A Friend in Mead

Patrons of the Union of Brigitte and Bartholomew

Southern New Jersey Home Brewing and Mead Making Club

Greetings. Welcome to the PUBB. We are home brewers who take great pride in our hobby, and want to be able to share it with as many people as possible.

As dedicated PUBB crawlers, we are particularly fond of brewing all types of mead, but we are not limited to that beverage. In fact, our members span the whole gamut of brewing sciences from beer to wine to mead, and even into the realm of distillates and infusions. We believe that there is as much enjoyment in the research associated with zymurgy as there is in the practice of it or the drinking of the results.

For those of you wondering about our name, it comes from Judeo-Christian mythology. Saint Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles - hung out with Saint Philip, I believe. Anyway, he was martyred in Armenia in the first century. Following his sanctification, he became associated as a “patron saint” with a number of different subjects including bee keeping. His feast day is celebrated every August 24^th.

Saint Brigitte, on the other hand, was a medieval lady living in southern England - the area around Cornwall, Penzance, etc. Rumor has it that she once performed the miracle of turning water into mead - and it so happened it was on the

Feast Of Saint Bartholomew. To this day, the “blessing of the mead” still takes place in the very same church every August 24^th.

Since Saint Brigitte and Saint Bartholomew share such a bond, we felt it unfair to pick one over the other as the “patron” of our hobby; so we decided to share the wealth. Don’t let the name fool you, though - we are not religious zealots. Our interest in the saints is more of historical value.

Want some great deals on equipment and supplies for historical brewers and brewers with unusual tastes? Home Brew Supply, LLC is a full-service shop with an informative web site, toll-free and email assistance, and the best customer service in the business. AND they give bulk-buying discounts to brew clubs. You can register for their online newsletter here - no purchase required.