SOPHIE’S SALTBOX

Hi there. My name is Sophie Brewster. I live in a saltbox house with a kitchen conveniently placed at the back for brewing good beer. Visits from friends always come with the question: “What ya got for suds today, Soph”? Ah, a woman’s work is never done…

Did you know that "Brewster" is the feminine form of the word "Brewer"? One of the most ancient of women's skills is that of brewing beer. Women are credited with the invention of beer in ancient Sumeria over 10,000 years ago. Called “Sabtiem”, only the women were allowed to brew, and they made their beers from strange ingredients like peppers, tree bark, and powdered crab claws (with a little bit of added spice).
Women were the primary home brewers until the late 18th century, where they crafted rich beers from corn, pumpkins, oats, wheat, honey and molasses. But as rural villages grew into big towns, beer brewing moved outside of the home, and the local brewery often formed the centre of the community.
The return to craft brewing marks the renaissance of small, local breweries that came out of the home, when widows and innkeepers' wives made and traded in ale. Women - as well as men - recognize the value of good beer. But ladies, don't forget - the art of beer brewing is in your blood!

Head on down to the Tap Room at the Saltbox Brewery and sip a sample of their latest creations. It’s beer made by people you can talk to. And in the meantime, take a peek now and then at my blog – Sophie’s Saltbox – for interesting facts on the history and art of brewing beer!

"Beer Facts from Sophie's Saltbox"

  • Beer-making was a cottage industry in Canada until 1668. Then, Jean Talon, the “Intendant of Justice, Public order and Finances in Canada, Acadia and Newfoundland” established the first commercial brewery in Quebec City. It was a mostly a political move. Talon was tasked with converting the small fur-trading and missionary outpost into an economically profitable royal province. Creating the brewery helped to reduce the amount of money spent on imported beverages – thus keeping currency in the country. It also promoted consumption and purchase of the vast supply of local grain being grown in the New World.
  • All beer has its roots in four simple ingredients – water, malt, hops, and yeast. Water, hops and yeast most people know about. But what is “malt”? Well, once mankind discovered grain, he soon after discovered that if you left the grain lying around in some water, the liquid would ferment. Some fool got thirsty and decided to drink the stuff, noting that if he drank enough of it, he became a wee bit tipsy. Sometime later, another clever soul discovered that if the grain sprouted before it got wet, it made an even better liquid to sip – and got you even more tipsy.
    Now, the ingredient of yeast is a mold. It eats sugar and slowly turns it into alcohol. It can also do the same thing (to some extent) with grain – which is mostly starch. If you cause the grain to sprout, the starch gets turned into sugar, resulting in a stronger, tastier brew. So, sprouting the grain used in beer before it is fermented is known as “malting”. The sprouted grain is actually called malt. While any grain can be malted for use in beer, most prefer malted barley because it has the highest starch content.

Sources:

The Brewmaster’s Bible by Stephen Snyder

The Concise Guide to Self-Sufficiency, by John Seymour

Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca