tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post8908617043604512542..comments2024-03-27T20:07:51.303-07:00Comments on Shut up about Barclay Perkins: German, Czech, Belgian, Dutch and British beers in the 1850'sRon Pattinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-532023094720754752008-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:002008-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:00Gary, you're right that there are few detailed des...Gary, you're right that there are few detailed descriptions of the flavour of beer. But there are odd bits. <BR/><BR/>And when they talk about the "aged" taste, we can be fairly sure what they mean. It's brettanomyces induced flavours. <BR/><BR/>You can see why here:<BR/><BR/>http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/<BR/>beerale.htm#sykes<BR/><BR/>I do have a couple of quotes where they go a two adjectives deep. And the odd comment on brewing records, like "Drank a little bitter."Ron Pattinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-9404797983123278362008-12-08T08:05:00.000-08:002008-12-08T08:05:00.000-08:00I enjoyed this brief but interesting contemporary ...I enjoyed this brief but interesting contemporary (mid-1800's) quotation about the characteristics of some national beers.<BR/><BR/>The taste descriptors seem similar to other 1800's (and earlier in some cases) sources I've read. Byrn's (1852) description of pale ale seems similar (not identical), for example. Terms such as bitter, sweet (or synonyms such as mucilagenous or saccharine), aromatic, full-bodied, acid, empyreumatic (for burned or smoky I think), appear in the old texts with some regularity.<BR/><BR/>What I at at least have never found in old sources are descriptions of taste using similies and metaphors in the way many modern beer writers do. E.g., "this beer discloses a fruity quality redolent of dark cherries and a sweet mealy taste somewhat like cooked oats with dark sugar or fresh tea biscuits". This type of vocabulary was, I believe, drawn from writers often write today about wine. But the old-time beer writers, whether brewers or others, seem to eschew such a way of conveying taste. Maybe they simply took for granted the key-note flavours of different beer types. Maybe (probably) they just thought in different terms.<BR/><BR/>But wouldn't it be interesting to find something like this in the old texts, an adjective-laden description with references to other foods or drinks? I think once I did read - was it not Barnard? - one 1800's author who likened a beer to a certain kind of sherry (its nose I think - I think I read this in fact on your blog, Ron). That does give some indication of one kind of beer flavour then existing. But the string of adjective approach seems resolutely modern from what I can see.<BR/><BR/>GaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-32623122625906917652008-02-25T16:43:00.000-08:002008-02-25T16:43:00.000-08:00Thanks again for these resources- I wasn't sure if...Thanks again for these resources- I wasn't sure if you'd find my thanks in the Babblebelt post. Also, thank you for the translation of that relevant paragraph.<BR/><BR/>I'm spending the evening improving my German by trying to read it.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>KaiThe Green Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06226744567170782680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-48464001293460444322008-02-22T04:26:00.000-08:002008-02-22T04:26:00.000-08:00Thanks very much for that information. It did say ...Thanks very much for that information. <BR/><BR/>It did say in the text that the beers were Dutch, but I wasn't sure what year they were carried out - it could have been during the brief period when Belgium was part of the Netherlands.<BR/><BR/>Utrecht isn't quite in the Senne valley, is it? Was lambik commonly brewed in the Netherlands at this time?Ron Pattinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-44995887152907221132008-02-22T03:37:00.000-08:002008-02-22T03:37:00.000-08:00De Boog, de Krans, den Aker are (closed) breweries...De Boog, de Krans, den Aker are (closed) breweries in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Heumensbier came from a place near by Nijmegen, the Netherlands<BR/><BR/>Theo FlissebaaljeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14741671996683166516noreply@blogger.com