Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-created

When Dogfish Head came out with their ancient ales years ago I was a big fan of most of them. I have seen the video episodes that have been done on these beers as well. The book was well researched with the author imputing personal touches into each of the different recipes. At times the specifics of chemical analysis can be a little dry but overall the book was very entertaining.Once I finished the book I was encouraged to try one of the many recipes included in the book. I took my shot at Theobroma clone. I figure the recipient from the guy who researched it should probably make the best clone.I am looking forward to reading the other books by Patrick McGovern.

This is a very good book it’s got lots of detailed information throughout history different cultures different types of brews and meads as well as fermentations sterilization and such that we take way too seriously on some things nowadays because they didn’t have all that back then

This was a fun read with a lot of charm. Read it for a class on beer and enjoyed learning about ancient fermented beverages.

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a reader but I did read this book from cover to cover. I was interested in seeing the recipes that would be included in this book. I was a little disappointed in that the recipes are all in extract form, so converting to all grain is a bit of a pain. I plan to make the Chateau Jiahu when I get a chance, so I have yet to make a brew from this book. There are some discrepancies in the vital statistics of the brews based off of Dogfish Heads website. So double check with the website and beer descriptions to see if you want to make some changes to the recipes provided.The content outside of the recipes is outstanding. It has really sparked my interest in exploring other content out there about ancient civilizations. It gets a little unorganized at times when the writer mixes in his travels but still entertaining and he ties it in to the overall journey of discovering ancient brews. I'd suggest having a web search device handy when reading to get a better idea on some of the areas the writer describes. Really enjoyed doing further reading and image viewing on Midas Tumulus.Overall very pleased with this reading and learning experience. Cheers!

Anyone interested in craft beer and home brewing -and even how modern day social customs developed - will find this book a good read. Here and there, it can bog down a bit in the science, but then the author always comes to the rescue with a really interesting antidote on his many years of chasing down ancient ales. A fact from the book that stayed with me: our universe was formed from the basic building blocks of alcohol and McGovern makes a good case that humans are programmed to consume alcohol. The "social lubricant" aspect of ancients ales is also a reoccurring theme that is noteworthy. A great book to read with your homebrew beer.

I enjoyed reading this, but think of it more as the memoir of a dude who likes history and brewing. It is maybe 50% fairly "light weight" history of brewing, maybe 50% about the process of recreating beers from ingredients. That said, there little science about the process they follow. They would identify a few ingredients (spoiler: barley, honey and local fruit -- in basically all cases) and then sit around picking similar ingredients, plus hops so they can sell it as beer regardless of the historical validity. (?!) They would even make some serious leaps of faith - "if they had ships they probably had wooden barrels." (?!)It is basically the story of some dudes who like history and like brewing and decided to let history inspire their recipes.

Fascinating to learn how far back man has been fermented beverages. Mr McGovern uses scientific techniques to approximate the early recipes and with help brews them. He traces the evolution of civilization through the history of brewing.

Interesting read for a brewer.

Lovely book, really well researched and very easy to read

Bought this book as a gift for a avid home brewer. He liked the idea of ancient beer recipes and was looking forward to trying them as well as taking as much information from the book as he could.

Gut

UN BUENISIMO LIBRO EN INGLES DEL ARQUEOLOGO MAS FAMOSO DE LA HISTORIA DE LAS BEBIDAS. UN LIBRO QUE NO PUEDE FALTAR EN TU BIBLIOTECA DE CASA

El libro llegó maltratado.