Medieval Brewing Techniques: Parti-Gyle Brewing

I admittedly have an interest in medieval brewing techniques, considering that medieval re-enactment is where I got my start in brewing. One technique that fascinates me is parti-gyle.

The idea of parti-gyle is simple. Quite simply, the medieval brewer would make up to three batches of beer from one batch of malt. The first batch would be called a strong beer; the second -- common beer; the third -- small beer. These names come from the fact the each subsequent batch has a smaller original gravity (OG) than the previous batch, and therefore is not as strong.

In modern times, the brewer that has written the most on the technique is Randy Mosher. He has given detailed information on the technique both in a Brewing Techniques article from March/April 1994 entitled, "Parti-Gyle Brewing," and in his book, Radical Brewing.

In addition to history, Randy outlines how the modern homebrewer might employ the technique. He gives the mathematical formulas for calculating the OG of each subsequent batch. For instance, according to Randy, if two batches are to be made from the same batch of malt, assuming that the batches are equal volume, the first batch will contain 58% of the extract and the second batch 42% of the extract. This is useful information when trying to figure out the amount of grain needed.

This post only touches on the the subject. I would recommend reading both the article and the chapter in the book mentioned above, because much more information is given, including more useful formulas and more detailed history.

As for me, even though I've seen the technique demonstrated in an all-grain brewing demonstration, I have yet to try the technique myself. The reason is that my mash tun is barely big enough for one five gallon batch, though I've been considering buying a larger one, just for this purpose. It is definitely on my list of things to try.

Basic Brewing Radio: Gluten Free Brewing

At some point in every homebrewer's career, one will usually eventually investigate gluten free brewing. This is because someone they met or know has Celiac Disease, a condition where someone cannot tolerate the gluten found in wheat or barley. Luckily, there are techniques to brew gluten free beer using sorghum or rice, instead of wheat or barley.

The big news this week was that the very popular brewing podcast, Basic Brewing Radio, spent an entire show looking at the subject. If you are interested, you can check it out right here.

During the show, James interviews Connie Rieper-Estes and Leigh Nogy from Dark Hills Brewery, about the subject at hand. As an added bonus, Connie and Leigh plug the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), the most popular medieval re-enactment organization in the the world, and, as regular readers know, the same organization where I got my own start in brewing. I enjoyed the show immensely.

Special Bitter

Today was brew day. This one was a special bitter, my own recipe. In fact, this is the first time I've brewed this recipe, or a special bitter, for that matter.

The lag time was one of the shortest I've ever experienced. The wait between pitching the yeast and seeing activity was 3.5 hours. Typically, at the very least, I have to wait over night.

Another thing that went differently this time is that I decided to do much of my clean up during the boil. Any all-grainer will tell you that all-grain brewing makes for a long day, sometimes eight or more hours. However, this time I started a 9:00 AM and pretty much finished up by 3:30 PM -- a mere 6.5 hours, and a record for me. I credit doing double duty, the boil and clean up, like I mentioned above, for the time savings.

The recipe for the beer follows:

7.0 lbs Pale Malt, 2-row, Marris Otter
0.25 lbs Biscuit Malt, British
0.5 lbs Crystal Malt, 60 L, British
0.5 lbs Carapils Dextrine Malt
0.125 lbs Chocolate Malt, British
1.3 oz East Kent Golding Hops, 5.5 AA, 60 minutes, 29.3 IBU
White Labs English Ale Yeast (WLP002)

8.375 lbs, 6.0 gal, 1.042 OG, 80% Efficiency, 29.3 IBU, 11.7 SRM

Estrella War Memories, Part 18: Wombat

WOMBAT!

Estrella War Memories, Part 17: "I Think Your Dog Is Dead"

This occurred just a couple of years ago.

Julie, my wife, does a little work for the English Springer Rescue America (ESRA), a volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing English Springer Spaniels, possibly the cutest breed of dog on the planet. Duty called one Estrella.

That Estrella, she got called to pick up a dog from the pound. Since it was the middle of the war, the dog camped out with us for a few days. This dog, though, had just been spade. As a result, it did not move too much, since it was still recovering from the anesthesia. Well, to be honest, in fact, it really did not move at all.

Like a lump, it spent those days lying next to my wife, in a furry heap, unable to move. The last day of the war, however, it began to recover, poking its head up once and a while, and even getting up for short periods of time, looking a little more like a dog than a lump.

Seeing the dog get up for the first time, Mac, one of the more witty regulars in our camp, said the following in his calm understated voice: "I think your dog has moved from 'I think your dog is dead' to 'I think your dog is sick.'"

We all laughed.

That saying, as an inside joke, has moved into the lexicon of our household, for someone recovering from any kind of "anesthesia."

Michael Jackson has Parkinson's Disease

Having returned from a much needed vacation over the holidays, I was catching up on some beer news when I read that Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter, recently announced that he has Parkinson's Disease. In fact, he has been fighting it for about 10 years. Michael has long been a figure in the world of beer, as author of books like The Great Beer Guide, Ultimate Beer, and other beer books too numerous to count. It pained me to no end to read the news.

About his fight with the disease Michael Jackson said the following, according to the Brookston Beer Bulletin:

The problems arise when I become absorbed in writing, or in a conversation, and forget my medication. Even the slightest delay can make me very unsteady on my feet — unable to walk at times — and slurred in my speech. Understandably, people think I am drunk, especially given my profession. I am not. My wild days were long ago. My writing has always fostered the notion of tasting more and drinking less, and I am true to that philosophy. The Gods have a sense of irony in making me look drunk when at my intake of alcohol is at its most modest.

I remember when another famous Michael got diagnosed with Parkinson's some time ago, and it has been hard to watch him as the disease advances, having seen him with evidence of the disease on shows like In the Actor's Studio, and more recently, Boston Legal.

Simply seeing your heroes grow older has always been hard enough, but seeing one get ravaged by something like Parkinson's is a reminder of how fragile life is. One should not take it for granted.

I wish both Michaels and their families well. If you, as a reader, feel so inclined, please wander by the Michael J Fox Foundation and make a donation.