16/12/2025
Happy birthday Jane!
Today is Jane Austen’s birthday - she was born on this day 250 years ago, 16 December 1775. Jane Austen was an avid homebrewer and mead was her favorite alcoholic drink. Her family had their own specific recipe for the beverage, which has been preserved in her friend Martha Lloyd’s household book.
The Austen family frequently brewed various drinks at home, including spruce beer (Jane’s specialty) and mead. This was a common practice at the time, as home-brewed beverages were often safer to consume than water.
Letters between Jane and her sister Cassandra often mention the process of mead-making and their reliance on the stock. In one letter, she expressed concern about running low, stating:
“We must husband our stock of mead. I am sorry to perceive that our stock of twenty gallons is nearly out”. Don’t worry, here at we have plenty of our hot mead drink blended with white wine, apple juice and spices, come and find us in the inner courtyard at ******ercathedral Christmas market ******ercathedralchristmasmarket filming at wi******er today. ******er
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