caleb
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I would like at some stage to have a go at brewing a medieval style ale.
FACTS (as far as I know... please feel free to comment/correct as needed)
"Ale" in those days referred to an unhopped beverage, vs "beer" which was hopped or otherwise bittered with herbs. It was only with the advent of bottom-fermentation that the distintion changed. It is this unhopped style of ale I would like to create. I know people sometimes used herbs in ale, but it was considered the sign of true "London Ale" that it was unflavored with hops or any other herb.
I believe that malt in the middle ages was what was called "brown malt" and the process didn't allow the fine degree of control that today gives us the range from Pale Pilsener Malt right through to Black Patent. So it would have been roasted dark-ish, but not black. It was also "wood fired" so I assume this would have imparted a smokey taste, like the "smoked ale" kits I sometimes see for sale.
They didn't sparge, but used the first mash for a strong ale, and subsequent ones for weaker beers (small beer). By the third mash of the same grain, you got something suitable for refreshment at breakfast. :icon_cheers:
Yeast would have been multi-strain, and probably included lacto-bateria. I believe they used to sell "new" and "old" ale (sound familiar). New ale was fairly fresh - only a few days old, before it had soured. Old or "stale ale" had been aged and soured. The two were often blended to taste.
Carbonation would have been light and based on natural conditioning in a cask, like real ales today. Probably beer was often flat, but I'm willing to let mine carb up a little.
RECIPE
I plan to do a half batch around 10-12 litres, because it is experimental. It will most likely be an extract based brew, as I don't have the equipment or space to do a full mash, nor do I want this to be the brew I learn on, for obvious reasons.
So, how to achieve something approximately like the ale described above?
I'm thinking starting with a pale liquid malt for a base (Say 1x1.5kg can).
Then, steep some grains to get the right flavor and color profile. Maybe a blend of light and dark for a complex malty taste and dark color. Without hops, obviously the malt is going to make or break this, and I'd want a good flavor here. I'm thinking of using some "smoked grain" to get that original wood-fire malted effect.
Yeast - some mixed strains? At worst, pitch a few different dry brands, but that sounds boring. Maybe keep some of the "British Cask" Wyeast I have going at the moment, and or reculture something from a bottle or three. Any suggestions?
Should I add some oak chips for that authentic wooden cask taste? Or is this a misnomer, and even then casks would have been lined with pitch and not adding any oak flavor to the ale?
Now I've heard horror stories of SCA types trying to make a totally authentic ale, to the point they try to malt their own barley acording to spec, and the like, and of course fail miserably because they have no idea what they're doing (first ever brew... malt your own... :blink: ) Or doing something like adding bread yeast (for that authentic multi-strain effect) and ending up with nail varnish flavored beer.
So, I'm not trying to be 100% ye olde worlde authentic, just get some idea of what an old style unhopped ale would have been like, while trying to make it as good as I can. Hopefully it'll still be a good drink and something I can enjoy!
FACTS (as far as I know... please feel free to comment/correct as needed)
"Ale" in those days referred to an unhopped beverage, vs "beer" which was hopped or otherwise bittered with herbs. It was only with the advent of bottom-fermentation that the distintion changed. It is this unhopped style of ale I would like to create. I know people sometimes used herbs in ale, but it was considered the sign of true "London Ale" that it was unflavored with hops or any other herb.
I believe that malt in the middle ages was what was called "brown malt" and the process didn't allow the fine degree of control that today gives us the range from Pale Pilsener Malt right through to Black Patent. So it would have been roasted dark-ish, but not black. It was also "wood fired" so I assume this would have imparted a smokey taste, like the "smoked ale" kits I sometimes see for sale.
They didn't sparge, but used the first mash for a strong ale, and subsequent ones for weaker beers (small beer). By the third mash of the same grain, you got something suitable for refreshment at breakfast. :icon_cheers:
Yeast would have been multi-strain, and probably included lacto-bateria. I believe they used to sell "new" and "old" ale (sound familiar). New ale was fairly fresh - only a few days old, before it had soured. Old or "stale ale" had been aged and soured. The two were often blended to taste.
Carbonation would have been light and based on natural conditioning in a cask, like real ales today. Probably beer was often flat, but I'm willing to let mine carb up a little.
RECIPE
I plan to do a half batch around 10-12 litres, because it is experimental. It will most likely be an extract based brew, as I don't have the equipment or space to do a full mash, nor do I want this to be the brew I learn on, for obvious reasons.
So, how to achieve something approximately like the ale described above?
I'm thinking starting with a pale liquid malt for a base (Say 1x1.5kg can).
Then, steep some grains to get the right flavor and color profile. Maybe a blend of light and dark for a complex malty taste and dark color. Without hops, obviously the malt is going to make or break this, and I'd want a good flavor here. I'm thinking of using some "smoked grain" to get that original wood-fire malted effect.
Yeast - some mixed strains? At worst, pitch a few different dry brands, but that sounds boring. Maybe keep some of the "British Cask" Wyeast I have going at the moment, and or reculture something from a bottle or three. Any suggestions?
Should I add some oak chips for that authentic wooden cask taste? Or is this a misnomer, and even then casks would have been lined with pitch and not adding any oak flavor to the ale?
Now I've heard horror stories of SCA types trying to make a totally authentic ale, to the point they try to malt their own barley acording to spec, and the like, and of course fail miserably because they have no idea what they're doing (first ever brew... malt your own... :blink: ) Or doing something like adding bread yeast (for that authentic multi-strain effect) and ending up with nail varnish flavored beer.
So, I'm not trying to be 100% ye olde worlde authentic, just get some idea of what an old style unhopped ale would have been like, while trying to make it as good as I can. Hopefully it'll still be a good drink and something I can enjoy!