Historical Beers Experiments With "Beer Bread"

[Widukind]

Batch Size (Gallons)

Only Ninkasi knows...

I guess this is the appropriate forum for posting historically-inspired brews.


So, I am making another batch of "Sumerian" ale. This time, I've made some minor changes to the recipe. For the bappir, I used an aromatic malted barley, chopped Medjool dates crushed in a bit of water, additional water, ground cinnamon, sea salt, brown rice flour, and grapeseed oil for the pan.

Also, like my last batch, there are no precise measurements. In the daylight, I'll look around for a birch or maple tree branch to start some yeast.

This "dough" was divided into puck-sized loaves.

Like in my last batch, these loaves were baked twice. 375 degrees in the first baking, 350 in the second. When they were heavily browned, I crumbled them.

It's getting late here, so I am going to start preparations for brewing tomorrow. I'll be sure to update this thread.

 

[Widukind]

Edit: I forgot to mention that I created the mash last night. I couldn't sleep anyways, but the process sure made me tired. It consisted of mixing the crumbled bappir with some more aromatic malted barley, followed by pouring boiling water over it.

The first time, I poured about a cup's worth and waited ten minutes. Second, just until the stuff looked like thick porridge. I waited twenty minutes until the next one which consisted of making it look like soup. I gave it a stir and let it sit for an hour and a half. Between each pouring, the pot was insulated with a thick towel. I did a final pouring with about four cups worth of water before letting the mash sit overnight.


Late this afternoon, I got around to completing the next steps before the final fermentation. I heated the concoction to around 150 degrees and kept it for an hour or so, stirring here and there. Next, I sanitized a sauerkraut crock and prepared a gruit made of two crushed Medjool dates, ground cinnamon, water, and a grape/blackberry concentrate made fresh by a local producer.

Following this, I poured the mash into the crock and added the gruit with some additional water. Due to me not being able to find a suitable birch or maple tree today, I made do with some ale yeast. I may have killed the poor things though, seeing as the water was a bit hot.

Anyways, this is what it looks like now:

The reflection and my having just stirred it probably didn't help. It's going to sit open for the night. I'll continue my search for a branch tomorrow.

In a couple days, this disgrace to Enkidu will be ready to drink... I think.

 

[Lefou]

Suggest you see a comparable brew by Chris Colby under the entry "The Sad Path to Happiness". It's an experiment similar to yours.
http://beerandwinejournal.com/

I read his stuff religiously and like his style of writing and brewing.

 

[Widukind]

Suggest you see a comparable brew by Chris Colby under the entry "The Sad Path to Happiness". It's an experiment similar to yours.
http://beerandwinejournal.com/

I read his stuff religiously and like his style of writing and brewing.

Interesting. I will have a look through the site now.

Thank you for sharing it.

 

[Widukind]

The final product:

It's not as tasty as my last batch, but it's okay. I think, due to the yeast (would that make a difference?) and different ingredients, it's no longer a fruity bacon.

I didn't kill the yeast, thankfully, as they were bubbling like mad not long after adding them. This morning, I strained some out into a mug instead of having tea. Wonderful.