Brew Day! One of my favorite hobbies is crafting my own personal blends of craft brews, whether its beer, wine, or mead. Today I'm pulling out my brew pot for science's sake and experiment with something different in beer, natural and sustainable hops alternatives. Beer, or something similar to beer, has been make as far back as we have history. The hops that are found in beer provide an important role, they act as a preservative to the precious liquid and stave of mold and other contaminants. Prior to the 13th century, though, hops were rarely seen in ale recipes. Instead, gruit was used to help preserve and flavor ales and beers of the time. Gruit is a generic term for one or more of a combination of plants and herbs including mugwort, yarrow, and sweet gale when used for brewing. By the 15th century hops had made its way into brew pots thanks in part to taxes levied against gruit crops. By the 16th century, hops had become the staple in br...
Small steps to sustainability.