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).
That was awesome, ye Olde description was spot on!
Cheers K!
Nice work
thanks
I still have the fireweed in storage, thanks!
You are welcome
“Yeoman”
That’s a real title? I thought it was just a way to have chicks on Star Trek with big boobs.
I learned it from this
👍👍 Has possibly my favorite G&S song, but the ending is sad. 😢
Nothing wrong with that. Young Chafed enjoyed the yeo(wo) men.
Is this something the average housewife of the 1600s would have been doing? Or does ‘English House-wife’ have a more specific meaning at that time?
I was thinking hussy, but I doubt that’s right either. 😉
Is this something the average housewife of the 1600s would have been doing?
Short Answer: Yes.
Longer Answer: The Housewife was responsible for kitchen duties. Making beer was kitchen work. The Husbandman was responsible for the fields and the livestock. So the Husbandman would be responsible for making cider (which was just part of harvest).
Gutenburg invented the press in 1440. Before that only the wealthy or the religious would have access to books.
Over the next couple of centuries, there was an explosion of “how to” books being produced. Markham wrote lots of these books and republished then with many publishers under different names. Eventually they got together and forced him to stop doing that.
A Way to Get Wealth was a collection of six small books.
beere is now part of my Glib vocabulary, ye cuntes
wine gallon with a volume of 231 cubic inches
almost no one knows this
the typical answer to how many gallons in a cubic foot is four, well well shy of the 7.48; indeed, no one has ever answered over five
No one has ever asked me. I’d probably have guessed around 6.5.
you’re a goddam genius
I’m telling ya: 30 years of asking
Oh I believe you, most people don’t think about things like that. I just happen to know the dimensions of a 5 gallon bucket (about a foot in diameter and 16″ tall) so it’s not hard to visualize that it would be over 5.
In 1615, wood-fired kilns are still being used to dry the malt. Thus, all malt is brownish in color and smoky in flavor
Mmm… smokey.
That is fascinating. Thanks
To a Tulip in the either…some of is miss you. The same goes for Bob and Festus…the two broken old men who fortell my near fate…I love you all…I sometimes worry about the health of this site…if you aren’t growing, you’re dying…we sure as hell ain’t growing…I’ve seen a lot of subtle, longterm decline in the overall engagement here…I’m equally guilty as the people I’m criticizing…everything just seems so hopelessly ineffectual…why should we care…stop aging, you cuntes. 😉
Stopping aging is our fate, but I am hoping to put it off for awhile.
I do miss many of our departed and trust the TPTB will get the system to permit adding new people soon.
This is a small cove of peace in a hurricane of madness.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that…the off the wall madness here is part of the charm.
Festus came through maybe 3 in the morning three or four days ago
Imma call Festus now
TH, I’m not broken, I carried on, and now I’m happy and busy living the rest of my life, call me if you wanna talk
Fair enough, my friend. My initial response to most of your most recent posts have been to interpret them as a sign of despair…I’m not judging…I’m right their with you. Ever since you lost your wife there’s been sense of searching for a deeper meaning within a select few of your posts and I genuinely emphasize. I care about you, Bob. Never forget that at least one person here can emphasize…I apologize If my poorly thought out take about your life caused you offense…to be fair…you found love at one point, you’ve fathered a child..in many ways, you’ve lived far more fulfilling life than I ever will…Hell, I kinda envy you.
I ain’t got the words…
You are a good soul and an old friend,
Cheers!
HEY YUFUS!
TALL MOTHERFUCKIN CANS!
Stone Delicious,
It’s in the name!
Tall Cans!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEJEO0mvxSI
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/greg-abbott-faces-rebellion-over-texas-property-taxes/ar-AA1mm7ju?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a1d55f47ae0b42df98d898cdf00b5f00&ei=41
Texas, despite having no personal income tax and thus being an attractive destination for many wishing to move from more expensive to cheaper states, has some of the highest property taxes in the entire country.
I would listen to my poker buddies grumble about taxes and scheme this and that, but I always assured them: it will be the folk with the money doing the paying in this here state.
Yeah. Fake republicans in his own party combined with democrats to hamstring that bill. I wish I had a list of names to post at next election time: “Tax traitors.”
Speaking of fake Fiscal Conservatives/Republicans in a supposed Deep Red State…
Minimum Wage Rate Set for Private Employers for 2024
November 21, 2023
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations announces the state minimum wage rate for 2024 has been established, according to state law, at $12.30 per hour, effective January 1, 2024.
Pursuant to Proposition B, which was approved by Missouri voters on November 6, 2018, the minimum wage increased 85 cents per hour each year through 2023. Starting on January 1, 2024, the minimum wage may increase or decrease each year depending on cost-of-living changes reflected in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
At a minimum, all private businesses are required to pay the $12.30 hourly rate, except retail and service businesses whose gross annual sales are less than $500,000. Missouri’s minimum wage law does not apply to public employers, nor does it allow the state’s minimum wage rate to be lower than the federal minimum wage rate…
‘Compensation for tipped employees must also total at least $12.30 per hour. Employers are required to pay tipped employees at least 50 percent of the minimum wage, plus any amount necessary to bring the employee’s total compensation to a minimum of $12.30 per hour.’
Republicans: 111
Democrats: 51
Independents: 0
Totals: 162
This took effect with a “Fiscally Conservative, Republican Governor” In office…
Begins a slow, lazy, jerk-off motion with one hand, flips off the general public with the other…
We still haven’t received a TX property tax bill despite it being delinquent at the end of January. It apparently is down a few hundred compared to last year, compared to the maximum 10% increase we’ve gotten every single year previously.
Property prices doubling since we bought it bake in massive windfall tax collections. Fuck those arseholes.
With no state income tax in TX, where would people expect the state’s money to come from? Of the five states listed with higher property taxes, four of them also have an income tax, so count yourselves lucky. And I used to live and own property in NH before moving to TX, the other state without an income tax but higher property taxes.
“And I will make it felony to drink small beer.”
-Shakespeare, Henry Sixth
thanks for the added context
We did it! We got the debt over $34T by the end of 2023. It was up $834B in the 1st quarter of FY24. Can we get over $36T by the end of 2024?
A couple more protracted wars in dontgiveafuckistan, ca$h to Boeing, Martin-Marietta, et al
YES WE CAN!
This is Hope and Change.
Rope and Chains!
If you vote for Donald Trump you aint black!
Obama, Hope and change
Biden, hope it’s chain’s,
Ok, let’s do a count. Who’s missing?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12909815/Arizona-Military-Museum-CLOSES-Vietnam-vet-founder-80-told-tour-Eventually-replace-gay-black-woman-woke-Jew-claimed-mannequin-hand-hip-represented-gay-soldiers.html
Off to the education camp.
I’m 80 years old?
“Go fuck yourself.”
🤡
I can regale the Glibertariate with tales of great battles between Firstserkers and Borlax.
But do you really deserve it? Have you earned the chance to bask in the lore of the First?
You could. You could do that.
You could recall bawdy tales of lusty adventures. You could tell tales of the Borlax women, and their siren songs, so seductive and beguiling…
You could tell of the incubation of the First that Will Change Everything….
But you wont. You’re a shitty commenter. And an even shitty-er writer.
And a fag.
Try being creative Bro, even if it’s a story of firsts. Write an article you bloody firster!
In Animal’s feed: https://x.com/kattvonkitten1/status/1742265359984369825?s=61&t=h5BOKTRU9mc6OIfm7REElw
This has got to be a put on.
Fake. No tea was offered.
Yeah, what kind of babe in the woods lunatic doesn’t have a password on his wifi?
While this was a great post, I feel obliged to mention that this is why everyone needs the metric system, not to bother with all these different measures 🙂
or maybe obligated same thing
Quite the opposite, it shows how sterile and useless Metric is.
There are seven bushels in a hogshead and damn what the rest of the world says.
Not according to the state of Maine
Standard unit of herring measure
A person who purchases or sells herring in their live or raw state for packing, other than by a standard unit of measure or by a fractional part of a standard unit of measure, commits a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not less than $100 and not more than $500 may be adjudged. The standard units of measure are the bushel, barrel of 3 bushels or the hogshead of 17 1/2 bushels. [PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. B, §6 (AMD); PL 1999, c. 771, Pt. D, §§1,2 (AFF).]
Sure, when it comes to herring that’s common knowlege but I was talking cocaine. If you know of a respectable cartel that gives you that many bushels in a hogshead of blow I want their contact info.
Mornin’ everyone!
☕👀🌄
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s-GsLh6dazI
Have some music. 🎶🎶
Good morning, Sean, Stinky, and U, and good afternoon, Pie!
Morning, GT.
How are you today?
Irritable.
I have a cavalcade of insignificant issues that have piled up like grains of sand in front of me.
Is it too much to ask that people not be yammering away so early in the morning? This is supposed to be the quiet time in the office. Who are these people? Why won’t they shut up?
Yep. First hour I have my nearly always open office door closed. It’s my time to get focused on what needs to be done for that day.
New boss said “this door is always open!” Nope. Just knock you can come in.
The whole point of a door is that it can be closed.
“Previous guy”…don’t care. I am not the previous guy. I am sure he was great. He was here for a long time. He is gone. Get used to it.
What’s an office?
I have yet to set foot in our shiny new offices. If/when i do, i will need to reserve a space as there are no fixed locations. Offices are reserved for C-suite types.
An office is an aspirational location for us cube dwellers.
You poor hotelling bastards… I pity you.
I’m sorry. I fully expect to get that way after I get to work.
From the museum kerfuffle link above.
Soldiers wearing doggy masks in uniform – acceptable
Old man yelling at clouds – burn him.
Not to mention when the baseless smear comports with their political agenda, see his Jan 6th stuff, it’s all well and good but they piss their pants when their ox is gored.
Mornin’ all!
Good morning, Beau and OBE!
Mornin’, reprobates!
Mornin to you and GT!
Good morning, ‘patzie! In a little better shape every day, I hope?
Good times, bad times. Yesterday.was no bueno, better today.
Patzer family had a lively discussion last night wrt tolls on local bridges and tunnels, initiated by the youngest Patzer who will be commuting to NY beginning in July. Sticker shock!
https://thehudsonindependent.com/new-year-brings-higher-tolls-on-cuomo-bridge/
Beginning Jan. 1, the base NY E-ZPass rate to travel over the span increased from $5.75 to $6.25. The toll will increase 50 cents each of the next three years as well until it reaches $7.75 in 2027.
There is a commuter discount available, but it may only apply to Rockland/Westchester NY residents. I’d like to thank NY for red-pilling the young hereabouts.
Looks like he needs a job in a better state.
PA is looking better every day. Not perfect, but not NY/NJ.
Damning with faint praise.