[Sca-cooks] Reference to 'stale' ale.

[Decker, Terry D.]

There are a number of people who probably have a better grasp on the history
of brew than I.  On this list, I can think of Cindy Renfrow who has written
a book on the subject.  However, since you asked I'll impart what I have
gleaned.

The Assisa Cervisie (Assize of Beer, 1350) names both beer and ale and
suggests that they are made from barley, wheat or oats. It provides no
information about the brewing or what differentiates beer from ale.  The
documentation to which I have access dates from the 18th Century and it is
possible beer may not have been mentioned in the earliest forms of the law.

"... In 1282, when Robert Sibille the younger was presented at the court of
Kibworth Harcourt for selling his ale at too high a price, the stipulated
price left him little room for profit. Having paid 2s. for 4 bushels of malt
and required to sell 5 gallons of ale for 2d., he would have had to draw 60
gallons from his malt just to recoup his investment. His ale, in other
words, would have been very weak indeed and his profits very low."
[Bennett, p. 21]

This quote is interesting because it predates the Assize.  Under the Assize,
at this price for barley, Sibille would have been allowed to sell 3 gallons
of ale for 2d (if I understand the pricing scheme).  Apparently, because of
a commercial regulation earlier than the Assize, Sibille had to produce a
weaker ale.

A more normal recipe would make 60 gallons from a quarter (8 bushels) of
barley, as recorded in the household accounts of the Clare household around
1333.

According to some brewers who have experimented with this, the stronger ale
will be sweeter than the weaker ale.

The earliest use of hops in beer is supposedly found in Jewish writings
about their captivity in Babylon.  The first mention of its use in beer in
Europe occurs in the 13th Century.  Hopping appears to have started in the
Low Countries (possibly because it improved storing and transporting) and
moved into Germany and England.  In Germany, use of hops as an ingredient in
beer was written into the Reinheitsgebot (Purity Law) of 1516.  Hopping
appears to have come to England in the 15th Century, but not to have become
common before the 16th Century.

Gruits (flavorings) included marsh rosemary, sweet gale, bog myrtle, honey,
yarrow, coriander, ginger, aniseseed, juniper berries, cinnamon, etc.
Yeasting could be from wild sporing or from the dregs of a previous batch.

So as a judgement call, period ale could be anything from a sweet mellow
brew to a beverage requiring another few trips through the horse.  It would
probably be unhopped, but might be flavored.  A brew made for a noble house
would likely have better ingredients and more grain than one made by a
commercial brewer, thus having a sweeter more appealing taste.

Since I haven't chased down the primary references take the comments with a
grain of salt.

Bear


> Bitter ales, IIRC, are a fairly modern (post 1600's)
> invention.  This is not to say that earlier
> concoctions weren't bitter, merely suggesting that an
> *intentionally* bitter ale may not have existed in
> period.  At the same time, over pitching of yeast can
> cause a bitter flavor in beer, as can using, as
> Adamantius indicated, other bitter ingredients.
> However, most un-hopped and still ales would have been
> comparatively sweet, if I'm not mistaken.  Bear seems
> to know quite a bit about brewing history, so perhaps
> we should illicit his response?
>
> Balthazar of Blackmoor