Gibbo Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 So in addition to spending a lot of my time brewing these days, I also do a fair bit of family history research for mine and my wife's combined family tree. It's a pretty enjoyable hobby at times, though I don't even remember what got me started into it, but alas I digress... Anyway, one of my recent discoveries may not have had much significance had I never developed an interest in brewing -- I managed to get hold of my wife's grandfather's military records and noticed that he served for 700+ days during WW2, but never travelled overseas or was involved in any conflicts. Thinking this was a bit odd, since everyone else in the family around the same time was herded into a boat and shipped off to England or France, I looked into it in more detail and found out he worked for a little company operating out of Richmond in Victoria called "Barrett Bros. & Burston Maltsters", or Barrett Burston Malting as they're now known. Best I can tell, given the strategic importance of maintaining the malt houses in Australia during the war, it looks as though his joining the army was allowed by BB Malt as long as he could be discharged on a moment's notice to re-commence malting barley. Flicking to the end of his file, that is indeed what ended up happening -- I've looked at plenty of other military discharge records for the family, and his was the only one that made mention of civilian employment. Since an absolute boatload of ale was being sent overseas to the troops (pun intended), it makes complete sense that skilled maltsters would have strategic importance on the home front. Anyway, that's my latest little claim to fame. It's like I was destined to get into brewing... RE: homebrewing, I found this amazing excerpt from a book by a bloke called Cyril Pearl called Beer, Glorious Beer while I was researching: "The shortage of beer during and for some years after World War II led to a big revival of home-brewing in Australia. Kerosene-tins, of four gallons capacity, were the standard vessel for brewing in, and the wash-house or garage (with the door discretely closed) the most popular site for the operation. … It was said that the smell of hops and malt which hung perpetually and pervasively over the Sydney peninsula was so strong that ferry-boat captains crawling up the Harbour on dark nights could navigate by it. This boom in home-brewing led to a great demand for the vital ingredient, malt. Most wash-house brewers, including myself, compromised with malt extract, a commodity stocked by chemists, and intended, I understand, to promote the health and happiness of infants. It certainly promoted the happiness, if not the health of my neighbours. Astonished chemists were unable to keep up with the increasing demand for tins of malt extract, a demand which at first they attributed to a surprising rise in the local birth-rate. In the early days of home-brewing, it was possible to buy a billycan of brewer’s yeast from the breweries. This, like malt extract, was allegedly consumed therapeutically. It was said to be a specific against eczema, pimples, blackheads, acne and other unpleasant and anti-social skin conditions. The breweries must have become suspicious when streams of young men and women, all with radiantly healthy complexions, queued up day after day for their shilling’s worth of therapeutic yeast." 'Therapeutic yeast', lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I have some distant connection to the Coopers... Somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Very interesting. I am pretty sure my family were big beer drinkers, hence my interest in this hobby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonaldW2 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I may have family ties to a English brewery, Hall and Woodhouse. Still looking up my tree. It would be nice. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiphile Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Even though every time the subject is broached there are vehement denials, I still suspect I'm related to my parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Even though every time the subject is broached there are vehement denials' date=' I still suspect I'm related to my parents.[/quote'] I thought they got you at the pound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 ...one of my nephews has been doing a family tree too, seems I am a direct descendant of Rob Roy Mc Gregor!... I am guessing my ancestors not only drank plenty of ale, but probably pinched it to boot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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