hist-brewing: Odense Old Style Ale

[PBLoomis at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/3/00 8:47:05 PM Central Daylight Time, 
euphonic at flash.net writes:

>  After
>  yet another hour passes add enough twice boiled wood laden water till a
>  "gruel" (what ever is it?) like quality is attained.   Let the new
>  admixture work for about two hours before before stopping the work with
>  two buckets of  twice boiled wood laden water." 
        Gruel, as used in Dickens, "Please,sir, may I have some more 
gruel?" is thin porridge.  I don't know how one achieves this consistency 
unless one grinds the grain a good deal finer than I think wise.

>      I have beat my brains out trying to discover what exactly was "star
>  spice", also know as "stared spice", without success.  Sorenson says
>  that he heard it was an old Swedish term for Anise but he doesn't have
>  any academic verification. Finsken says that his old literature
>  professor thinks that it was a term for a type cardamom but once again
>  i've no corroborating evidence.
        I have passed this to my apprentice-sister, whose "star-anise" 
cordial I have sitting in my liquor cabinet.  Maybe she can shed some light.

    In joy and service,
    Scotti

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