George Washington: Father of Our Country and Brewer

Jay Brooks

19 years ago

Today of course is George Washington’s birthday. In addition to his many accomplishments as a farmer, military leader, statesman, and our first president he was also a great lover of beer. He was especially fond of Porter. But it was small beer that he made at Mount Vernon and his 1757 handwritten recipe for it survives at the New York Public Library in a notebook kept by Washington. Here it is transcribed below:

To Make Small Beer

Take a large Siffer [Sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste. — Boil these 3 hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler put in 3 Gall[ons] Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Melasses into the cooler & St[r]ain the Beer on it while boiling Hot. let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of Yea[s]t if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank[et] & let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask — leave the bung open till it is almost don[e] Working — Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed.

And according to an article entitled Smashing Pumpkin by James Roberts (a.k.a. Dr. Fermento), the Celebrator’s Alaskan correspondent, Washington loved pumpkin porter, too.

Our forefathers made pumpkin ale. The pilgrims didn’t necessarily get off on vegetable beer, but it this was a matter of need. Brewing supplies were short in the New World; anything that fermented was fair game. And by all accounts George Washington made a pretty fair pumpkin porter.

There has been not been much written about Washington’s love for beer, but here you can find some additional information:

From Brewed In America by Stanley Baron, 1962: George Washington: President & Beer Lover

From Fermenting Revolution: George Washington, Our Porter-Pounding Founding Father