No-math Parti-gyle Old Ale, IPA, and ESB

ALL-GRAIN

From simplest recipe to myriad outcomes, flexible parti-gyle style.

TOTAL BATCH SIZE

10 gallons/37.8 liters (two worts of 5 gallons/18.9 liters each)

MALT/GRAIN BILL

24 lb (10.9 kg) Maris Otter malt

HOPS SCHEDULE

3.5 oz (99 g) East Kent Goldings (5% AA) at 45 minutes on the first boil 1.3 oz (37 g) East Kent Goldings (5% AA) at 45 minutes on the second boil

DIRECTIONS

Mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Draw 5.5 gallons (20.8 liters) of first runnings and start your first boil. Boil for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, sparge to draw an additional 5.5 gallons (20.8 liters) for the second wort. Optionally, continue to sparge until the runnings drop to 1.005 gravity—to get more, lighter second runnings or additional third runnings that can be used for blending.

Boil the second wort (for 90 minutes) as soon as feasible. This is where the extra brewing equipment comes in handy. Many of us must boil and chill the first wort, then set it aside until we’re ready to blend.

First wort after 90-minute boil Estimated OG: 1.090 Estimated IBUS: 46

Second wort after 90-minute boil Estimated OG: 1.045 Estimated IBUS: 25

After chilling, blend the two worts to make at least three different beers—and with many more potential variations.

▪ For the strongest beer, blend 3 gallons (11.3 liters) of the first wort and 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of the second to get 4 gallons (15.1 liters) of OG 1.079 wort at an estimated 41 IBUS. This becomes your old ale or barleywine.

▪ For the second beer, blend 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of each wort to get 2 gallons (7.6 liters) of OG 1.067 wort at an estimated 35 IBUS. This becomes your strong ale or IPA.

▪ For the third beer, blend the remaining 4 gallons (15.1 liters) to get a wort of OG 1.056 at an estimated 30 IBUS. Even as the weakest of the three, it’s still strong enough to be a traditional ESB.

VARIATIONS

Traditionalists can go with a favored British yeast strain and decide whether they want to dry hop any or all of these beers— in primary, secondary, or keg (or cask, even better). But any combination of yeasts and fermentation can be used, with or without extra hops, to create a wider variety of beers. Belgian yeast, lager yeast, Brettanomyces—there is room to play. The simplicity of this single-malt, single-hops recipe—meant as a starting point—also makes it easy to go even further by subbing in different grain bills or hops varieties.