Pennsylvania Swankey

I came across this very interesting video for a home brewed beer from the 1800's . Swankey is definitely a beer I had never heard of and it was interesting to see how integrated brewing was into colonial life. They also talk about a Gruit, which is a style that is making a tremendous comeback. Give this a watch, I might also like to try this recipe myself. If I do I will make sure to blog about it.

Cheers

CJT

The 2-4 Beers of Christmas: Day 11 Bog Water Winter Seasonal

Beer # 175 Bog Water Eastern Ontario Gruit

Beau's All Natural Brewery

Van Kleek Hill, Ontario, Canada
Independent
Gruit 6.6 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 600 ml.
$4.35 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @Beausallnatural

Sweet Gale

Getting a couple of days behind here (sorry!) but I am catching up today. Had to get all of my Christmas shopping done. Now, I have time for the beer. Back on track here we have another offering from Beau's All Natural Brewery. Another gruit, this time flavoured with locally sourced organic sweet
gale (also know as Bog Myrtle or Myrica Gale). Bog myrtle is a lovely accompaniment to the malt in beer giving an herbal citrus kick.

I am Gruit...

Groo-it not Groot

For those of you just tuning in gruit (actually pronounced groo-it, not groot. Even though that would be cooler) is an archaic beer style that sprung up in areas where hops were not available. These days Gruits are a craft classification that encompasses beers that do not rely on hops for bittering or flavouring.

Enough witty banter... onto the Groot... I mean Gruit...

Pours a slightly hazy amber honey colour, with a generous off-tan head made up small bubbles. The nose is very herbal, floral, and sweet. First sip is heady with botanicals. The gale is bright green and slightly lemony. A little tart some green tea notes. Effervescent, with mild medicinal hops at the end. Aeration brings out the sweet gale, lemon and herbs .

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 



Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS
Christmas Spirit 5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:


Certainly one of the more tame beers from Beau's, but still a good quality brew. Nice herbal flavour development and good overall character. Maybe a good beer to start the night out with working up to  stronger beers later on in the night (someone always has to be first!)



Cheers And Beery Christmas


CJT


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Beer # 95 Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale

Ebulum

Heather Ale Company Williams Bros. Brewing Co.

Kellibank, Alloa, Scotland, UK
Independent
Fruit Flavoured Ale 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 330 ml.
$2.71 (Canadian) At LCBO $10.85 for a four pack

Twitter: @williamsbrewery

Third beer from the Historic Ales of Scotland pack. another Gruit Ale flavoured this time with Elderberries and Bog Myrtle. Elderberries are the fruit of the Sambucus plant, they grow in large flower-like clusters. The berries range in colour from red to purple to almost black, and grow in most temperate zones around the world. Elderberries have a long tradition with magic, especially earth magic. Druids and Witches (Wiccan) use the leaves, fruit, and bark in spells and ceremonies. And of course, if you have read the Harry Potter series, you will know that the most powerful wand ever made was made from an elder branch. The flower makes an excellent wine as does the fruit. The bark has vast untapped medicinal uses. A saying handed down to me from my maternal grandfather goes... "if you have an elderberry tree in you back yard; you do not need a doctor" (He lived to 86). Watchmakers used the pith of elderberry trees to clean their tools. and branches of the elderberry have been used as flutes, and spiles for collecting sap for maple syrup. Most commonly the berries are used to make syrup (elderberry cordial), or jam or are baked into pies. (sweet, delicious, yummy elderberry pies!) And of course the essential oil of the Sambucus... flavours the Italian liqueur Sambuca  The wood of the tree however has always played into folklore and superstition. If a crib was made of elder wood, the baby would die or amount to nothing. Wood from the tree could never be used with out asking the Elder Mother's permission, often in the form of this chant:

"Old girl, give me some of thy wood and I will give thee some of mine when I grow into a tree."

The recipe for this beer has it's origins in Wales, apparently introduced to Scotland by Welsh druids in the 9th century.

Onto the beer:

Very dark garnet and chestnut brown.Thin tan head made up of medium sized bubbles. The nose is like a porter, with dark roasty malts, and molasses, charred wood, and nutty notes. First sip gives us a rich syrupy sweet porter, notes of dark blue fruits, zippy and tangy. Finish is short with a sticky sugar feeling on the lips. Has a subtle port-like mouthfeel.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

Very nice to taste elderberries in a beer. I loved elderberries as a kid, we used to eat them by the handful off the trees. The are loaded with anti-oxidents and vitamin C. But dear reader even I learn something every day. I learned today that raw elderberries can contain enough CYANIDE to seriously sicken you. Elderberries should only be consumed cooked. This was quite a shock to me considering I must have eaten enough raw elderberries to poison a small herd of elephants. No wonder I have a cast iron stomach...

Cheers

CJT


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Beer # 94 Grozet

Grozet

Heather Ale Company Williams Bros. Brewing Co.

Kellibank, Alloa, Scotland, UK
Independent
Fruit Flavoured Wheat Beer 5.0 % ABV Brown Glass Bottle 330 ml.
$2.71 (Canadian) At LCBO $10.85 for a four pack

Twitter: @williamsbrewery

Tonight's beer from the Historic Ales of Scotland pack is the Grozet. Claimed to be from a 16th Century Scots monk's recipe. The beer could technically be called a "Gruit Ale" (and possibly so could Beer # 93: "Froach" ) Gruit ales used various herbs and berries to bitter, or preserve beer before the use of hops was widely accepted. One of these herbs is Bog Myrtle, which makes it's appearance in this beer as it does in the previous. Other herbs included Henbane a toxin that often caused mild hallucinations... (hmmm Pint Jockey Brew Project idea?). However our ale tonight also contains hops, so it would be somewhere in between a gruit and a modern flavoured beer.

For more information on the Williams Bros. Brewing Co. please check out their website or look back at Beer # 93: Froach.

Onto tonight's historic brew:

Clear gold in colour with the slightest hint of green. Thin wispy white head made up of uneven sized bubbles. Cloudy and translucent. The nose is fruity and citrus, with gooseberies evident right away and the more subtle wheat notes beneath. As you get deeper into the nose the fruit is replaced with raw grain and hint of spice. First sip gives up some more gooseberry, more subtle than the nose. Very dry and wheaty some citrus, clean, crisp, slightly effervescent. Finish is short and clean with a lingering of grapes and gooseberries.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 

Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  4/6 PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:


Being Welsh... I love gooseberries, and I miss them as they don't see their way to Canada often. Sadly, the ones I have had here are not the sweet-tart, bursting with flavour gooseberries of my youth. So this beer brings back some memories. Supposedly Shakespeare drank a version of this beer, so perhaps if I consumed more I would become more eloquent, and poetic. But perhaps, if his version of this beer had Henbane in it... that would explain a lot too.

Cheers

CJT


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