A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014

The Process of Obtaining Suitable Alcoholic Spirits
The Druidic Workshop

The word alcohol derives from the Arabic al-kuhul. This in turn refers to kohl, a fine powder of antimony used as an eye makeup throughout the Arab world and which remains in existence. Originally, the word alcohol was used to denote any fine powder, but during the Middle Ages, European alchemists applied the term to essences obtained by fermentation and distillation, and this led to the current usage.

Nowadays, the term applies to members of a group of chemical compounds and most often to the specific compound ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, more commonly known as grain alcohol, is a colorless liquid with a pleasing taste and, to most people, a characteristically agreeable odor. The ethanol found in wines and spirits has been manufactured since ancient times by the fermentation of naturally present sugars.

The techniques traditionally used to obtain alcohol, one of the principal ingredients in many of the refinement processes we shall be exploring, are by no means unique to the Celtic pagan culture. Indeed it only fell upon the Druidic priest(ess) to become involved in these fermentation and distillation processes, as they both had the equipment and know-how necessary for the task. There are no special ritual workings involved in the manufacture of the alcohol spirit used and its production was, and still is, seen as a necessary “chore” rather than a priestly function. However, many people find great pleasure in fermenting wines, beers, and ciders, although the distillation of higher alcohol spirits is in fact illegal in most countries. In order to fully understand the processes (and dangers) involved, we must first gain an understanding of how both fermentation and distillation work.

Starch from potatoes, rice, corn, barley, rye, or other cereals is the most common raw material. The yeast enzyme zymase changes the simple sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide through the chemical process known as fermentation. (This fermentation process is explained in more detail below.) The fermented liquid, containing from 7 to 12 percent ethanol, may be further concentrated up to 95 percent ethanol by a series of distillations.

Ethanol is miscible (mixable) with water and with most organic solvents and is used extensively in making perfumes, lacquer, celluloid, and explosives. It is the form of alcohol used in the Druidic tradition in both its fermented and its more concentrated, distilled forms.

It is extremely important, however, that this ethanol or grain alcohol is not confused with its close relative methanol. Methanol, methyl alcohol, or wood alcohol is the simplest of all the alcohols. It is made by the distillation of wood. Because of its low freezing point, methanol is used throughout the world as an antifreeze and as an industrial solvent. It is of the utmost importance to note that when taken internally, by either ingestion or inhalation, methanol is a powerful poison.

Many of the processes we’ll be focusing on include wood, bark, and roots as their raw materials. Take great care in all of these cases to ensure that none of these woody materials is involved in any form of fermentation, as the risk of producing the toxic methanol, in however small quantities, should be rigorously avoided. Every single complex within the Druidic tradition has an alcohol base in some concentration or another, so it is worthwhile to gain a comprehensive understanding of the fermentation process in order to avoid accidental production of noxious compounds. Please take great care with fermentation. Mistakes may result in severe illness, and even death.

There is a strong argument to suggest that alcoholic beverages were enjoyed in prehistoric times, most probably through the consumption of fruit naturally fermented by airborne wild yeast. The earliest actual wine making dates from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago in the Mediterranean region. In the British Isles, it is likely that the first deliberately manufactured alcoholic drink was mead, with honey as its source of fermentable sugar. The use of fruits such as apples and pears as raw materials for fermentation became common by the Middle Ages. The ancient Celts would have consumed most of their alcoholic drinks through the technique of cutting—that is, diluting their wines with water in order to make the tainted water more palatable.

Many of these conventions are still followed within our Druidic tradition. You will see later that all our fermentations are started with a “ferment” called apple must, produced by mixing apples, honey, and yeast in the exact same fashion as did the ancient Celts. Another tradition that continues is that of the brewing wand, a stick kept by the community’s Druid, who, during the appropriate seasons, went from one home to another to stir each family’s brew in turn. Folklore tells us that the use of the Druid’s magic brewing wand started the fermentation process through some form of supernatural act. Druidic lore tells us that this brewing wand is kept separate from other wands and is the only wand that is never cleansed or washed. It is most likely, then, that it harbored the live yeast and transferred it to each successive brew as it was taken around the village—yet another folk tradition based in practical science.