The following brewing process was first published by Gervase Markham in The English Housewife in 1615.  The English Housewife was reprinted numerous times during and after Markham’s lifetime as part of a larger work titled A Way to Get Wealth.   The English Housewife was republished in 1986, as edited by Michael R. Best, from a collation of the 1615, 1623, and 1638 versions [Markham & Best, 1986, pg liv].  The 1657 version of A Way to Get Wealth was reprinted from microfilm of the copy held at Harvard University Library.  The following block quote comes from the 1668 version of A Way to Get Wealth which has been scanned into Google Books and can be downloaded through the Internet.

Now for the brewing of the best March Beer, you shall allow to a Hogshead thereof, a quarter of the best Malt well ground; the you shall take a Peck of Pease, half a peck of Wheat, and half a peck of Oats, and grind them all very well together, and then mixt them with your Malt; which done, you shall in all points brew this beer as you did the former ordinary beer; only you shall allow a pound and a halfe of Hops to this one Hogshead: and whereas before you drew but two sorts of beer, so now you shall draw three; that is a Hogshead of the best, and a Hogshead of the second; and half a Hogshead of small beer, without any augmentation of Hops or Malt.

This March beer would be brewed in the months of March or April, and should (if it have right) have a whole year to ripen in: it will last two, three, or four years, if it lye cool; and endure the drawing to the last drop, thought with never so much leisure.

(Markham and Lawson, 1668, Book 2, pg 83)

The Ordinary Beer recipe used one quarter of malt in three hogsheads of volume for the first run of beer.  The March Beer recipe uses one quarter of malt to one hogshead producing a much stronger beer that can be cellared for a long time.

 

Quick conversions:

  • 1 quarter (336 lbs barley malt) = 8 bushels (42 lbs barley malt)
  • 1 bushel (42 lbs barley malt) = 4 pecks (10.5 lbs barley malt)
  • Assume that dried peas, wheat, and oats are all similar to barley in pounds per peck.

 

Modern recipe for 60 gallons fermenter volume:

  • 336 lbs barley malt
  • ~ 10 lbs dried peas {just a source of starch; use flaked maize in the calculator}
  • ~ 5 lbs wheat or malted wheat
  • ~ 5 lbs oats or malted oats
  • 24 oz hop
  • Single infusion mash with 107 gallons of water at 167 degrees F (42 gallons lost to grain absorption)
  • Mash for one hour, then drain the wort {batch sparge later for the second and third runs}
  • Boil for one hour with all hops are added at the start of boil. So, all bittering hops and no aroma hops. (3 gallons lost to boil)
  • Cool slowly, transfer to fermentation vessel (strain out the used hops for the second run), then pitch yeast.
  • Beer is ready in one year

 

Plugging these numbers into a brewing calculator (at 60% efficiency) we get:

  • Original specific gravity 1.135
  • Final specific gravity 1.032
  • ABV 13.48%
  • IBU 21.59 (bitter beer, but not IPA levels)
  • SRM (color) 12.22 (light amber)

 

These numbers match up somewhat with BJCP Category 17D; Strong British Ale; English Barley Wine.