BREWERY REMAINS POINT TO MEDIEVAL MERRIMENT
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BY GARY MITCHELL
10:30 - 13 July 2007
Nothing much changes around here - even in the Middle Ages crowds of revellers were pouring on to the streets of Leicester after another boozy session.
Archaeologists have revealed they have found remains of a brewery which they believe supplied ale to the masses right in the city centre.
Teams from the University of Leicester found the site, which faced what is now Highcross Street, during excavations as part of the Highcross Quarter shopping development.
Kilns used for producing beer by the gallon, and which date from around the 13th and 14th century, were among the remains.
Experts said the booze, which they call ale rather than beer because it did not contain hops, would have been an important part of life in medieval times.
It is thought many people would have enjoyed it in local taverns instead of water because it had been boiled during the brewing process and was free of any nasty bugs.
It would not have been unusual for people to take some home and sink a pint for breakfast.
Although there was no evidence of drinking vessels found at the site, experts have not ruled out the possibility that the building was also used as a pub. Jon Coward, a field officer for University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), said the brewery would have been a vital part of medieval life.
He said: "It would have had a lot of trade - not to say that everyone was getting rip-roaringly out of hand all the time, although I'm sure it happened now and then.
"Ale was especially popular in urban areas where clean water was a bit of a problem. We've only just started looking at the data but it's interesting.
"We've found the remnants of mash ovens, which are what you use to boil up your ingredients.
"There were also malting kilns, which you used to sprout the ingredients.
"What was interesting for us was that it seems to have been made with oats - we'd expect most beer to be made with barley in modern brewing," he said.
The brewery was among a host of other discoveries during work on the Shires extension, which include a Roman townhouse.
As part of National Archaeology Week, an exhibition about the finds can be seen for free at the Jewry Wall Museum, in St Nicholas Circle, from 11.30am to 4pm tomorrow.
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