Witches, Alewives, and Beer History with Dr. Christina Wade (Ep. 27)
“It’s exciting for people to learn this history about women in brewing in Medieval Europe and feel like they’re part of a story, but I think it’s important that we’re telling the right story and the story that’s based on primary-source information.” - Beer historian Dr. Christina Wade
Witches’ Flight by Francisco Goya as discussed in the episode. 1798
In recent years, associations have been made between depictions of Medieval alewives and our modern day image of witches, from pointy hats to cauldrons, and black cats to broom sticks. The story gets passed around by barstool historians claiming modern iconography of witches comes from these Medieval alewives, and as often happens, these stories have morphed into accepted popular history. But is there any truth to these stories? Was there ever a connection between female brewers and witchcraft, and how did this story get started?
In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Christina Wade, a beer writer and historian who helps us unpack the complicated mythology and iconography surrounding witches and brewing, and separate romance from reality when it comes to this spellbinding chapter of beer history.
Christina is one of the hosts of the excellent The Beer Ladies Podcast, which is available on all major podcast platforms.
Christina also runs Braciatrix, a website devoted to the history of women in brewing. You can find articles on her site that go into greater detail on many of the topics we discuss in this episode.
In the episode, the following article by Beth Demmon for Good Beer Hunting is discussed: Witch (Craft) Beer—How a New Wave of Brewers Are Incorporating Magic into Beer
The beer Christina mentioned in the episode was Trouble Brewing Pumpkin Brew.
The music for this episode was sampled from an instrumental version of the song “Valentine” written and performed by indie folk musician Anna ps from her 2016 album Umbrella. You can find out more about Anna at her website.
Guest:
Dr. Christina Wade
Dr. Christina Wade is a historian and archaeologist currently writing a book about the beer history of Ireland from medieval to modern craft beer. She is also the president and founder of the Ladies Craft Beer Society of Ireland and beer historian, co-host, and editor at The Beer Ladies Podcast. Wade is also a BJCP Certified Beer Judge and has judged competitions throughout Ireland.