hist-brewing: Medieval brewing assistance needed!

[Craig Jones.]

>> I choose to brew hopless.
>
>    Okay, tell us how you do it.  None of the three hopless ales I
>have attempted has been acceptable.  They all started out sour and
>got more so in short order.
>    Scotti

I've brewed the Lady Holmbley's Scotch Ale from Digby.  I used about
about 7Kg of Light Malt powdered extract and a Wyeast Liquid Scotch
Ale Yeast.  No hops or herbs.  The result was a 12% beer, still quite
sweet and pungently sour. Got 18 1/2 outta 20 in a West Kingdom
Brewing Comp.  Was enjoyed by all 3 judges, one who enjoyed it very
much like a fine lambic.  I myself enjoyed it immensely and regret
only making 5 gals.

I found I can tolerate even powerfully sour beer if balanced with
significant alcohol and malty sweetness.  When it's a small ale, I
cant stand it.  The evidence I've seen to date though was that
smallish ales were drunk very young (3 days after fermetation starts)
where a strong ale can sour and mature for a good 1-2 years.

Any comments.

Cheers,

Drake Morgan. 


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