If we could travel back in time to the mid-1700s and 1800s, we’d see that early Moravian settlers enjoyed beer just as much, if not more, than we do today.
And if you want to meet a few current Lehigh Valley residents who’ve taken their love of beer to a whole other level, consider stopping by Bethlehem’s Blueberry Festival later this month for a real show of spirit.
Join me and a few brew-happy friends as we will (once again) be decked out in Colonial-era wool costumes, while cooking up a batch of beer over a raging wood fire — on probably the hottest weekend of the summer.
It’s both historical and hysterical.
Blueberry Festival is known as the sweetest event of the summer. Our brew crew calls it the sweatiest event of the summer. We try our best to smile through it. The beer certainly helps. And we plan to continue our tasty tradition — as we have for over a decade — at the annual Burnside Plantation event.
This year’s festival in blue is July 16-17, though you can order pies and goodies for pick up through July 19. Our old-school brewers will be telling Bethlehem’s amazing beer story all weekend as we mix up a keg of amber ale — just as it was made by early Moravian settlers along the Monocacy Creek about 280 years ago.
We will be spotlighting the bubbly exploits of the legendary Johann Sebastian Goundie, who was Bethlehem’s first great brewer and first mayor. We’ll honor Goundie, known by us as “The Patron Saint of Brewing in Bethlehem,” as we cook, spoon, stir, blend, hop around and hydrate with a few cold ones.
You can enjoy live music, a shady seat, and a cold one of your own from McCall Collective, Cave Brewing and others at our neighboring Blueberry Brewery Tasting Tent. A $25 (pre-order online at historicbethlehem.org) pass gets you admission to the festival, a cool tasting glass, and five refills.
Hear the story of Johann Sebastian Goundie, Bethlehem’s first brewer and first mayor, at Blueberry Festival July 16 and 17.
Who’s this Goundie guy?
Johann Sebastian Goundie, the city’s influential and pioneering 1800s businessman was best known for stirring up amazing brews — along with a bit of trouble — as he changed Bethlehem’s ways forever. He led the Lehigh Valley as a community born and built on beer.
Goundie, a 19th-century beer maker, was born in Germany in 1773 and came to do his brewing thing in Bethlehem in 1803 after visiting from Salem, North Carolina — also a Moravian settlement.
By many accounts, Goundie was down to earth, a good businessman, and willing to speak his mind. He was also a devout Moravian and a bit of an entrepreneur.
In 1781, the Bethlehem Moravians started up a brewery behind the Single Brethren’s House at Main and Church streets. In 1803, the town hired Goundie to take over the operations.
The brewery at the Single Brethren’s House was closed in 1812, and on Goundie’s recommendation, a new one opened near Goundie’s home a bit further north along Main Street and closer to Bethlehem’s Monocacy Creek.
A contributing property to the National Historic Landmark District, the 1810 Goundie House was home to Johann Sebastian Goundie — Bethlehem’s first brewer and first mayor. The building is believed to be the first brick Federal-style home in the city.
For years he brewed delicious batches of beer there. You could say that Goundie represented the end of the ale era, during which time the relatively simple brew was the Lehigh Valley’s dominant style.
Goundie must have earned the respect of his fellow Moravians and the town. He was elected the city’s first mayor in 1827.
Goundie died in 1845, but you can visit his Federalist-style 1810 Goundie House located next to the Bethlehem Visitor’s Center on the west side of Main Street where it joins with East Market Street.
Craig Larimer stirs the mash tun containing malted barley and hot water. Larimer’s brew crew will be conducting a Colonial beer making demonstration July 16 and 17 at the Blueberry Festival at Burnside Plantation in Bethlehem.
Our old-school brewing method
This year we will be making approx. 10 gallons of Burnside Amber Ale.
The four ingredients used to make our pure beer are water, grain, hops and yeast. That’s it.
We start by boiling water — about 25 gallons — in a copper kettle over a wood fire. We’ll use most of the water for the beer and the rest for cleaning up. Brewing is about 10% beer making and 90% custodial work.
We pour a dry mixture of malted barleys (24 pounds) into a halved oak barrel. This is our mash tun or hot liquor tank. Then, we begin spooning hot water into the mash while maintaining a cooking temperature of 150 degrees.
We let that steep for about two hours — as you would with tea — then we drain off (from the bottom of the hot liquor tank) a sugary sweet liquid yield called wort. Wort is pre-beer which tastes a bit like sweet tea.
We then transfer this liquid (wort) back into the empty boil kettle over the wood fire. The wort is then boiled for about 90 minutes; then a blend of fresh hops (in small mesh bags) is dropped into the pot.
The liquid is then cooled and placed into fermenting containers. The yeast is added next.
The yeast eats away at the sugar and creates carbonation and alcohol. The higher the concentration of sugar, the more alcohol is generated. The fermentation will take about two weeks.
Then we’ll keg it, chill it, tap it and share a toast with family and friends.
If you have any more questions or just want to stop by to talk about beer, we’ll see you July 16 and 17 at Blueberry Festival. Feel free to email questions or comments to me at clarimer@mcall.com
Colonial brewing demonstration
Where: Blueberry Festival at Burnside Plantation in Bethlehem. We’re located next to the Brewery Tasting Tent
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 16, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 17
How much: Admission to the festival is $10
Blueberry Brewery pass and admission: $25 (pre-order online) includes one adult admission, tasting glass, and tastings
Featured beers at the tasting tent: McCall Collective, Cave Brewing and more
