Just a brief update to the experiment in recreating Andrew Bell’s 18th century ginger wine recipe…I at last got around to ordering the yeast and the Irish moss. On the advise of the folks at Northern Brewer after describing the project, I went with Safale US-05 Ale Dry Yeast. I also ordered the Irish moss vegetarian substitute for isinglass. It’s more for clarification than flavor and there are more modern substitutes, but this one seems closer to authentic. The remaining ingredients can be found at the supermarket and will be bought closer to when we’re ready to start the process. I have a feeling there will be a degree of experimentation to get the right mixtures given the vagueness of the original and paring it down to the one liter cask size. If nothing else, this has already been an education!

Gordon Bond is a NJ native with a passion for Garden State history…and finding a good single malt scotch. In 2008, he founded Garden State Legacy, a free online quarterly NJ history magazine and resources website. He has written five books and numerous articles on a wide variety of NJ history.