Jesus College Cambridge, Intellectual Forum
On Thursday 15 May 2025, Jesus College Cambridge will host “Brewing the Past: A Journey into History through Beer and Film”, featuring a screening of the FoodCult documentary Drunk? Adventures in Sixteenth-Century Brewing. The event will take place from 19:30 to 21:00 in Frankopan Hall, West Court.
The film documents the interdisciplinary efforts of historians, archaeologists, scientists, and traditional craftspeople to recreate a 16th-century Dublin beer recipe. This reconstruction involved selecting period-appropriate grains, building a replica brewery, and analyzing the resulting beer to gain insights into early modern brewing practices and dietary habits.
Following the screening, a panel discussion, chaired by Dr Julian Huppert, will feature:
Dr Susan Flavin, Early Modern Historian
Professor Shreepali Patel, filmmaker and Professor of Multimodal Storytelling
Mark Burton, biochemist and brewer at Jesus College’s microbrewery
The panel will explore the methodologies and findings of the brewing project, discussing how experimental archaeology, hands-on reconstruction and creative film-making, can enhance our understanding of historical foodways.
Admission is free, but seating is limited. Attendees are encouraged to reserve their spots in advance. Ticket holders will receive a voucher for a discounted drink at the College Bar, where selections from the microbrewery, including JPA, WEST lager, and ROOST stout, will be available.
