The Beers of Martin Luther

There's a great little paper on the interweb that explores the beers of Martin Luther's day.  Here's an excerpt:

If you do wish to drink beers similar to the beers Luther drank, the closest you will come are probably today's Belgian Abbey Ales. Their top fermentation, complex flavors, full attenuation, and highly individual character are all in keeping with the beers of the monasteries that Luther knew as a young man, and with many more of the beers of Luther's time.

 and,

Luther much preferred homebrew. After Luther married, his wife Katie brewed beer as the lay brothers had brewed it in days gone by. Luther Peterson notes that Martin often began his written invitations to friends with the note that Katie had made him another barrel of beer. Once in 1535, while away from home, he wrote to her about some bad beer he had drunk 'which did not agree with me... I said to myself what good wine and beer I have at home, and also what a pretty lady, or lord.' Here's an endorsement of homebrew, and very diplomatically put as well.

For those who know me, I have a special distaste for Belgian Abbey Ales.  It's the yeast.  I, along with Luther much prefer homebrew.  There's something about holding a moderately chilled pint of liquid goodness made by your own two hands that makes a beer taste especially good.