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Small Beer

Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf

This ‘small beer’ was a favourite drink with the south Wales coal-miner.  He would look forward to having a glassful to quench his thirst as soon as he arrived home from the colliery and he and his family would also drink it with their Sunday lunch.  Local demand proved profitable to many a widow who was anxious to augment her income.  She would brew it weekly in large quantities to sell to regular customers for some two pence a bottle.

Aberdare, Glamorgan.

Drinks

The Recipe

You will need

  • four pounds white sugar
  • one pound brown sugar
  • quarter pound root ginger
  • a handful of dandelion leaves
  • leaves from about five nettle stems
  • three gallons water
  • one and a half cupfuls liquid yeast
  • grated rind of one lemon and one orange

Method

  1. Wash all the leaves, cover them with the water and add all the other ingredients except for the sugar and yeast. 
  2. Boil for about half an hour. 
  3. Put the sugar in a large pan, strain the boiling liquid into it and dissolve. 
  4. Then add two gallons of cold water to this mixture and leave to cool to blood heat before putting in the yeast. 
  5. Cover the pan with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place overnight. 
  6. Skim the surface on the following day and pour the beer into bottles. 
  7. Cork securely.
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