Are You Ready?

Are you ready?

Norway's King Haakon, in the tenth century, determined that  the  midwinter festival “jol”, (December 25th ) would coincide with the birth of the Christ Child and passed a law  that every peasant had to obey!

King Haakon " The Good"  being entertained by dancers

Norse goddess holding a drinking cup

This law  later decreed  that each peasant and his wife would hold a Christmas “gilde”( festive gathering) that included a special feature.   Failure to do so would result in a fine paid to the bishop, and possibly confiscation of their property if they skipped the law three years in a row! This unusual feature was that they must have a portion of beer to celebrate the occasion! While this may seem very unusual, beer has been an important ingredient in human life for centuries! The Norwegian word for Christmas is actually a pre-Christian Viking drinking-vessel named a  "Jul".

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Historically, a beer called Doppelbock  was first brewed in Munich, Germany by  a Franciscan order founded by St. Francis of Paula.    Munich means “the home of monks”.  These vegetarian monks from   

Italy observed two fasts each year – one during Lent and one for the month leading up to Christmas. It has often been told that European monks of this time relied on dark beers to sustain them through their long fasts. They developed a particularly dark beer with a lot of protein and carbohydrates carried over from the mash that served them well during the times when solid foods were prohibited. Doppelbock was high in alcohol and sweet, thus serving as “liquid bread” for the Friars during times of fasting, when solid food was not permitted.  Bock is historically associated with special occasions, often religious festivals such as Christmas, Easter or Lent (the latter as Lentenbock).

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Water accounts for up to 95 percent of beer’s content  and grain  needed as well as fermentation. With the

Ancient Babylonians drinking beer through straws.

quality of water in earlier times, it might have been difficult to keep "water" from turning into a form of beer. Beer was recorded to be the major beverage of the Babylonians, and as early as 2700 BC, they worshiped a wine goddess and regularly used both beer and wine as offerings to their gods.Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain and  water before learning to make bread.Straws were used to avoid the grain husks.

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In 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, because their beer supply was running low, as the story goes! Water would have lost its purity, becoming unhealthy if it had been the main beverage for all those

ship-bound travellers months on voyages! Drinking wine and beer at that time was safer than water - which was usually taken from sources used to dispose of sewage and garbage.

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 Colonists improvised a beer made from red and black spruce twigs boiled in water, as well as a  wide variety of wine from fruits. They additionally made wine from such products as flowers, herbs, and even oak leaves. Early on, French vine-growers were brought to the New World to teach settlers how to cultivate grapes.For hundreds of years their English ancestors had consumed beer and ale. Both in England and in the New World, people of both sexes and all ages typically drank beer with their meals. Because importing a continuing supply of beer was expensive, the early settlers brewed their own.

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English sailors receive their portion.

Spirit drinking was still largely for medicinal purposes throughout most of the 16th century. It has been said of distilled alcohol that “the sixteenth century created it; the seventeenth century consolidated it; the eighteenth popularized it.”

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In Scandinavia,Swedish beer consumption may have been forty times higher than in modern Sweden. English sailors received a ration of a gallon of beer per day, while soldiers received two-thirds of a gallon. In Denmark, the usual consumption of beer appears to have been a gallon per day for adult laborers and sailors. It is important to remember that modern beer is much stronger than the beers of the past.

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Norwegians are said to consume ten million liters of beer during December. It’s a celebration drink and  Juleøl ( Christmas beer) accounts for half of the amount. Early time peasant in Norway used beer to celebrate many occasions from barnøl ( Child-baptismal beer),festerøl ( engagement beer) and gravøl  (funeral beer).      

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St. Thomas

Finished beer was to age eight to ten days and had to be ready December 21st.This day became known from the Middle ages as  "Brewer's Day", for St. Thomas. While connecting "beer-brewing" with St. Thomas seems very strange, history has played a role in the story. December 21 is known as St. Thomas Day.

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In December, long before Christianity, Mayan Indians in Guatemala honored their Sun God in a dangerous ritual  of a "Flying Pole Dance". Three or more men climbed a fifty-foot pole to the top.
While one played a flute and another beat a drum , the "flyers" wound ropes around the pole, tied the ends to their ankles and jumped to circle to the  ground. If they landed on their feet, the gods would be pleased and make the coming days  longer. (No word on how the musicians descended). Coincidentally, December 21st is the Winter Solstice! This day is in remembrance of the Doubting Thomas apostle, who was instructed to evangelize in the Persian area and was there revered by Malabar Christians  and Angelicans. St. Thomas was born in the first century and his death was reported to be..the 21st of  December 72.

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With the approach of Jul and the need for the required beer portion, December 21st became known in Scandinavian countries as "Thomas, the Brewer's Day". So, while we might be very concerned with Christmas shopping, early Scandinavians had to be concerned with the beer supply, or else! Rules have changed, but the importance of beer in the festivities remains.  This celebratory beer is a bit stronger than usual and known as Juleøl. The beer better be ready!

Knut Albert's Brew

 Timing is everything!