Questions tagged [history]

The study of the past as it is described in written documents.

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What easy alcohol drinks can I possibly brew while camping for several days at a time?

What easy alcohol drinks can I possibly brew while on camping for an extended time? Do any of you out there now of some traditional drinks that we can try brewing while camping in the great outdoors? ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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Would like some recommendations for a historical and/or survival camping trip?

Would like some recommendations for a historical and/or survival camping trip for two weeks this summer? We are planning to do a survival camping trip and hopefully making it as historical or ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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5 votes
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What does "Common" refer to in a "California common ale"?

So... California common ale, aka California common beer, originated in California. And I can guess that some people were reluctant to call it Steam Beer, as it was also known, since that name is ...
Elias Zamaria's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
174 views

Carrying alcohol deep into the wood?

Carrying alcohol deep into the wood? A few friends of mine are going for a two week camping outing deep into the woods. As always they would like to carry with the something to drink at camp. Thus my ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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1 vote
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184 views

Traditional drinks mentioned in well known literature from 1900 or earlier?

Traditional drinks mentioned in well known literature? Does anyone know of any drinking traditions of a popular drink that is mentioned in popular historical literature. I am not limiting to English ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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What kind of alcoholic beverages would've been common in a 1950s-1960s USA home?

I've watched many episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" from the 1950s and early 1960s. In numerous episodes, they are in a fancy room in some house/mansion with a bunch of bottles on a ...
Alfred's user avatar
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Why would wine sellers need to broach the cask?

I don't know if wine merchants still broach the cask in 2021, but why would they? Aren't casks manufactured with a spigot that a seller can just turn on, as shown below? I embolded the phrase below. ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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Why does the Saaz hop have a German name?

As I understand the famous Saaz hop is grown in a region called Žatec in modern day Czech Republic. Why is this hop not called the Žatec hop? And why exactly is a Czech hop known by a German name? Is ...
Neil Meyer's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
338 views

What is a “Boston Particular?"

What is a “Boston Particular?" When I read a book review (NY Times paywalled, unfortunately) on a history called 'America and Iran’, the review quoted the book saying: Iranians were and still ...
GdD's user avatar
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2 answers
98 views

Are there examples of "Trappist" beers that lost that label (or ceased to exist)?

For a pubquiz, I am looking for a "Trappist" beer that lost that label (preferably), or ceased to exist. All I can find are the current 12 Trappists, nothing about old ones.
Bart Friederichs's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is Budweiser really the most expensive beer to brew?

On bottles of Budweiser it claims that: We know of no brand produced by any other brewer which costs so much to brew and age. Photo This seems implausible both from the point of view of ...
dothyphendot's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Busch Bavarian Beer can

I cannot find any information on this can. I believe it is from the 1950s. Busch Bavarian Beer The words BUSCH BAVARIAN BEER is on the front and back. It is printed over mountains with 2 black ...
Timothy Cable's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
284 views

Alcohol sales dropping due to name similarity with other things

Corona beer sales are dropping due to the coronavirus-19 because of a possible similarity in name? Are there any other know sales of some wine, beer or other alcoholic drinks that have plummeted due ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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2 answers
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When was non alcoholic wine first invented?

I am trying to find out when in history grape juice or non-alcoholic wine was first used? Any ideas?
Piggy Malone's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

How did the phrase "beer me" originate?

The question says it all: where does the phrase "beer me" come from? And, is it widely used other than in the United States? The phrase 'beer me' meaning, "give me a beer!"
Tim Burnett - Bassist's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
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Noah’s wine what is it?Healthy [duplicate]

You mention that there is a wine similar yet you do not give it a name. Please give the name of a wine that resembles the wine Noah made
Pam's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why is alcohol so expensive in Australia?

How is it that alcohol is so expensive in Australia? Is it just because of taxation?
Alexander Quinn's user avatar
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3 answers
414 views

What is "Five Fruits" in this 1920s cocktail recipe?

From Shake 'Em Up! A Handbook of Polite Drinking (1930), page 46: GIN PUNCH NUMBER ONE 2 quarts of grapefruit juice 2 quarts of gin and one quarter cup of Five Fruits or Grenadine Keep the punch in ...
Quuxplusone's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
111 views

Is there an online and/or English-language version of the "Jiǔmíngjì" 酒名記?

I was reading Peter Kupfer's scholarly piece Amber Shine and Black Dragon Pearls: The History of Chinese Wine Culture (June 2018). During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), it says, large amounts of ...
Quuxplusone's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
3k views

Origin of the "lick, sip, suck" tequila shot technique

I was browsing through Here's How (1928), a Prohibition-era collection of cocktail recipes, and found something surprisingly familiar on page 48. The Swiss Itch Invented by one James Norton of ...
Quuxplusone's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
167 views

Who started pruning grape vines?

Does anyone know when pruning the leaves from vine first started or who by? I know it wasn't practiced until recent (last 500 years or so) but haven't been able to pinpoint who and when?
Seamusthedog's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Are there any historical cases where actual POWs made some form of alcohol while being held in a POW camp?

Are there any historical cases where actual POWs made some form of alcohol while being held prisoner by belligerent forces in a POW camp? While watching the classic movie The Great Escape (1963), I ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
5k views

Is there a modern wine that is designed to resemble Noah's wine?

After seeing this question once again on this site (Is there a modern wine that is designed to resemble ancient Roman winemaking?) sometime back and I became interested in knowing if there is a modern ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
271 views

Can wine be made from all edible fruits?

I am an amateur in the topic, so I was wondering, can all edible fruits be turned into a fruit wine? Why have grapes historically become the main fruit for wine making over other fruits?
P...'s user avatar
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1 answer
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What wine did people drink during the Roman empire?

What was the wine like that people drank during the times of the Roman empire? How alcoholic was it? I heard they diluted their wine with water, but why would they do that?
Ari's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
522 views

When and why did wineries start diluting wine?

Commercial wineries sometimes (often?) dilute the grape juice with water before fermentation. This is done (according to that page) because the grapes have too much sugar and can kill off the yeast ...
Monica Cellio's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
997 views

When, where and why did the tradition of clinking glasses and saying "cheers" or "to your health" first start?

Is it possible to know where, when and how the custom of clinking glasses (usually filled with beer or wine) originated, while saying "cheers" or "to your health"? Do any historical documents support ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
209 views

Has alcoholism increased? [closed]

Has alcoholism increased since prohibition days? I've seen the sales outlets for alcohol availability rise since the days of the state liquor stores. I checked the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse ...
Thomas Schulte's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
284 views

Other than beer are there any fictional drinks that eventually became real?

While reading this question (What other beer brands began as fictional but eventually became real?), I became interested in knowing if there are any fictional alcoholic drinks other than beer that ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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When and how was the Estonian cocktail the Hammer and Sickle invented?

I know it's made from 1/4 Vana Tallinn and 3/4 Sparkling Wine (or Champaign) but I've spent ages trying to find out where and how it started. Does anyone claim to have invented it? What is the ...
Christopher Frost's user avatar
5 votes
5 answers
2k views

What was the most common hard liquor of the Late Middle Ages?

Is it possible to know what was the most common hard liquor of the Late Middle Ages? I am not asking for the strongest drink in the Middle Ages, but which hard liquor was the most common during the ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
11k views

What beers or other drinks did Native Indians brew in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans in 1492?

What beers and other drinks did Native Indians brew in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans, with Christopher Columbus in 1492? The fact that alcohol was unknown in the Americas is only a ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
90 views

What drinks can be paired to a particular legend or myth?

What drinks can be paired to a particular legend or myth? We all know that that many people drink to the legendary person of St Patrick. But what I am interested in is in knowing if there are any ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
5k views

What is the strongest alcoholic drink that existed during the Middle Ages in Europe?

What is the strongest alcoholic drink that was drank within the European nations during the Middle Ages (5th to the 15th century)?
Ken Graham's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
188 views

How prominent were drinking (alcohol) establishments in the Middle Ages?

I am interested in knowing how popular were drinking establishments (or more commonly known as taverns) in Europe during the Middle Ages (5th-15th century)? Did they exist during the entire Middle ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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19 votes
3 answers
3k views

Strong drink at the time of St John the Baptist

For those who are familiar with the New Testament, we know the St John the Baptist never drank wine or strong drink. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
533 views

Do wines from grafted vine stock taste different from non-grafted?

The Phylloxera plague of the 19th century devastated the grape stocks of Europe. However, Charles Valentine Riley and J. E. Planchon grafted the vines (Vitis vinifera) onto rootstock of an American ...
dougal 5.0.0's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
182 views

Japanese beers historic evolution

I read yet this on Wikipedia and some small articles. The articles didn't satisfy my curiosity. My question is: What is the history of brewing in Japan? Please, take in mind following sub-...
kitsune's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
629 views

What are some of the historical ways that people have employed to conceal alcohol on their person?

What are some of the historical ways that people have employed to conceal alcohol on their person? We have all heard of the prohibition of 1920 to 1933 in the United States and other countries. How ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
161 views

Who made or makes spirits from poisonous Heracleum?

Heracleum or cow parsnips are high-latitude plants that can produce severe inflammation in humans. They seem like the last thing someone would want to ingest. However: Flora on Kamchatka: flowers and ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
14 votes
4 answers
555 views

Has Prohibition ever worked?

Historically, is there any case in which prohibition of alcohol has actually dissuaded its consumption? It failed miserably in the United States, for example...
Tim Burnett - Bassist's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
542 views

Is the saying true that drinking absinthe drives a person insane?

Absinthe has been said to cause insanity, permanent brain-damage and/or hallucinatory state. Is this accurate?
Tim Burnett - Bassist's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
616 views

Traditional drinks for celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany?

Most places celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Are there any local, traditional drinks that exist that people have as a way celebrating this feast in a local and traditional manner? ...
Ken Graham's user avatar
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7 votes
10 answers
3k views

Does anyone here still use bitters as medicine? Which ones do you use and for what ailments?

Bitters are known to have medicinal qualities. I've never used them beyond making killer cocktails... But, I've noticed that orange bitters, in particular, will imbue me with an added vigor or gusto, ...
Tim Burnett - Bassist's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

Burned volume to alcohol percentage

In ancient Russia the way to measure "proper" strong spirits was to burn it - if the volume decreased by half than it was considered right one. How can I convert this into modern days alcohol ...
god's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
3k views

The King's Shilling

I recently purchased a new pewter Tankard with a glass bottom and a silver shilling encased between the two bits of glass. After a little bit of research, I discovered that this was one of the ways ...
Jamie Eltringham's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
4k views

What is the difference between historical beer and 'modern' beer?

This question might be a bit broad, but what I'm trying to understand is generally how the brewing process and the subsequent end result differed before the early-modern to modern era. I had asked a ...
Cdn_Dev's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
204 views

When the Trappist foundation was founded in 1997, were there breweries which didn't get the label although they succeeded to the conditions?

So from a previous question I learned that the Trappist foundation was founded in 1997 by 6 Belgian breweries one from the Netherlands and one from Germany. But were there other breweries which ...
Robbe Dillen's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
323 views

Why are there so few "real" trappists and why are six from them from belgium

I was wondering why there are so few trappists and how is it that from the eleven trappists 6 of them are from Belgium. Why aren't the breweries more spread over the world? Does it have something do ...
Robbe Dillen's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
548 views

Beer that's slightly out of date [duplicate]

I've got a case of beer, which is Rivet Beer. Each can is 330 mL, & 4.7%/1.2 standard drinks. They ran out of date on 13 November 2015, & it's been in a cupboard the entire time, room ...
André Bruno Ivan Garcia's user avatar