George Washington Recorded a Recipe for Beer While Leading a Militia. Thanks to the New York Public Library, You Can Imbibe That History This Summer

Christian Thorsberg | Daily Correspondent

Add as preferred source Liberty Lager is a brew inspired by Washington s small beer recipe. New York Public Library In his 1757 military journal, then-Colonel George Washington kept daily notes on life in the Virginia militia he led during the Seven Years’ War. Some writing—such as officers’ commissions, orders and the names of horses—was relevant to the battlefield. Other entries, including outlines for letters, were more personal. And then there was a recipe for “small beer.”

Washington’s handwritten instructions for brewing it were rather simple. Begin by sifting bran hops “to your taste,” boiling them for three hours, then straining 30 gallons into a cooler. Add three gallons of molasses “while the beer is scalding hot,” then let it cool “till it is little more than blood warm” and add a quart of yeast. Cover the mixture with a blanket if the weather is cold, then and bottle it.