Brew News

The Origins and History of Beer

Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain and water before learning to make bread. They believe that beer may have been the cause of civilization, because it appears to have been the beginning of farming between 13,000 and 8,000 B. C. About that time, humans stopped being nomadic hunters and gatherers and began to settle into organized communities.

It is thought that wild grapes and grain had probably been turned into drinks before their purposeful cultivation. In 1986, Professor Solomon Kratz of the University of Pennsylvania found what he described as the worlds oldest recipe on a number of tablets made by the early Sumerians, who settled in Mesopotamia.

(Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning 'between the rivers', which are the Tigris and Euphrates flowing through modern Iraq. The Euphrates also flows through much of Syria.)These tablets include pictograms, or drawings, of what appears to be barley, and show bread being baked. The bread is mixed into water to make a mash, which is then made into a drink. The drink is recorded as having made people feel exhilarated, wonderful and blissful.

As civilization expanded around the world, the cultivation of barley grew with it, as did the technique for brewing beer. Currently, beer falls into two classifications, ale and lager. Ales are the older, traditional brews of the world, predating lagers by thousands of years. Lagers are a relatively modern invention, dating from the mid‑nineteenth century.

There is an account of beer making in America. It is said to have begun at the Roanoke Island colony, settled in 1585 under the leadership of Sir Walter Raleigh. Beer was being made in what is now New York before the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620. A brewery was set up there in 1612.

West Sound Area Microbreweries

If you=re wondering what beer is, the simple explanation is that beer is a fermented drink made from grain (usually barley, but also wheat, oats, corn, rice or rye) water, yeast and hops. A more detailed explanation of what it is, how it is made and how it changed from its beginning to the present time can be found on the world wide web (www), or in numerous books on the subject, available in your local bookstore; for example, Michael Jackson=s Beer Companion.

The micro‑brewery boom surfaced in the 1980s, preceded by the sales of imported beer in the 1970s taking off. Washington=s Craft‑Brewing Industry began in 1982 when two breweries opened almost simultaneously. Veteran beer maker Bert Grant began producing the assertively hopped Grant's Scottish Ale at his Yakima Brewing & Malting Company, and the new Redhook Brewery began production in Seattle.

The West Sound area has a number of microbreweries, a brewing supplies store and a Home Brewers Club.

Silver City Brewery and Restaurant is owned by Steve & Scott Houmas, and is located at 2799 NW Myhre Rd. Silverdale, Washington. Phone Number (360)698‑5879; www.silvercitybrewery.com. Brewmaster: Don Spencer

Hood Canal Brewery Owner/Brewmaster, Mr. Don Wyatt named all his brews after locations around Hood Canal: Agate Pass Amber, Dabob Bay IPA, Dosewallips Special Ale, Southpoint Porter, Big Beef Oatmeal Stout, and Briedablik Barley Wine. My favorite is Southpoint Porter. There=s no food on site, but Wyatt invites visitors to bring their favorite food to enjoy with his beers.

Contact information: Mr. Don Wyatt Owner/Brewmaster, 26499 Bond Road NE Kingston, WA. 98346; 360‑297‑8316. Web site: www.hoodcanalbrewery.com. Hours of Operation: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Olympic Brewing Supplies is a popular retail store catering to Home Brewers, Winemakers, Soda Making, Liqueurs (Cordials & Brandy), Keg Systems for homebrew and commercial beer, and more. They have been in business since 1994 constantly expanding their inventory and services.

Contact information: Owner Bill Sproules, 2817 Wheaton Way, Bremerton, WA. 98310; 360‑373‑1094. www.olybrew.com, e‑mail: olybrew@olybrew.com. Hours of Operation: Tuesday thru Saturday 10 a. m. to 6 p. m., closed Sunday.

West Sound Brewers Club is home brewing and beer appreciation club based in Kitsap County, Washington, with members from Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Kingston, Bainbridge Island, Port Orchard, Olalla and as far away as Tacoma. Activities include monthly meetings and beer tastings, brewery tours, special tasting events and more.

Contact information: www.westsoundbrewers.org; e‑mail: info@westsoundbrewers.org.

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Olympic Brewing Supplies

The microbrew phenomena in the Pacific Northwest have generated an increased awareness of, and participation in, home brewing. This in turn changed the course of Bill Sproule's life. Bill is the founder and owner of Olympic Brewing Supplies, at 2817 Wheaton Way, Bremerton, WA.

Born in Chicago and raised in Boston, the Navy took him to Todd Shipyard in Seattle about the time his enlistment was up. He opted to stay in the Pacific Northwest, married and moved to Kitsap County to raise a family, now numbering one wife and three girls. He liked the idea of having more input in the school system, and the family living arrangements in Kitsap County verses Seattle.

An energetic redhead with an easy smile and outgoing personality, he started home brewing and home winemaking as a hobby getting his supplies from Seattle because there was no place to get them in this area. He soon realized there was a need for such a place.

At the time, Sproules was working in Seattle for Burlington Resources. His background is in computer networking and telephone systems, anything having to do with administration and managing information systems. The company decided to move the Seattle offices to Houston, Texas. He was going to be the last person in Seattle for the company as an administrator and would be the one to shut off the lights.

He had the opportunity to move with the company to Houston or take the severance check and start the business. He decided it was a good opportunity, and the timing was right, so he chose to start the business.

He started at the present site in July, 1994, a one person operation, and now has one employee, Ken Pettie. The home brewing and winemaking phenomenon has allowed his business to grow. Word-of-mouth and hobbyists influencing other hobbyists continue to grow the business.

He believes word-of-mouth advertising is better than anything else, so he developed a newsletter, distributed every few months, that is available to customers and anyone who drops in and asks to be placed on the mailing list. You can visit his web site www.olybrew.com where he announces specials, recipes, new products, etc, keeping people up-to-date on the news of home brewing and winemaking.

Naming the business Olympic Brewing was a conscious decision born out of the observation that some businesses are named for the owner of the business. He said, "My father taught me that when you open a business it's better to name it something that would allow it to be easy to sell." Sproules made the choice between Olympic, Evergreen, and Cascades, generic and recognizable names, but 'Brewing Supplies' is what he wanted people to see more than anything.

A self-taught Brewmaster, he learns from customers who have been home brewing for a long time. He often records the information from customers in his newsletters, to pass on, so the information isn't lost.

Olympic Brewing Supplies is a retail store catering to Home Brewers, Winemakers, Soda Making, Liqueurs (Cordials & Brandy), Keg Systems for homebrew and commercial beer, and more. Sproules provides free classes at Olympic Brewing Supplies to learn the processes, and has the equipment and supplies available for making beer, wine, country wines, cider, vinegar and oil.

Contact information:

Mr. Bill Sproules

2817 Wheaton Way # 102
Bremerton, WA 98310
(360) 373-1094

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