Last updated on September 19th 2007.
The intent of this article is for presentation at an SCA event in September of 2007 (Red Dragon hosted by the Marche of Tyrnewydd just outside of Columbus, Ohio, USA). I will be presenting my theories on what I think could have been the brewing processes used in the late Dark Ages (Viking Age). While the late Dark Ages may be the focus of this essay, many of the hypotheses contained within could very well be relevant to a much broader scope of history. I will be drawing from what scant archaeological evidence that exists, and from whatever literary sources I can find, and a liberal dose of trying to backdate or retrograde any methods currently used that have traditional roots. While using the techniques in this writing will likely not reproduce ale that exactly replicates the brews drunk by the Northern Europeans of the late Dark Ages, it should approximate it within the restraints of modern safety and hygiene concerns.
I'll begin by briefly covering the equipment needed for brewing. I'll discuss the equipment used in modern home brewing, and then the tools I believe may have been used 1000 years ago. I'll then proceed to discuss ingredients and their sources, I'll describe what ingredients may have been used historically, and what modern ingredients can be used as substitutes. Modern substitutes can quite often be easier to acquire, and often can save you some time and effort on certain steps in the process, as many modern ingredients frequently undergo some pre-processing. Then the discussion will move towards the methods used by modern home brewers, then continue on trying to extrapolate what techniques could have been used historically to achieve similar results based on the equipment likely used in the late Dark Ages. I will not provide any recipes for this lecture, but I have included links to some existing recipes online that the adventurous brewer may try if they so choose.
It is my intent to delve further into historic brewing and some time in the future research and present a class on more intermediate techniques, and perhaps eventually a more advanced level class as well. So while I have tried to make this article and class as complete as possible, it is a "work in progress" and will develop and grow with time.
As you will see in the section of ingredients, recreating ale from the Dark Ages can be dangerous, and should not be done without a great deal of research and caution.
At it's heart, brewing does not require a great deal of specialized equipment. Modern home brewing methodology uses a handful of additional pieces of equipment to assist in controlling the brewing process through cleanliness. Modern mass production brewing techniques particularly uses a great deal of specialized equipment, but that falls well out of scope intended for this article.
Modern home brewing tends to rely on the following list of equipment:
Additional items may be required or useful depending on what modern methods you are using. But the above list tends to be sufficient for making a basic home brew from a pre-processed malt extract. Various straining devices such as a sparge bucket or a lauter tun would be added for brewing from grains rather than "factory" pre-processed extracts. Another item that tends to be used by more intermediate to advanced home brewers is a "wort chiller". A wort chiller helps speed the cooling off of the boiled wort so the yeast can be pitched quicker.
Now, below is the list of items I believe would have been used for brewing in the dark ages:
As you can see, the list of equipment needed is much smaller, and in fact I feel that I've been a little extravagant with this list. A patient and frugal person could reduce the three vessels into two, as the ale could be boiled in a cauldron, and fermented and stored in the same vessel. Using only two vessels could cause some logistical problems, but nothing insurmountable. So I think that a cauldron and two vessels might offer the best combination of archaic frugality without adding any additional challenges to the brewing process.
There are a few cauldrons that have provenance from the Viking Age, all are segmented, and either riveted or soldered together (or both). There seems to be more that are made from iron, but there are a few that are made from copper as well (or possibly copper alloys). Below is a short list of some cooking vessels from Viking Age archaeological finds and brief descriptions of the various cauldrons. Keep in mind that this list is not meant to be comprehensive list of Viking Age cooking vessels, but just a quick list from my on-hand references.
Given that copper (and copper alloys) heat up more quickly and maintain a more stable heat when used in cooking, and that brewing is optimized by close control of heat, I would suggest using a cooking vessel based on the design of one of the copper (or copper alloy) examples cited in the above list. An iron cauldron could be used (keep in mind that most reproduction Dark Age cauldrons are made from mild steel), although in using an iron (or mild steel) cauldron, "pre-heating" of the cooking vessel over the cooking fire might be recommended.
Once you boil your wort (see explanation below), you will want to strain any solid matter out. This is where you will need a cheese cloth, or other substitute material such as a loose to medium weave linen. You will then need a vessel to pour your strained wort into. A wooden bucket or an earthenware vessel such as a large vase or jug would be ideal for this. Some modest research will provide you will plenty of examples of Viking Age buckets or pails, or clay vessels of many sizes and shapes. It is important that your chosen vessel (whether a pail, bucket or earthenware container) should be able to contain at least 25 percent larger volume than the cooking vessel you use, although having a container that is larger by an even greater margin would be better. Most home brewing is done in either 5 or 6 US gallon (~19 to 22 liter) batches, so a bucket, pail or earthenware vessel of 7 US gallons (~26.5 liter) would be ideal.
A third vessel can be used to store the completed ale when it is done fermenting. Either the same bucket, pail or earthenware vessel used to strain the mash/wort into can be used (although you would want a fitted lid for said vessel if you planned to use it in such a fashion), or you could use a small barrel or cask. There is little hard archaeological evidence for barrels during most of the Viking age. But judging from the photographs of Viking Age artifacts seen in my various sources, the cooperage of the wooden pails or buckets dated to the Viking Age makes it reasonable to believe that the people of Northern Europe may have had and used barrels. Once you get to the very end of the Viking Age, there is some pictorial evidence for the possible use and existence of barrels within the images of the Bayeux Tapestry embroidery dated to the late 11th century. (Check the Links section below for web sites the Bayeux Tapestry can be viewed upon).
The two main ingredients in all beer (ale) are of course water, and malted barley. The process for malting raw barley is complex, and hence will be saved for a future article. Most modern home brewers buy barley that is already malted anyways. Also, as the focus here is on beginning brewing, I am going to suggest using malt extracts (the boiled off essence of malted barley, in a syrup or powder form). Muntons based out of England (http://www.muntons.com) and Coopers from Australia (http://www.coopers.com.au/) are two of the more popular malt extract manufacturers and distributors (both are widely distributed throughout North America). An internet search or a flip through a home brewing magazine will provide you with many other options as well. "Brew Your Own" is a great bi-monthly magazine on brewing, for more details see their web site at http://www.byo.com or check your local magazine stands.
The next most important ingredient in beer is the yeast. As mentioned above in the "Techniques" section, historically it would have been most likely that wild yeast would have been used initially, at least until a good yeast strain was "captured" and produced a good batch of ale. After that, the "good" yeast strain would have been cultivated and reused. Modern brewers (with some exceptions) tend to steer widely around the use of wild yeast, and almost exclusively use commercial yeast. Commercial ale yeast most often come in two forms, either a powder most often in a foil sachet, or a liquid form. Powdered yeasts are usually the cheapest, and the easiest to use for beginners, so that is what I will focus on here. There are hundreds of commercially available yeast strains, produced by dozens of different companies, but for brewing beer, there are two main categories of yeast available, lager yeast, and ale yeast. I won't get into the technical differences here, but lagers (the style of beer and the yeast type) is more of a modern convention, so it would be much preferable to use ale yeast strains for early period beer production. Check your local home brew store, or an online home brew store for yeast availability (see the links section for some suggestions). Throughout my reading I have some across some strong recommendations to NOT USE bread yeast, even for historic brewing, so I would like to pass on this as a warning. Save your bread yeast for baking, and use a proper beer yeast for brewing. Your yeast will affect the flavours of your brews, don't kid yourself to the contrary.
After water, malted barley (or modernly replaced with pre-processed extracts), and yeast, everything else in beer is generally referred to as adjuncts. Adjuncts are essentially just additional flavourings. For the last few centuries, hops have been the primary adjunct in most beers. Prior to hops becoming the standard flavouring for all beer (debatable between the late 15th and early 17th centuries), any localized herbs or spices were used as additional flavourings for beer. Blends of herbs and/or spices were known as "Gruit", and the larger producers of ale heavily guarded their gruit recipes. In fact each household that ale was produced within most likely had its own gruit blend based primarily on the local available ingredients, and to a lesser extent individual taste.
A few adjunct ingredients that were commonly are mentioned in the various sources I reviewed are listed below with descriptions. The first list of five items details the most common ingredients believed to be used in gruit, the second list are other possibilities and lesser used items.
Brewing is comprised of a handful of steps, sometimes these steps are broken into more detail, and in many modern home brewing methodologies, some steps are skipped altogether as the ingredients are bought pre-processed. Below is a chart summarizing the steps, with some comments on both modern and primitive methodologies.
| Step | Modern Method | Historic Method |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 - Gather and prepare ingredients and Equipment | This step is often the easiest, and most often the one most glossed over. Here you would gather up all ingredients and equipment to be used. All equipment would be thoroughly sanitized and prepared for use. | The cleaning and sanitation chemicals used today did not exist, nor did the desire for the same level of cleanliness as exists today. Although historically cleanliness may have not been as big of an issue, I would still recommend thoroughly cleaning any vessels and containers to be used. If you are using a copper or copper alloy cauldron, be careful to scrub and scour these vessels thoroughly as oxidized copper can be toxic. |
| Step 2 - Mashing | In this process, the grains (malted barley in most cases) is simmered in hot water for a duration of time. The type of grains you use and the style of beer you are aiming to make will determine the temperature and the duration of the mash. Keep in mind that many modern home brewing techniques involve stepped mashing, where the grains will be simmered at one temperature for a while, then another temperature for another duration, etc. Mashing usually takes hours to accomplish. Many home brewers primarily use malt extracts (available as syrups, or dried powders), these pre-processed malt extracts forgo the need for the mashing process, and are much easier to use than whole grain malted barley. | Mashing historically provides a great many challenges. Thermometers were not really developed until the 17th century, and even then, were not stable or standardized until the early 18th century. So how would one simmer a mash at one temperature for a duration of time, then at another temperature for another period of time and so on? Well I would guess you wouldn't. According to The Brew-Master's Bible "decoction mashing" is one of the oldest forms of mashing used in modern brewing, is cited to have been developed in the 19th century. While this does not mean that mashing would not have been done, it does mean that other methods (less accurate) would have been used. As the focus here is on beginning level brewing, mashing will be left for a more intermediate or advanced article I will write in the future. |
| Step 3 - Sparging | Sparging is an extension of the mashing process. Once the grains have been mashed, the solid matter left from the grains are extracted, and placed in a straining device. The liquid left from the mash is then poured over the solid grain matter to try to collect as much of the flavour as possible from the grains. Any additional water needed to be added will also be poured over the grains as well in an attempt to draw as much of the flavour compounds as possible. As malt extracts are used in beginning brewing, and mashing is not necessary, sparging will not be necessary either. | As previously stated mashing and sparging will be tackled in a future article. |
| Step 4 - Boiling | The boiling process is when the various flavourings are added. In modern brewing most of the hops are added at the beginning of the boil, and often more are added throughout the boiling. The last addition of hops are usually added about ten minuted before the end of the boil, just long enough to allow the flavour of the hops to simmer into the liquid. The boil averages about an hour, but different styles of beers or ales can require longer (or even occasionally shorter) boiling times. The recipe you use will advise on the duration of the boil and at what times during the boil the various amount (and/or types) of hops should be added. | Early ales most likely did not use hops, but other flavourings would be used in stead. These other flavourings would be added throughout the boil rather than hops. The strength of the flavouring would determine at what stage of the boil it would be added. More robust flavourings would be added at the beginning or early in the boil to allow the flavours time to fully infuse, and perhaps even dissipate somewhat. Milder flavoured additives would be added later in the boil perhaps even at the very end. Naturally, medium strength flavourings would be added at more or less the mid-point of the boil. Flavourings have been discussed above in the previous section. The addition of any adjuncts will be covered in the recipes you find and use. |
| Step 5 - Cooling | The wort, which is the liquid that is the result of the infusion of the extracted essences of the malted barley and hops into water, needs to be cooled to roughly about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius) or roughly a warm room temperature. Some home brewers use a device known as "wort chillers" to speed the reduction of temperature (or cooling for short). The addition of some more water (room temperature or even cold water) will also aid in the reduction of temperature of the boiled wort, but this must be done with caution so as to not dilute the wort to a level to weaken the flavour of the ale. | Historically, wort chillers would not be available, nor would ice be available, nor even cold water in many circumstances. So cooling the wort would most likely be done through the addition of water at the ambient temperatures of the time (which would depend on the time of year, and geographic region) and the use of patience while the wort cooled down naturally. Again caution would be needed so to ensure that added water used to cool the wort did not dilute the flavour too much. |
| Step 6 - Pitching/Adding Yeast | Once the wort is cooled to the appropriate temperature, the yeast is added. In modern home brewing, either a dried yeast will be used, or a liquid containing an active yeast culture can also be used. Different yeast strains operate best under certain temperatures. If a dry yeast is used, a "yeast starter" will often be used. A yeast starter is usually created in advance by adding the yeast to some water at the appropriate temperature, water that has some form of sugar or malt extract diluted into it. | Historically, one of two possible methods would have likely been used. The first method would have involved leaving the wort open to the air and allowing any naturally occurring wild yeast to start the fermentation. This method could produce some rather varied results. Yeast can affect the flavour of a fermented beverage as much as any other ingredient, and a "bad" yeast strain could produce some rather unpleasant flavours, and possibly even ruin the batch. The second method would be to use the leftover "sludge" from a previously brewed batch of ale. A good deal of the residue at the bottom of the fermentation vessel would be yeast, moving this "used" yeast into a new environment where the yeast can become active again (a new wort) would revive the "used" yeast. This method would produce more stable results, if the previous batch of ale turned out well, odds are much stronger the yeast "re-used" from the previous batch would produce a second batch of decent quality. |
| Step 7 - Fermenting | This step tends to be the easiest, as it really just involves waiting for the yeast to complete their job. Yeast essentially breaks down sugars and leaves the by-product of alcohol from the broken down sugars. The chemical process is more complicated than this simplification makes it seem, but this explanation will suffice for the beginner. The fermentation should only take between 3 and 7 days, but factors such as temperature and a few other variables can make the fermentation go longer. The fermentation will rarely go any faster than a few days. An air lock will be affixed to the fermentation vessel during the fermentation to prevent outside yeast, bacteria, or other contaminants from getting into the fermenting ale and spoiling the batch. There are two factors that can be somewhat controlled that will aid the fermentation process, a stable temperature, and light (or really the lack thereof). The strain of yeast you use (and the accompanying instructions) will be the best guide to the temperature you should ferment your beer at. The issue of light is simple, place your fermentation vessel in a dark place such as a closet, or cupboard, or unused corner of the basement, or other similar location. | In the dark ages, the fermentation process would not have been any different, but without the existence of air locks, keeping the batch of fermenting air from contamination would be more challenging. A few different methods for trying to prevent contamination may have been used. A tightly woven fabric such as a canvas could have tied around the fermentation vessel may have been used. Another possible method that could be done, would be a tapered or round bottomed fitted lid. The taper or round of the lid would ensure a good fit that would be reasonably air tight, but remain loose enough so that when the carbon dioxide build-up built up, the built up pressure could lift the lid to escape. Of course gravity would cause the lid to fall back into place once the air pressure was released. As glass was rare, and only small drinking vessels tended to be made from glass in the late Dark Ages, the fermentation would have most likely taken place in a wood cask or barrel, or an earthen ware urn. As such light contamination would not have been much of a concern for brewing in the Viking Age. Temperature would have been much more difficult to control without the aid of thermometers as well. But I believe it would be safe to assume there would likely have been some sort of tradition regarding where in ones house it was best to store fermenting ale, and the traditional storage place would have been one of the more stable locations temperature-wise. |
| Step 8 - Storing | Once the fermentation is complete, the beer will need to be stored conveniently. In modern home brewing, the most often used solution are re-usable and resealable bottles. Those who are willing to spend some more money on additional equipment, use small stainless steel or aluminum kegs. | In the dark ages, glass was still a fairly uncommon, and not regularly used, so it is highly unlikely glass bottles were used for storage. In fact the most likely vessels used for storing ale, would be large earthenware vessels, or wooden casks or small barrels. For serving, the ale could be ladled out if using an earthenware vessel, or if a cask or barrel was used, a spigot could have been attached and used. |