Episode 094—Cheers to Beers and Queers (feat. Nicholas Ryan from Herbiery)

We’re taking beer back to it’s roots, literally, with a not-so-hoppy history lesson from our friend Nicholas Ryan at Herbiery. Join us as we talk about the history of hops, the proven potential of hop-free beers, and what Queering Beer means to us. Check out Herbiery here.

More on Nicholas

Nick is the Founder of Herbiery. Nick has orbited Wisconsin their entire life. They were born into a farmhouse outside of Bancroft, WI. Nick cherishes the memory of harvesting wild asparagus in early summer’s morning dew, flying kites in corn fields against the purpling sky of late autumn, and churning through fresh snowfalls on tiny legs perched atop cross-country skis. From Bancroft to Southern California, Chicago’s Suburbs, South Dakota, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Alaska, and NJ those memories of Wisconsin’s natural beauty always remained. While running the non-profit Wild River Academy out of Minneapolis, from 2012 to 2016, Nick finished the 2016 American Birkebeiner XC Ski Race in Hayward, Wisconsin. When the time came to return home to Wisconsin, Madison was an easy choice and quickly became the home of Herbiery Brewing. Nick explores the natural spaces around Madison by running long distances and participating in local races. When they’re not running, they’re continuing their herbal education with courses, books, and the crafting of herbal salves, syrups, and salad dressings. Wandering out of this world and into others, Nick insatiably reads at the New Wine Cooperative house where they reside in Madison, WI. They love cooking elaborate dinners for their 9 other housemates. Nick is non-binary and uses They/Them pronouns. They consider brewing beer without hops a natural extension of their queer identity. Queering beer!

Follow Nicholas via the business @herbiery on IG.

SOURCES:
Beauvoir, Simone de, and H. M. Parshley. The Second Sex. Vintage Books, 1991.

Bernot, Kate, and Brian Alberts. “Women's Work - What the Story of a 17th-Century Brewster Can Teach Us about 21st-Century Brewery Ownership.” Good Beer Hunting, Good Beer Hunting, 26 Sept. 2022, https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2022/9/8/womens-work-what-the-story-of-a-17th-century-brewster-can-teach-us-about-21st-century-brewery-ownership.

Buhner, Stephen Harrod. Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Fermentation. Siris Books, 1998.

Chapman, Nathaniel G., et al. Beer and Racism: How Beer Became White, Why It Matters, and the Movements to Change It. The Policy Press, 2020.

Chapman, Nathaniel G., et al. Untapped: Exploring the Cultural Dimensions of Craft Beer. West Virginia University Press, 2017.

DeVun, Leah. The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance. Columbia University Press, 2021.

Martyris, Nina. The Other Reformation: How Martin Luther Changed Our Beer, Too. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/10/31/561117731/the-other-reformation-how-martin-luther-changed-our-beer-too.

“PART 25 - BEER.” Federal Register - Code of Federal Regulations, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-25.

“Part 7 - Labeling and Advertising of MAlt Beverages.” Federal Register - Code of Federal Regulations, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-7.

Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press, 2007.

Verberg, Susan. (2018). "The Rise and Fall of Gruit." The Brewery History Society, Brewery History (2018) 174, 46-78. 46-78.

Waite, Lily. “From Both Sides - a Transgender Experience in the Beer Industry.” Good Beer Hunting, Good Beer Hunting, 14 Jan. 2019, https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2018/1/17/from-both-sides-a-transgender-experience-in-the-beer-industry.

Walsh, Eoghan. “The Gruit and the Good - the Enterprising German Brewers Bringing Gruit Culture Back to Its Roots.” Good Beer Hunting, Good Beer Hunting, 19 Oct. 2020, https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2020/9/8/the-gruit-and-the-good-the-enterprising-german-brewers-bringing-gruit-culture-back-to-its-roots.

“Which Alcohol Beverages Require Formula Approval: Beer and Malt Beverages.” TTB Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, U.S. Department of the Treasury, https://www.ttb.gov/formulation/which-alcohol-beverages-require-formula-approval-beer-and-malt-beverages-mb.

CREDITS: Original Theme: Garreth Spinn
Original Art: Sarah Cruz
Animations: The Banditry Co.

SPONSORS: This season of Shared History is sponsored by Herbiery, BatesMeron Sweet Design & The Banditry Co.