Power Drinking and Power Dressing in Iron Age Germany

Posted on April 23, 2012 by distantmirror| Leave a comment

By Kevin M. Cullen (Archaeologist: Discovery World: Milwaukee WI)

During the final Ale through the Ages program of the 2011-2012 season at Discovery World on March 22nd, we were honored to have University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Professor of Anthropology Bettina Arnold and her German colleagues, Sabine Hagmann (State Monuments Office Baden-Württemberg Hemmenhofen) and Rosemarie Stadler (Federseemuseum), as guest presenters. This special brewing program, titled, “Power Drinking and Power Dressing in Iron Age Germany” celebrated the “beer and bling” of the continental Celts from southwest Germany.

The evening of the event, guests were treated to samples of “Keltenbräu”, a recreated Iron Age beer that was brewed by Dr. Arnold and I specifically for this program. The recipe was derived from archaeological evidence excavated at several Iron Age sites in SW Germany (Stika 2011). The Keltenbräu consisted of German malted barley (Weyermann, pale, roasted, smoked and acidulated malt) and flavored with mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) and carrot seeds (Daucus carota). 6 gallons was fermented with a standard American Ale Yeast, while another 6 gallons were fermented with a Roeselare Ale yeast (saccharomyces and brettanomyces blend). At 6% ABV, the resulting beverage was a mahogany-colored slightly smoky ale, with a distinct tart finish from the mugwort. 1 lb of wildflower honey was added to the standard ale yeast batch for balance and contrast to the sour Roeselare Ale yeast version.


Power Drinking & Power Dressing

The recipe that we chose to brew for this special program was an Iron Age honey mead, found in a bronze cauldron at the foot of a Celtic chieftain who was buried in a central burial chamber, beneath an earthen mound near the village of Hochdorf in southwestern Germany. Excavations led by Dr. Jörg Biel in 1978-79 revealed that this elite male was buried around 550 BCE. To discover an intact burial chamber from this period was a rarity, as most were looted over the centuries. Included in the burial was a wagon with nine bronze plates and three bronze serving platters. Nine large gold decorated drinking horns, likely aurochs horns. Eight of them could hold 1 liter of liquid, yet the largest horn which hung above the chieftain’s head could hold a 10 pint (5 liter) capacity (that’s a “power drinker”). Additionally, a very large Greek-imported bronze cauldron with a capacity of 70 gallons (ca. 265 liters) was placed at the chieftain’s feet. Upon analysis of the desiccated remains, it was determined to have once been mead (honey wine). Such a volume of mead was quite an extravagance and very expensive to obtain, particularly considering the Celts did not have formalized apiculture.

Therefore, it was an outward symbol of power to procure that much honey and then ferment it for ritual consumption during the mortuary feast. It isn’t entirely clear whether this mead was intended for the deceased upon his arrival to the afterlife, or if it was for the attendants at the burial of the Hochdorf chieftain. Nevertheless, it was this mead that we recreated during this special Ale through the Ages program and it was the textiles found in the grave itself that were recreated and modeled during this event.
Etymology of “Mead”
The earliest surviving written notation of mead comes from a hymn in the Rig-Veda, one of the sacred books of Hinduism dated around 1700–1100 BCE, in which it states “In the wide-striding Vishnu’s highest footstep, there is a spring of mead.” The etymology of the word mead can be traced to the Sanskrit word, madhu, which became the Old English word Medu and German Met, all of which are the precursor to “mead.” Indeed, the term “honeymoon” is considered to be derived from the tradition of newlyweds drinking mead for one month (one moon) following their wedding to ensure fertility. In pre-historic Europe, mead was considered the drink of Celtic royalty and has been found in many archaeological contexts, not only in Germany, but also into Ireland and beyond.

Power Dressing

Modeled by Rosemarie Stadler at Discovery World, Milwaukee WI, March 2012

What also made the Hochdorf burial so remarkable was the state of preservation of the textiles. Rarely do 2,000 + year-old textiles survive in the archaeological record, so when they do, it “literally brings the individuals who wore the costumes back to life” (Dr. Bettina Arnold). Textiles are commonly underappreciated as outward symbols of status, particularly considering the amount of time and labor required to produce them in antiquity. After tallying up all of the hours it took to reproduce a costume from this period, it came out to 1,762.5 hours for just the fabric alone. The rarity of natural red and blue dyes in continental Europe in the Iron Age would have also acted as visible symbols of status. This Celtic Period costume consisted of a red woven undergarment made of wool with a blue diamond boarder, a blue cloak with embroidered meander and swastika patterns (common symbols found throughout the ancient world), leather pointed-toe shoes with gold filigree, bronze cloak pins (fibulae), bronze hair pins and a large pattern-embossed bronze belt plate. Taken altogether, it is clear that they way someone dresses (even in this day and age), offers insight into a person’s socio-economic status, as well as the context in which the costumes were worn. It is much like today’s cultural rituals of dressing the part when attending award banquets, weddings, funerals, etc.

Hochdorf Mead

As previously mentioned, the mead we were recreating was based on evidence found in a bronze cauldron buried with a Celtic chieftain at the site of Hochdorf in southwestern Germany. Palynological (pollen) analysis performed by Udelgard Körber-Grohne, showed that the residue contained pollen from at least 60 different plants. The two most common pollen types were thyme and meadowsweet. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), is a small shrub bearing small pink flowers in midsummer which attract bees. The fact that thyme pollen was the most common type found in the Hochdorf mead sample indicates that the honey was collected in mid-late summer. Additional pollen found in the Hochdorf mead residue was that of meadowsweet (Filpendula ulmaria or Spiraea ulmaria). Also known as bridewort, queen of the meadow and meadwort, it is a perennial plant with creamy white flowers. Archaeological evidence points to it being a common brewing addition in Europe for millennia. It was also traditionally used for medicinal purposes as an anti-inflammatory, antacid and for fever relief. It is likely therefore that the pollen in the Hochdorf mead residue accounts for the pollen the bees collected on those flowering plants during the late summer.

Discovery WorldThe honey we used in this mead was donated by the Urban Apiculture Institute here in Milwaukee. This was wildflower honey also made during the late summer from the flowers of Goldenrod and Aster. So to account for the thyme and meadowsweet pollen in the original Hochdorf mead, both of these were added in small amounts to our mead during the brewing. In order to preserve the subtle honey aromatics the 12 gallons of sweet liquid was kept below boiling temperature for 30minutes. The resulting Original Gravity came in at 1.18 (25˚Plato)! Six gallons were fermented with lambic yeast to convey the wild yeast flavors, while the other six gallons were fermented with a sweet mead yeast. Fermentation began in earnest and continued steadily for two weeks. Typically mead should be allowed to ferment for months, but this class was on a schedule and could not wait that long.

Therefore, after two weeks the gravity dropped to 1.040 (10˚Plato) on both carboys, i.e. 10.5% ABV. In order to mitigate the potential for continued fermentation in the bottles, a small amount of potassium sorbate was added, whereby making the yeast dormant. The resulting flavors were delicious, sweet indeed with a hint of thyme and a warming wine-like finish. Ninety-five 12 fl. oz. bottles were filled, capped, labeled and taken home by the program participants, thus ending the 2011-2012 Ale through the Ages season. Certainly this special Hochdorf Mead will age splendidly and hopefully evoke the fermented flavors of the European Celts whose cultural power continues to influence Western Civilization.

Media Exposure:
http://www.wuwm.com/programs/uwm_today/uwm_today.php?articleid=336
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120319163710.htm

 

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Posted in Anthropology, Beer Brewing, Brewing Archaeology and History, Interdisciplinary Studies

The Archaeology of Ancient Egyptian Brewing

Posted on January 17, 2012 by distantmirror| 3 Comments

The latest Ale through the Ages brewing series at Discovery World focused on the archaeological evidence of brewing beer in ancient Egypt.  A large group turned out on January 5th, 2012 to brew an Ancient Egyptian Ale, which marked the twentieth distinct recipe we’ve recreated in the series since October 2008.

Many different styles of beer were brewed throughout the long history of the Egyptian Civilization; however, this recipe is based on the ingredients known to have been used at sites such as Hierakonopolis and Amarna.  It must be stated that this recipe is an approximation of what an Egyptian beer would have tasted like.  Given the geographic and temporal differences between North America and Egypt, as well as thousands of years in between, it is virtually impossible to create the exact same fermented beverage brewed by the ancient Egyptian brewers.

Egyptian Beer in the Written Record

Beer, called henqet (Hnq.t)      in ancient Egyptian, was a vital staple in the diet of all social classes. An Egyptian brewer was called ‘fty  .  One could argue that the massive pyramids of Giza would not have been built without the nutrients and calories beer offered. In fact, hieroglyphic inscriptions indicate that the laborers who built these pyramids were afforded a daily ration of four loaves of bread and two jugs of beer.  Moreover, pyramid texts at Saqqara (earliest ca. 2400 BCE) mention several different types of beer: “dark beer”, “iron beer”, “garnished beer”, “friends beer”, beer of truth”, “beer of eternity”.  Classical Greek writers called beer Zythos “to foam”, which was first described by Theophrastus Θεόφραστος (371 – c. 287 BC): “…those beverages, which were prepared, like those made of barley and wheat, of rotting fruits.”  The Greek writer Strabo (ca. 64 BCE – AD 23) wrote of Egyptian beer: “Barley beer is a preparation peculiar to the Egyptians, it is common to many tribes, but the mode of preparing it differs in each” (Geographica Book XVII).

Archaeological Evidence:

While the written record is important, direct evidence for brewing in ancient Egypt has begun to emerge throughout the Nile River Valley.  One example is of a brewing scene from the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep at Saqqara.  The tomb was first excavated by Egyptian archaeologist Ahmed Moussa in 1964, and dates to the Old Kingdom, circa 2400 B.C. E.  The brewing scene visually describes the process from beginning to end, including taxation.

Perhaps one of the most compelling discoveries of brewing beer in ancient Egypt comes from the ancient site of Hierakonpolis (City of the Hawk) in upper Egypt. Excavations led by Jeremy Geller et al. beginning in 1989, yielded evidence of large scale brewing activities.  Known as the Vat Site (HK24), it dates to 3,500-3,400 BCE. The name comes from the discovery of six coarse ceramic vats in two parallel rows set within a mud platform.  This platform was likely originally covered with an ad hoc superstructure to contain heat.  It was estimated that each vat could hold about 16 gallons.  Hence the brewery could produce 300 gallons a week allowing 2 days for fermentation in the vat. Residue analysis indicated that emmer wheat with dates and possibly grapes were added to provide the necessary sugars for fermentation.

Further evidence of ancient Egyptian brewing comes from Kom El-Nana near the ancient city of Amarna. Amarna was the capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and his consort Nefertiti.  Excavations during the 1990s by members of the Amarna Project revealed a large brick enclosure (228 x 213 meters).  As part of this large complex were the remains of parallel brick chambers with ovens, including pottery moulds suggesting a combined bakery and brewery.   Recent microscopy analysis by Dr. Delwen Samuel (Cambridge University ) of beer residues from +200 pottery vessels found among the ruins of workers’ villages at Amarna prove that Egyptian brewing was far more elaborate that suspected. Evidence of malting barley and emmer wheat were discovered, which were used in brewing beer.  Samuel noted that unmalted grains were also used in brewing at the site (Samuel 1996). It was from this research that Dr. Samuel collaborated with Scottish and Newcastle Breweries to create Tutankhamen Ale, which consisted of emmer wheat, juniper, coriander and yeast. “It does not taste like any beer I’ve ever tried before,” Dr. Samuel was quoted as saying. “It’s very rich, very malty and has a flavor that reminds you a little of chardonnay.”

Our Ancient Egyptian Ale

A total of 25 gallons of Ancient Egyptian Ale was brewed for this class.  The Original Gravity turned out to be 1.062 (15˚ Plato) due to the addition of wheat malt barley malt and sweet dates. 12 gallons were fermented with a Bavarian Wheat yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strain and another 12 gallons were fermented with natural yeasts present on Algerian dates (Phoenix dactylifera) that were put directly into the cooled wort.  Traditional fermentation in ancient Egypt likely occurred from wild yeast found on dates and/or grapes that were placed in fermentation vessels. Fermentation may also have taken place by adding previously fermented beer (which would have already contained yeast) into the fermentation vessels.

Not surprisingly, the commercial yeast took off right away and fermented down to a gravity of 1.008 in three days (i.e. 7% ABV).  Meanwhile, the batch with the wild date yeast underwent a slower fermentation and resulted in a soured flavor and a final gravity of 1.020. Finally, a small two gallon batch was fermented in a replica Egyptian-style ceramic jar.  A teaspoon of dry ale yeast was sprinkled on top of ale, which had an original gravity of 1.052 (12.5˚ Plato).  After three days its final gravity was 1.005 (i.e. 6% ABV).  For authenticity, this small batch of Ancient Egyptian Ale was served directly out of the ceramic container at room temperature and slightly carbonated. The result was a quite unique-tasting ale, similar to bread with hints on coriander and dates.  The primary batch of Ancient Egyptian Ale was bottled on January 19th 2012.  The batch fermented with Bavarian Wheat yeast is very palatable with bready notes, reminiscent of a hefe-weizen. The batch fermented with the dates is certainly funky with apple cider and vinegar flavors overlaid on a malty sweetened date backbone.  It will be exciting to see how they taste after a few weeks of conditioning in their bottles. We should all raise our glasses to the brewers of ancient Egypt and may archaeologists continue to discover much more about their prolific brewing tradition in the years to come.

Bibliography:

Samuel, Delwen:     1996    Archaeology of Ancient Egyptian Beer.  Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. Vol 54.

McGovern, Patrick:   2009    Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer and Other Alcoholic Beverages.  University of California Press

 

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2011 Distant Mirror Year In Review

Posted on December 20, 2011 by distantmirror| Leave a comment

2011 was a busy year of archaeology education, exploration and research.  The year began with the installation of a new Distant Mirror Archaeology Exhibit at Discovery World.  This exhibit explores the many uses of technology through time, with particular emphasis on the material culture of the Great Lakes and American Southwest.  Prehistoric artifacts from Milwaukee Co. were loaned by the Milwaukee Public Museum, as well as prehistoric artifacts from southwest Colorado, loaned to us from the Anasazi Heritage Center.   A variety of custom-built interactive experiences allow visitors to virtually recreate earthen mounds (formerly located in Milwaukee), digitally dissect a mummy using CT scanning technology, survey local historic and archaeological sites using computer software, as well as “excavate” artifacts from  layers of earth with a swipe of your hand. This exhibit has become a great resource for educating the public about the principles of archaeology; especially students.

A particular group of students we are continuing to work with in a customized program called the Art and Archaeology of Me, are from Bay View High School.  Now in its third year, these students combined the tools and methods of archaeology, research and interviewing techniques, as well as visual art, in order to explore their relationship with the history and future of Milwaukee. The students learned how to explore their past and see their future through the Distant Mirror of Archaeology. An exciting outgrowth of this program was the construction of Milwaukee Observatory at the Bay View Historical Society.  The students helped to build a “cultural memory house” where students’ personal archaeology banners were displayed alongside historic Milwaukee images.  This house was inspired by Solomon Juneau’s (the founding father of Milwaukee) fur trading cabin, built during the 1820s along the Milwaukee River.  The Observatory became a vibrant location for students to interview the local community about their Milwaukee memories, while also photographing historic artifacts and documents that people brought with them.

Several of these High School students were also given the opportunity to participate in an actual archaeological survey in Milwaukee’s Juneau Park in early May of 2011.  Using ground penetrating radar, soil coring, test excavations, as well as GPS and compass mapping, we were able to discover more buried secrets beneath the park.  Our first test excavation was placed on the western edge of former lot 20 in block 106.  We decided to excavate a 50cm X 50cm shovel test over the location of a former carriage house / garden shed that dated to the 1870s-1920s.  Suddenly, we began finding 19th century artifacts at 60cm below the surface.  This turned out to be a cultural “midden” (25 cm thick) that consisted of the following artifacts: Handmade earthenware flowerpots (> 200 sherds [4.777kgs.]), square nails (>50 [902 gms.]), brick fragments (<10 [160gms]), wood fragments (2 [5gms]) coal (<10 [210gms.]), burned animal bone (2 [2gms]), clear bottle glass (2 [6gms]), roof slate (3 [18gms]), drain pipe (1 [72gms]) lead piping (1 [105gms]).  Upon post-processing, we recovered 13 nearly fully-intact (reconstructed) earthenware flowerpots and eight fragmentary vessels, resulting in at least 21 distinct handmade flowerpots.  The students were very excited by this unusual discovery buried beneath their feet.

July 15th-17th marked the 5th annual Eyes in the Deep program, where the public and Discovery World summer camp students are given the opportunity to explore and document local Lake Michigan shipwrecks along Milwaukee’s lakefront. This season, Discovery World once again assembled a team of experts to showcase underwater technology in the exploration and documentation of the shipwreck Appomattox located at the end of Capitol Dr. off Atwater Beach in Milwaukee.  Built in 1896 at the James Davidson shipyard in West Bay City, Michigan, the 319-foot long Appomattox was the largest wooden bulk steamer ever produced on the Great Lakes, and possibly the world.  On November 2nd 1905, loaded with a cargo of coal, she was blinded by heavy smog and industrial smoke emanating from Milwaukee and ran hard aground on a sandbar where she remains to this day in less than 20 feet of water.  This shipwreck was a great chance for the Underwater Archaeology and the Underwater Robotics summer camp students from Discovery World to explore a real shipwreck for themselves.  They were able to pilot a remotely operated vehicle over the wreck and even communicate with the divers in the water with acoustic instruments. Overall, it was a spectacular couple of days with good visibility and calm water, perfect for a shipwreck exploration.

In fulfillment of a Boy Scout Archaeology Merit Badge, an archaeology excavation was performed in early August 2011 at the “Lost Lighthouse” site in Lake Park, under the direction of Discovery World’s staff archaeologist, Kevin Cullen.  Twenty scouts helped to excavate and document the remains of the original 1855 North Point Lighthouse, which was demolished in the late 1890s.  Today, the only above ground evidence of the former lighthouse are cream bricks and other artifacts found along a steep embankment that slopes down to the Lake Michigan shore.   The scouts worked to map these surface artifacts and to excavate shovel tests, while documenting all artifacts and features.  After two days of work, we recovered direct evidence for the lighthouse light keeper’s house. Artifacts included: Square nails, stoneware ceramics, roof slate, cream bricks, window glass, earthenware ceramics, cinder & coal fragments, an iron door hinge and one shell button, among other artifacts.  Our intention is to continue working at this site in the coming year to find more direct evidence for a possible foundation of the lighthouse.

In September 2011, the fourth Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing tour took place, this time to the historic and contemporary brewing sites on the near North side of the city.  These tours are always a great time, bringing the legendary history of Milwaukee’s brewing heritage into focus like never before.  You can read about this tour in more detail below. http://www.distantmirror.discoveryworld.org/?p=810

Since October, through the end of 2011, the Ale Through The Ages brewing series has been the primary focus of Distant Mirror programming.   This “Best of the Best” series recreated the Anatolian Ale we brewed in 2010 with great results.  In November we re-brewed the Scandinavian Sahti  that we also brewed back in March 2010, meanwhile, December we focused on brewing a Bronze Age Braggot.  Each of these brewing seminars have progressively become more popular with more than 50 people attending the Braggot class alone.

2012 is shaping up to be an exciting year with more ancient brewing classes on the docket.  January we’ll be brewing an Ancient Egyptian Ale, in March we’ll brew an Old Irish Curim golden wheat Ale, followed by a special brewing program entitled “Symbols of Status: Power Drinking and Power Dressing in Iron Age Germany”.  UW-Milwaukee Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Bettina Arnold, will discuss recent archaeological excavations in Germany that have yielded evidence of brewing beer, while highlighting the important social and political role it played.  German scholars on ancient textiles will also be on hand to display and model the intricate costumes from pre-Roman sites, as unique markers of status. Clearly, 2012 is shaping up to be another exciting year of Distant Mirror programming.  Keep checking this blog for new and continuing programs that you too can participate in.

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Anthropology, Archaeology Expedition, Brewing Archaeology and History, Digital Archaeology, Geophysical Archaeology, Milwaukee, News, Public Archaeology, Technology, Underwater Archaeology, Urban Archaeology

Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing: Northside Brewing History Tour

Posted on October 27, 2011 by distantmirror| 3 Comments

By Kevin Cullen (Discovery World staff Archaeologist)

Through Discovery World’s Distant Mirror Archaeology program, the most recent Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing tour took place on September 24th 2011. This one-of-a-kind bus tour explored the contemporary brewing hotspots and historic hidden gems on the near Northside of Milwaukee.  Previous tours have explored dozens of historic brewery sites in downtown Milwaukee, on the Southside, as well as the Westside of the city.  Led by Milwaukee brewing historian Leonard Jurgensen and Discovery World archaeologist Kevin Cullen, this time we visited several contemporary and historically significant brewery sites, saloons, malt houses, parks, etc., north of downtown Milwaukee.

As we boarded the Badger Bus outside Discovery World on the late September morning, a unique phenomenon was taking place a mile east over Lake Michigan.  Several water spouts were spotted churning over the waves; fortunately that is where they remained as we moved inland off the lakefront.

Rolling north to Ogden Avenue, we soon arrived at our first historic brewery site, that of the former Ogden Avenue Union Brewery located on the northeast corner of Ogden Ave. and Broadway Ave.  The former brewery was built in 1850 by Henry Stolz and Leonard Schneider.  Over the following decades, brick additions were made to the building and brewing continued under various partnerships until 1892, when it was purchased by the Pabst Brewing Co. who then closed the plant.  In 2005 the historic building was leveled with the intention of constructing a high-rise condominium on the property.  Those plans have yet to materialize and today all that remains is a vacant lot, however, there are still intact cellars that extend beneath the sidewalk of Ogden Ave.

Our next destination was a short distance away at the Schlitz Brewery complex.  The bus disembarked outside the 1890 Brewhouse to pay homage to what is soon-to-be the next casualty in Milwaukee’s brewing heritage, as it is slated for demolition in Spring of 2012.

The keg of specially brewed Omnibus Bock was tapped (brewed in Discovery Worlds MillerCoors THIRST Lab), while we toasted to this magnificent structure and the legacy of the Schlitz Brewing Co. which owes its roots to August Krug who opened his brewery on Juneau Ave in 1849.  The current location was first established as a brewery site by Joseph Schlitz in 1871 to keep up with demand for beer following the Great Chicago Fire that same year.

Boarding the bus with a bock in hand, we made our way a short distance southwest of the Schlitz Brewery, to the former E.L. Husting Brewery at the northeast corner of N. 5th and W. Vliet St.  We were greeted by Kathy Shillinglaw of Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center, who are the current tenants on the second floor of the former brewery building.  The original section of this cream city brick two story building dates to 1877, when Eugene Louis Husting built his weiss beer brewery and soda factory. Grain milling and storage took place on the second floor, while brewing and soda production took place on the first floor. The Husting ale brewery and soda factory remained in operation until prohibition in 1920, after which time the company moved into distribution.  Today the entire building structure is oldest compete former brewing facility in Milwaukee and possibly the state.

Moving north the bus rolled into the site of the former Schlitz Park which was once located at N. 8th St. and Vine St.  The park was acquired in 1879 by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. as a public beer garden with a lookout tower and concert hall. The park remained as such until it was turned over the City of Milwaukee in 1910 and renamed Lapham Park.  Today the original site of beer garden is located beside Carver Park and beneath the parking lot of Roosevelt Middle School.

By 11:30am we had arrived at the former Northwestern Brewery and Malthouse, located on the northwest corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. and W. Vine St.  Begun in 1856 by Phillip Altpeter as the Northwestern Brewery, they brewed lager and “white beer” until 1884 when the brewery was converted into a malthouse (for malting grain). In 1902 the malthouse was demolished and a new two-story commercial brick building was built by the Phillip Jung Brewing Co. Today this building along with the 1883 cream city brick saloon are still standing.

Nearby, we rolled by the site of the former Phoenix Brewery/Malthouse/Schlitz Cooperage on the southeast corner of N.2nd St. and W. Vine St.  The Phoenix Brewery was established in 1858 by Felix Calgeer who then sold it to Louis Liebscher in 1870 and converted the brewery into a malting facility.  In 1907 those structures were demolished and the current brick building still standing, was erected by the Schlitz Brewing Co. as a cooperage (wooden barrel factory).

Continuing east along W. Vliet St. we arrived at a former Miller Brewing Co. saloon (aka “tide house) on the northwest corner of N. Hubbard St. and Vine St.  Built in 1902, this cream city brick building is currently undergoing rehabilitation by Bob Crawford, who has been painstakingly restoring the tavern to its original glory.  We were treated to a sneak peak inside the bar, which is soon to open to the public in 2012.  As the bus moved north, we passed by several other Miller and Schlitz brewery owned saloons in the Brewers Hill and Riverwest Neighborhoods.  These iconic brick buildings are identifiable by their corner doors and located on street corners.

Our next stop was at Stonefly Brewing Company at 735 E. Center St. for a tour and lunch.  That day there happened to also be a street festival (Center Street Daze) taking place, which made for a vibrant scene. Head brewer, Jacob Sutrick, gave us the tour of their small 7 barrel brewing set-up and provided a unique insight into their operation.  A delicious lunch followed in the pub washed down with a variety of Stonefly ales.

Following a delicious lunch, our next destination was the original location of Lakefront Brewery located at 818 Chambers St. The 1911 redbrick building was built as a bakery, but eventually was where brothers Russ and Jim Klisch started their brewery in 1987 until relocating to its current location on N. Commerce St. ten years later.

It was nearing 2pm when the bus stopped at the former site of the Capitol Brewing Co., located at the southeast corner of N. Fratney St. and E. Vienna St.  Named after Capitol Dr. (one block north), the now defunct brewery was founded in 1933, following Prohibition.  The brewery operated for 15 years, brewing up to 40,000 barrels annually by the early 1940s.  Today only one abandoned out-building from the original Capitol Brewery still stands.


Crossing the Milwaukee River into Shorewood, our next destination was the tasting room of Big Bay Brewing Co., Milwaukee’s newest micro-brewing company which was launched in 2010.  Located at 4517 N. Oakland Ave. the tasting room offers a nice selection of their beer and sodas that are brewed at the Milwaukee Brewing Company’s 2nd Street Brewery.

After an enjoyable sampling of their ales and sodas, we boarded the Badger Bus and headed west along Hampton Ave. to N. Port Washington Rd in Glendale, where the former site of the Eline Candy Plant is located. This enormous complex of buildings were built by the Schlitz Brewing Co. beginning in 1919 as alternative product revenue during Prohibition.  After only ten years of making chocolate candy and cocoa, the multi-million dollar venture failed in 1930 and many of the buildings were retrofitted.  Today several of these buildings still stand and are currently home to medical offices.

Our next destination was a tour and sampling at Sprecher Brewing Co. in Glendale.  This nationally recognized craft brewery was established in 1985 by Randal Sprecher on Milwaukee’s near Southside.  The current facility was opened in 1995 and continues to produce a wide range of traditional and specialty beers and sodas.  We were treated to a tour of the brew house, as well as the bottling and packaging facility.  We concluded the tour in the rathskeller tasting room where everyone was treated to several samples of their choice.

As the clock struck 4:30pm it was time to head back to Discovery World.  Driving south along Martin Luther King Dr. the bus briefly stopped on the corner of W. Burleigh St. where the former site of Pabst Park was once located. Originally, Valentine Blatz purchased the property in 1857 for development as a shooting park, however in 1888 the Phillip Best Brewing Company bought the land and renamed it Pabst Park. Prior to Prohibition it was the location of a large beer garden, amusements and music stages.  Today the property is known as Rose Park and includes a senior center.

By 5pm we had returned to Discovery World after a full day of Milwaukee brewing heritage on the city’s Northside.  Many of the historic sites visited on this tour have never before been the subject of exploration, so it was a unique treat to celebrate those brewing legacies for the first time.  With four distinct Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing tours completed, we have now traversed the entire city and seen first-hand the dozens of historic brewery sites, from the 1840s to today.  Stay tuned for future tours throughout Milwaukee and beyond!

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Posted in Archaeology Expedition, Beer Brewing, Brewing Archaeology and History, History, Milwaukee, Public Archaeology

Eyes In The Deep: Exploring the Shipwreck APPOMATTOX

Posted on July 26, 2011 by admin| 1 Comment

July 15th-17th marked the 5th annual Eyes in the Deep program, where the public are given the opportunity to explore and document local Lake Michigan shipwrecks along Milwaukee’s lakefront. This season, Discovery World once again assembled a team of experts to showcase underwater technology in the exploration and documentation of the shipwreck Appomattox located at the end of Capitol Dr. off Atwater Beach.  Our research platform for this maritime expedition was the Milwaukee Boat Lines bi-level vessel the Voyageur captained by Jake Gianelli.

This year David Thompson of Nautilus Marine Group and Portunes International brought his Proteus ROV (remotely operated vehicle), which were the primary “eyes” on the shipwreck.  Built by Hydroacoustics, the Proteus 500 ROV is 28 inches long x 16 inches wide x 13 inches tall.  It weighs 70 lbs (31.8 kgs) and can dive 500 ft (152 m) using on board rechargeable batters that power two forward thrusters, one vertical thruster and one horizontal thruster.  With around 500 lines of resolution, the video camera can tilt 170 degrees and switch between color or black and white, making it ideal for exploring in low visibility water.

Sector Scan Sonar mosaic of Appomattox, at 30 meters radius per scan

A few weeks before this event, we had the opportunity to work with Dave and his colleague Brian Abbott of Nautilus Marine Group to map the Appomattox shipwreck using acoustic imaging called Sector Scanning Sonar.  Brian has worked internationally on archaeological sites, including mapping the Titanic, so having him here was a great treat.  This preliminary sonar survey was performed off the Adventure Charter Boat catamaran Mai Tai , owned and operated by Captain Rick Hake.  In one weekend we successfully mapped four shipwrecks off Milwaukee.

Original photograph in Historical Collection of the Great Lakes at Bowling Green University

Built in 1896 at the James Davidson shipyard in West Bay City, Michigan, the 319-foot long Appomattox was the largest wooden bulk steamer ever produced on the Great Lakes, and possibly the world.  With an oak hull supported by steel bracing and powered by a triple expansion steam engine, the Appomattox was a truly modern vessel by contemporary standards.  She had an uneventful life on the Great Lakes until the night of November 2nd 1905, when loaded with a cargo of coal, she was blinded by heavy smog and industrial smoke emanating from Milwaukee.  As a result, the Appomattox ran hard aground on a sandbar, just north of the Milwaukee Harbor entrance off the end of Capitol Drive.  Unable to be freed, she was pounded in the heavy surf, stripped of valuables and eventually abandoned.  Today the Appomattox rests in 15-20 feet of water with large sections of her hull still intact.

This site plan was completed by the Wisconsin Historical Society's Underwater Archaeology and Maritime Preservation Program

On Friday July 15th at 10am sharp, the Voyageur left Discovery Worlds’ dock with over 30 middle and high school students onboard, as part of Discovery Worlds’ summer camp program in Underwater Robotics and Underwater Archaeology.  Several adult passengers were also aboard, as we made the forty-five minute voyage to the Appomattox shipwreck.  En route, all were given a presentation about the shipwreck that was previously researched by the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Underwater Archaeology and Maritime Preservation program, as well as the Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation.

Dave Thompson (left) teaches students about the ROV, while students (right) put the finishing touches on their ROVs prior to launch

Prior to arriving at the shipwreck, an auxiliary dive boat captained by Bob Jaeck left ahead of us in order to place a temporary mooring line for the Voyageur to tie off to.  This was done with the help of two divers, Brian Bockholt and Charles Hudson, who then assisted in guiding the ROV into the water.  To everyone’s amazement, within seconds the large shipwreck came into view on the monitors inside Voyageur.   The distinguishing feature of the wreck were the large keelsons, which formed the rigid internal skeleton of the ship.  These enormous oak timbers measure 1.5 feet across and over 30 feet in length.

Photograph by Tamara Thomsen (Wisconsin Historical Society)

Once we were safely on the wreck, the controls were turned over to anyone who wanted to pilot the ROV and explore the site.  We were even able to talk to the divers with the aid of an acoustic earpiece that picked up our voices from a hydrophone that was lowered into the water.  We spent over half an hour exploring the wreck, while the underwater robotics students got a chance to test out their hand-build ROVs.  Despite some buoyancy issues, the students’ ROVs performed very well. One was even fitted with a video camera that allowed us to see the shipwreck from its perspective.

Photograph by Tamara Thomsen (Wisconsin Historical Society)

The final expedition to the Appomattox occurred Sunday morning, July 17th, once again aboard Voyageur.  This time the auxiliary dive boat Mai Tai, captained by Adventure Charter boat captain Rick Hake arrived at the wreck site ahead of Voyageur in order to place the temporary mooring line for the larger Voyageur to tie off to.  Once on station, I put on my dive gear and swam over to Mai Tai, where Kimm Stabelfeldt (president of Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Foundation) and Captain Rick were also ready to SCUBA dive with the ROV and help take measurements.  Wearing a full face mask with a wireless microphone, I was then able to talk to the passengers aboard Voyageur and describe what the ROV and my handheld camera were seeing.  Meanwhile, Kimm Stabelfeldt began drawing a section of the shipwrecks port side as I assisted with measuring.  Of particular note on this dive were the six inch-wide iron reinforcing cross straps, placed inside the hull of the Appomattox when it was built, to give it extra strength.  Once again, anyone who wanted to drive the ROV was allowed to do so, which made for a very memorable experience.

Overall, this year’s Eyes in the Deep went off without a hitch, which for any underwater expedition is a feat.  The big unknown factor is always the weather.  Even though it was quite hot, the important thing was that the lake was calm, making it very comfortable to hover over the shipwreck for over an hour.  Based on the favorable feedback from the participants, it is clear that this expedition was a smashing success and one that serves as a template for future shipwreck explorations.  Stay tuned for that and more hands-on archaeology opportunities offered through Discovery World’s Distant Mirror Archaeology Program.

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Posted in Archaeology Expedition, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Milwaukee, News, Public Archaeology, Shipwrecks, Technology, Underwater Archaeology

Discovering New Secrets Beneath Juneau Park In Downtown Milwaukee

Posted on June 3, 2011 by admin| 2 Comments

Most people would never guess that Juneau Park, located along Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee, was once home to some of Milwaukee’s founding citizens.  While the former homes are no longer standing, over the past four seasons, Discovery World’s staff archaeologist and director of the Distant Mirror archaeology program, Kevin Cullen, has led an archaeological survey in the park to document and excavate the remains of these 19th century affluent residences.

 

Known as the “Lost Neighborhood” site, this elegant lakefront green space is slowly revealing its buried secrets through hands-on archaeological research and cutting-edge technology.  This years participants in the Lost Neighborhood survey included Milwaukee Area Technical College civil engineering instructor David Langhoff, two of his students, eight Bay View High School students who are part of a semester-long program with Discovery World called “The Art & Archaeology of Me”, several Milwaukee-area residents, a re-enactor and scholar (Rob Nurre) of the 19th century scientist Increase Lapham, as well as members of the Juneau Park Friends.

This years survey focused in former block 106, located in the north third of Juneau Park.  We began work in this section of the park last year, yet, because of the potential for intact buried features it was decided to refocus our attention this season in this area.  The survey began on a sunny Friday, May 20th, with the establishment of the former lot boundaries inside the park, from which we could then determine the location of the former houses inside these lots. Once these former lots were reestablished, three archaeological survey grids were overlaid inside these lots corresponding to the hypothesized house locations.  The intention for these grids were for the use of  ground penetrating radar (GPR) to map the buried remains inside these grids using Discovery Worlds’ Noggin 500 smart cart.

 

Saturday May 21st began as an overcast Spring morning with the threat of sustained rain.  Despite a subsequent soaking rain, we forged on and began collecting GPR data, soil coring, test excavations, as well as GPS and compass mapping.  Our first test excavation was placed on the western edge of former lot 20 in block 106.  Deed research revealed that this property was first purchased by Charles Church from James Kneeland in the 1860s, but it wasn’t until the early 1870s that Timothy and Mary Dore built a two story brick veneered house and a two story brick veneered carriage house in the rear of the property.  In December of 1876 the Dore’s sold the property to Hugh L. and Margret Johnston for $16,000.  The family owned the property until 1926 when the City purchased it for $68,000 in order to demolish it for the expansion of Juneau Park.

 

As we began excavating a 50 cm X 50 cm shovel test above the former carriage house / garden shed, we began finding 19th century ceramics, brick fragments, etc. in the first 20 centimeters below the surface.  Below this we encountered a strata of clay between 20-60 cm below the ground surface.  Then all of a sudden we hit a layer of earthenware flower pots, square nails and brick fragments.  This pottery “midden” persisted for another 25+ cm until we hit a limestone base at 85 cm below the surface, which then filled with water.  This halted our excavation, but in all we had uncovered a surprisingly immense amount of late 19th-early 20th century artifacts.  Several of the flower pots were still intact, some of which were nested inside one another.  In all we recovered about 18 earthenware flowerpots, some with visible finger prints of the potter on the exterior!   This was a very exciting find for the students and everyone involved.

 

We completed our survey on Sunday May 22nd with another interesting discovery.  In another shovel test excavation, we discovered an unassuming prehistoric artifact.  It was a chipped-stone “flake” that is the result of manufacturing a stone tool, likely a spear or arrow point.  While we cannot date this flake accurately, we do know it was made prior to European’s arrival in this area.  Soon we had completed our GPR survey and test excavations, packed up the site and headed back to Discovery World to process the GP data.  The image below is the resulting GPR map of the grid we collected over the pottery midden feature in former lot 20.  The middle depth slice clearly shows the presence of several dense concentrations of artifacts, likely more pottery and construction material.

Overall, everyone was very surprised with what we found and all deserve credit for contributing to the discovery of the Lost Neighborhood of Juneau Park. After all, communities that document and protect their own cultural histories are more conscientious about the importance of preserving the past, which results in a greater appreciation for one’s own sense of place in time and space, particularly in the ever-changing human-built environment.  A final report on the past four seasons of survey will be available following laboratory analysis of the artifacts and GPR data obtained this season.

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Posted in Anthropology, Digital Archaeology, Geophysical Archaeology, Ground Penetrating Radar, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Milwaukee, Public Archaeology, Technology, Uncategorized, Urban Archaeology

Chronicling Milwaukee’s Historic Breweries

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing Westside Tour

Saturday, April 30th 2011 marked the third Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing tour, developed through Discovery World’s Distant Mirror archaeology program.  While the two previous tours have explored Milwaukee’s storied brewing sites in the heart of the city and on the near Southside, this urban archaeology expedition focused on the historic brewery sites located throughout Milwaukee’s near Westside.  This included several forgotten historic brewery sites, the behemoth Frederick Miller Brewery, the graves of two notable beer barons, as well as the former mansions of the Miller, Schlitz, Gettelman and Pabst families.

Each of the nearly fifty participants received a screen printed tote bag (printed in Discovery World’s print lab), which was filled with a custom bottle of “Westseitenbier Hefe Weizen”, brewed exclusively by yours truly for this tour in our new Thirst Lab, along with a detailed booklet outlining the chronologies for each of the sixteen sites on the tour. With Julie at the helm of a full coach bus, Leonard Jurgensen as Milwaukee Brewery Historian and I, as archaeological tour guide, the loaded Badger Bus rolled out from Discovery World just after 10am.

Weaving our way through a throng of pedestrians, walking in support of the March of Dimes, we quickly reached the former site of the Lake Brewery, which was established in 1841 by three pioneers from Wales.  This ale brewery built at the end of Clybourn Ave. (formerly Huron St.) lasted until 1880, at which point it was razed for an expanding railroad depot.  Today it is home to a Milwaukee County Transit bus garage.  Rolling west along Clybourn St. and then to St. Paul Ave., the second stop was a former Schlitz “tide house” on 19th St.  This three story cream city brick building was built in the late 1880s and still has a handsome Schlitz globe sign on the buildings upper cornice.  Today it is home to Sobelman’s pub and grill.

Stop three was the site of the former Banner Brewing Company (2302 W. Clybourn St.).  This short-lived post-prohibition brewery opened in 1933, where they brewed primarily weiss beer at an annual capacity of 8,000 barrels.  However, in 1936 the brewery ceased brewing operations for financial reasons and the brewery closed.  Today the building which was built in 1919 still stands, yet most of the façade is covered with metal siding.  Inside there is evidence of the original brew kettle ventilation pipe, as well as an original freight elevator.

Moving on, stop four brought us to the very intriguing brewery site of Franz Falk’s New Bavaria Brewery.  Located near 29th St. and Pierce St. along the south bluff of the Menomonee River valley, the property was first purchased by Franz Falk and Fredrick Goes in 1855.  While brewing may have taken place there prior to 1860, there is definitive evidence that major brewing operations began there in 1870.  In its heyday this brewery was one of the largest in Milwaukee, until two devastating fires destroyed the brew house and malt house in 1889 and 1892.  Today the brew house is no longer standing, however the original 1870 stables and three story stock house (ice house) still stand, making them perhaps the oldest surviving original brewing related buildings in Wisconsin.  They are both vacant buildings and in disrepair, however new property owners are looking to rehabilitate the structures.  Prior to the tour, this archaeologist employed ground penetrating radar over the location of the former brew house (now a gravel lot).  The preliminary results indicate the presence of a large foundation wall, among other evidence of structural remains.

By 11:15am we were in route to the Miller Valley for a tour of the sprawling Frederick Miller brewery.    The origin of this iconic North American brewery began in 1849, when Charles Best and Gustav Fine opened the Plank Road Brewery along what was then called the Madison, Watertown & Milwaukee Plank Road.  By 1855 Charles Best & Co. foreclosed on the brewery after the Germania Bank which held the loan to the brewery went bankrupt. Meanwhile, Frederick Miller purchased the Plank Road Brewery on June 11th 1856 for $2,370.  Over the following 150+ years, this brewery would grow to the immense size that it is today, covering several acres and brewing over a million barrels of beer per year.  Following a guided tour through several buildings on the property, including the original lagering caves, we made our way to the Miller Inn for a delicious catered lunch and beer sampling.

After lunch, the bus once again rolled on, this time to the little-known family home of Frederick Miller (3711 W. Miller Ln.), which was built in 1884 on a hill overlooking the brewery.  An octagonal turret on the southeast corner of this wood framed Queen Anne style home stands out as a noteworthy feature.  Today it is a private residence.

The next stop was a visit to Calvary Cemetery (2203 W. Bluemound Rd.) to pay our respects to the final resting place of Frederick Miller (1824-1888) and his family, as well as the grave of Phillip Jung (1845-1911), a notable beer baron who operated the Phillip Jung Brewing Company at 5th and Cherry St., between 1895-1920.  A toast to these 19th century brewers was a fitting way to salute their contribution to Milwaukee’s brewing heritage.

Moving farther west, we came to the former locations of the Castalia Brewery (1893-1898) and the Wisconsin Brewing Company (1996-1998).  Despite being separated by a century, both of these short-lived breweries were built in close proximity along the Menomonee River in the village of Wauwatosa (then called Center City).  Only the foundations of these former breweries remain in the floodplain of the Menomonee River.

 The next five stops took us to the mansions built for several notable Milwaukee brewing families, four of which are located on West Highland Blvd.  The Fredrick Pabst Jr. mansion, built in the Greek revival-style in 1896, still stands at 3112 W. Highland Blvd. Directly to the east (3030 Highland Blvd) is the original mansion of his brother Gustav Pabst, which was also built in 1896.  Across Highland Blvd is the former mansion of the Adam Gettelman family (2929 Highland Blvd), built in 1895.  Nine blocks to the east at 2004 W. Highland Blvd. stands the former home of Victor Schlitz (son of beer baron Joseph Schlitz), which was built in the Tudor-style in 1890. Finally, located at 2000 W. Wisconsin Ave. is the stately mansion of Captain Frederick Pabst, which was completed in 1892 and inspired by 17th Century English and Flemish Renaissance architecture.  We were all treated to a very entertaining guided tour of the mansion, which set the stage for our final stop at Captain Pabst’s office complex and guild hall (southwest corner of 9th and Juneau Ave).

As the bus pulled up to the 1880 castle-like complex at 4:15pm, the group enjoyed a refreshing pint in the elegant Blue Ribbon Hall (completed in 1940) as owner Jim Haertel gave an amusing historical overview of the property.  This led to a behind-the-scenes tour though the dilapidated corridors of the once mighty Pabst Brewery including the former office of Captain Pabst.   This led us to the original entrance to the complex and onto the awaiting bus, bringing to an end an enlightening and entertaining day of experiencing first hand several of Milwaukee’s historic brewery-related sites.

Stay tuned for a future tour of Milwaukee’s historic and contemporary brewery sites located on the Northside.  This tour is being planned for September 24th 2011.  Call (414) 765-8625 or email reservations@discoveryworld.org to reserve your seat. Finally, you can listen to an interview about this tour recorded on 89.7FM, Milwaukee Public Radio, which aired April 25th 2011.

http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/le_sgmt.php?segmentid=7335

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Posted in Anthropology, Archaeology Expedition, Beer Brewing, Brewing Archaeology and History, History, Milwaukee, News, Public Archaeology, Urban Archaeology

Brewing a 5,000 Year Old Scottish Ale

Posted on March 24, 2011 by admin| 1 Comment

A Toast to the Neolithic Brewers!

“Wormus speaks of the drinking of heather-beer, as one of the pleasures which the souls of departed heroes enjoyed in the society of the gods.”

(W.T. Marchant: 1888)

The final Ale through the Ages brewing seminar of the 2010/2011 season wrapped up March 24th here at DISCOVERY WORLD in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  The challenge this time (sixteenth session) was to recreate a fermented beverage that was brewed throughout Europe’s western islands, during the Neolithic Period (ca. 6,000-4,500 years ago). This  recipe is based on molecular archaeological data and pollen analysis from pottery jar fragments found specifically at several archaeological sites in  Scotland.

In keeping with provenance, we used a generous amount of Scotland-grown 2-row barley malt, along with a dose of peat smoked barley, a dash of acidulated malt and finishing with several pounds of sage honey.  En lieu of hops (as it was not used in the Neolithic), heather tips, meadowsweet flowers and sweet gale were infused during the boil.  The final gravity for our 12 gallon batch was 1.082 / 21 Plato, making this a rare Ale.  We let it ferment  for three weeks with Old Ale yeast (W1318) in one six gallon carboy and Scottish Ale yeast (W1728) in the other 6 gallon carboy.  The resulting concoction is a tantalizingly delicious “Wee Heavy” scotch ale with hints of peat, heather and floral esters.


Cultural Geography of Europe’s Western Islands

More than one thousand islands comprise the European nations of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Today the predominant ethnic groups include: Britons, Channel Islanders, Cornish English, English Gypsies, Irish, Irish Travelers, Kale, Manx, Scottish, Ulster-Scots and Welsh. Most of these islands have been inhabited for at least 14,000 years, since the end of the last Ice Age in a period know as the late Paleolithic. By around 8,500 years ago, most of the outer islands were occupied by the Mesolthic hunters and gathers.

Yet, it was around 6,000 years ago during the Neolithic Period that new waves of people moved onto the islands and brought with them grain agriculture and animal husbandry among other things.  Known as  the “Neolithic Revolution”, it spread new agricultural and technological traditions across the continent from East to West. Beginning in the 3rd millennium BCE pottery vessels found throughout Europe, usually in sets, indicate widespread fermented-beverage drinking traditions known by their pottery ware types: Baden ware, Globular ware, Corded ware, Bell Beaker ware, etc.

Neolithic Scottish Brew

The Orkney Island group contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe. The Neolithic site of Skara Brae located on the main island is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Archaeological evidence indicates that brewing activities likely took place in one of the round stone structures, dating to ca. 3100-2500 BCE.

Moreover, at the site of Balfarg, Fife, in southeast Scotland, an intact Neolithic circular earth embankment (henge) now situated in the center of a housing estate, yielded some remarkable evidence of an ancient fermented brew. Residues of cereal grain and meadowsweet pollen found on pottery fragments dated to the third millennium BCE, clearly point to the adoption of a widespread tradition of the consumption of fermented beverages seen throughout Europe during this period.

Other brewing evidence comes from the site of Kinloch, on the Isle of Rum, located in the Inner Hebrides of NW Scotland. Near the village of Kinloch, a Neolithic habitation site, was discovered containing circa 4,000 year old pottery sherds. Residue of mashed cereal straw, cereal-type pollen, meadowsweet, heather and royal fern were  also discovered. (Nelson 2005:12). This is interpreted to be the remains of a Neolithic fermented floral grog ale (McGovern 2009:138).

The Decline of Heather Ale

Folklore tales attribute the original recipe for Heather Ale to have gone to the grave of a Pictish elder, at the hand of the Scots around the 4th century AD. The Scot Kenneth MacAlpine resolved to exterminate the Pict people of Caledonia (Scotland) sparing the lives of all but two…an aged father and son. Both possessed the recipe of brewing the valued heather beer. Their lives were promised to be spared if they divulged the secret recipe. The father asked for his life to be spared in exchange for his sons life…the father then said…“now I’m satisfied…my son might have taught you the art,  I never will…!”

The Rebirth of Brewing with Heather

Of the more than 55 breweries currently operating in Scotland, only a few have begun to brew traditional heather ales.  For example, the Williams Bros Brewing Company, run by Scott and Bruce Williams, is a micro brewery based in Alloa central Scotland. Among their line of traditional ales, the “Fraoch” from a Gaelic word for “leann fraoich” “heather ale” is worth checking out. “It is a 5% light amber ale with floral peaty aroma, full malt character, a spicy herbal flavor and dry wine like finish.”

A Toast to this Highland Heather Ale

Now that we’ve come full circle with how this recipe was concocted, the resulting rare Neolithic Period-inspired Highland Heather brew is one to age for awhile.  At 9% ABV, the resurrection of this robust ale will be well enjoyed when the right time presents itself for toasting the intrepid ancient brewers of  Europe’s western fringe! Slàinte Mhath!

 

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Posted in Anthropology, Beer Brewing, Brewing Archaeology and History, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Scottish Ale

Ale Through The Ages: Wisconsin Weizen Ale

Posted on February 15, 2011 by admin| 1 Comment

Brewing Up Wisconsin History

The most recent Ale Through the Ages brewing series at Discovery World focused on Wisconsin and Milwaukee’s proud brewing heritage, as we recreated a traditional wheat ale.  During the late 1800s, Wisconsin was a major wheat trading state, with Milwaukee as the primary hub of commerce on the Great Lakes.  As a result of this lucrative grain trade, Wisconsin breweries had a steady and high quality supply of fermentable wheat and barley.  Wheat became a staple ingredient in the production of a popular German beer, Weiss /Weizen and “weiss breweries” sprung up all over the state and in particular in Milwaukee.  While the original recipes from the 19th century have yet to be publicly revealed, this recipe is an approximation of what these historic wheat beers may have tasted like. Therefore, we selected local wheat and barley malts, in addition to locally grown hops, as well as Wisconsin wildflower honey.  A total of 12 gallons were brewed, 5.5 of which was fermented with Bavarian Wheat yeast, 5.5 gallons was fermented with Weihenstephan Weizen yeast, and 1 gallon was fermented with a local wild strain of yeast collected by a Milwaukee home brewer and class participant, Matt Spaanam.

Wheat and Milwaukee

Wheat (Triticum spp) is a grass species from Western Asia that was originally domesticated least 10,000 years ago, yet is now cultivated worldwide. Since the beginning of the European influx into America’s heartland, wheat has been a major crop and commodity of export to the global market. Milwaukee was one city in particular that was once at the forefront of the American and indeed global grain market.  This is evidenced by the iconic Chamber of Commerce building, which still stands on the SE corner of Michigan St. and Water St.  Completed in 1879 by the esteemed architect Edward Townsend Mix, it was inside this Italian Renaissance style building that the main trading rooms of the Milwaukee Grain Exchange were housed.  It was here between1879-1935 that the price of wheat was set for the global market in the first “trading pit” in the country.  Sadly the octagonal pit no longer survives. However, restoration of the trading room in the early 1980s resulted in preservation of one of best examples of mural-ornamented Victorian commercial interiors in North America.

Wisconsin Pioneering Breweries

The earliest evidence of a commercial brewery in Wisconsin opened in 1835 in Mineral Point (Iowa Co.) by John Phillips (Apps, J 1992). This region of southwestern Wisconsin saw the earliest influx of Europeans, who principally arrived from Cornwall, England and were employed in mining lead.  These intrepid miners were given the nickname “badgers”, due to their burrowing tunnels, a moniker that eventually became Wisconsin’s mascot.  It is likely that this pioneer brewery, as well as Rablin & Bray’s brewery in Elk Grove (Lafayette Co.) that opened in 1836, were likely brewing ales rather than lagers.  Lagers would soon become the norm, once large numbers of German immigrants arrived in subsequent decades and opened their own breweries.  By the end of the 1840s there were at least 22 breweries in Wisconsin. That number rose to at least 190 breweries in Wisconsin by the end of the 1850s.  Towns and cities across Wisconsin would grow many industries, and breweries were no exception.

Milwaukee: “Brew City USA”

Without exception, Milwaukee’s brewing industry once stood head and shoulders above most American cities.   In total, at least 120 different brewing companies have been established in Milwaukee over the past 175 years, giving justification for calling Milwaukee America’s “Brew City”. The most brewing companies in operation at any one time was during the 1860s when at least 40 breweries were in the production of beer, ales, lagers and often distilled spirits.

Milwaukee’s first commercial brewery was established by Simon Reutelshofer in 1839/40, and was located at the southeast corner S. 3rd & Virginia Streets.  This kicked off a tidal wave of other brewing operations that ostensibly became family businesses and wherein certain families became extremely wealthy. Without going into the entire chronology of Milwaukee’s brewing history, instead I’ll discuss just two historic Milwaukee weiss beer breweries that highlight the evolution of the industry as a whole.

The Gipfel Weiss Beer Brewery

One of Milwaukee’s early breweries that produced primarily wheat based beers was established by David Gipfel in 1843 when he purchased a small wooden framed building on Chestnut St (modern Juneau Ave.) for $400 from Wolfgang Weiss, and constructed a brewing operation.  In 1851, David Gipfel’s eldest son Charles (Chas.) assumed ownership of the family brewery and renamed it the Union Brewery. In 1853 a four story Federal-Style cream city brick saloon and boarding house was built fronting Chestnut St. with the original brewery in the back.  By the 1880s, the brewery was known principally for brewing weiss beer and was called the Charles Gipfel Whitebeer Brewery.  However in 1890 the brewery closed due to increased competition among local breweries.  The building housed various businesses over the next century, until 2007, when the building was jacked up and relocated from 423 Juneau Ave. to a vacant lot along Old World 3rd St.  Sadly, in 2009 due to insufficient funding for redevelopment, the building which at the time represented Milwaukee’s oldest surviving brewery was demolished.  Today it is a pile of bricks in an architectural salvage yard along the Milwaukee River.


E.L. Husting Weiss Beer Brewery

One other historic Milwaukee brewery that focused primarily on brewing wheat-based beer was Eugene Louis Husting.  Like many brewers before and after him, Eugene began as a brewer at the Northwestern Brewery, which was owned by Phillip Altpeter.  After marrying Phillip’s daughter Bertha in 1872, E.L. Husting opened his own weiss beer brewery and soda factory on the east side of 5th St. between Cherry St. and Vliet St. in 1877.  By 1884 Husting was brewing weiss beer in an 8 barrel brew kettle and selling the product in stoneware bottles.  In 1897 the Husting Brewery expanded inventory to include ginger ale, soda water, cream and orange soda, raspberry wine, and cider. As a result of prohibition (1920-1933), brewing beer discontinued and instead soda was exclusively produced.  Following prohibition the company evolved into a beer and soda distributor until 1970 when the plant shut down.  Today, the main building is still intact and is now considered the oldest standing complete brewery in Milwaukee.  Its current tenants are a ribbon factory on the first level and Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center on the second floor, ironically the same  company this archaeologist used to work for!

Wisconsin Weizen Ale

The resulting Wisconsin Weizen ale that we brewed fermented quickly and will be bottled on Thursday, February 17th.  Currently, it has a delightful wheat aroma, slightly hazy with a nice hop finish.  In keeping with historic tradition, this wheat ale will be bottle conditioned, whereby adding a small amount of sweet wheat malt to each bottle in order to promote final carbonation.  It should be ready to drink in two weeks, but will only get better with age.  It is our hope that Milwaukee’s forgotten weiss beer brewers would be proud of this fermented concoction! Prost!

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Ale Through the Ages: Belgian Gruit Ale

Posted on January 18, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

Recreating a Medieval Belgian Gruit Ale

When people speak of Belgium’s brewing tradition, most would reference the unique wild-yeast fermented lambics, the sour saison’s and the high gravity trappist ales.  Mention the word “gruit” and you might be greeted with a confused expression.  Interestingly, gruit (gruut) was the primary ale brewed in the lower Rhine Valley and the Low Countries of northern Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark) during the Medieval Period and earlier.  Today it is all but forgotten, except for a recent resurgence in certain small craft breweries in Belgium.  It was this historic brew that was the focus for the most recent (and most well attended) Ale through the Ages brewing seminar at Discovery World.  This high gravity (O.G. 1.068) malty Belgian ale turned out to be a splendid alternative to the traditional hopped ales of today.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpGJScR7U1U]


What’s in Gruit?

En lieu of hops, gruit was a combination of a variety of herbs, which each brewery guarded with secret. The three most common herbs were Bog Myrtle (Miricia gale), Yarrow (Achillea milleflolium) and Wild Rosemary (Ledum palustr).  Other later gruit additions often included: Cardamom, Caraway, Ginger, etc. Therefore, this all-grain recipe is true to the pre-14th Century Belgian Gruit style, which combined bog myrtle, yarrow, wild rosemary and juniper berries.   Six gallons were fermented with a Trappist Ale yeast, while another six gallons were  fermented with an Belgian Abbey Ale yeast.

Gruit Origins

Like many ancient beer recipes, the exact origin of gruit and its first use remains lost to antiquity; however, the earliest references to it come from several written sources in Flanders (Belgium) and the Neatherlands more than 1,000 years ago. By the ninth century, governments in northern Europe asserted the right to dispense of gruit in a gruuthuse (gruit house) under the imperial law known as gruitrecht. This was the exclusive authority to control the benefits from unused land, from which the bog myrtle came. This governmental right was often transferred to monasteries and nobles of Belgium, France and the Netherlands.  For instance, in 974, emperor Otto II granted rights of toll, market, minting and gruitrecht to a certain Notker of Liege (Belgium) in the district of Namur.  A grant to the bishop of Utrecht (Holland) in 999 also placed gruitrecht among those benefits granted by the emperor. (Hornsey 2003, Unger 2007)

Holy Gruit Arnold!

The St. Peter’s Abbey was founded in 1084 by St. Arnold of Tiegem. Legend tells that Arnold, the abbeys abbot, brewed gruit ale to heal ailing builders of the abbey. Soon his reputation grew and his gruit was widely sought after, leading to his eventual status as the patron saint of Belgian Brewers. Today Steenbrugge of the PALM Brewery Group pays homage to St. Arnold with their Tripel ale that is brewed with “Gruut”, the recipe of which continues to be a closely guarded secret.  Another small artisan brewery that focuses exclusively on producing gruit is the brewpub Gruut Gentse Stadsbrouwerij.  Located in Ghent Belgium, they brew four varieties of Gruit ale.

Archaeological and Historic Medieval Belgian Brewing

In 1050 the Count of Flanders, (vassal of the French king) conquered Ename (50km west of Brussels) and built a Benedictine abbey on the ruins. The abbey became a central socio-religious enterprise in Ename for more than 750 years, until it was shuttered by the French revolutionary authorities and fell into disrepair. Excavations at the medieval abbey during the 1980s and 1990s uncovered a bakery, brewery, slaughterhouse, and other workshop. This definitively proves the written documentation that at least 1,000 years ago, formalized brewing was taking place at a large scale in Belgium.  This scale reached industrial proportions by the 14th century, as evidenced by the medieval city of Bruges (Brugge), located in northern Belgium. By the late 1300s the city was brewing around 1.85 million US Gallons of beer annually (572,000 barrels). With a population of ca. 30,000, they were consuming on average 300 liters per person per year, far more than the average person today (Unger:128).

The Enduring Belgian Brewing Tradition

Today Belgium has around 150 breweries and brewpubs (3rd most in the EU) that produce about 800 standard beer varieties. Over 8,000 types if one-off’s are included. The total beer output for 2009 was 18 million hL (15.1 million barrels).  By comparison MillerCoors produced ca. 69 million barrels the same year.  The monastic Trappist brewing industry is minuscule by comparison. The combined output from the seven Trappist monastery breweries in Belgium and the Netherlands is about 0.5 million hL or 13.2 million gl. (420,000 Barrels) per year.  What it comes down to, is that Belgian produced beer focuses on quality not quantity and fortunately the preservation of centuries-old styles are still being preserved for future generations.  So, for those of you who are not keen on hop flavored beer, perhaps you should put gruit (gruut) on your next shopping list.

References:

Hornsey, Ian S. “A History of Beer and Brewing” 2003. The Royal Society of Chemistry

Unger, Richard W. “Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” 2007. University of Pennsylvania Press

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Posted in Anthropology, Beer Brewing, Brewing Archaeology and History, History, Milwaukee