Ironically, I posted a thread many months ago called "13th - 16th Century Grainbills by Town (reference)", to argue my point about how oats used to be much more prevalent in brewing grists. It turns out this "Tudor recipe" is the same exact source text Richard W. Unger used in his book Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, see the table data for London, page 160.Tudor Beer
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.048
FG = 1.014
IBU = 17
SRM = 5.5
ABV = 4.4%
INGREDIENTS
Grainbill:
7.8 lb. (3.5 kg) Briess 2-row pale malt
1.6 lb. (0.73 kg) Fawcett oat malt
1.6 lb. (0.73 kg) Weyermann pale wheat malt
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) Weyermann smoked malt (rauchmalz)
Hops:
4.5 AAU Goldings hops (70 mins) = 1.0 oz./28 g at 4.5% alpha acids
Yeast:
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) or Wyeast 1968 (London ESB)
Step by Step
Mash grains at 152–154 °F (67–68 °C) for 60 minutes. Run off and sparge with hot water to collect about 5.5–6 gallons (21–23 L) of wort. Add Goldings hops and boil 70 minutes. Cool finished wort to around 70 °F (21 °C), and pitch yeast (as a 1 quart /1 L starter). Ferment at 65–70 °F (18–21 °C) for 5–7 days, then rack to secondary for a further 7 days or so. Rack and bottle or keg in the usual manner.
TABLE 6. PROPORTIONS OF GRAINS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BEER,
THIRTEENTH THROUGH SIXTEENTH CENTURY, IN PERCENTAGES
Town ......................Date.......Wheat.....Oats.......Barley
London.....................1286.......17..........66..........17
Nuremberg................1305.................................100
Ghent......................1300s......50.......................50
Lier (kuit).................1440.......43..........35..........22
Lier (hop)..................1440.......20..........60..........20
Brussels (wagebaard)....1447.......27..........46..........27
Hamburg...................1462.......10.......................90
Lille........................c.1500.....23..........45..........32
London.....................1502?......14..........14..........72*
Bavaria.....................1516................................100
Antwerp (kuit).............1518......73..........15..........12
Antwerp (klein)............1518......13..........47..........40
Lille.........................1546......12..........70..........18‡
Hannover...................1526......33.......................67†
Antwerp (kuit).............1536.......8...........49..........43
Antwerp (knol).............1536......18..........45...........37
Antwerp (half stuuyvers)..1536......18.........40...........42
Antwerp (cleyn bier).......1530s.....13.........47...........40
Antwerp (strong)...........1530s.....20.........40...........40
Lille..........................1546..................20...........80‡
Hamburg (Weissbier)......1500s.....10.......................90
Sources: Arnold, Chronicle (Customs of London), 247; Bing, Hamburgs Bierbrauerei, 254; Bracker, "Hopbier uit Hamburg," 29; Campbell et al., A Medieval Capital and Its Grain Supply, 205-6; DuPlessis, Lille and the Dutch Revolt, 124 n. 13; Lŏhdefink, Die Entwicklung der Brauergilde, 18; Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond, 440; Peeters, "Introduction," in combined facsimile edition of Lis and Buys; Soly, "De Brouwerijenonderneming van Gilbert van Schoonbeke," 340-44; Uytven, "Haarlemmer hop," 345.
*Called "malte" by Arnold and presumably barley malt
†Said to be in the Hamburg style.
‡Temporary restrictions to meet grain shortages.
Disclaimer: I have not personally brewed this recipe.
