Digging around for medieval sources on brewing lore, I found this nugget of wisdom in a Danish cookbook published in 1616:
Hvorledis oc i huad maade Malt skal giøris/oc siden bryggis/kand icke lætteligen skriffuis/eller ved Bogstaffuene læris: Mand skal selff være hoss/oc selff holde en Haand der hoss. Thi huer Landskab haffuer her vdi sin besynderlig art oc maade.
Translated, it runs:
How and in what manner Malt should be made, and then brewed, cannot easily be written or be learned by letters: one should be there and have a hand in it. For each land has in this its peculiar art and manner.
So true (and not just of brewing, either).
Posted by Chris at February 7, 2005 04:48 PM | TrackBack