BLACK PLAGUE Brewing represents all those who strive to be better, to standout from the crowd, and follow their true passion. Our mission is to provide deliciously fresh hand-crafted beer and apparel that will encourage positive social goodwill, promote collaboration, and inspire self-expression. During the dark ages, people were encouraged to drink ales and to avoid the polluted water in urban areas as it was unsafe to drink. Water was really poor quality and brewhouses were popping up as the healthy alternative to avoid the plague. As people began to get sick, Plague Doctors were contracted by the city to treat the sick, rich or poor. They often worked in isolation as they were quarantined for 40 days before being able to rejoin the community. They were regarded as ‘Empirics’ because they got their knowledge from practical experience and experimenting with new methods of treating patients… as opposed to laboratory research. Coincidentally, the art of brewing beer is very similar in that a lot of award winning recipes are found through experimentation and trying new things. Commonly held medical theory of the time believed that an excess or deficiency of any of four distinct bodily fluids in a person—known as humors — would directly influence their temperament and health; each individual patient was said to have their own unique humoral composition…. There are so many parallels between serving the public as a Plague Doctor and brewing delicious beer as a brewmaster. Plague doctors didn’t care what other’s thought about them. They were innovators and non-conformists, they weren’t restricted by traditional laws of the time. They were often given special privileges to perform autopsies when it was forbidden for general doctors. They were fearless. They took risks… They developed a mystique that became their identity. Always respect the Plague Doctor.
