Posted on 06/21/2026 6:00:08 AM PDT by Red Badger
TALEA Beer Co used molasses-based recipe from Washington's Seven Years' War notebook to craft historic brew
VIDEO AT LINK.......
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is giving visitors a chance to "taste history" by recreating George Washington's beer recipe from the first president's 1757 military journal, which is housed in the library's research collections.
The library collaborated with New York City-based TALEA Beer Co. to recreate the brew, along with a Liberty Lager to appeal to modern palates.
"The initial response to [the library] reaching out was obviously awe," LeAnn Darland, TALEA co-founder and co-CEO, told Fox News Digital. "Just to be considered to work with the New York Public Library is huge for us."
Washington's beer recipe was written in a journal he kept as a young colonel in charge of the Virginia militia during the Seven Years' War, the library's website says, adding that he likely served it to his troops while stationed at Fort Loudon, Virginia.
The "notebook, mostly in Washington's handwriting, contains the daily notes of the military commander: outlines for letters and orders, a list of officers' commissions, the names of wagon horses and a recipe for 'small beer.'"
"Small beer," according to the library, derives its name from the small amount of alcohol it contains.
It was quick to make, safer to drink because the brewing process helped eliminate bacteria in the water — and it was an "everyday, mainstay beverage," according to the library.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Washington’s troops were a band of Indians who were older and who intended to get some scalps. They weren’t interested in just chasing the French off of the disputed ground. The Indians killed a French officer who was a nobleman and the war began right there IIRC.
Definitely true! His greatest military quality was he learned from mistakes!
Lovely.
I believe you’re right. Thanks.
When we visited Mount Vernon and Pope’s Creek, along with one of my sister’s and her husband, in February of 2012. The nearby gristmill was closed for the season, but we wanted to give it a brief look.
My sister and I were peeking in the windows, when we were spotted by the millstone dresser, who just happened to be inside that day working on the stone.
He invited us inside, and the 4 of us wound up getting a tour and learning about mills and about his craft. This man was just fascinating and passionate about his work. He travels a good deal, as there are not too many millstone dressers around these days, apparently. He had been working at a mill in France prior to this project.
Delightful serendipity we had that day.
you could probably do 3 10 gallon pots on turkey frier burners. or cut the recipe down.
Now there’s an idea!.............
Quick! Send it Boston! Sam Adams can’t keep up!
That French officer was Joseph Coulon de Jumonville.
Nice.
Before germ theory and scientific sanitation practices came about, beer was a health drink. It’s relatively low alcohol content offered some protection from biolological contaminants that plain water was suscpetible to. During outbreaks of plague and cholera, people who only drank beer or wine were less susceptible.
Which also is why before the invention of distilled spirits and rum in particular, ocean-going vessels often carried kegs of beer instead of drinking water. The beer was more resistant to the contaminants that were unavoidable in stowage for weeks on end in a seagoing vessel of those days.
Storms had driven the Mayflower well to the north of her original destination in Virginia, where they had a contract entitling them to settle. The first land sighted was Cape Cod, so the ship turned south but rough seas drove them back. At that point the ship’s captain took the decision that the Mayflower was so low on provisions that if they were to continue on to Virginia there might not be enough to sustain his crew on the return voyage to England, so he forced the Pilgrims to disembark where they were. And one of the provisions the captain was concerned about ... was the beer.
The story that they didn’t make Virginia because they’d run out of beer isn’t entirely true, but there is a kernel of truth in it. Pilgrim leader William Bradford later wrote that they had been “hastened ashore and made to drink water, that the seamen might have the more beer.”
The ration of beer for the adult Pilgrims had been a gallon per day (”small beer” for the kiddies). By coincidence, the pay for laborers on the pyramids of Giza included a gallon of beer a day to cut down on absenteeism cause by drinking contaminated water).
Rum was among the booty when England captured Jamaica in the mid-1600s, and rum gradually replaced beer on English ships. To reduce drunkenness, an admiral ordered it mixed one part rum to four parts water, which came to be known as “grog.”
Most American cities in Washington’s day had neglected their sanitation needs, so ground water anywhere near a city likely was contaminated with human waste products. So by brewing beer, Washington was contributing to the health of his family and farmhands, and possibly the community as well.
“That French officer was Joseph Coulon de Jumonville.”
Correct! There’s a good history by Fred Anderson that opens with this event.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0375706364
Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766
“Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountry involving an inexperienced George Washington, the Iroquois chief Tanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French emissary Jumonville, Anderson reveals a chain of events that would lead to world conflagration.
Weaving together the military, economic, and political motives of the participants with unforgettable portraits of Washington, William Pitt, Montcalm, and many others, Anderson brings a fresh perspective to one of America’s most important wars, demonstrating how the forces unleashed there would irrevocably change the politics of empire in North America.”
“He latter proved his mettle at the Battle of the Monongahela where he successfully led the British army to safety.”
The same battle where Indians decided that George Washington was protected by the Great Spirit if the legend is true:
“The “Indian Prophecy” is a legend told about George Washington’s miraculous survival at the Battle of the Monongahela, and a subsequent encounter he had with an Indigenous sachem. A variant version is sometimes known as “the Bulletproof President.”
“The tale is credited to Washington’s doctor and friend James Craik, and the fullest version was published by Washington’s step-grandson George Washington Parke Custis in the 1820s.
“Custis’ telling recalls that during a 1770 trip to what is now West Virginia, Craik and Washington encountered an Indian sachem (chief) who had fought against them during the Battle of the Monongahela on 9 July 1755. The sachem revealed that during the fight, he had ordered his men to kill Washington, but that all their shots had missed. He declared that “a power mightier far than we shielded [Washington] from harm.” He then predicted that Washington would “become the chief of nations, and a people yet unborn, will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire.”
“The core of the story is one that has been in circulation since at least 1800. The historical truth of the story, however, is harder to discern. Like many stories about Washington, it likely contains a kernel of truth, but has been subject to embellishment and exaggeration over time.
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-indian-prophecy
Maybe it was this?
Yes, I would use fresh squeezed Orange juice, it is very good and one of those drinks that you watch people swill drinking glasses of it without realizing how powerful it is, it is a great ice breaker for a group.
24 hrs? Yeah. quick and easy.
Would I be interested in drinking it? Of course not. :-)
Many burners don’t put out the BTUs to boil that big a pot. Many home brewers generally bake 5gal batches at a time.
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