Good morning. It’s Monday. Today we’ll try beer brewed according to a recipe that George Washington wrote in his notebook in 1757.
I much prefer a good martini, so I should probably explain why I was in a craft brewery’s taproom, sipping beer that was at once old and new.
The beer was old because it was made according to a 269-year-old recipe that an ambitious young militia commander, fighting for the British in the French and Indian War, had written in a little notebook. The brew was low in alcohol and known as a small beer. It was for the troops, to be made and served when they could not be sure the water at their base camp was safe to drink.
The militia commander’s name was George Washington.
The beer was new because it had been brewed a few days earlier. To celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, the New York Public Library arranged to have the recipe brought to life by Talea Beer Company. I first went to a conference room at the library to interview Meredith Mann, who as the library’s interim curator of manuscripts is the keeper of Washington’s notebook.
But the library doesn’t allow food or drink in the same room as any of its holdings, so after looking at Washington’s notebook, we adjourned to the taproom to find out what his small beer tasted like.
‘Very molassesy’
First, the appearance. This brew is a couple of shades darker than many modern beers, closer to rum. That is no surprise, considering that the principal ingredient that Washington called for is molasses.
Then, the pour. Sure enough, Tara Hankinson, a co-founder of the company, found the nose “very molassesy,” while Eric Brown, the head of production for Talea, described it as “gingerbready, like caramelized sugar.” Mann said she was “surprised by how pleasant it tastes.” She had expected the brew to be “too sweet to drink.” It wasn’t.
There were two glasses in front of us and a second beer to try. Talea is making not one but two brews from the recipe. One, called George Washington’s Beer, is being produced — in limited quantities — more or less the way the recipe appears in the notebook.
The other beer is what Hankinson called “a more quaffable commercial version” that will be made from a modernized variant of Washington’s recipe and marketed as Liberty Lager. “We wanted to honor the recipe while also making something that people would want to serve at a barbecue or have more than one when they come for a trivia night,” Hankinson said. “It still has the color, but it’s refreshing, with a little bitterness that makes it very food-friendly.”
Resurrecting Washington’s beer is not the only way the library is commemorating the 250th anniversary. Starting at 10 a.m. today, the library will also offer timed tickets to see a draft of the Declaration of Independence from July 1 to July 7. The draft, handwritten by Thomas Jefferson, includes a condemnation — later excised — of slavery.
When the water was undrinkable
But about the beer. Mann explained that when Washington wrote out the recipe, small beer was an antidote to an 18th-century problem: nonpotable water.
The recipe called for boiling the water. It’s not clear why Washington didn’t just stop there, but he liked his beer. Soldiers liked it, too, because it was free of waterborne diseases that were common before filtration became widespread in the 1900s. “If your entire garrison gets dysentery,” Mann said, “that’s a real liability.” She said the Continental Army was hobbled by “rampant sickness” before the Battle of Brooklyn. The Americans’ loss drove Washington into retreat and left New York under British control.
Elsewhere in the notebook with the recipe, Washington took note of commissions awarded to lieutenants under his command.
Commissioning became “sort of a point of contention for Washington,” Mann said. The American colonies were in many ways the most British of Britain’s territorial possessions, but “he quickly realized that it was almost impossible for someone born in the colonies” to rise to the top ranks. He “felt, even at that early date, shut out,” she said.
A side benefit of dysentery
There was a postscript to the recipe. A few months after he wrote it, he contracted dysentery himself, she said. Seeking treatment, he went to Williamsburg, in Virginia’s Tidewater region.
“And that was where he met Martha Washington,” Mann said, “so dysentery brought them together. If he’d drunk more small beer, he might never have met his future wife.”
Weather
Expect sunny skies with a high near 74 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low around 54.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
In effect until June 19 (Juneteenth).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Choosing a theater, of all places, meant supporting a living cultural space devoted to the arts and to community.” — Vincent Greco on his wedding at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse, N.Y.
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METROPOLITAN diary
Hamburger helper
Dear Diary:
One of my favorite spots in the city to get a bite is a gas station on Eighth Avenue. The gas is expensive, but the food is well worth the price.
On a recent visit, I found that the line was unusually long. As I waited, I began talking with another customer. He told me it was his first time there and that he was looking for recommendations.
I said I normally ordered the classic burger with no toppings but had heard good things about some of the other options.
“What about this one?” he asked, pointing at a limited-edition item listed on the menu.
I had never tried it, but the ingredients looked good, so I told him he should go for it.
“Are you going to get one too?” he asked as he stepped to the counter to pay.
I stopped to think about it. As a college student, my budget was tight, and the burger he was getting was double the price of the one I had planned to order.
“Sure,” I responded hesitantly. “Why not?”
He smiled, leaned toward the cashier and paid for both of our orders.
As I thanked him, I noticed that his ears were badly swollen. When I asked about them, he told me he was a professional fighter.
“I just wanted to help somebody out,” he said.
— Jack Bulik
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B.
Davaughnia Wilson and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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James Barron writes the New York Today newsletter, a morning roundup of what’s happening in the city.
The post A Beer Like the One That George Washington Drank appeared first on New York Times.
