Today we come to tell you a little more about the history of one of the oldest Brewing Schools: the English one.
The brewing tradition in the British Isles is undeniable. It is believed that in the Iron Age the Celtic tribes that inhabited the islands already consumed this drink. That is what the Roman general Julius Caesar found, when he commanded the first Roman invasion of England, in 55 BC. C., a town was found that consumed a fermented alcoholic drink made from cereals. In other words, beer.
Beer, the Romans and the Vikings
Even during the rule of the Romans, who considered it an inferior drink to wine, beer remained in the daily life of the inhabitants of the British Isles, and its consumption supplanted that of wine around the 3rd century.
With the end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and the subsequent occupation of the islands by Anglo-Saxon tribes from continental Europe, in the region where Denmark and Germany meet today, mead and beer (Ale) were the most consumed beverages. Speaking of “Ale”, this is when the word appears in the vocabulary of the English language, originating from the Danish word for beer, øl.
Middle Ages: monks and women
The beginning of the Middle Ages was marked by some transformations that were fundamental in the history of beer in Europe. On the one hand, the growth of cities, which increased the demand for beer to such an extent that national production could not supply it, encouraging monasteries to produce beer on a large scale.
Over the years, the custom of brewing beer spread beyond the abbeys, settling in houses and farms thanks to the women, then called "ale wifes", that is, , the beer wives. As we have already told you in other articles, in history it has been common for the preparation of this drink to have been an exclusively female task (until it gave them too much power and they ended up taking away their power). the right to produce beer, but that's another story)
The first beer tax in the UK was the Saladin Tithe, introduced in 1188 by Henry II to raise money for the Crusades.
Ale: beers with hops
In the s. XV a modern version of the Ale, or rather Ale to dry for the English, returned to England from Holland, land of great marine merchants. They were made exclusively with water and malt since yeast was unknown at that time. The beer that was already made in England before the arrival of the Dutch had the same ingredients, with the exception that hops were added to them.
These two types of beer lived together for centuries, maintaining that small differentiation, since in many towns the local administration was in charge of monitoring the pubs to ensure that the elaboration of the “traditional ale” continued. preserving its original recipe.
The industrial revolution: the revolution in brewing production
The industrial revolution, which began in this country, brought with it great technological advances that led to the development of new production techniques. Apart from the development of new manufacturing methods, large factories were implemented where liters and liters of this drink could be produced, which became, if possible, even more popular among the British at this time.
Small family companies became national brands during the s.XIX, many of them based on the beers that were made in Burton on Trent, which had a great fame thanks to its water, especially good for brewing
England and beer today
In the 1970s, brewing was concentrated in a handful of large national companies. In September 2014 there were over 1,475 breweries in the UK, with three new breweries being created every week.
This made the UK the country with the highest number of breweries per capita in the world, where between them they produce more than 8,000 beers.
English styles are some of the best known and we have a delicious selection in our store. But in order to know a little more about them you will have to wait for the next article. How about sweetening the wait with a good beer…. so british? Cheers!
Sources: escerveza.com, mestre-cervejeiro.com, escerveza.com
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