Bride Ale

Did you know that back in the day- way, way back in the day- before their wedding, brides would brew a special batch of beer to sell? This was to raise funds for her and her husband’s new life together. We still have traditions like these, money dances at wedding receptions and money trees on which wedding guests can clip paper money for the couples use. But there is no need for this bridal beer to fade into the past.

I am not much of a beer brewer but I thought it would be neat to apply this idea for a bridal shower favor. I ordered beer labels from Evermine, and put my friend’s name on the labels, as well as a short text about her. Then I purchased some beer, stripped off the old labels (easy enough to do with warm water, soap and a plastic scraping tool) and put on my new labels once the bottles were clean and dry. Easy and fairly inexpensive.

There is great debate about the root of the word “bridal”: did it come from “bride ale” or not? You can debate that with your fellow bridesmaids and the bride at the bridal shower sipping beer (or root beer) you brewed (or bought). Beautiful labels personalize this neat gift- and you can even ask for donations for the happy couple if you
wish to be traditional!