In this episode, I speak with Christina Wade, a beer historian specialising in the UK and Ireland, with a particular focus on women. She has written an excellent book, Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland, which was published by Nine Bean Rows earlier this year (2025).
We talk about ale and beer in Ireland, and how colonisation by the English, and then the British, affected beer production and consumption. Topics include: ale in early medieval Ireland, the man who inspired the title of her book, ale consumption during the Irish Rebellion and the Potato Famine, and the use of human skulls in medicinal ales, amongst many other things.
Those listening to the secret podcast can hear about the links between alewives and witchcraft, whiskey and beer consumption, tea kettle brews and more!
Christina’s social media handle on Instagram and Bluesky is @braciatrix
Filthy Queens: A History of Beer in Ireland
The Devil’s in the Draught Lines: 1000 Years of Women in Britain’s Beer History
Remember: Fruit Pig are sponsoring the 9th season of the podcast and Grant and Matthew are very kindly giving listeners to the podcast a unique special offer 10% off your order until the end of October 2025 – use the offer code Foodhis in the checkout at their online shop, www.fruitpig.co.uk.
If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, including bonus blog posts and recipes, access to the easter eggs and the secret podcast, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.
This episode was mixed and engineered by Thomas Ntinas of the Delicious Legacy podcast.
Things mentioned in today’s episode
Serve it Forth website - You can still receive 25% off the ticket price using the code SERVE25 at the checkout!
Serve it Forth Eventbrite page
Neil’s blog post about cock ale/beer
Barnaby Rich’s book The Irish hubbub or, the English hue and crie. 1617
Neil’s blog post about junket for £3 subscribers
Listen to Neil on Around the Table
Previous pertinent podcast episodes
Making Medieval Ale at Home with Alison Kay
Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin and Marc Meltonville
Neil’s blogs and YouTube channel:
The British Food History Channel
Neil’s books:
Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper
Knead to Know: a History of Baking
Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. My DMs are open.
You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory
Mentioned in this episode:
The British Food History podcast is currently sponored by Netherton Foundry
Season 10 of The British Food History Podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, producers of top-quality, British-made cookery equipment. Nestled in rural South Shropshire, Netherton Foundry is a family-run business, headed by husband and wife team Neil and Sue Currie, which takes inspiration from the local iron masters of the 18th and 19th centuries to craft traditional cookware from iron, oak and copper using non-toxic materials. Their cookware is built to last, whether it be their famous prospector pans (of which I am a proud owner), crumpet rings or their impressive range of outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
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