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Brunswick Mum (German: Braunschweiger Mumme, Latin: Mumma Brunsvicensium or Mumia, French: Mom de Bronsvic), was originally an alcoholic beer from Brunswick in Germany, which ranged from weak to strong depending on the brewing method.[1] One of the first black beers recorded in history.
Mum originated in the Late Middle Ages.[2] The composition gave the beer a long shelf life that allowed a wide distribution; mum became the most important export from Brunswick and, in the early modern period was shipped to places such as India and the Caribbean. The drink is still sold in Brunswick where since autumn 2008, for the first time in about 200 years, it is produced in alcoholic variants.[3]
The 17th century author David Kellner describes mum as being held in high esteem for its exquisite strength, lovely taste and beautiful brown color.[4] The three types of mum (Schiff-Mumme, Stadt-Mumme, Erndte-Bier) mentioned by Kellner are solely composed of barley-malt and hops.
In contrast to German sources is mum in English literature from the early modern period an unhopped strong wheat-beer, made with the addition of various aromatic herbs.[5] The oldest English recipe seems to be published 1682 in The Natural History of Coffee, Thee, Chocolate, Tobacco by John Chamberlayne and is said to be recorded in Brunswick.[6]
The recipe calls for seven bushels of wheat-malt, one bushel of oat-malt and one bushel of ground beans to make 63 gallons of mum. Eggs are added to prevent the beer from becoming sour. Variations of this recipe are published by later authors, for instance John Nott.[7][a]
