It took four levels of security to get Jordan and I from the front door of the Library and Archives of Canada to a table with 20 neatly stacked boxes of brewery records to look through. The two hour drive north was fueled by caffeine. Finding a place to park was the biggest hassle. Once in the building we were issued ID, then signed in by security and then provided the access rights granted in writing before we were shown our table and provided with the boxes we had requested. We were assisted by at least seven by different staff members.
And such things we found. Correspondence between names which have altered the global beer markets. Early Victorian beer labels. Public opinion surveys from an era long gone. The cost of 100 lbs of brewers yeast in 1932. We’ll have to confirm what can be shared but suffice it to say that the book has been enriched.
[Original comments…]
Bailey – November 23, 2013 2:29 AM
http://boakandbailey.com
What we found (and are still finding) is that every library or archive trip, and every additional interview or newspaper clipping, brings the subject into clearer focus. It’s a glorious feeling when you open a box or turn a page and — BINGO! There’s the very thing you’ve been looking for.
Jordan St.John – November 24, 2013 12:30 AM
http://saintjohnswort.ca
One of the problems we’ve been having is that we know which breweries existed when. No problem. We don’t necessarily know what they brewed at those breweries.
We discovered a style of beer that we don’t know how to define and at least two separate examples of beer being promoted as snake oil to get around temperance crusaders. I’m not going to talk about those until I understand the ingredients better.
Alan – November 24, 2013 9:45 AM
Mmmm…. snake oil…
Martyn Cornell – November 26, 2013 1:17 PM
http://zythophile.wordpress.com
But was it CRAFT snake oil?
Martyn Cornell – November 26, 2013 1:21 PM
http://zythophile.wordpress.com
Bailey: what I find is that it often takes swallowing a great deal of info, and letting it digest, before enlightenment suddenly appears maybe months, sometimes even years later.
Alan – November 26, 2013 1:58 PM
Which is the problem with deadlines.