Sample Brewing Handbook
Appendix 5a - Reference books used by Ansteorrans

Period and just out of Period

The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt. Opened: (etc), Sir Kenelme Digby, Star, ~$3500

Just out of period (printed 1669) book with a lot of good cooking and brewing recipes. In particular there are goodly number of mead recipes of different styles.

Martha Washington's Book of Cookery (etc....), transcription by Karen Hess, Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-04931-5

A late period (c.1600) family cookbook, with good number of fruit wines, meads, cordials and "waters"(medicinal cordials), as well as a capon ale (yipee!)

A Sip through Time, A Collection of Old Brewing Recipes, Cindy Renfrow, $18.00, ISBN 0-9628598-3-4

A collection of period and non-period recipes. This book is only recipes and contains no information on the brewing/vintning process. A very good book to get an overview of recipes throughout time.

A Second Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Food & Drink Production & Distribution, Ann Hagen, Anglo-Saxon Books, $14.95 Pounds, ISBN 1-898281-12-2

This has a good chapter on honey and fermented drinks during Anglo-Saxon times. It includes the importance of drink, the styles produced, and the Laws associated with it.

Non-Period

Cider: Making, Using, & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider, $14.95, Proulx & Nichols, ISBN 0-88266-969-9

This is an advanced cider making book. It includes everything from recipes to varietal descriptions to orchard planting to how not to build a stovetop still in careful step by step instructions. I need a fruit press before I'll be able to make full use of this book.

A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best Beer, Christopher Finch, Abbeville Press, ISBN 0-89659-913-2

A very good book giving the different styles and origins of beer. Although the author has a heavy preference for British Ales, he still covers the other styles well. He does have the beer snobs opinion of American swill though.

Cordials from your Kitchen, Pattie Vargas & Rich Gulling, Storey Communications, $14.95, ISBN 0-88266-986-9

A very good starting point for making cordials. It gives many types of cordials and let's you see the types and mixtures of ingredients you can use.

Enjoy Home Winemaking, Robert and Eileen Frishman, Crosby and Baker Books, cheap

A 32 page pamphlet that's a great introduction to making wine. All the reference most SCA vintners will ever need. Great starter recipes for fruit wines.

The Joy of Home Winemaking, $12.00, Terry Garey, ISBN 0-380-78227-8

This is a wonderful source for the beginning vinter. There is a good how-to section, and the recipe selection ranges from fruits to herbs to vegetables to grains. The expert section in the back includes directions for making sparkling wines, liquers, and soda pop, a good explanation of wine judging (Davis system), and a section on how to fix wine problems.

Mad about Mead!, Pamela Spence, Llewellyn Publications, $12.95, ISBN 1-56718-683-1

This is from the founder of the American Mead Association. A very good overview of the styles of mead with some background on honey and meads importance in history.

Making Mead, Bryan Acton/Peter Duncan, G.W.Kent Inc., ISBN 0-9679072-8-2

Mead making with a british accent. Good basic history (though without much reference), excellant process information and recipes, although a tad chemistry heavy. Fun!

The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, Charlie Papazian, Avon, $12.00, ISBN #0-380-76366-4

The homebrewers bible (as the cliche' on the cover says...) The best all around brewing referance I've seen. Processes, recipes, "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew!". For more exotic processes, and lots more recipes, check out The Homebrewer's Companion, by the same author

Principles of Brewing Science, George Fix, Brewers Publications, $29.95, ISBN 0-937381-17-9

For the amateur chemist. Unfortunately a lot of it was still beyond me.

Chemistry of Wine Flavor, Andrew L Waterhouse and Susan E. Ebeler, American Chemical Society, ISBN 0841235929

Some chapter titles:
- Yeast strain and wine flavor: nature or nurture?
- Seasonal variation in the production of hydrogen sulfide during wine fermentations
- Phenolic composition as related to red wine flavor
- Characterization and measurement of Aldehydes in wine
- volatile and odoriferous compounds in barrel-aged wines: impact of cooperage techniques and aging conditions