The British Food History Podcast
Today I am talking with podcaster and blogger Alison Kay of Ancestral Kitchen all about recreating medieval ale at home – and how one adapts the making of them to modern kitchens.
We talked about the difference between ale and beer; the process of ale-making; sterilisation versus good old cleaning; wild yeast; and (most importantly) what the ale tastes like – amongst many other things.
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Ancestral Kitchen website – including those posts about medieval ale.
Ancestral Kitchen on Instagram: @ancestral_kitchen
Things mentioned in today’s episode
Ale, Beer & Brewsters in England by Judith M. Bennett
Christmas on the Croft, The Scottish Food History Podcast
My YouTube channel with my short video about haggis
Blog posts pertinent to today’s episode
A Trip to the Sarson’s Vinegar Factory
Happy New Year – a review of 2024
Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode
Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin & Marc Meltonville
A is for Anchovy, Alewife & Avocado
Neil’s blogs:
Neil’s books:
Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper
Knead to Know: a History of Baking
Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. My DMs are open.
You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory