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(Almost) Everything You Know About Brewing History Is Wrong

  • Speaker: Randy Mosher
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2015
  • San Diego, CA

Modern brewers are inspired by the past to create their own interpretations of the classics. But what if it turns out a lot of our ideas about past beers are just not right? This is the case with far too many classic styles. Often, the truth is even more interesting…

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The Beginnings of Beer in the Ancient World

  • Speaker: Travis Rupp
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2015
  • San Diego, CA

This presentation will examine the beginnings of beer production in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Specifically, it will survey the domestication of barley and wheat in ancient Sumeria and Egypt, which was conceived for early beer production. It will then examine the impact on later Greek and Roman beer…

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Keeping It Simple: What Monks Can Teach Us About Brewing

  • Speaker: Stan Hieronymus
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2014
  • Grand Rapids, MI

When Brother Antoine was in charge of brewing at Rochefort, he said: "Two of the pale malts, two of the sugars, two hop varieties, two yeast strains . . . two of this and two of that . . . we like to keep it simple." That approach produces amazingly…

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Obscure and Ancient Beers

  • Speakers: Geoff GroffMark Pangle
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2014
  • Grand Rapids, MI

Do you want to know what Finnish Sahti is and how it is made? Are you familiar with Steinbeer, a German method of brewing beer with heated stones? Join homebrewers Geoff Groff and Mark Pangle as they discuss some of the more obscure as well as older beer styles and…

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The Homebrewer’s Guide to Vintage Beer

  • Speakers: Paul LanglieRon Pattinson
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2014
  • Grand Rapids, MI

Raise a glass to vintage beer! Treat yourself to a tour through time with beer historian/author Ron Pattinson of the blog Shut Up about Barclay Perkins. Ron will share brewing history and representative recipes from 1800 to 1950, from his new book, The Home Brewer’s Guide to Vintage Beer. Ron…

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The Malt Nerds History Hour

  • Speakers: Andrea StanleyJohn Mallett
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2014
  • Grand Rapids, MI

Humans have been malting grains for use in brewing for many thousands of years. In relative terms, large-scale, industrial operations are recent developments. Prior to the 20th century, most malt was hand made by artisans—often unencumbered with science—who mainly assessed and controlled this natural process by touch, taste and smell.…

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Beers of Our Founding Fathers

  • Speaker: Frank Clark
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2013
  • Philadelphia, PA

What were our founding fathers drinking? Learn about the beers and brewing methods of the 18th century. Join food and beer historian Frank Clark of Colonial Williamsburg for a fascinating look back at old beer styles and some of the pleasures and pitfalls of trying to recreate historic beers.

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Colonial Brewing Practices and Beers with Historical British Influences

  • Speaker: Bob Grossman
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2013
  • Philadelphia, PA

The freedom-seeking settlers were influenced by their dependency on fermented beverages, a necessary alternative to the tainted water supplies in England. They brought with them a great appreciation for alcoholic beverages, a perspective derived from a long brewing tradition founded in folk wisdom, herbal pharmacopoeia and lore, political leadership and…

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Beer in the USSR

  • Speaker: Alistair Kocho-Williams
  • Track: Historical
  • Homebrew Con 2012
  • Bellvue, WA

Ali will take you on a journey from a small number of early, surprising and distinct styles in the 1920s and 1930s to a Cold War Era replete with beer (some of which survives today) with influences from across Europe but adapted to the Soviet Union, complete with well-defined style…

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