Yeah, I saw that as well. Figured it was in there somewhere, but didn't do an exhaustive search. Gold | Yards Brewing Co. | BeerAdvocate Would certainly be useful to have a "formerly Thomas Jefferson's Tavern Ale" next to the listing and not just on the review page. So, kind of a Basque Cider type of thing?
Not exactly. Definitely has the tartness and funk, but stronger, drier, and doesn't rely on the special pour for effervescence.
Planning a trip down there eventually, as I'm reading Jefferson and His Time. Really want to visit UVA, Monticello, and Montpelier, so this cidery would be a nice addition.
Go there in the fall. They are part of the Virginia Tech agricultural extension program, and grow over 200 apple varieties. They have apple tastings and depending on the week you will find everything from the perfect apple for a pie to the perfect apple to make apple butter with. The ciders are a bonus. Potter's is also an excellent cidery to visit. The breweries in the area are nothing to really write home about, and the wineries tend to have a beautiful locations, but don't really make anything spectacular. Still better than any wine you would get made in PA, though.
I absolutely love tasting historical beers, even if they turn out to be more of a novelty. Dogfish Head used to do this a lot, and I miss that. At Colonial Williamsburg they sell a small number of historical beers that are brewed by Alewerks Brewing Company, specifically for them. Aside from the U.S., it's always great to try beer from a small regional European brewery that has been around for a long time. Even if the recipe has changed over time, having something which has been accepted by a small local population feels like home cooking in a bottle.
It seems to me that that linked article should lead one to believe that those beers are inspired by history rather than recreations. Heck, one can conclude that by only reading the above page address.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the title of this thread was Stone's Stochasticity Project: Your Father Smelt Of Elderberries. It was allegedly a "medieval-style ale," whatever the hell that means. The brewer's description was certainly no help on this point. My rating on this was meh (3.1/5, rDev -13.2), undoubtedly affected by flashbacks to a batch of swill my high school buddy and I made from elderberry juice, sugar, water, and a cake of baker's yeast. Maybe we were ahead of our time, who knows? One of my must-buys whenever I see it is PIVO's (Calmar, IA) Decorah Nordic Gruit. We occasionally see this on tap here in Cedar Falls, but it's always available at the brewery and I see that they're canning it now. Interesting style, and PIVO does it very well. Here's the brewer's description:
Secondary to seeing 30 year old neckbeards studying old social media records like its the fossil record trying to perfect the look and texture.
To get into this deeper, one can just look at that Washington porter you mention to get an indication of how much fantasy is involved with historic recreations. The recipe in Washington's military notebook is for "small beer" made from molasses, hops, yeast, water, and possibly bran (people aren't sure about that last part)... and that's it. It might have been notes for soldier rations. People love "recreating" this beer. One company makes it as a 7% ABV porter. Another as a 3.8% ale with corn, oats, wheat, molasses, and spruce tips. I really doubt anybody would confuse those two recreations with each other. It's clear that brewers are creating beers based on an amalgamation of lots of different things rather than just an old recipe. Washington liked to purchase porter. It's fun to take inspiration from something to make something you wouldn't make otherwise, but the marketing is usually fantasy. I don't know how a brewing company person can say "this is an authentic replication of what George did back then" [real quote] with a straight face. (It's not like they even have evidence of anything he "did" in this regard.) And when they're (thankfully) a bit more transparent about liberties taken (modern tastes and all that), they'll contradict that messaging by still selling the recreation fantasy. The press and the libraries that house the documents are all eager to get in on the "true to the original recipe" action too. It serves their interests. Fortunately for them, drinkers also want to believe they're drinking the "same beer." So, like everything else in this world, people believe what they want to believe... even when they don't really believe it.
The only known/found beer recipe attributed to George Washington was for a “small beer”: “As colonel of the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War, a 20-something-year-old George Washington inscribed the following recipe “To make Small Beer” in the notebook he carried: Take a large Siffer full of Bran Hops to your Taste. Boil these 3 hours. Then strain out 3 Gallns into a Cooler put in 3 Gallns Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Molasses into the Cooler & Strain the Beer on it while boiling Hot [.]. let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of Yest if the weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank(et) & let it work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask—leave the Bung open till it is almost don(e) woring—Bottle it that day week it was Brewed.” https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/food-culture/beer In terms of the type of beer that George Washington preferred to consume, he was very fond of Porter. During his frequent stays in Philadelphia (Continental Congress meetings, formulation of the Constitution, etc.) he drank Porter brewed in Philadelphia by Robert Hare: “Robert Hare was born in 1752, the third son of well-to-do English parents. His father was a brewer in London who specialized in a new kind of drink known as “porter.” In 1773, with a gift of £1500 from his father, Robert emigrated to America. Soon after arriving in Philadelphia, Hare established himself as a brewer. Like his father, he specialized in porter, and is credited with being the first person to brew the drink in America.” https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/robert-hare/ Beer was brewed at Mount Vernon by the workers there (enslaved people I presume). Unfortunately, no records/recipes have been found (yet?) but given the fondness that George Washington had for Porters it is very likely that Porter beers were brewed at Mount Vernon. In the absence of specific documents (i.e., handwritten recipes) the best that contemporary brewers can do is brew a Porter like would have been brewed in America in the latter 1700’s and early 1800’s. One example would be using some molasses as part of the fermentables (e.g., Yards Washington Porter). Maybe in the future with additional historical research an actual recipe(s) for how beer was brewed at Mount Vernon will be found. Cheers!
Like a great many things in this world, suspension of disbelieve is at times necessary to enjoy oneself.
I'd modify that to: The best that contemporary brewers can do is brew a porter like would have been brewed in America in the latter 1700’s and early 1800’s and not put on the label that “George Washington developed this recipe to satisfy his thirsty field officers." The above was once on the Yard's label. When Avery made their "George Washington Porter" in their Ales of Antiquity series, they at least stated that it wasn't a recreation of the famous small beer recipe, but rather, a recreation of a porter that Washington would have consumed. Their "Beer Archaeologist" also stated:
