hist-brewing: ergot

[-Tevildo.]

>From: isenhour at uiuc.edu
>Date: Thu, 13 Jan 100 10:48:52 -0600 (CST)
>Subject: hist-brewing: ergot, water (not ergot water)
>
>Richard at WowMe.com  writes:
>  	> it would be interesting to learn what role lysergic acid had
>           played, historically, in brewing.
>
>The only thing I can remember, and this is from a brewing history
>paper I wrote about 18 years ago, is that early greeks seem to have
>brewed with ergot infected grain, and the insinuation was that the
>brewing process removed (some,most?) of the indoles that caused
>vasoconstriction (that would result in the gangrene seen in
>St. Vitus's dance) and left some kind of psychoactive effect.  I
>believe that there was some greek society that did this and the only
>name I can remember is Elysian (sp) Mysteries or something like that.
>*I do NOT reccomend trying this at home*

Eleusinian Mysteries... and they were Roman, by the by. I know nothing of 
their drinking practices, but I do know that whatever rituals the initiates 
went through caused them to see and hear "many things". Kinda leaves it open 
to interpretation.
                 -Tevildo.   (http://www.deja.com/~winestuffetc)
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