What is Metheglin August 17, 2024

What's up peeps!!!! Once again, I find inspiration for a post from the online MMO Elder Scrolls Online. Previously I've written the following posts What is Isinglass June 30, 2022 and What is an Oenophile September 25, 2021 based on the crafting missions that are part of the game. For today's post, I'm highlighting the provisioning ingredient known as Metheglin. I had never heard of what metheglin is, and as you can see by the pensive look of my character, he is also deep in thought about what metheglin is 😁. 

I did a little research and found that the making of metheglin predates the creation of wine by using grapes. I came across the article What is Metheglin from the Hidden Legend Winery website dated May 3, 2024. Here is how the article describes what Metheglin is:

Metheglin is a special kind of mead made by mixing honey, water, spices, and herbs. This combination adds unique flavors that traditional mead doesn’t have.

Before we go forward, in case you don't know what mead is, mead is a fermented beverage that is made with honey, water and yeast. To put it simply, Metheglin is an herb infused Mead. But what are the origins of Mead and Metheglin.

According to the aforementioned article, the word Metheglin is derived from the Welsh word “meddyglyn,” Where “meddyg” stands for healing and “llyn” means liquor; similarly touched by Latin medicus meaning medical. As with many liquor types that are enjoyed today, the roots of Metheglin lay in its use as a medical remedy. 

The article goes into the details on how to make both mead and metheglin. I recommend that you check it out if you are interested in making them. Let me know if you do. I'd be interested to hear how it comes out. 

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking,
SiscoVanilla

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For Further Reading:

• Metheglin: Crafting Spiced Mead from Hive to Honey to Herbaceous Harmony in a Glass from the Homebrew Academy website
• Types of Mead: The Ultimate Guide to Mead Classifications from the BatchMead.com website

What Type of Beer is a Radler August 4, 2024

Hey peeps, hope everyone is doing well this hot and steamy summer. I recently picked up the Samuel Adams Brewery Beers of Summer pack which contains their Summer Ale, Cherry Wheat, a hazy IPA and a Bavarian Radler knows as the Porch Rocker.

The Samuel Adams website listing for the Porch Rocker describes its offering as follows:

Sweet, tangy, and refreshing, the Radler style was inspired by German cyclists who mixed beer with lemonade to quench their thirst on hot summer days. Our take on this style starts with a golden Helles lager, then adds a unique blend of lemons to capture that fresh-squeezed lemon zest. Its crisp, light body and clean finish make Porch Rocker the ideal cold beer for hotter days. 

That got me thinking: What is the origin of the Radler style of beer? Let me jump down the beer rabbit hole.

I pulled my trusty Beer Bible by Jeff Alworth for the history behind the creation of a the radler:

Long before sports drinks and the notion of staying hydrated, there was radler, a word meaning "cyclist." The background: In 1922, Franz Xaver Kugler, the owner of a Bavarian Gasthaus was running low on beer. He had thirsty cyclists and hikers to serve, so he concocted a mixture of dunkle lager cut with lemon-lime soda, which he had in abundance. Voila! Proto-Gatorade. Now radlers are more often made with pale lagers, but bock and dunkel lagers are used occasionally as well. 

Now if you are thinking that a radler is the same as a shandy then you are correct. Shandies (as they are called in the UK) are made with beer and lemon-lime soda. While in Germany, fruit juices such as grapefruit, pineapple and lemon to mention few is used as it can be found in the Schofferhofer Hefeweizen, Bitburger and Paulaner line of beers.

What did I think about the Porch Rocker by Samuel Adams? I found it to be very refreshing. It was light, zesty and tart due to the added lemon zest and puree during the brewing process. It clocks in at a 4.5 ABV with an 8 IBU. You can check out what I thought about the Porch Rocker from my trusty SiscoVanilla Instagram page. 

Have you had the Porch Rocker? What did you think: Yea, Nay, Meh? Let me know what you think in the comment section. Any recommendations for other radlers? Please let me know. 

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking, 

SiscoVanilla 

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