-f3LwAJ9lyEHgxeNQGCiAU4zY6c/s320/pict3665.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mashing in a wooden trough, checking the temperature</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The opportunity to mash in a replica stone trough on the island of Bressay, Shetland, in the summer of 2011 was too good to miss. Once again, the hot rock technology worked perfectly, the mash was successful. Before we started we needed to seal the trough with some of the local grey clay to make it watertight. I was a bit worried. Would it adversely affect the brew? Everything was fine. The clay luting had the unexpected effect of making the beer beautifully sparkly and clear. I took lots of photos. They are on my 'Ancient Ale' Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/AncientAle/photos/?tab=album&album_id=170603393065846">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVCZfDS0vpzUyCR1tVC99tSnuj5p9C6LfqhU3vbwctaQSivEXFmjGE1TalfnuhhouhyzanrFoIwBl9ZzKHti-UISHEudDisNGjGzHJzhMq8-NFTIB1EyrfBzjqBFtIJdbM4iz46DoJVs/s1600/051+a+good+conversionC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVCZfDS0vpzUyCR1tVC99tSnuj5p9C6LfqhU3vbwctaQSivEXFmjGE1TalfnuhhouhyzanrFoIwBl9ZzKHti-UISHEudDisNGjGzHJzhMq8-NFTIB1EyrfBzjqBFtIJdbM4iz46DoJVs/s640/051+a+good+conversionC.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the mash in the stone trough at Bressay, grains have sunk to the bottom, the wort is clear to see. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>a bit on fermentation (as promised) </b> <br />
Yeast converts sugar into alcohol. There are many different sorts of yeast so it's quite important to get the right one. If not, all that work to obtain a wort will be wasted. There are several ancient options.<br />
<br />
In Ancient Egypt it seems that sweet wort was fermented in large pots. Using a scanning electron microscope <a href="http://www.ancientgrains.org/delwen_papers.html">Dr Delwen Samuel</a> has identified yeast on the internal surfaces of large pots from Amarna, Egypt. Dried yeast inside a pot would work well to start a fermentation and this technique could have been done in any part of the world where pots were used as fermentation vessels.<br />
<br />
Another option would be to stir the fresh wort with a stick that had been used to stir the previous ferment. This may sound strange, however, such a practice is recorded in histories of the Western Isles and the Hebrides. The brewer experimented with this technique using a wooden spoon to stir a fermenting brew. He hung the spoon up to dry, then stirred a fresh wort. It worked. Details <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/barm-and-magic-spoon-godisgoode-part-one.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Yeasts can be cultivated and stored. The traditions of the farmhouse brewers include keeping a dried yeast as a starter. I admit that I am no expert on this. Yeasts and alcoholic fermentation is such a huge subject and I tend to focus on the malting and mashing parts of the brewing process. The world of all-grain brewing, as well as yeast specialists, have recently been amazed at these farmhouse yeasts from northern Europe. The place to read about them is <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/380.html">here</a>, where Lars Garshol explains about some of his extensive work on researching and discovering the farmhouse yeasts and ales.<br />
<br />
Lambic beers are famous all over the world. The wort starts to ferment because there are wild yeasts and bacteria within the brewery. The resulting beers are aged for several years and are often sour, so fruits can be added to sweeten the brew. Here's a short definition of lambic beers, more information <a href="https://wettenimporters.com/news-events/lambic-beer/">here</a>. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"Belgian Lambic beer is left in open vats where wild yeast and bacteria
are encouraged to take up residence. In fact yeast is never added
directly to the wort. Instead wild yeast that is unique to the region is
simply allowed to fall into the vats in a process known as spontaneous
fermentation."</i></div>
<br />
Finally, a word about spontaneous fermentation. I was once told that it's possible to ferment a beer by 'brewing under a tree'. Some people think you can just leave the wort to 'catch a wild yeast'. Be very careful if you do this.<br />
<br />
You might catch the wrong one.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">FURTHER READING</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A bit more on fermentation - there are very many kinds of fermentation</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> and most of them are not alcohol producing. Think of sauerkraut, yoghurt, food preservation etc. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">It's a huge topic.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> See <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Handbook_of_Indigenous_Fermented_Foods_S.html?id=VKlHKIvrogUC&redir_esc=y">Steinkraus: Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods</a> if you have access to a University Library. It's an expensive book and a thorough study of the subject. If you don't have the luck to get into a University Library, then there's <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2002.tb00004.x/pdf">this</a> paper available online 'Fermentations in World Food Processing' also by Professor K.H. Steinkraus. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">More on brewing techniques - you might like to read <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/386.html">this post</a> on farmhouse brewing by Lars Garshol. There are some very clear descriptions of the brewing process and great photos to show how beer brewing has been done for generations in Estonia. As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Could the Natufians, the earliest agriculturalists of the Fertile Crescent over ten thousand years ago, have made malt and ale? Did they have the technology? Thomas Kavanagh (1994) discussed this in <a href="http://www.morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue2.5/kavanagh.html">Brewing Techniques</a> magazine. "Archaeological Parameters for the Beginnings of Beer" </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, my published research papers and my M.Phil Thesis (2004) can be found on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merryn_Dineley">Researchgate</a> and downloaded for free. </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-87778937348867877342018-02-23T19:40:00.000+00:002018-02-24T09:16:07.785+00:00malting and mashingToday is a brew day. The brewer has just come into the house from our garage/brewhouse with a small glass of delicious sweet liquid. He's just finished mashing in, he's half way through the sparge and is sampling the wort. This one is particularly sweet, malty and it's very good. The malt was fresh, the mashing in went well and the next stage will be boiling the wort with a variety of hops. Then there is the last stage, fermentation. This is all-grain brewing, which I know of as 'brewing with grain'. It's a brewing style rather than a specific recipe, list of ingredients or grain bill. The Brew Your Own magazine defines it like <a href="https://byo.com/newbrew/all-grain/" target="_blank">this</a>: <br />
<br />
<i>All-grain brewing differs from extract brewing mainly in the wort
production stage. As an extract brewer, you made your wort by dissolving
malt extract in water, and likely steeping some specialty grains to add
some additional flavours. As an all-grain brewer, you will make your
wort from malted grains and water. The basic idea behind all-grain wort production is this:</i><br />
<i> </i>
<br />
<i>You soak crushed, malted grains in hot water to change starch into
sugar, then drain away the resulting sugary liquid, which is your wort.</i><br />
<br />
Here's a couple of photos, of the runnings from the mash tun and the lovely, sweet wort that I was given to taste. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumZjzaPiVjqzongdQMC5bwl8Gm48XdL2IOTxuXyfHnWwEMwrm7hTJGwzPwOvn1_vLVUMegls8ajmOb5WBF66mVhPmbJ6ihULPJGE9HuQG3Zyy9mV5L8Bj3uf3_bMmaNm4YwkobdG7I7U/s1600/IMG_5582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumZjzaPiVjqzongdQMC5bwl8Gm48XdL2IOTxuXyfHnWwEMwrm7hTJGwzPwOvn1_vLVUMegls8ajmOb5WBF66mVhPmbJ6ihULPJGE9HuQG3Zyy9mV5L8Bj3uf3_bMmaNm4YwkobdG7I7U/s400/IMG_5582.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JmOaAzaonbtAcVqcv0YibEvgZoULKrh4T8PP_bVj3EUSta6enYmj-5lFiSICleTFXtUZn7uHffmdTaySSqWNl6VAlmWykbKUyhx-NaRI-kZ1V6pWVxJ1BgevqnOJKiaUUsMTn_7aWW0/s1600/IMG_5578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JmOaAzaonbtAcVqcv0YibEvgZoULKrh4T8PP_bVj3EUSta6enYmj-5lFiSICleTFXtUZn7uHffmdTaySSqWNl6VAlmWykbKUyhx-NaRI-kZ1V6pWVxJ1BgevqnOJKiaUUsMTn_7aWW0/s400/IMG_5578.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<br />
Brewing beer from the grain is an ancient technique, probably going back into prehistory, with <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/first-farmers-first-maltsters.html" target="_blank">the first maltsters</a> and brewers of the Fertile Crescent some ten or maybe
twelve thousand years ago. Local herbs and plants were used as flavourings and preservatives instead of
hops, of course, but this is the way that the wort for ale and
beer has been traditionally made. You need sugars to ferment into alcohol and this is a two step process.<br />
<br />
Malting and mashing are fundamental aspects
of the beer brewing process. These are the processes that have, for millennia, transformed
starchy harvested grain into sweet wort that is fermented into ale and beer.<br />
<br />
<b>making the malt</b><br />
It's not practical for us to make our own malt at home. We just don't have the facilities. I suppose I could steep some grain in a very large bucket, changing the water every four to six hours, thus giving the grain its necessary air rests. But there's no space in my home for a malting floor. I'm looking with interest at some of the <a href="https://www.brewingnordic.com/farmhouse-ales/farmhouse-malting-stjordal/" target="_blank">traditional Norwegian farmhouse malting techniques</a> that involve germinating the grain <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/341.html" target="_blank">in wooden trays or boxes in the sauna building.</a> No need for a germinating floor. Beer historians Mika Laitinen and Lars Garshol have visited, worked with and interviewed brewers who still make their own malts. If you want to know more about this and see some fabulous images of the buildings and necessary equipment then follow the links above.<br />
<br />
I've learned from Lars and Mika that you don't need a malting floor to make household quantities of malt for ale and beer brewing. However, the malt must be very carefully dried, and that's something that needs a lot of serious consideration and planning. As I explained in the previous post, a base malt is not roasted or toasted. High temperatures destroy the starch converting enzymes. A base malt is dried with care, without overheating, so that the enzymes within the partially germinated grain remain viable. They reactivate in the mash tun where they will convert all of the grain starch into fermentable malt sugars. <br />
<br />
Instead of making our own malt at home we order a sack from an online supplier. It arrives fresh, having been crushed within the previous couple of days and sent by courier. Freshly crushed malt makes good beer. Stale malt is not so good. When we lived in a city we ordered a 25kg sack of base malt from the local homebrew shop, collecting it ourselves. <br />
<br />
The malt that we buy is made in a modern germinating kilning vessel (GKV) where the grain is steeped, air rested and dried, all in the same enormous vessel. The germination process within the grains remains the same as if it had been malted using traditional methods, such as floor malting. Some argue that there is a difference in flavour between floor malted grain and that made in a GKV. I don't know about that. You might be wondering, where did all these traditional malting floors go? I do know a little about that story and <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/07/where-have-all-malting-floors-gone.html" target="_blank">wrote a post</a> about it a while ago. The good news is that traditional floor malting is making a comeback. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGVmBW3w0euC3gM4uM0H9YP2CDgrkFJAGugF12mcrndQ0UU5MsCwxjgZ3qKF6IPZZZaIQx_-0c9L2kyJlATY_2Ej3UqeAMAL57xxftbEc3LV-ifcw3pSqQiGtW_CpQEu5GgY3WDK7u6Q/s1600/01barleyC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGVmBW3w0euC3gM4uM0H9YP2CDgrkFJAGugF12mcrndQ0UU5MsCwxjgZ3qKF6IPZZZaIQx_-0c9L2kyJlATY_2Ej3UqeAMAL57xxftbEc3LV-ifcw3pSqQiGtW_CpQEu5GgY3WDK7u6Q/s320/01barleyC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutzlbPM95NkXQk6H0ULiRY4djkUhmPe0ndQ8UIKVVOkcSHkpbWJqJe3ZaLN00nUqWOksODoST3ua6V3Z5FWaO6SUSBjiHOtULkmePJTMS2m9fW0uBIm1lKNkJn2ZeVNgC4nwH9kghsAI/s1600/02barley+malt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutzlbPM95NkXQk6H0ULiRY4djkUhmPe0ndQ8UIKVVOkcSHkpbWJqJe3ZaLN00nUqWOksODoST3ua6V3Z5FWaO6SUSBjiHOtULkmePJTMS2m9fW0uBIm1lKNkJn2ZeVNgC4nwH9kghsAI/s320/02barley+malt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhWOoe-8moHqVyFXSlIoZK4fAC91w_yTt5Z-zmjc7jfFovBSlIej7MhtipLDXNDQUR4lQ2Jy14uOGIrg_IwqG2hSIAT95AimKyGTud1RjTPH5g3c7eFG8bpF9IJULGtphrZXjZVw9IlQ/s1600/03crushed+malt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhWOoe-8moHqVyFXSlIoZK4fAC91w_yTt5Z-zmjc7jfFovBSlIej7MhtipLDXNDQUR4lQ2Jy14uOGIrg_IwqG2hSIAT95AimKyGTud1RjTPH5g3c7eFG8bpF9IJULGtphrZXjZVw9IlQ/s320/03crushed+malt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>what happens inside the grain as it germinates?</b><br />
This is, for me, the magic of the malt. The biochemistry and physiology of germination were not understood until the 1960s. Yet maltsters have been making good malt for thousands of years. The technology has developed. Maltsters knew exactly what they had to do in order to keep the spirit of the grain alive. Take a look at the book on <a href="https://archive.org/details/maltandmaltinga00stopgoog" target="_blank">Malt and Malting by Henry Stopes (1885)</a> if you want to read about the traditional technologies that were involved prior to a biochemical understanding of the germination process. No need to buy it. It's been scanned in, with illustrations. A fabulous resource for the study of traditional and historic malting technologies. <br />
<br />
Below is a section through a barley grain as it begins to germinate. It shows the structure of the grain and some of the chemical changes that occur within it that enable growth. In the steeping process, the grain absorbs water and oxygen, both are necessary for germination to begin. The <i>embryo (scutellum)</i> releases a growth hormone, <i>gibberellin</i>, that stimulates the <i>aleurone layer </i>to release enzymes that convert starch into sugars, the food source for the growing plant. The <i>aleurone layer</i> is a single layer of cells beneath the husk. There are other biochemical changes within the grain, for example, some enzymes break down the husk making it easier to crush.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUnUfpWXvNZJqQFjikptLMAlAERorC7w6Zb8qxqEDHcoEmlw90qVmkovmRpor3kciRZW7sx-eEDW0WB943qBt9LjYuY5ZmbSJdOBSKhrgt04DbA_on6C1FPd6G7fGIIzw78ZYAyHg5CI/s1600/Figure+2+unmalted%2528left%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1046" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUnUfpWXvNZJqQFjikptLMAlAERorC7w6Zb8qxqEDHcoEmlw90qVmkovmRpor3kciRZW7sx-eEDW0WB943qBt9LjYuY5ZmbSJdOBSKhrgt04DbA_on6C1FPd6G7fGIIzw78ZYAyHg5CI/s320/Figure+2+unmalted%2528left%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first stages of grain germination <br />
see <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Seeds.html?id=W6EbrewcpDwC" target="_blank">Bewley and Black Seeds and physiology of germination</a> for the original diagram. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The second image, below, shows what happens when the grain is on the germination floor. Enzymes convert some of the <i>starchy endosperm</i> into malt sugars. The technical term for this part of the process is <i>modification. </i>You can see that the endosperm has been wholly modified (<i>wm</i>), mostly modified (<i>mm</i>), partially modified (<i>pm</i>) and unmodified (<i>um</i>) at this stage. When rootlets show the grain is ready for drying. If the maltster is lucky, they live in a hot, sunny climate where the malt can be dried in the sun, as described in the Hymn to Ninkasi. Otherwise, the malt is dried in a kiln with warm air, and sometimes smoke, passing through the bed of grain. Drying malt takes several days.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78M-ZXleO-00N2KCK2gTGaPc6qrcL0XHnKlRrDufkdDTpcjvP62oA-0LY-2S0MrzrIoMD08IncB5Lu8qzMO6AugjFRSTAVnLKOX0Lxjrb09dV7baaUrZvF11nj2grkHIww9r5B2Knp8s/s1600/Figure+2+malted%2528right%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="1046" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh78M-ZXleO-00N2KCK2gTGaPc6qrcL0XHnKlRrDufkdDTpcjvP62oA-0LY-2S0MrzrIoMD08IncB5Lu8qzMO6AugjFRSTAVnLKOX0Lxjrb09dV7baaUrZvF11nj2grkHIww9r5B2Knp8s/s320/Figure+2+malted%2528right%2529.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the germination floor<br />
see <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Seeds.html?id=W6EbrewcpDwC" target="_blank">Bewley and Black Seeds and physiology of germination</a> for the original diagram</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The biochemistry and physiology of grain germination is now one of the most studied aspects of barley, wheat and rye. All of these grains can be malted. I know that what I've written here is just a fairly basic explanation of grain germination. I've tried to keep it simple. If you want to know more, read Bewley and Black, or read some of the more recent papers by a wide range of scholars, many of which can be found on the internet.<br />
<br />
<b>what happens in the mash tun?</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
The mash tun is where the sugars are made. Many different vessels can be used as a mash tun. If the vessel is made of wood then you must use hot stones to heat the mash. If not, then you can use fire. For the brewer, 'mashing in' is not like mashing grapes or mashing potatoes. It's more like mashing tea, perhaps. The crushed malt is left in hot water for about an hour. The enzymes need time to work. And the temperature needs to be right. Below 60 degrees Centigrade the conversion is so slow that you risk infection. <br />
<br />
When crushed malt is mixed with water, then heated to around 67 degrees centigrade the enzymes within the grain reactivate and convert all grain starch into fermentable sugar. It usually takes about an hour for this enzymatic process to be completed. As the enzymes get to work, the aroma is sweet and delicious. You know whether or not it's working. The mash becomes sweeter. Knowledge, practice, experience and skill are all a part of the process. <br />
<br />
The photograph below was taken at the Eindhoven Open Air Museum where I did a mashing demonstration several years ago.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLIJ2W_MMHKbmrPF_sssJeRM7EFqtQk_6YHomiDGuaF2RoEFP0NF5V8o__GcQifUv8s9gpJXjoxZqyzlv0F4leu9exDbTpCkM9x4N-P9h2d2HYwgvwE7lYAxNFyF9bVr3IG8cZMdRpBE/s1600/05Fig6+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLIJ2W_MMHKbmrPF_sssJeRM7EFqtQk_6YHomiDGuaF2RoEFP0NF5V8o__GcQifUv8s9gpJXjoxZqyzlv0F4leu9exDbTpCkM9x4N-P9h2d2HYwgvwE7lYAxNFyF9bVr3IG8cZMdRpBE/s400/05Fig6+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I like this photo because you can see pale crushed malt in the two pots
beside the hearth. The wonderful ceramic bowl on the fire was made by
Flor Buchuk Gil. She was working as the potter at the Museum and, very
generously, she gave me this pot to use on the day and to take home. I had some fun getting it on the aeroplane, but that's another story. In this bowl you can see
the dark brown mash. Sugars have been made. I've written about it in an earlier post, the process is called <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html" target="_blank">saccharification</a>. For this mashing in demonstration, I had mixed some of the crushed pale malt with
water, then heated it by surrounding the bowl with charcoal. I wanted a gentle
heat. It was a very good conversion.<br />
<br />
The next stage of the brewing process is to separate the sweet liquid from the grain. More sugars can be washed out of the mash by running hot water through it and collecting the run off. The sweet liquid is called wort and this is what can be fermented into alcohol. No need to add anything. All the sugars for fermentation have come from the grain.Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-83637543643619858582018-01-22T14:58:00.000+00:002019-03-16T10:19:05.789+00:00roasted toasted sprouted barley<br />
Until the Industrial Revolution there was only one kind of malt. So we were told by maltsters at <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/09/a-morning-with-maltsters-part-one.html" target="_blank">the seminar</a> we attended a couple of years ago. It had been organised by the Orkney Science Festival and was held at the Highland Park Distillery. Only twelve tickets available, so we were very lucky to be there!<br />
<br />
Malt has been made using the ancient and traditional techniques of steeping, aeration and <a href="https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/yq2r7ePj7z/floor-malting/" target="_blank">floor malting </a>for thousands of years. Grains such as wheat, barley, rye, millet or oats can be malted. Making malt was probably one of the first grain processing techniques, going right back to the earliest grain agriculturalists of the Fertile Crescent, at least ten thousand years ago and maybe more. What is floor malting? Harvested grain is steeped and aerated before being partially germinated. Most importantly, drying the green malt must be done very slowly and carefully. This is how a base malt, known also as diastatic malt today, has been made for generations upon generations. <br />
<br />
This kind of malt is not roasted or toasted at high temperatures.<br />
<br />
Why not? Because roasting the malt at too high a temperature destroys the enzymes within the germinating grain. These enzymes are essential to convert starch into sugars later in the brewing process, that is, in the mash tun. Although the scientific explanations of grain germination, the biochemistry and the physiology, have only been understood since the 1960s, maltsters have known the importance of keeping the 'spirit of the grain' alive throughout the malting process. From steeping to kilning, maltsters have known what to do for a very long time. Henry Stopes' <a href="https://archive.org/details/maltandmaltinga00stopgoog" target="_blank">classic study</a> of the practices, processes and technicalities involved in making good malt and malting technology (published in 1885) is a book that I repeatedly refer to. In his first chapter there are several descriptions of how malt was made in medieval times and earlier. I especially like this one, where it is clear that the early maltsters definitely knew how to handle the germinating grains: <br />
<br />
<i>"the
grain was steeped and germinated, by which its spirits were excited and
set free; it was then dried and ground and infused in water, when after
[it was] fermented."</i><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">by Geoponius? cited in Henry's History of England, see Stopes (1885) </span><br />
<br />
To make good diastatic or base malt you
have to do the right things in the right way, using suitable temperatures and having the correct conditions for each stage of the process. Making malt is a craft. It requires specialist knowledge, skill and experience. There's a lot more to it than just sprouting a few barley grains in a jar in the cupboard under the sink, or in a warm place. The maltster's knowledge, experience and skill means that they can steep, aerate and partially germinate
very large quantities of grain without it going mouldy or bad. <br />
<br />
Modern specialty malts, such as crystal malts, amber malts and
chocolate malts are roasted at high temperatures, but these only began to be made around the
17th/18th century. They are a modern technology, used to add colour and flavour to beer. They do not provide fermentable sugars. Roasted, toasted specialty malts came about because of a change in the fuel used to dry the malt. The Industrial Revolution introduced a new fuel: coke. Practices changed from using from wood or straw to dry the malt to using coke, the result being a paler malt than was previously produced.<br />
<br />
So, to cut a very long and complex story short, malts began to be roasted and toasted at around the time of the Industrial Revolution in order to make ale and beer the colour that consumers were accustomed to. Specialty roasted, toasted malts are not a technology of the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Viking or Medieval eras. <br />
<br />
What has any of this to do with archaeology or archaeobotany?<br />
<br />
Well, I've just read yet another paper where the
archaeobotanical report incorrectly uses the terms <i>toasted or roasted sprouted
barley </i>when considering that the carbonised cereal grains and fragments of grains discovered there<i> </i>could have been malt for brewing purposes. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322146101_Brewing_beer_in_wine_country_First_archaeobotanical_indications_for_beer_making_in_Early_and_Middle_Bronze_Age_Greece" target="_blank">This paper</a> was published in the specialist archaeobotanical journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
in December 2017. So there is little chance of it being read by a maltster. It's well worth reading because this is some of the best evidence yet discovered for malting. It is a shame that the descriptions of how to make malt, how to mash and ferment into beer are misleading and confused. More on that later. It's possible to contact the author and get a copy. That's what I did. Here's an extract from the abstract:<br />
<br />
<i><span class="collabsible-text" id="yui_3_14_1_1_1516622560726_317">"Archaeobotanical
remains of sprouted cereal grains as well as cereal fragments from the
Bronze Age sites of Archondiko and Argissa on mainland Greece, presented
here for the first time, provide strong indications for the making of
something similar to beer in late 3rd millennium BC Greece, opening up a
series of new questions about the recipes followed in this process and
their origins."</span></i><br />
<br />
What about those words <i>sprouted cereal grains</i>? To many people, they suggest growing long bean sprouts, the sort of thing we grew in school in Biology lessons, but that is not what malt is. Malt is grain that has only just begun to grow. The acrospire should be about three quarters of the length of the kernel or perhaps a little bit more. Too much growth and all of the grain starch will be used up and there will be nothing for the mash tun. <br />
<br />
This kind of description of malt as <i>toasted roasted barley sprouts</i> has been repeated over and over again in the archaeological and archaeobotanical literature, in
excavation reports and elsewhere. The idea that to make malt for beer brewing in prehistory,
the grain was sprouted and then roasted or toasted in a very hot kiln is incorrect. However it's a very common explanation. It doesn't seem to be tied to any particular era, I've read papers and excavation reports that discuss sites from the Neolithic to the Iron Age and beyond. They usually say, that is, if malt is even acknowledged as being part of the beer brewing process, that the grain was sprouted and then roasted or toasted to make malt.<br />
<br />
In the article on Booze! in National Geographic magazine <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/02/alcohol-discovery-addiction-booze-human-culture/" target="_blank">(February 2017)</a> brewer's malt is described by the journalist, Andrew Curry as <i>sprouted toasted barley grains. </i>Not being a malting or brewing expert himself, he has clearly relied upon information given to him from brewers, such as Martin Zarnkow who he interviewed for this article. Zarnkow has attempted to recreate Sumerian beer on the laboratory bench using malt mixed with unmalted grain and using sourdough as a starter for fermentation. He claims he can make alcohol overnight. It is a strange recipe for beer. <br />
<br />
Incidentally, there are some rather odd recipes for ancient beer around. For example, Professor Patrick McGovern's most recent book, Ancient Brews, uses malt extract (a Victorian invention), specialty malts and other unusual ingredients for an ancient ale. When he was recently <a href="http://beersmith.com/blog/2017/07/31/ancient-brews-with-dr-patrick-mcgovern-beersmith-podcast-153/" target="_blank">interviewed</a> by Beersmith, the Professor acknowledges that he has never actually made a beer from the grain and that perhaps he should try it, for the experience. I'm wondering, how can he be a beer expert when he has no experience of making beer from the grain? <br />
<br />
Ancient ale and beer recipes are the subject of another blog, not yet finished and not yet published.<br />
<br />
The main point that I want to make in this post is that <i>roasted toasted sprouted barley</i> is not a suitable description of malt, malting or malting technology prior to the 17th/18th centuries AD. It's wrong. Archaeologists and archaeobotanists should read beyond their own literature. They should talk to maltsters and read about malting and brewing science if they want to understand what malt is, how it has been traditionally made and what its' properties are. It's a fascinating subject.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
some further notes ...</div>
I've had some
quiet, private and useful feedback from a few people. It seems that those who have
no personal experience of making malt or brewing beer from the grain
find it very difficult to understand these processes. Some struggle to see, in
their mind's eye, how this so-called 'sprouted' barley can be
transformed into ale. What happens to it? How is it processed? <br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I've been told that this film is helpful:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://tv.nrk.no/program/fola00000273/-drik-venner-kjaere-mitt-oel-velunt-skal-vaere-drikk-venner-kjaere" target="_blank">making malt and beer brewing in Norway, some traditional and ancient practices</a> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
About 30 minutes long, it was made in Norway in the 1960s. The equipment used would have been available in the Viking and Medieval eras, probably also in the Iron Age. It shows some of the traditional, farmhouse brewing techniques. Also, it gives you an idea of how to handle the necessary quantities of grain that must be malted before being mashed and then fermented into ale. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There is great skill, knowledge and experience involved in making good malt and brewing ale with it. You can get all the sugars you need to ferment into beer from the grain. There is no need to add extra sugars or honey. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I hope it helps! </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-24378820196533498782018-01-01T09:47:00.000+00:002018-01-01T13:32:57.542+00:00some sort of alcohol<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/08/stonehenge_edited_wide-3663610ea6a6616b3bc0aead3271d3b1a850420f.jpg?s=1400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="359" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/12/08/stonehenge_edited_wide-3663610ea6a6616b3bc0aead3271d3b1a850420f.jpg?s=1400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stonehenge at midwinter - a time for feasts <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/08/458846536/party-like-its-2-500-bc-feasts-at-stonehenge-were-epic-barbecues" target="_blank">source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Midwinter. It's a good time to think about feasts, festivals and family gatherings.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Seasonal
celebrations at the turn of the year are a long-standing tradition,
whether your new year starts with the Midwinter Solstice, as mine does,
or whether you prefer New Year's Eve at midnight on December 31st. Most
archaeologists and anthropologists would agree that feasts have been an
important and significant part of life in the
past. People have been
feasting together for thousands of years. Anthropologist Brian Hayden
has asked <a href="https://qz.com/842541/why-do-people-feast/" target="_blank">Why do people feast?</a> He reckons that in the past feasts were important as a display of power
and strength. They also played a role in social support networks. It all makes good common sense. Recent discoveries at <a href="https://phys.org/news/2017-12-archaeological-clues-feasting-important-ritual.html" target="_blank">Hilazon Tachtit</a>
seem to suggest that ritual feasting coincided with the earliest
agriculturalists of the Ancient Near East. These people were gathering
and processing the wild cereal grains, such as wheat and barley. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Twelve
thousand years ago humans were still hunter-gatherers,
subsisting entirely on wild foods. Nevertheless, these people differed
from those who went before – they were sitting on the brink of the
transition to agriculture, one of the most significant economic, social
and ideological transformations in human history. Sickle blades
and grinding stones used to harvest and process cereal grains are
found at Hilazon Tachtit and other contemporary archaeological sites.
These findings indicate that these ritual feasts started around the same
time that people adopted agriculture. When people began to rely more
heavily on wild cereals like wheat and barley, they became increasingly
tethered to landscapes that were ever more crowded and began to settle
into more permanent communities. In other words, feasting became a part
of their life, once they moved away from nomadic life."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
What were they doing with the grain?<br />
<br />
We
know that people were drinking some sort of alcohol at these ancient
feasts. Maybe it was not an obligatory thing. Perhaps there were some
non alcoholic beverages also available. It is, however, generally agreed
and understood that some sort of alcohol was made and consumed. Most of
the discussion in the anthropological and archaeological literature
focuses on the
significance of drinking alcohol and its' social aspects. There's not
much on the technicalities and details of how they made
it.<br />
<br />
That's the bit that interests me. How did they make it? What were the ingredients?<br />
<br />
Most
importantly, what was the recipe, what were the techniques and what equipment was
used?<br />
<br />
Different sorts of alcohol have been and are consumed all over the world. If you want an easy-to-read summary of recent academic ideas about alcohol and feasting in the past, have a look at Booze! in the February 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine. This <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/02/alcohol-discovery-addiction-booze-human-culture/" target="_blank">article </a>is a brief overview of current thinking and ongoing research into ancient alcohol. It covers a lot of ground, from rice wine in China to ancient Sumerian beer as well as chicha and grape juice. The underlying premise is that<br />
<br />
"<i>alcohol isn't just a mind altering drink:it has been a prime mover of human culture from the beginning, fueling the development of arts, language and religion"</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'd
agree with that. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">But there are some things in this National Geographic
article that I don't agree with. Some inaccuracies about malt. There's that often made mistake
about what ancient malt was. Here it is described as <i>'sprouted
toasted barley grain'</i> and this seems to be a standard description of ancient malt in
much of the archaeological and anthropological literature. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Malt
is frequently described as toasted roasted sprouted grain. This is true
only of modern specialty
malts which have been germinated, then roasted at high temperatures.
Specialty malts include amber malts, crystal malts and chocolate malts.
They date from the Industrial Revolution, not the Neolithic Revolution.
Maltsters began to make the specialty roasted malts when coke supplanted
the traditional straw or wood as the fuel for drying malt. Why? Because
the new coke-dried pale malt did not give the colour to the beer that
everyone was accustomed to. That is a huge story in itself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
main kind of malt that has been made for thousands of years is base
malt, the one that provides all of the fermentable sugars in the mash tun. Base
malt must be dried very carefully in order to keep the spirit of the grain alive. We
now understand the science involved in the partial germination of grain, that this careful and slow drying
of the malt preserves enzymes that convert starch into sugar. Maltsters have known
how to do this for generations, as described in Henry Stopes' book, Malt
and Malting (1885). </span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">What were they drinking at feasts in Neolithic Britain?</span></b><br />
Recently
I spoke to a pottery specialist, one of the archaeologists at the Ness
of Brodgar, an
important Neolithic ceremonial site on the mainland of Orkney. I asked
this question. What were they drinking at the feasts? I was told that, of course we know they were drinking <i>some</i> sort of alcohol. And with that, there
was an end to further discussion. They walked away. Although there is a
lot written about this fabulous excavation on the internet, they do not seem
to be addressing the issue of what sort of alcohol they may have been
drinking at the feasts and celebrations that they say took place
regularly at this place, 5000 years ago.<br />
<br />
I've been reading the promotional and educational material from the latest <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history/food-feasting/" target="_blank">exhibition</a> at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre. It's called Feast! But sadly, for
some reason, they have also decided to ignore the question of what sort
of alcohol they were making and drinking at Durrington Walls in
Neolithic Britain. The exhibition Feast! deals only with the food aspect of
feasting. With minimal evidence for cereal processing found during excavations, they say that porridge was made. They even mention, in the publicity material, that the neolithic folk were feeding their pigs with honey to fatten them up. This, apparently, explains the archaeological discovery of caried pig teeth at Durrington Walls. Feeding the pigs <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303287314_The_Use_of_Spent_Grain_as_Cattle_Feed_in_the_Neolithic" target="_blank">spent grain</a> is a far more likely reason.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/remote/www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/properties/stonehenge/portico/3460990/food-feature?w=1440&h=612&mode=crop&scale=both&quality=60&anchor=middlecenter" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/remote/www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/properties/stonehenge/portico/3460990/food-feature?w=1440&h=612&mode=crop&scale=both&quality=60&anchor=middlecenter" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="800" height="272" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">for more about this photo see here: <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/history/food-feasting/" target="_blank">English Heritage </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Making malt and ale are not considered as possibilities in this Stonehenge exhibition. Nor is it considered in interpretations at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney. <br />
<br />
I don't understand why. There is so
much in the academic literature about the importance of the consumption
of alcoholic beverages in past societies, particularly at feasts, celebrations and communal gatherings.<br />
<br />
There
was only one suitable source of fermentable sugars plentiful enough to
provide feast grade alcohol for large gatherings at these neolithic feasts. That was the
cereal grain that they grew. Barley and wheat can easily be transformed into
sugars for fermentation into ale by the straightforward processes of malting and mashing.<br />
<br />
Cereals are usually considered to have been a staple crop in the Neolithic. They are more likely to have been a status crop, for their potential to be made into malt sugars, wort and ale.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
=================</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Interested in ancient malt and ale? Our published papers and my thesis "Barley Malt and Ale in the Neolithic" (2004) can be read and downloaded from my new Researchgate page. see <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merryn_Dineley" target="_blank">here</a> </div>
<br />
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Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-63710957599820724532016-12-30T16:00:00.001+00:002016-12-31T19:18:08.630+00:00alcohol production There is a debate in the academic literature of archaeology and anthropology about alcohol production, the archaeology of alcohol and the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the past. It seems to be an increasingly popular area of study. Search the internet using these phrases and you will find plenty of books, papers and articles. Unless you have access to a University library, however, many of them are not easily accessible. They are behind pay walls. <br />
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The phrase 'alcohol production' neatly avoids the science, biochemistry and technology behind a number of varied and differing processes for making alcoholic drinks.<br />
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This generalised idea of 'alcohol production' is about as sensible and informative to understanding the processes as talking about 'metal production'. Different kinds of metal obviously require specific methods of production. Copper, bronze and iron are produced in very different ways. It's the same with making different kinds of alcohol from different sources of sugars.<br />
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No-one would ever believe that a primitive kind of weak metal could be produced by accidentally leaving some coloured rocks in a fire overnight. However, the story goes that a primitive sort of beer was discovered when a container of grain was left outside, it rained, the grain got wet, it germinated then it fermented and made some sort of weak beer. Or, maybe, a loaf of bread fell into a bucket of water, then it fermented. This simply cannot happen, it would defy all the laws of biochemistry.<br />
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One aspect of this 'alcohol production' debate is that grain can somehow naturally ferment into a weak beer when immersed in water. We have been told by a number of archaeologists that to make a primitive beer you don't even need malt and that barley can naturally ferment. This is scientifically and technically impossible. The idea of natural fermentation was first presented in <a href="http://phaseit.net/claird/sci.anthropology/texts/domestication/beer_alone" target="_blank">this paper</a> dating from 1991 and many subsequent academic papers cite this as evidence. <br />
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It is one of the myriad of anecdotal myths about alcohol, for example that animals can get drunk by eating rotten fruit. We shall write more about this sort of thing in future posts. <br />
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Grain is a living thing. When left in a bucket of water the grain drowns, it goes bad. Grain requires both water and oxygen to begin germination. For details of steeping the grain in a bubbling stream see <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/09/a-morning-with-maltsters-part-three-on.html" target="_blank">an earlier post</a> about how to make a base malt.<br />
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The idea that early beers or ales were somehow weak and inferior is also fallacious. If it were weak it would then be useless for that 'altered state of consciousness' that was, according to the academic literature, necessary for social feasting or ceremonial occasions. In Britain any alcoholic drink of less that 1.2% is not considered to be intoxicating, and is not subject to any Excise tax laws or regulations. Beer of less that 2.8% alcohol is classed as 'small beer", and is subjected to a low tax, whilst beers above 7.5% have a higher tax. Beer can be made to any strength the brewer wants.<br />
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Alcohol is produced by yeast when it digests sugars in the absence of oxygen. In the presence of oxygen, however, the yeast will produce water and carbon dioxide but no alcohol. You need anaerobic conditions for alcoholic fermentation. Yeast cannot ferment starches, only sugars. Sugar ferments into alcohol. Cereals do not contain any sugars. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to make alcohol from grain by natural fermentation.<br />
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The concept of 'alcohol production' should be replaced by 'sugars production'. This would be a revolutionary paradigm shift in archaeological theory. Cereals can be easily converted into sugars when you have the right knowledge and skills.<br />
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Cereals are not just a staple crop, they can also be considered a status crop.<br />
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Grain can be converted into sugars by first malting it. Malt is partially germinated grain, it has the necessary enzymes, alpha and beta amylase, to convert starches into sugars in the presence of water. This occurs most rapidly when hot, at around 65 degrees Centigrade. The water is not only a suitable medium but it's also a necessary part of the biochemical reaction, hydrolysis. This is the mashing or <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html" target="_blank">saccharification process</a>.<br />
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What, exactly, is malt? There is very little discussion of malt and malting technologies in the archaeological and anthropological literature. What is written appears to derive entirely from scholarly works written by archaeologists and anthropologists. There is no input from maltsters or brewers who actually work with malt. The archaeological and anthropological literature is self referential and frequently wrong. For example, malt is sometimes described as 'toasted, roasted, sprouted grain' which is not an accurate description of a base malt that provides the fermentable sugars in the mash tun.<br />
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When you roast the malt at hight temperatures then you destroy the enzymes and there will be no sugars to ferment into beer. Roasted malts are a modern phenomenon, dating from the around the 16th and 17th Centuries AD. There is an incorrect description of making malt for brewing by roasting it in a kiln in <a href="https://lra.le.ac.uk/bitstream/2381/9565/2/Charred_Grain_Assemblages.PDF" target="_blank">this paper.</a><br />
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Malting and the production of of liquid malt sugars is probably one of the first, if not the first, cereal processing technology. It's far easier to wet process the primitive grains that have more husk than starchy endosperm into desirable malt sugars than it is to grind them into good flour to make bread. To make porridge or gruel, the grains must be boiled for hours.<br />
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Malting and the production of liquid malt sugars from the grain was widespread throughout the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of agriculture, long before the rise of Islam. There is good evidence for <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/first-farmers-first-maltsters.html" target="_blank">deliberately made malting floors</a> of stamped earth, clay and even of lime plaster at some of the first agricultural settlements of the Ancient Near East, for example at <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/01/thousands-of-grain-impressions-in-burnt.html" target="_blank">Beidha</a>. Today the production and consumption of alcohol is forbidden by Islamic law. The civilisations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia are well known for their beer manufacture. Now people no longer make malt in these countries.<br />
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There is a Biblical expression that describes "... a land flowing with milk and honey". Nobody thinks that this phrase refers to milk actually flowing through the fields. It is more likely to be a reference to rich grazing land that feeds the cattle, goats and sheep. The reference to honey seems to confuse the scholars. The Hebrew word <a href="https://www.ou.org/torah/machshava/tzarich-iyun/tzarich_iyun_milk_and_honey/" target="_blank">debash or d'vash</a> that is used in the Bible does not mean 'bee's honey' but, rather, it refers to an artificial sweetness of a vegetable nature, which scholars interpret as being made from dates, figs or possibly even grapes. To a brewer this is obviously wort, the liquid malt sugars. So the phrase 'land flowing with milk and honey' is a metaphor for rich pasture and arable land.<br />
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<span class="hb"><span class="g2" dir="ltr" name="Merryn"></span></span>It's obvious that none of these scholars or archaeological experts have ever tasted sweet wort, straight from the mash tun. When we do mashing demonstrations we have invited people to taste the wort. Archaeologists have been known to refuse, sometimes backing away from us as if wort is somehow poisonous or horrid. No thanks, it's ok, they say. Those who do taste it usually say that it is sweet and delicious, commenting that it tastes like that
stuff you get in jars for the vitamins. What they mean is, it tastes like malt extract, which is just concentrated wort.<br />
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Archaeologists Declan Moore and Billy Quinn came to Orkney ten years ago to have a look at our mash tun and brewing facilities. They both tasted the wort and were surprised, declaring it to be sweet and tasty. They were inspired enough to go and make some beer for themselves, in a spectacular way. They used a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ6K03ovxCM" target="_blank">wooden trough and some hot rocks</a> to re create a Bronze Age beer. <br />
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When brewers looks at a field of barley they see the potential for making malt for barrels of ale, beer or whiskey. Other people might see a field of grain to be used for making flour, loaves of bread, porridge or gruel. <br />
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There are many malts and they can be rather <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/06/malt-is-confusing-thing.html" target="_blank">confusing</a>. There's brown malt, pale malt, barley malt, wheat malt, oat malt, millet malt, crystal malt, roasted malt, chocolate malt, amber malt, single malt, three year old malt and thirty year old malt. It's a huge list.<br />
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The last three are whiskeys made from barley that has been malted then mashed, with the wash from the mash tun (brewers call it wort) fermented and distilled. They have nothing to do with the case other than malt being the source of the sugars for fermentation. The first six are diastatic base malts, with enzymes, and with the power to convert starch into sugars. The four middle ones are modern specialty malts with no active enzymes. They have been roasted at high temperatures and this destroys the enzymes. These malts are decorative, used strictly for the colouring and flavouring of ale and beer.<br />
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The enzymatic power of malt is <a href="http://www.eckraus.com/blog/what-is-diastatic-power-definition-chart" target="_blank">measured by obscure units</a>, the Diastatic Conversion Coefficient. Modern barley malts can have a DCC of about 200 degrees, some might even have as much as 230 degrees. Around 37-40 degrees of DCC is considered sufficient for self conversion. That's to say, a grain only needs this amount of enzymes to convert all of its' starches into sugars. Early malts need not have had all their grains successfully or completely malted to effect a good conversion into sugars.<br />
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In the 1970s some archaeologists at the Butser Farm made some malt using their recreated 'heated malting floor'. They achieved only two degrees of DCC. Although they were pleased with their amber malt, what they had made was a specialty malt, not a base malt. It was not useful for providing the sugars to ferment into alcohol.<br />
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This excess DCC power of modern malts can be used in the production of sugars. One traditional recipe for potato vodka or potcheen is one part crushed pale malt, by weight, to five parts boiled potatoes. The excess enzymes convert the potato starch into fermentable sugars. <br />
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It seems clear to us that, given the confusion and misunderstanding in the archaeological and anthropological literature about malt, what it is and how it is made and used, it's time that archaeologists and anthropologists started talking to the practitioners of the crafts of making malt and brewing beer.<br />
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The photograph below shows one of our demonstrations of the mashing or saccharification process. It was taken at the Eindhoven Open Air Museum a few years ago. We took some crushed malted barley, heated it in with water over the warm ashes of a fire made from wood and charcoal. Within one hour, the enzymes in the malt had converted all the starch into sugars.<br />
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This saccharification process works in a bowl and it also works on a hot flat stone beside the fire, provided that you keep the malted barley biscuit/cake wet all the time. You don't even need a container to mash. <br />
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The sweet bappir or 'cakes' on the stone were eaten very quickly, taken by visitors. In prehistoric times, the manufacture of malt sugars from the grain,
by malting and mashing, would have been equally as desirable. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OiR0BbVMqFNHwd1DVZHwGVObXJuIcUIu3r0pIfuJ4faiSsfFemPp6I1RV5cayDYm_AcpM5COQ51YQxKpI7KNdfrpGrbe0m5ZERnCWDVrHb7oofdK17YkJ_abn95dzItn7PSbISoZ6bU/s1600/06Fig+7+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6OiR0BbVMqFNHwd1DVZHwGVObXJuIcUIu3r0pIfuJ4faiSsfFemPp6I1RV5cayDYm_AcpM5COQ51YQxKpI7KNdfrpGrbe0m5ZERnCWDVrHb7oofdK17YkJ_abn95dzItn7PSbISoZ6bU/s640/06Fig+7+%2528Medium%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a demonstration of the mashing or saccharification process, using basic equipment </td></tr>
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We welcome comments and discussion, in fact, we look forward to them. <br />
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Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-79524963258388866962016-10-12T23:36:00.000+01:002016-10-30T10:05:54.029+00:00a morning with maltsters, part fourMaking Malt: in the final presentation we were taken from ancient times and traditional floor malting into the present
day, where modern germinating kilning vessels can make up to 500 tons of malt at a time,
in a continuous batching process. <br />
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Most of the malt made in Britain is used in the brewing and distilling industries, with roughly 500,000 tons of malt each year being used by commercial brewers and 800,000 tons going to the distilleries. There are around twenty million casks of whisky maturing in the 115 distilleries around the UK. Our third speaker, Eric Walker, was a man with lots of experience in every aspect of the malting, brewing and distilling industries. He began with a quick look at making malt in the distant past, pointing out that malt has been important for a very long time.<br />
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Its' origins are lost in the mists of time.<br />
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There's a story that ancient Egyptians, around 3000 years ago, may have made their malt by putting grain into baskets, then lowering the basket into a deep well. The basket could be raised and lowered, effectively steeping the grain. It would germinate in the basket and was shaken at regular intervals to prevent the rootlets from matting. Green malt was dried in the sun. The method is described in detail <a href="http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Malting101/History_of_Malting.htm" target="_blank">here</a> on the Briess Malt web page. I'm not so sure this was an efficient way to make large amounts of malt for brewing. Perhaps enough could be made for small scale brewing.<br />
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It would be interesting to do some experimental and practical work, to assess the validity of the idea that malt can be made in a well, using a basket. I wondered how much malt could have been made in this way. There would not be enough to supply large vats like those at <a href="http://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/index.php/explore-the-predynastic-settlement/the-brewery" target="_blank">Hierakonopolis</a>, a predynastic site in Egypt, which were probably used as mash tuns.<br />
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Beer was being made here in industrial quantities. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/images/assets/brewery_vats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/images/assets/brewery_vats.jpg" height="283" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The vats, probably mash tuns, at Hierakonopolis, Egypt. Source <a href="http://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/index.php/explore-the-predynastic-settlement/the-brewery" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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The Egyptians must have used floors for germinating the barley. A malting floor is not an obvious thing to identify in the archaeological record. All that's required is a smooth level floor surface within a building. It's something that has <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/08/whats-archaeological-evidence-for-malt.html" target="_blank">been overlooked </a>in the interpretation of archaeological sites. Archaeologists don't often interpret the remains of a building as having possibly been a grain barn or a floor surface as having been being suitable for making malt.<br />
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Eric talked about malting floors and the potential evidence for the manufacture of ale in prehistory. I was rather pleased that, on his next slide, he showed some of the evidence for the making of malt and ale in Neolithic Britain. That's my research.<br />
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There is good evidence for the manufacture of malt and ale at some of the Orcadian neolithic sites, such as Skara Brae and Barnhouse, six thousand years ago. At Skara Brae there were sherds from a large 30 gallon pot found beside the central hearth. Excavated by Vere Gordon Childe in the 1930s, no residue analysis was done on these pot sherds. Its' location would be an ideal spot for a fermenting barley wort. At the site of Barnhouse, another neolithic village, there was a possible malting floor as well as many drains which are essential for a brewer. Analysis of pot sherds using the technique of Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry revealed "unidentified sugars and barley lipids" in the fabric of the pottery. It's a possible indication of sparging. If they were sparging to obtain a wort then they must have been making malt and ale. <br />
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If you want to read more about neolithic and bronze age evidence, I suggest you have a look <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/prehistoricbrewing.htm" target="_blank">here </a>at an article we wrote for <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/" target="_blank">Orkneyjar</a> a few years ago. It's about the prehistoric transformation of grain into ale. You'll also find links to my published academic papers and to my thesis. I know of no other archaeologists who are working on the archaeological evidence for the manufacture of <a href="https://www.academia.edu/12105047/Neolithic_Ale_Barley_as_a_source_of_sugars_for_fermentation" target="_blank">barley malt and ale in the neolithic</a>. It seems to be considered a controversial topic by some academics, or so I am told. That's why I was pleased to see my work referred to at this malting seminar. Clearly the professional maltsters, brewers and distillers have no problem with the idea.<br />
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Eric described how floor malting is labour intensive, requiring skilled and dedicated people. It was the only way of making malt until the mid 19th century. The malt must be turned and raked on the floor, as well as being moved around the maltings from steep tank to germination floor, and from there to the kiln floor. It takes many workers to make the malt. <br />
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Modern pneumatic maltings changed all of this.<br />
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Two Belgian malting engineers, Galland and Saladin, are considered to be the fathers of modern pneumatic malting. In 1873 Galland designed a system of aerated rectangular boxes. A few years later, in 1880, Saladin introduced a mechanised turning system. The new integrated system of aeration and mechanical turning of the malt by Archimedes screws was called <br />
a <a href="http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/jhb/whisky/smws/saladin.html" target="_blank">saladin</a> box.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.whisky.com/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_Tamdu_Malzentleeren_2fc133acd7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://www.whisky.com/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_Tamdu_Malzentleeren_2fc133acd7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few Saladin boxes are in use today, this one is at Tamdu Distillery</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">, source <a href="https://www.whisky.com/information/knowledge/production/details/malting.html" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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The workers who turned the malt cannot have been happy about this. For many, it
meant the loss of their job. It was, in so many ways, a revolution in the malting industry, although it took several decades, until the 1960s, before Saladin boxes became commonplace in a maltings.<br />
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The technology of making malt developed rapidly. By the early 1970s, Saladin drums were being made and used. These are far larger and capable of producing thirty to fifty tonnes of malt at a time, in a continuous batching process. They can be operated all year round, in contrast to a traditional floor maltings that were subject to weather and temperature (see previous post). Much less manpower is needed, there is a lower cost of production. They consistently produce good quality malt in the quantity that is required today in the modern brewing and distilling business. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.insidebeer.com/custom/DrumMalting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.insidebeer.com/custom/DrumMalting.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Germinating Kilning Vessel at Crisp's Maltings, source <a href="http://www.insidebeer.com/articles/20101014_1" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
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Germinating Kilning Vessels, can make up to 500 tons of malt at a time. I've not yet seen a large industrial maltings and have never looked inside one of these Germinating Kilning Vessels, but here's a man who has. Jeff Evans, on his blog <a href="http://www.insidebeer.com/articles/20101014_1" target="_blank">inside beer</a>, describes the experience: <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"I climbed the stairs of one of these enormous, modern cylindrical towers to discover vast stainless-steel steeping tanks, malting floors and kilns. Having seen the simple, homely methods of the floor maltings, the scale and functionality came as a shock. Each of the tanks handles more than ten times the amount the entire floor malting facility can process in one go. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>At the push of a few buttons, the process gets underway – steeping, germination, kilning. Such are the efficiencies that germination is a day shorter here, and kilning only takes two days. The equipment is also much easier to clean, so you can see why new technology has its supporters in the industry. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Once malted, the grains are quickly shipped out to breweries or malt merchants. Crisp’s job is done. The brewer will ultimately claim the credit for his wonderful beer, but, as the old saying puts it, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. There’s a lot of skill and care that goes into that drink even before the brewer starts his work. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>The next time you are entranced by a hoppy aroma as you raise a pint to your lips, stop, wait and think. Look beyond the green, tangy, zesty glory boys that steal the limelight and remember the malt and the maltster, the forgotten heroes of brewing."</i></span><br />
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In his final remarks about malt and malting techniques, Eric Walker reminded us of some of the fundamental principles.<br />
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Malt is a living thing. If it is not correctly steeped it can either drown or asphyxiate. It needs careful handling. The maltsters who make malt in these large vessels take as much care of it as the traditional floor maltster, there's a whole new set of skills and knowledge involved in the craft of making huge batches of good quality malt. The maltster's rub, whereby the maltster judges when it is ready for kilning, still applies. Ancient skills and knowledge are combined with modern technology.<br />
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Malting, he said<br />
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"<i>is a process utilised by the ancients to produce palatable alcoholic beverages: ale and beer.</i>" <br />
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I couldn't agree more.</div>
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further reading:<br />
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<a href="https://www.academia.edu/25025542/Who_were_the_first_maltsters_The_archaeological_evidence_for_floor_malting" target="_blank">Who were the first maltsters? Archaeological evidence for floor malting. </a><br />
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<a href="https://www.academia.edu/15542445/The_craft_of_the_maltster" target="_blank">The craft of the maltster</a><br />
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PS In one of my earlier blogs I've asked: <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/07/where-have-all-malting-floors-gone.html" target="_blank">where have all the malting floors gone?</a></div>
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Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-58406211389410936042016-09-24T20:00:00.000+01:002016-10-30T10:17:34.592+00:00a morning with maltsters, part three: on the tour, some archaeological thoughts We left the meeting room of the <a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/kirkwall/highlandpark/index.html" target="_blank">Highland Park Distillery</a> and started our tour of the maltings. I'd forgotten my camera, however it gave me the opportunity to make notes and think a bit about the archaeological evidence for making malt.<br />
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This was not my first tour of a malting facility. Years ago, when I started my post graduate research into the archaeology of malt, ale and beer I contacted Thomas Fawcett and Sons, Maltsters, in Castleford, West Yorkshire and asked if they could show us round. They were very helpful and friendly. Soon we had been given a personally guided tour of the maltings by James Fawcett himself. Fawcett's make malt for the brewing industry using traditional floor malting techniques as well as having modern Germinating Kilning Vessels. There's a short <a href="http://www.fawcett-maltsters.co.uk/media.html" target="_blank">film</a> on their website where the ancient craft of floor malting can be seen. We'd wanted to see how an industrial maltings worked, having already visited an 18th Century <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/06/traditional-floor-malting-neolithic.html" target="_blank">grain barn</a> at the Corrigall Farm Museum, Orkney, with a threshing floor, malting floor and grain drying kiln. Making malt is the same process, whether you are in a grain barn on a farm or at an industrial floor malting. The only difference is the scale of the task.<br />
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The tour of the Highland Park Maltings began with the steep tanks. Barley is steeped in water with regular air rests. Air is bubbled through. Steep tanks vary in size, obviously, but the basic principle is to get the barley wet enough and aerated sufficiently to trigger the germination process. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ukmalt.com/sites/default/files/images/imagesteep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ukmalt.com/sites/default/files/images/imagesteep.jpg" height="248" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the steep tank, barley in bubbling water, with regular air rests<br />
source <a href="http://www.ukmalt.com/malt-unravelling-mystery" target="_blank">MAGB</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Steep tanks emulate a traditional and probably ancient technique. Maltsters in history and prehistory would have put their harvested grain into a porous bag and then left it in a shallow bubbling stream for a few days. This practice would, of course, leave absolutely no archaeological evidence. I was first told about it by an Orcadian farmer, maltster, brewer and crofter, Harry Flett, who was the custodian of the Corrigall Farm Museum.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.democraticvistas.net/images/3/30/Babbling_brook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.democraticvistas.net/images/3/30/Babbling_brook.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a babbling brook, plenty of water and oxygen here <br />
source <a href="http://www.democraticvistas.net/images/3/30/Babbling_brook.jpg" target="_blank">wikipedia images</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In Britain, people began to grow barley and wheat around six thousand years ago. This was the neolithic era, when hunter gatherers settled down and grew crops. What were they doing with the grain? How were they processing it? The consensus of opinion in academic archaeological literature and belief is that, since the earliest neolithic, they were grinding it into flour to make bread. Perhaps they were boiling it up to make porridge or gruel. The possibility of making malt has not been taken seriously. Many archaeologists, including professors, have shouted at me when I've made this suggestion at conferences. They don't like the idea of making malt in the neolithic. <br />
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I've written about some aspects of my research into neolithic grain processing, grain barns and the "first farmers" in an<a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/06/traditional-floor-malting-neolithic.html" target="_blank"> earlier blog.</a> Many of the neolithic rectangular timber buildings
in Britain and Ireland were situated beside or close to streams and rivers. Carbonised barley grains with missing embryos have been discovered at a number of these ancient sites. I think that they are
good candidates for grain barns and malt houses five
thousand years ago.<br />
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The steeped grain is transferred to the malting, or germination, floor.
This is where it begins to grow visibly. Conditions have to be right.
It's too hot in the summer months for floor malting, however, with the
modern GKV systems it's now possible to make malt every day of the year.
At an industrial floor maltings there are large amounts of grain to be
carefully transferred from one place to another. We were introduced to the malt chariot.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/images/malt06-laphroaigvert.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/images/malt06-laphroaigvert.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">steeped grain goes into the chariot<br />
source <a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/maltings.html" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3031/2842036147_dab9606944_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3031/2842036147_dab9606944_b.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from steep tank to malting floor<br />
source <a href="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3031/2842036147_dab9606944_b.jpg" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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According to Distillery
Manager Marie Stanton, a malt chariot is a tricky thing to learn how to drive. The maltsters
are experts at it, of course. An industrial floor maltings has to deal with large amounts of malt which is couched, then spread out on the floor. The chariot at Highland Park was in use regularly for this purpose. Ambient temperature and weather conditions dictate the depth of the grain bed.<br />
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There were several wooden malt shovels, or shiels, leaning up against the wall. They are used to turn the malt. It's a long job and in an industrial maltings like this, team work is crucial. It takes hard work and skill to turn tons of malt on the floor using one of these. On the tour we were told that some maltsters at the Highland Park were ambidextrous, able to turn malt to the right and to the left with ease. Others preferred to just work one way, which seems to be how the owner of this well worn malt shovel worked.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://elainephillipsantiques.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/AF-2228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://elainephillipsantiques.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/AF-2228.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 19th Century malt shovel, well worn from use<br />
source <a href="http://elainephillipsantiques.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/AF-2228.jpg" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As well as wooden malt shovels, fish tail rakes are used. These make the job so much easier, follow the link below the photo to find out why. Raking the malt is not just a skill, it's an art. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://riverbendmalt.com/wp-content/uploads/maltrake-v2-1024x612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://riverbendmalt.com/wp-content/uploads/maltrake-v2-1024x612.jpg" height="237" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A medieval style custom made malt rake, with fish tails, used by <a href="https://riverbendmalt.com/malt-rake-2-0-getting-medieval/" target="_blank">Riverbend Malt House</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How did neolithic and bronze age maltsters turn their malt? What did they use? They had no metal rakes. Wooden tools rarely survive in the archaeological record. I've sometimes thought that an animal's shoulder blade might have been a suitable tool. A scapula is a sturdy thing, it has the shape of a shovel and could be used for many tasks that the "first farmers" needed to do. It would do the job of turning the malt nicely. Has anything been found that might support this idea? There's only one discovery that I know of. During road works in 1987 at Achavanich in Scotland, a female cist burial dated to the Bronze Age was discovered. It had contained the crouched burial of a
young woman, however only the skull and a few bones remained.<br />
<br />
The grave goods that accompanied this young woman were these: a beaker or food vessel, a thumb nail scraper, two flint flakes and, unusually, the shoulder blade of an ox. The beaker or food vessel had organic residues within it. This is another rare find. According to the official <a href="http://her.highland.gov.uk/SingleResult.aspx?uid=MHG13613" target="_blank">site records</a> (HER)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>"The contents of the beaker were analysed by Dr Brian Moffat of SHARP
who, from a preliminary examination, suggested that it contained:
prepared cereal grain, honey, added flowers and fruit (including
meadowsweet, bramble & wood sage), and the sap of birch and alder
trees."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span> <br />
Similar residues have been found in <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/03/beakers-were-for-beer-part-one.html" target="_blank">other bronze age pots</a> and have been identified as the remains of ale. These two things combined, the pot with cereal based residues and an ox shoulder blade, suggest to me that the woman may have been a maker of malt and ale. She had been buried with the necessary equipment. I mentioned this to a couple of people on the tour and they agreed it could be a possibility. The young woman who was buried 3700 years ago is now the subject of a new investigation by archaeologist Dr Maya Hoole. The details are <a href="https://achavanichbeakerburial.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">here</a> if you are interested.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkyJfMZoe4mPYpVWAiTDfPG7R_gxba4leGzrY13OSlZbqjtp17PK1xLXLfASWbiYQdgH0c-IUwipel04GvgSYLiVApQRlZmfu4y85ebLV9xqADA4Ik3WlNfOzRzRjWU7ZtdayDw4SKOc/s1600/AvaScapulaMayaHoole.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkyJfMZoe4mPYpVWAiTDfPG7R_gxba4leGzrY13OSlZbqjtp17PK1xLXLfASWbiYQdgH0c-IUwipel04GvgSYLiVApQRlZmfu4y85ebLV9xqADA4Ik3WlNfOzRzRjWU7ZtdayDw4SKOc/s400/AvaScapulaMayaHoole.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ox shoulder blade from the Achavanich burial, was it used to turn the malt?<br />
source <a href="https://www.facebook.com/achavanichbeakerburial/photos/pcb.502489386610660/502488753277390/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">here </a>(this is a screen grab from the Facebook page)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next part of the tour took us to a small room, the laboratory, where the viability of grain for germination was assessed. Why does it need to be tested before it is steeped and turned out on the malting floor? Because barley has a latent dormancy after harvest. It must be stored, in a dry place, for a few weeks or months before it will germinate. The reasons for this and the biochemistry behind it are not yet fully understood. The length of dormancy can vary between crops and barley variety. Traditionally, grain has always been left for a while after harvest. People have known about latent dormancy for a long time.<br />
<br />
Grain that will not germinate is useless to a maltster. Upon delivery, samples are taken from every batch of grain. Individual grains are selected at random and tested for viability. This can be done by steeping them in a solution of hydrogen peroxide at 0.75% at 18-21 degrees Centigrade. Germinated corns (seeds) are counted after three days. For a working maltings, this takes too long.<br />
<br />
A quicker method of checking viability is to cut a grain longitudinally and use tetrazolium chloride which stains the embryo pink. The maltster can get a result in half an hour. There was a very nice little grain cutting machine in the laboratory at Highland Park, used to cut grains in half for testing from every batch of barley. Shame I forgot my camera, but here's a picture of a stained living barley grain from the MAGB website. Pink toed barley, that's what the maltsters call it, if the barley has a pink toe then it's good for making malt.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ukmalt.com/sites/default/files/images/transcorn.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ukmalt.com/sites/default/files/images/transcorn.gif" height="151" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">white endosperm, pink embryo, it's alive! <br />
source <a href="http://www.ukmalt.com/sites/default/files/images/transcorn.gif" target="_blank">here</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The final part of the tour was to climb the old narrow wooden staircase, it was more like a boxed in ladder, to look at the kilning floors in the loft. We were treading in the footsteps of maltsters past, it was a strange feeling. The steps were worn, malt has been dried here, in the same way, for two hundred years. We looked through the window to see the green malt, steaming as it began to dry. It looked very much like the photo below. Drying malt on this scale takes three or four days. The maltsters turn it at regular intervals so that it dries evenly. Hot air and peat smoke from the fire downstairs passes along the flue and through the bed of wet malt, imparting flavour, drying it gently so that the malt is not killed.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPegklOl-E8X_H6Vob68A0PkVK3-V28WK2x9E9jDU8qwv0eLvLYtJZgniLqmTrT2Tzp_BQH8eV9X7mw0kzrEF0jbSxPWwqAu4FIDeXFA5lpI_yR3wnadLHz-9_Pw5dQ8XmHdDRgqzJs-G/s1600/2.+Highland+Park+Distillery+Orkney+Scotland+-+WhiskySpeller+2016+-+26.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPegklOl-E8X_H6Vob68A0PkVK3-V28WK2x9E9jDU8qwv0eLvLYtJZgniLqmTrT2Tzp_BQH8eV9X7mw0kzrEF0jbSxPWwqAu4FIDeXFA5lpI_yR3wnadLHz-9_Pw5dQ8XmHdDRgqzJs-G/s400/2.+Highland+Park+Distillery+Orkney+Scotland+-+WhiskySpeller+2016+-+26.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">green malt at Highland Park, steaming on the kiln floor as it slowly dries<br />
source: a blog by the whiskyspeller's <a href="http://whiskyspeller.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/smokin-highland-park-distillery.html" target="_blank">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We left the kilning floors by a small door which led us onto a metal walkway on the roof, right beside the distinctive pagodas. Whenever the malt is being dried there is steam coming from the pagodas. We
had great view over Kirkwall and a new perspective of the Distillery,
a place that we often drive past. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn1.masterofmalt.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/images/HPwinner/highlandpark2-big.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://cdn1.masterofmalt.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/images/HPwinner/highlandpark2-big.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the twin pagodas of the Highland Park Distillery<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
source <a href="https://cdn1.masterofmalt.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/images/HPwinner/highlandpark2-big.png" target="_blank">here</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Finally, we went down the metal staircase on the outside of the building to see the kiln fire downstairs. The maltsters start the fire with coke to warm the kiln, after this, peat from Hobbister is used. The peaty smoke flavours the wet malt. Coke is used at the end to thoroughly dry the malt. Each fire needs to be run slightly differently, depending upon the batch of malt. It's just another of those maltster's skills that can only be learned by experience and practice.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/89f027d5ae6e4bf883bbc8eee82d26af/highland-park-distillery-kirkwall-orkney-peat-fire-kiln-cy4a8h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/89f027d5ae6e4bf883bbc8eee82d26af/highland-park-distillery-kirkwall-orkney-peat-fire-kiln-cy4a8h.jpg" height="400" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the kiln fire, it's a long way from the malt and there's a metal flue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This kiln has a fierce fire but is situated a long way from the malt. In a pot kiln, you need great heat to fire the pots. The principle with a grain or malt drying kiln is completely different. Hot air and smoke pass along the flue and through the bed of green malt. There are sturdy metal linings to contain the sparks and make it safe. I don't want to go into any more whisky making details. My interest is in making malt for brewing ale and beer. </div>
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Today there are many different kinds of malt being made by maltsters for brewers. It can be confusing for a non brewer. The most crucial is the base malt, the one that is made and dried like this, carefully and slowly to keep the starch converting enzymes alive. These enzymes are needed in the mash tun. Base malt provides all the necessary sugars for fermentation. Other malts, such as crystal malt or chocolate malt have only been made since the mid 18th Century. Just to confuse the issue even further, there is also roasted barley, which is not malted at all and which gives dark beers like Guinness and porter their distinctive black colour and flavour. Hops add bitterness and other flavours, they are also antimicrobial. Unroasted barley alone cannot be used to make beer, it is added to the base malt. Unroasted barley has no enzymes. </div>
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Specialist malts provide colour and flavour to the finished ale or beer. They are a modern thing; making roasted malt is not a prehistoric technology. Specialist malts are roasted at high temperatures that kill all the enzymes, therefore it is not possible to make beer using only this kind of malt. I shall have to write something later about this, it's a huge subject. </div>
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Malt is a mysterious thing to most people. In the world of archaeological and anthropological literature I find few references to malt. There is very little meaningful discussion of it. Assumptions have been made that malt is "toasted roasted barley sprouts". Another belief is that the archaeologist has to actually find "sprouted barley" with roots and shoot still intact for there to have been malting and brewing at their site. I have been told this many times by archaeobotanists. The reality is that the malt loses its' roots and shoots in the kiln. An archaeologist will not find them. There are <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/08/whats-archaeological-evidence-for-malt.html" target="_blank">many other indications</a> that grain has been malted.</div>
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When you read the academic archaeological and anthropological literature about "alcohol production in prehistory", there is a belief, an assumption, that all you have to do is mush up a few sweet things, like berries, honey, some sort of sweet plant, maybe a bit of barley and some birch sap. Leave it in a bucket or a pot and, magically, you will have "some sort of alcohol". Making ale and beer is not like that at all. Malt is the essential ingredient. It provides both flavour and, more importantly, the necessary fermentable sugars without which there will be no ale. No beer. </div>
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That's more than enough for now. I shall continue working on my post about alcohol production and some of the myths that surround it in the archaeological and anthropological literature. I look forward to comments and discussion with about malt in the future. Malt matters.</div>
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Here's a bit more that I've written about malt, malting, the history and the archaeology. I shall get around to tagging the blogs soon so they are easier to navigate. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/25025542/Who_were_the_first_maltsters_The_archaeological_evidence_for_floor_malting" target="_blank">Who were the first maltsters? The archaeological evidence for floor malting.</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Brewer & Distiller International February 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/15542445/The_craft_of_the_maltster" target="_blank">The craft of the maltster </a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Food & Drink in Archaeology 4 eds Howard, Bedigan, Jervis & Sykes<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/first-farmers-first-maltsters.html" target="_blank">first farmers first maltsters</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/01/thousands-of-grain-impressions-in-burnt.html" target="_blank">thousands of grain impressions in a burnt plaster floor</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/07/where-have-all-malting-floors-gone.html" target="_blank">where have all the malting floors gone?</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/desperately-seeking-sugars.html" target="_blank">desperately seeking sugars</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/09/grain-dryers-malt-kilns-malting-ovens.html" target="_blank">grain dryers, malt kilns and malting ovens</a></span><br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-45922596092933771022016-09-16T00:14:00.001+01:002016-10-30T10:44:04.687+00:00a morning with maltsters, part twoMaking malt involves a huge amount of knowledge, skill and experience. This is the second part of my write up of an Orkney Science Festival event that I was fortunate to attend. Making Malt took place on the morning of 7th September at the Highland Park Distillery, Kirkwall. If you haven't read part one, <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/09/a-morning-with-maltsters-part-one.html" target="_blank">see here.</a><br />
<br />
There were twelve tickets available. Malt, malting and the history of the craft is something that I'm particularly interested in, so I bought two tickets on the first day that they were available. Well worth it. The second presentation of the morning, by Distillery Manager Marie Stanton, was about the practice and techniques of floor malting. She gave us a fascinating insight into the craft.<br />
<br />
To make good malt, she said, you need good quality barley as well as common sense, experience, commitment and an unnatural obsession with the weather. The first four things seem obvious but, the weather? What's that got to do with making malt? Malt is a living thing, it requires careful handling and processing. The maltster needs to be very much aware of the weather, looking after the barley on the floor as it begins to germinate and adjusting things accordingly. In cold weather, the barley is couched, or heaped up deeper on the floor. In warm weather, such as the day the seminar was held, they had been raking it out thinner, to cool it. The grain generates heat as it germinates on the floor. <br />
<br />
This is the ancient craft of floor malting, a craft that has been around for thousands of years. Decisions about length of steep, depth of bed and readiness for the kiln are based upon years of experience, knowledge and skill. <br />
<br />
The steep is about more than just getting the barley wet before it goes onto the germination floor. Water temperature is important, as well as several air rests. Grain left in water will drown and be no good for germination. The idea is to rehydrate the harvested and stored grain up to about 45% moisture. <br />
<br />
When sufficiently steeped, the grain is couched, spread, turned and raked regularly according to temperature and conditions. It begins to germinate. This might sound straightforward, but there's more to it than you might think. I'll write about this in the next blog, the tour of the Maltings. When we were visiting, malt was drying in the kiln but there was none on the floors. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/images/malt-450-highlandpark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/images/malt-450-highlandpark.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">steeped grain on the malting floors at the Highland Park Distillery, Kirkwall, Orkney<br />
source: <a href="http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/maltings.html" target="_blank">undiscovered Scotland</a> where there is more about floor maltings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The presentation on Making Malt continued. Bowls of barley were passed round.<br />
<br />
One contained freshly steeped barley. It had the aroma of wet grain, as you might expect. Another contained barley that had been on the floor and had begun to germinate. This had a pleasant, fresh, almost floral aroma which is hard to describe. The two bowls had very different aromas, although they were just a couple of days' processing apart. This was something I did not expect, these aromas of germinating barley.<br />
<br />
There is some complex chemistry going on inside the grain as it begins to germinate. If you want to know more about the biochemistry and physiology of grain germination, there's a reading list at the end of the blog. <br />
<br />
The purpose of germination is to allow the embryo to grow, just a little. Enzymes develop and begin to degrade the beta glutens, proteins and cell walls. This is known as modification. When the grain (green malt) is sufficiently modified, it's ready for the kiln. <br />
<br />
The malt is dried slowly and gently, to preserve the enzymes. They will be needed in the mash tun. Although there is a fierce fire, the malt is not put directly above it. Hot air and smoke from the fire needs to pass along the flue and through the bed of malted grain, drying it gently over several days. The malt steams as it dries. Both peat and coke are used as fuel. The wet malt takes on flavour from the peat smoke. It's turned regularly in the kiln, to ensure an even drying process. The maltster does not want the malt to be too dry, does not want roots, but they do want plenty of enzymes. It's important to know your kiln, we were told. Each one is different and the drying of the green malt from the floor is a matter of great skill, experience and knowledge.<br />
<br />
After kilning, the malt needs to rest for a few weeks before it is used. There was some discussion in the room about why this should be and why it affects the flavour. It seems that the complex chemical processes of this resting period are still not understood. There was general agreement that rested and unrested malt should not be mixed together. <br />
<br />
At the end of the presentation, a bowl of the finished malt was passed round. We were told that we could have a taste.<br />
<br />
It was delicious, each malted grain imbued with a peaty, smoky aroma, very good indeed.<br />
<br />
Next, the tour of the maltings. We saw bubbling steep tanks, malt chariots and shiels. We saw the malt, steaming in the kilns. As we went in I realised I'd forgotten my camera. I made notes, not just about what we saw on the tour, but also some thoughts on origins of this ancient craft and the potential archaeological evidence for it.<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
After completing my Master's in 1999, I tried to get funding for a PhD looking into the history and prehistory of malting and the archaeological evidence for malt. I didn't get any funding, but I did get to spend several years preparing funding applications. I worked with brewing scientists and therefore I had access to their library at UMIST, Manchester, where I read up on malting and brewing science, grain germination physiology. I can't say that I understand it all but I learned a lot. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here are a few books that cover the subject in detail:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Bewley and Black 1994 Seeds: Physiology and Development</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is about all seeds, see the chapters on barley, barley germination, malting </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Malts-Malting-D-E-Briggs/dp/0412298007" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Malts-and-Malting-Book-cover" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-534" src="http://www.craftmalting.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Malts-and-Malting-Book-cover.gif" height="100" width="66" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dennis Briggs 1998 Malts and Malting</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is what maltsters call “the bible”.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="fn"><span dir="ltr">D E Briggs, R S Stevens, Tom Young, J S Hough 1981 Malting and Brewing Science: Malt and Sweet Wort</span></span><span class="subtitle">, Vol 1, Springer US <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">There is a second volume on hopped wort and beer. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<br />Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-22267417482955984002016-09-10T14:45:00.002+01:002021-03-03T20:16:22.182+00:00a morning with maltsters, part one<br />
The Orkney Science Festival is held annually. It's always a great week of varied and interesting events, talks, demonstrations and fun. This year there was a Malt and Malting seminar with a special tour of the Maltings at the Highland Park Distillery, Kirkwall. There were only a dozen places available and we were lucky to get tickets. We spent a fascinating morning with malting, brewing and distilling experts. It was all about the malt. <br />
<br />
Making the malt for brewing and distilling is exactly the same process. The difference in processing techniques happens after the mash tun. A brewer takes the sweet liquid from the mash tun, calls it "wort" and adds hops or herbs, then ferments it into beer or ale. The distiller takes the sweet liquid, calls it "the wash" ferments it into alcohol and then distils it. The wort and the wash are two names for the same thing, the sweet liquid that is obtained from the mash tun. Every brewer who makes ale or beer from the grain knows what wort is because they work with it. People who have never made an ale or beer from the grain are perhaps a bit confused about what it is.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/2008-09-20_Wort_first_run-off_2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/2008-09-20_Wort_first_run-off_2.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wort or wash?<br />
Depends if you are a brewer or distiller.<br />
source <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wort">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Dr Tim Dolan gave the first talk of the morning, explaining the fundamental aspects of what malt is, the biochemistry of malt, how it is made and a little of the history and development of the industry. His career in the malting and distilling
industry goes back 40 years and he now teaches the subject. The other speakers were Marie Stanton,
Distillery Manager of the Highland Park. She shared her knowledge of floor malting, then led us on a wonderful tour around the Maltings. The third speaker was Eric Walker, recently retired, a man with a distinguished background
in all aspects of the malting, brewing and distilling industries. He talked to us about the prehistory and history of making malt and explained some technical details. They were quite a team and between them they had a huge amount of knowledge and experience of making malt.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"<i>Malting is a process utilised by the Ancients to produce palatable alcoholic beverages: ale and beer" </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Eric Walker)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
In previous years there have been talks about brewing and
distillation, usually organised by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Tim told
us that he thought it was about time there was a Science Festival event about malt,
the Cinderella subject, because malt is the crucial ingredient for ale,
beer and whisky. What is malt? It is grain that has been germinated under
controlled conditions, then dried carefully in a kiln. Making malt has
been a skill, an art and a craft for a very long time. Over the years I have given a
few talks at the Science Festival. I was pleased that
Tim remembered me and had been to my presentations on malting in prehistory, neolithic
ale, grain barns and my most recent "Where were the Viking Brew
Houses?" a couple of years ago.<br />
<br />
The
advent of the combine harvester in the 1940s transformed the grain
harvest. The ancient and traditional way of harvesting grain by hand was
extremely hard work, it was a time when the whole community worked together to bring the
harvest home. On Orkney, where I live, grain was harvested by hand and
stacked in stooks in the field until as recently as the 1950s. In case you don't know what a stook is, I looked online
and found this painting by British artist <span class="fn value">Heywood Hardy (1843-1933). Painted in 1</span>872,
it depicts a typical scene of the time. I like the detail of the stook
and you can see how they were made. The effort and hard work involved in
making them can only be imagined.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Heywood_Hardy_-_Corn_Stooks_by_Bray_Church_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Heywood_Hardy_-_Corn_Stooks_by_Bray_Church_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Corn Stooks by Bray Church</i> by Heywood Hardy (1872) see <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heywood_Hardy_-_Corn_Stooks_by_Bray_Church_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><p>
This oil painting was done just a few years before Henry Stopes published his book about <a href="https://archive.org/details/maltandmaltinga00stopgoog">Malt and Malting, an Historical Scientific and Practical Treatise </a>in 1885. It
is now available to read online. Oxford University took the trouble
to scan it in, many thanks to them for that. I first read it when I borrowed a copy from a brewing scientist when I began my research. It's such an important book and it is an excellent snapshot of the
malting industry in the late 19th Century. Henry Stopes mentions the work of Louis Pasteur, who had recently published his
work on <a href="http://pastmatters.org/medicine/modern-19th-century/germ-theory-1861/">Germ Theory</a> which was to make such a huge impact on the brewing industry.<br />
<br />
But
I digress. Let's get back to the talk about malting.<br />
<br />
Tim explained the biochemical processes of germination, with the embryo being the living part of the
grain and the endosperm being the starchy food store. Malt, he said,
is a living thing. It must be handled and processed carefully and
correctly by the maltster. This was a point that was made several times
throughout the morning. First, the harvested grain is steeped in water.
It's crucial to allow air rests. The steep tank is drained of water at
regular intervals. If the grain is left in water without air rests it will drown and this means that it
will not begin to germinate.<br />
<br />
Thanks to scientific
research into grain germination physiology and biochemistry which began
in the 1960s, we now know that when grain is sufficiently wet and
aerated, gibberellic acid is released from the embryo and the aleurone
cells. This stimulates enzymes which convert the grain starch into sugars,
the food source for the plant.<br />
<br />
All grains can be malted. Barley is
considered to be the best grain
for malting but wheat, rye and oats can also be malted. Here's a useful
diagram of the internal structure of a barley grain in the early stages of germination. <br />
</p><p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="ancient malt and ale : malting and mashing" class="n3VNCb" data-noaft="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUnUfpWXvNZJqQFjikptLMAlAERorC7w6Zb8qxqEDHcoEmlw90qVmkovmRpor3kciRZW7sx-eEDW0WB943qBt9LjYuY5ZmbSJdOBSKhrgt04DbA_on6C1FPd6G7fGIIzw78ZYAyHg5CI/s1600/Figure+2+unmalted%2528left%2529.gif" style="height: 309.511px; margin: 0px; width: 529px;" /><br /><br />
The craft and skill of the maltster lies in getting the grain to start
growing, but not too much. This is known as modification and there is some excellent and detailed information about <a href="http://www.ukmalt.com/node/107">what malt is </a>and <a href="http://www.ukmalt.com/how-malt-made">how malt is made </a>on the Maltster's Association of Great Britain web site.<br />
<br />
The Highland Park has three traditional malting floors where the grain is spread out after steeping. Raking and turning the malt is a crucial part of the process. We were told that this helps to maintain an even temperature and it also prevents rootlets from tangling. On the malting floor the barleya malted barley grain <a href="http://www.biokemi.org/biozoom/issues/522/articles/2368">more details here </a> begins to germinate. When the maltster sees the root and shoot being about four fifths the length of the grain, it is sufficiently modified and ready to be carefully and gently dried in the kiln. a malted barley grain <a href="http://www.biokemi.org/biozoom/issues/522/articles/2368">more details here </a><br />
<br />
Modern techniques of making malt involve the use of Saladin boxes and drums. There are also huge germinating kilning vessels which can make three to five hundred tons of malt at a time. All year round. The quality of the malt can be controlled because it is easy to maintain precise temperatures and levels of moisture. The third speaker of the day, Eric Walker, gave an interesting talk about the industrialisation of malting and I'll write that up later. In the meantime, here's something I wrote about <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/07/where-have-all-malting-floors-gone.html">where the malting floors have gone.</a><br />
<br />
Barley is self pollinating. Dr Tim Dolan emphasised this several times, but I wondered why was he making this point so many times? It was because it's so significant in understanding barley breeding. There were not so many varieties of barley in the past as there are today. The science and practice of cross breeding barley began at Warminster Maltings in 1904. This was news to me. Rather than tell you the story myself, here is the account from the <a href="https://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getimage.php?id=215">Wiltshire Community History web page:</a> <br />
<br />
<i>"The most famous name in local malting was that of Dr. Ernest Sloper
Beaven, and his reputation is international. He was born in 1857 to a
Heytesbury farming family, who moved to Boreham Farm at Warminster in
1868. Beaven said that he began to observe barley closely from 1878 and
he became associated with Frank Morgan, Warminster’s leading Maltster.
Beaven’s first experiments had been with onions and potatoes but from
1900 he was growing, selecting and crossing barley from seven initial
different ‘races’. In 1904 he acquired fields on the Boreham Road for a
nursery and in 1914 he launched ‘Beaven’s Plumage Archer’ strain of
barley and continued with seed trials for the next 27 years. Beaven
could claim that 85% of the total U.K. acreage of barley was grown from
the progeny of just four plants, three of which had been selected in the
nursery at Warminster between 1900 and 1904."</i><br />
<br />
In the last one hundred years or so, much has been learned about barley and the biochemistry of germination, however, there is still much to be learned. Although some of the mystery and magic of malting has been studied and explained by scientists, some things about barley are little understood.<br />
<br />
One of these is latent dormancy. Someone in the group asked about this and the answer was that it is still a bit of a mystery. There is a practical tradition of leaving the grain for a while between harvest and steep, because it will not germinate. This could be about variety, or it could be seasonal. The best thing I can suggest, if you are interested in finding out more about latent dormancy, is to search for the academic and scholarly papers on it. There are quite a few of them out there.<br />
<br />
The next talk was about the skills, techniques and practicalities of floor malting and the turn of Marie Stanton, Distillery Manager, an experienced maltster at a number of distilleries. And then there was the tour of the Maltings.<br />
<br />
There is only so much detail that one blog post can take, so I shall leave you with a picture of the malting floor at the Highland Park Distillery, Kirkwall, Orkney. It is taken from Wikimedia Commons. I forgot to take my camera to the seminar, but I did take plenty of notes, so I hope this will suffice while I get down to writing <a href="https://merryn.dineley.com/2016/09/a-morning-with-maltsters-part-two.html" target="_blank">part two</a>, while it is fresh in my memory.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><img alt="File:Highland park malting floor.jpg" data-file-height="1704" data-file-width="2272" height="480" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Highland_park_malting_floor.jpg/800px-Highland_park_malting_floor.jpg" width="640" /><br />
<br />
</p><p>https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highland_park_malting_floor.jpg</p><p><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></p>Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9100523271379006780.post-26635873349958959902016-07-17T18:23:00.000+01:002016-12-05T17:16:28.579+00:00big pots: fermentation and storage Brewing ale in Neolithic Britain - it seems to be a controversial topic among some academic archaeologists. I'm not sure what the problem is with malting and brewing ale in the neolithic era. It could be that few people understand the processes involved in the transformation of grain into malt, wort and ale.<br />
<br />
If you have come to this page via the BBC Earth website, or from the Stone Pages, please be aware that the comments attributed to me there are wrong. I have no idea where they came from, other than as a misunderstanding. I hope for a correction in the near future but so far I am not having much success. <br />
<br />
Roasted malts, also known as specialty malts, are a feature of modern industrial malting. I'm working on a blog about that at the moment and will post a link to it when I have completed it, hopefully before the Yule celebrations of 2016! <br />
<br />
The last few posts have been about explaining the <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/05/saccharification-or-what-happens-in.html">saccharification </a>in the mash tun, where the crushed malt, when mixed with water and gently heated, is converted by enzymes into malt sugars. I've also written a little about <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2016/06/lauter-and-sparge.html">lautering, sparging</a> and how to collect <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/12/what-is-wort-brewers-perspective.html">the wort</a>. <br />
<br />
We've been asked 'why not ferment in the trough. Why go to all the trouble of trying to collect a wort without bits in it?'<br />
<br />
Firstly, alcoholic fermentation requires anaerobic conditions. A large vat (1000s of litres) within a building has a blanket of carbon dioxide over the fermenting beer,
as in lambic brewing. A small trough (100s of litres) situated outside would have
this blanket blown away. Secondly, during fermentation, the little bubbles of carbon dioxide produced by the yeast, stick to the smaller particles and lift them into the froth of the barm. You can see the towering barm in the picture below. It can turn into a really messy monster when it has a lot of little bits in it. After fermentation you would still have the problem of straining or filtering what brew has not been lost to the froth-over. That is a lot harder with little bubbles in it. A bed of husks will not form properly and filtering just doesn't work.<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Inoculating the wort: starting a fermentation</b><br />
Once the brewer has obtained a quantity of wort by mashing, lautering
and sparging, the next stage of the brewing process is the
fermentation. Whether you mash in a large pot, a wooden tub with a spigot hole, in a trough in the ground or in a modern mash tun, the wort that you make must be dealt with promptly to prevent infection setting in. Wort does not keep well. Either you boil it, as is necessary with hops, and then cool and inoculate with yeast at the right temperature. Or you can inoculate a fresh wort when it has cooled, and then add the herbs. We found that meadowsweet flowers inhibited the yeast and are better added after the fermentation. To find out more about raw ale which, basically, is beer made from an unboiled wort, I suggest a look at <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/331.html">this blog</a>. Raw ale is a huge topic in itself.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr align="center"><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlXQjsNg8iet7rxP0hKSl0LHzCPA5U3NOzOk3WX9Tpgwn_CYmJlPegxMCcAKDQroY31hFg2mxbpqdwh1I0asNaXviaXNnb01hT8vppYw_vLjCj-eUP9eveuYYZ4J9eCvconG7y4Ue-ffZ/s1600/barm+closeup.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlXQjsNg8iet7rxP0hKSl0LHzCPA5U3NOzOk3WX9Tpgwn_CYmJlPegxMCcAKDQroY31hFg2mxbpqdwh1I0asNaXviaXNnb01hT8vppYw_vLjCj-eUP9eveuYYZ4J9eCvconG7y4Ue-ffZ/s640/barm+closeup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fermentation in close up, this is the barm (foam) on a fermenting beer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
There are a number of ways of adding the yeast to the wort to start the fermentation. Today, the
brewer can add yeast directly, in dried form or as a yeast starter, when
the wort temperature is just right. Many modern breweries keep their
yeast starter in a fridge. They scoop some of the barm (foam) from the top of
the fermenting beer and then store it in a cool place until required. The yeast culture can be kept and used for several months. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Brewers in history and prehistory could also have used this simple and basic technique, keeping their barm/yeast culture in a cool place. In the 1980s, archaeologists found a medium sized grooved ware pot which had been sunk into the ground in the remains of one of the buildings at <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/barnhouse/">Barnhouse</a>, Orkney. The pot, about a litre in volume, had been buried up to its' rim. Analysis revealed that it had contained some kind of 'cereal based mixture', but they were unsure about the pot's function. I think it may have been a barm pot. It was located in a large building, numbered eight by the excavation team and interpreted as a 'temple' or some other kind of ritual building. There were drains as well as many sherds of broken or smashed Grooved Ware pottery, representing pots of about one litre in volume. There was also evidence of feasting and what archaeologists refer to as 'ritual activity', although what that was is not made clear in the excavation report.<br />
<br />
I would say that if an archaeologist is looking for a prehistoric ritual activity then the mysterious and magical transformation of grain into malt, wort and ale is well worth considering.<br />
<br />
In Norway, Lithuania, Latvia and other places, the tradition of making farmhouse ale survives, with brewers passing on their skills, techniques and knowledge to their descendants. Old traditions of inoculating the wort are still practised in several areas of northern Europe. The picture below shows a wooden yeast ring or kveikering being used to inoculate a yeast starter. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://larsga.webfactional.com/photoserv.py?t329560" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="600" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wooden yeast ring or kveikering (photo from the beer blog of <a href="http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/301.html">Lars Garshol)</a></td></tr>
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Some sources say that the tradition of the kveikering dates back to the 18th century, although I wonder whether the concept might date even further back. It's difficult to be sure because, of course,
a wooden object used to gather yeast and start a fermentation would not survive in the archaeological record. In the
Viking era, apparently, a stick was used to stir the fermenting wort. This would put yeast onto the stick. Then, if it was kept dry, it could be used to start the next fermentation by stirring a fresh wort. In the Western Isles of Scotland there is a tradition of stirring the fermenting beer with a hazel stick (or wand) which is then hung up to dry and used to stir the next batch of wort, to begin the fermentation.<br />
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We did <a href="http://rryn.dineley.com/2015/02/barm-and-magic-spoon-godisgoode-part-one.html">some experiments using a wooden spoon </a>and found that this technique works perfectly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMIytch0ZYlIQiUSudc12qiUkXGOVgriFy1af4b8EPQpA-Kqkeiqnx9mqb1ebsA5BDpdxA3T1rqF3GSRyjcEXp4baoJnmlVj0iHPBU-SuuuIS_eg9xf79bV3j5Ibru42OaLXjZJoI7C3pd/s400/magic+barm+spoon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">harvesting barm from the fermentation vessel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzrJbv9WcjHQ0H-kk4z2NuQjsPhJ4c1kM1HhKcyfkoXQ5VECBjKNqpHB1wzqH4CJMVpusPxR_34FfnnpeUKiUYqMH0-f8-SPvJYQBZCTDLC8wXYDVLip3AzalPRj0M_hSBVCCMVCXJyNc/s400/hangingspoon.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">barm/yeast drying on the wooden spoon (more photos <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2015/02/barm-and-magic-spoon-godisgoode-part-one.html">here)</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<b>Big pots as fermentation and storage vessels. </b><br />
The <a href="http://www.ancient.eu/Neolithic/">neolithic era</a> was the time of the 'first farmers'. The earliest grain agriculturalists of the British Isles (c4000BC onwards) were also the megalith builders. They created magnificent stone circles and henges as gathering places for the community. They built stone tombs for their dead and they began to settle down. Associated with the 'first farmers' is the integrated 'cultural package' of grain cultivation, the management of domesticated animals (cows, sheep, goats and pigs) and the manufacture of ceramics. This was the 'neolithic revolution', a different lifestyle to the mesolithic hunter gatherers who had roamed the land for thousands of years previously. At this time in prehistory, the technology for making large stave built wooden vessels (vats, tubs, barrels) did not exist.<br />
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How did these neolithic 'first farmers' process their grain? Were they grinding it into flour, to make bread? Were they boiling it, making some kind of gruel or porridge? Or were they making ale from it, by malting, mashing, sparging and fermentation? For some reason, the possibility that such a thing as ale in the neolithic is considered to be a <a href="http://merryn.dineley.com/2014/05/controversy-in-grooved-ware-bucket.html">controversial</a> idea by many archaeologists. I'm not sure why. <br />
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Some of the large neolithic Grooved Ware pots might have been used as fermentation vessels. They are perfect in both shape and size. One particularly large Grooved
Ware pot found at the neolithic village of Skara Brae, Orkney,
was around 30 gallons in volume. Most of the large Grooved Ware pots were around eight
to ten gallons. They are found at many ritual and feasting sites of the
neolithic, in domestic contexts, for example at Skara Brae, Orkney, and at stone circles and henge monuments throughout the British Isles.<br />
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What is Grooved Ware? It is neolithic pottery that archaeologists have defined by its' decorative pattern of grooves and shapes on the exterior. Not all grooved ware has grooves; some of it has fancy applied decoration, with blobs of clay and raised patterns. Most Grooved Ware pots are bucket shaped, with a flat bottom. They are found throughout the British Isles, from Clacton to Orkney and Shetland and also in Ireland. Indeed, this style of pottery was first called 'Rinyo-Clacton Ware'. Rinyo being the name of a site on one of the Orkney islands, Rousay. It was a neolithic village larger than Skara Brae. Grooved Ware was also found on the south coast, at Lion Point near Clacton. <br />
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Here's one of <a href="https://archaeologyarchivesoxford.wordpress.com/stuart-piggott/">Stuart Piggott's</a>
beautiful and classic drawings of British Neolithic pottery, showing what some of the Grooved Ware pots from the south coast probably looked like, based upon
<a href="http://www.biab.ac.uk/contents/28373">sherds found during excavations on the Essex coast, at Lion Point. </a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIXgbTZO55djLzmLMd1rFMa1CsF_OPay9s2CltXCCkUvc02QRcSFHxNC_1T5iNqUyiHoV6g9tPSCXqkYTgXDyiO6EHmp-jszUFxjLuDxstWoVl7MPaTbjWXvnPmz0ZOSXCPnxaeXhX_Q/s1600/Piggott+Grooved+ware+Clacton.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIXgbTZO55djLzmLMd1rFMa1CsF_OPay9s2CltXCCkUvc02QRcSFHxNC_1T5iNqUyiHoV6g9tPSCXqkYTgXDyiO6EHmp-jszUFxjLuDxstWoVl7MPaTbjWXvnPmz0ZOSXCPnxaeXhX_Q/s640/Piggott+Grooved+ware+Clacton.jpg" width="445" /></a></div>
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Pottery is frequently found during archaeological excavations. Archaeologists regard it as diagnostic. The discovery and identification of a sherd of pottery gives them a
good clue about the date of the site. Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery was not glazed. It could have been waterproofed in several ways, by burnishing or by being sealed with fats, beeswax or milk. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxywhQZ57GOOr4IKFrlU6F-96OLRbZNJp31rf-gTUn0i7qFoaCEAfdCeCFSmPhCkyMWWBsOhON7hmI6a8wuzLt-3wm8Vrt4oQmW7F9Cv6dA72XVSBrp8vsmw8AbkBmtCC6unPeivCnqc/s1600/grooved+ware+sherd%252C+colour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxywhQZ57GOOr4IKFrlU6F-96OLRbZNJp31rf-gTUn0i7qFoaCEAfdCeCFSmPhCkyMWWBsOhON7hmI6a8wuzLt-3wm8Vrt4oQmW7F9Cv6dA72XVSBrp8vsmw8AbkBmtCC6unPeivCnqc/s320/grooved+ware+sherd%252C+colour.jpg" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a sherd of grooved ware</td></tr>
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Pottery typologies are complex. It's an enormous area of archaeological study and I could not possibly go into every style and type of British Neolithic pottery in this blog. We would be here forever. There's Windmill Hill, Grimston-Lyles Hill Ware, Ronaldsway, Grooved Ware, Unstan Ware, Peterborough Ware, Ebbsfleet and so the list goes on. Most are round bottomed pots, with the exception of Grooved Ware. It took me many months to get to grips with these stylistic categorisations that have been imposed upon pottery of 5000 years ago. <br />
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Many bowl shaped pots are interpreted as 'cooking pots'. That seems fairly reasonable. What puzzles me is that whenever archaeologists find a very large pot, or the sherds of a large flat bottomed bucket shaped pot, it is almost always interpreted as a 'storage pot'. I have not yet come across a large pot from the British Neolithic that has been interpreted as a potential fermentation vessel, although some of them have a volume of several gallons and such large pots are often found at feasting sites, for example, at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge.<br />
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If an earthenware pot is to be used to contain any liquid it must be waterproofed. We discovered, in our mashing and fermenting experiments, that beeswax worked very well as a sealant, as did butter and lard.<br />
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As a control experiment we tried fermenting mead in an untreated earthenware pot. The fermentation worked well, the room filled with the smell of mead, and the outside surface of the pot was covered in little beads of sticky sweetness. But the final product was disappointingly low in alcohol. It turns out that the alcohol diffuses through the porous pot much faster than the honey solution. This makes an untreated pot pretty useless for creating an alcoholic drink. <br />
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Here is a sample of some of the British Neolithic pottery types, as recorded by Stuart Piggott. You can see that there is a wide range of styles. Some have holes in the rim, to secure a covering or lid of, perhaps, leather. Some are deep, others are wide and shallow. I prefer to look at these pots with function in mind, rather than consider only their decoration and style.<br />
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<b>Is there any archaeological evidence for the use of large pots for the fermentation or storage of barley wort? </b><br />
One of the very best indicators that a pot was used to ferment wort into ale, or for storing the ale, is the identification of beerstone on the internal surface. Beerstone precipitates out of a fermenting barley wort, it looks rather like eggshell. We have a lot of it accumulating on our plastic fermentation buckets and storage vessels.<br />
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It takes many hundreds of uses to accumulate a visible deposit of beerstone, but it is a certain proof of fermented wort. Brewers using plastic pipes in breweries often have to clean them of an accumulation of beerstone. It clogs the pipes.<br />
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Here is some beerstone from one of our fermentation vessels:<br />
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Beerstone has been identified on pots from a
Bronze Age site in the Zagros mountains of modern day Iran. At excavations at Godin Tepe a great many pots and jars were discovered, they were stored in the University of
Pennsylvania Museum. Subsequent analysis of a yellowish deposit on the internal surface of jars identified beerstone and it is generally accepted as <a href="http://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/wp-content/uploads/firstwinebeeranalytchem.pdf">unequivocal evidence for beer brewing</a>. This pioneering paper by Badler, Michel and McGovern, published in 1993, tells the whole story and contains sufficient detail to be able to repeat the tests for beerstone on prehistoric pottery.<br />
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I wonder whether any archaeologists in the UK or Europe would consider looking for beerstone on big prehistoric pots? Maybe it is already being investigated. It would be great if this could happen, since this might end the apparent controversy about whether or not a big old pot was used for the fermentation of beer made from a barley wort.<br />
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If you would like to make your own kveikering, <a href="http://poppylandbrewer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/making-yeast-ring.html">here</a>
is some more information and details of how to make one. Brewer Martin
Warren of the Poppyland Brewery was so impressed by the idea that he
made his own.<br />
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My conference paper from 1996 "Neolithic Ale: Barley as a source of sugars for fermentation" can be downloaded from my Academia page, <a href="http://malt%20is%20simply%20cereal%20grain,%20which%20is%20germinated%20in%20water%20but%20stopped%20from%20further%20germination%20by%20being%20dried%20in%20hot%20air./">here. </a> <br />
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<br />Merryn Dineleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790657870013734205noreply@blogger.com1