Wedding Season

My friend Heath's wedding this weekend is the first of the six weddings I'm scheduled to attend this year. So, in honor of the start of wedding season, I thought I'd throw out some fun wedding related beer trivia.

Back in the good old days brewing was just another household chore and most women were responsible for keeping the home stocked with barrels of ale. When a woman was to marry, she'd brew up a special, extra strong batch of ale for the wedding. Commonly known as bride's ale it would be consumed at the wedding, and it was thought to bring good fortune and fertility to the newlywed couple. Eventually, bride's ale was shortened to bridal. Unfortunately, bridal seems to have lost its meaning, and most weddings don't serve home brewed beer. However, they do usually have an open bar, so I guess it evens out.

Honeymoon didn't always mean jet-setting off to a tropical locale post nuptial. It came from the tradition of newlyweds drinking that fantastic, fermented honey based beverage, mead, every night for the first month or lunar cycle of their marriage. Get it: mead = honey, lunar cycle = moon.  I guess marriage is easier if you are inebriated those first thirty days or so, probably a good way to ease into it.

So if you are getting married this year, congratulations, and start brewing some beer for the wedding. Contact me if you need help brewing up a batch. If you are going to a wedding this year, make sure to bring gifts of mead and strong ale.

If you know any other beer/wedding facts or trivia, leave them in the comments.