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.

 

When our English House-wife knows how to preserve health by wholesome Physick, to nourish by good meat, and to cloath the body with warm garments, she must not then by any means be ignorant in the provision of bread and drink; she must know both the proportions and compositions of the same. And for as much as drink is in every house more generally spent than bread, being indeed, (but how well I know not) made the very substance of all entertainment; I will first begin with it, and therefore you shall know that generally our Kingdome hath but two kinds of drinks, that is to say, Beer and Ale, but particularly four, as Beer, Ale, Perry, and Cider; and to these we may adde two more, Mede, and Metheglin, two compound drinks of Hony and Herbs, which in the places where they, are made, as in Wales, and the Marches, are reckoned for exceeding wholesome and cordiall.

To speak then of Beer, although there be divers kinds of tasts Strong beer, and strength thereof, according to the allowance of Malt, hops, and age given unto the same; yet indeed there can be truly said to be but two kinds thereof, namely, Ordinary beer and March beer, all other beers being derived from them.

Touching ordinary beer, which is that, wherewith either Nobleman, Gentleman, Yeoman, or Husbandman, shall maintain his Family the whole year, it is meet first that our English House-wife respect the proportion or allowance of Malt due to the same, which amongst the best Husbands, is thought most convenient; and it is held, that to draw from one quarter of good malt three hogsheads of beer, is the best ordinary proportion that can be allowed, and having age and good caske to lye in, it will be strong enough for any good mans drinking.

Now for the brewing of ordinary beere, your malt being well ground, and put in your mash-fat, and your Liquor of your lead ready to boyle, you shall then by little and little with scoopes or pailes put the boyling Liquor to the Malt, and then stir it even to the bottom exceedingly well together, which is called the mashing of the malt, then the Liquor swimming in the Top, cover all over with more malt; and so let it stand an hour and more in the mash-fat, during which space you may if you please, heat more Liquor in your lead for your second or small drink, this done, pluck up your mashing stroam, and let the first Liquor run gently from the malt, either in a clean trough, or other vessels prepared for the purpose, and then stopping the mash fat again, put the second Liquor to the malt, and stir it well together; then your Lead being emptied, put your first Liquor or wort therein, and then to every quarter of malt, put a pound and a halfe of the best Hops you can get, and boile them an hour together, till taking up a dish full thereof, you see the Hops shrink into the bottom of the dish; this done, put the wort through a straight Sieve, which may drain the Hops from it into your cooler, which standing over the Guile-fat, you shall in the bottom thereof, set a great bowl with your barm, and some of the first wort (before the Hops come into it mixt together) that it may rise therein, and then let your wort drop or run gently into the dish with the barm which stands in the Guile-fat, and this you shall doe the first day of your brewing, letting your cooler drop all the night following, and some part of the next morning, and as it drops if you find that a black skum or mother riseth upon the barm, you shall with your hand take it off, and cast it away, then nothing being left in the cooler, and the Beer well risen, with your hand stir it about, and so let it stand an hour after, and then beating it and the barme exceeding well together, tun it up into the Hogsheads, being clean wash’d and scalded, and so let it purge;  and herein you shall observe not to Tun your vessels too full, for fear thereby it purge too much of the barm away : when it hath purged a day and a night, you shall close up the bung-holes with Clay, and onely for a day or two after, keep a vent-hole in it, and after close a up as fast as maybe. Now for your second or small drink which are left upon the graines you shall suffer it there to stay but an hour, or a little better, and then drain it all off also ; which done, put it into the Lead with the former, Hops, and boyl the other also, then clear it up from the Hops and cover it very close, till your first Beer be Tunned, and then, as before put it also to barm, and so tun it up also in smaller vessels, and of this second beer you shall not draw above one Hogshead to three of the better. Now there be divers other wayes and observations, for the brewing of ordinary beer; but none so good, so easie, so ready and quickly performed, as this before shewed; neither will any beer last longer, or ripen sooner, for it may be drunk at a fortnights age, and will last as long and lively.

(Markham and Lawson, 1668, Book 2, pp 181-183)

 

A summary of the ingredients used to produce 3 hogsheads of Ordinary Beer: 1 quarter of malt and 1.5 pounds of hops.  Note that fermentation is done in the barrel.  The product is not racked from the fermentation vessels.  It is sealed up and cask conditioned in the fermentation vessel.  So, the product stays on the lees, and we can assume that autolysis occurs.

Note that a second run is made using one third of the original volume of the water. Also note, the original hops are reused for the second run.

 

Conversion to modern units:

Weights:

The “pound” would have been the avoirdupois pound (originally 6992 grains, but later standardized to 7000 grains by Queen Elizabeth In 1588).  Essentially, this is the same as the modern pound.

Dry Measures:

The “quarter” would have been equal to 8 bushels.   The “bushel” was standardized as the Winchester bushel which is a volume of approximately 2150.4202 cubic inches. The modern American is a volume of exactly 2150.42 cubic inches.  Thus, the American bushel is almost exactly the same as the bushel used in 1615.

Liquid Measures:

There were two liquid gallons in use at this time.  The first was a wine gallon with a volume of 231 cubic inches (which is equal to the modern the U.S. gallon).  The second an ale gallon of 282 cubic inches (which is close to, but not directly related to the modern imperial gallon which is exactly 10 pounds of water at 62 degrees F).  The ale gallon (equal to 1.22 US gal) is relevant to this discussion.

The hogshead could be one of three sized barrels, the ale hogshead, the beer hogshead, or the wine hogshead (not appropriate for this discussion).   Beer and Ale were different products and the discussion from Markham (1615) notes both products. So, we will assume that we are talking about the Beer Hogshead for this discussion.

The Beer Hogshead is 54 ale/beer gallons which equals 65.88 US Gallons.  Let’s assume that three hogsheads are the fermenter volume (not the mash volume) and equals 197.64 gallons.  Since the instructions say we need headspace to all for fermentation, we adjust down to 180 gallons total wort produced in the first run.

 

Modern recipe for 180 gallons fermenter volume:

  • 336 pounds of malted barley (equal to 1 quarter or 8 bushels)
  • 24 ounces East Kent hops (hops production started in Kent in 1520)
  • Single infusion mash with 225 gallons of water at 162 degrees F (42 gallons lost to grain absorption)
  • Mash for one hour, then drain the wort {batch sparge later for the second run}
  • 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}
  • Pitch yeast
  • Beer is ready in two weeks

 

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

  • Original specific gravity 1.043
  • Final specific gravity 1.011
  • ABV 4.62%
  • IBU 13.19 (pretty mild)
  • SRM (color) 5.67 (light golden)

These numbers match up closely with BJCP Category 12A; Pale Commonwealth Ale; British Golden Ale.

Note that the use of coke to run the kilns to dry malted barley starts in mid-1600s.  In 1615, wood-fired kilns are still being used to dry the malt.  Thus, all malt is brownish in color and smoky in flavor (at least compared to modern pale malts).