Related Links
There's a lot of information on the web about brewing and winemaking, some good, some bad, some just awful. Here are some of the sites I've found that have helpful info:
Brew Your Own magazine. Battenkill Communications, Manchester Center, VT. www.byo.com. You can order a free copy of this magazine, aimed at amateur home brewers, from the Web site, and also access articles from previous issues, recipes, and resources such as a comprehensive chart of yeast strains.
Kenelm Digby The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened, edited, with introduction, notes, and glossary, by Anne Macdonell. London: Philip Lee Warner, 1910. Look at this stately gentleman. Could he imagine where his image would appear...that his 17th century recipes would be available to millions of people? Most books that include old recipes give props to Digby's work. Granted, some of the recipes refer to quantities such as the hogshead, which, unless you repurpose your water heater, are impractical at home. Still, there's a lot of formerly popular beverages here that have not been enjoyed much for a century or two, such as The Countess of Newport's Cherry Wine or Hydromel as I Made It Weak for the Queen Mother. Explore away! www.gutenberg.org/etext/16441.
Grieve, Maude. A Modern Herbal. New York: Dover Publications, 1971. The definitive compendium of what was known about herbs before the twentieth century. Now available online: http://www.botanical.com botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html.
WineMaker magazine. Battenkill Communications, Manchester Center, VT. www.winemakermag.com. You can order a free copy of this magazine aimed at amateur winemakers from their Web site, and also access articles from previous issues. The site has other resources as well, such as an invaluable chart of yeast strains that explains what beverages each strain makes, the temperature at which it works best, and its alcohol tolerance.
Zymurgy magazine. Brewers Association, Boulder, CO. www.beertown.org/ omebrewing/zymurgy_magazine/index.html. This magazine is aimed at homebrewers and commercial craft brewers. It has a great index of recipes.