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This post deals with a vary obscure style of Nordic
ale that uses heated stones for both raising mash and wort temperatures.
A rather sketchy recipe was made know to me by in a set of documents from
the mid 1400's in Vestmanna. It would appear that documents are in fact
copies of earlier documents, mid 1000's, which were from Denmark.
<br> My translations efforts humbled me and forced me
to consult with my betters. Translations were quite difficult,
even for them, but in the end were well provided by the kindly assistance
of Prof. Mina Lojala and Pele Jacobsen. I'll post more information
about the recipe itself when i send it in.
<br> Because the recipe is rather hazy at points, as
is everything this old, i looked into production methods after hearing
vague reports of stone ale from Finland and Latvia. I was only
able to find out any thing useful after talking to Anne Neystabo, of
Fuglafjorour, who went to the trouble of showing me how to make what
she calls "old style jute ale". This ale is not commercially
produced, it may never have been, and only a few local home brewers make
it, most don't even know about it. What follows is a description
of the mash, boiling and fermentation processes. I'll give
the recipe and recommendations for simulating it the Americas in the next
post.
<p><b>Old Style Jute Ale Production</b>
<p><u>Equipment:</u>
<p> The mash tub i saw was made to produce roughly 15
gallon batches although it seemed to be able to hold over three time times
more liquid. It was constructed out of Baltic Oak and was rectangular
in shape. Across it's bottom lay a tightly woven layer of weathered
and new pine branches. Upon this sets the grist and a couple
of handfuls of crushed elder berries. On top of the berries
and grist lay a 3/4" or so thick pile of baltic birch bark and shavings.
<br> A second wooden tub, made of oak, served as
a boil vessel, yes a boil vessel, and as a cool ship. Both vessels
have a spigots and were stacked on a large wooden frame similar to American
three vessel home brewing rigs.
<p><u>Oven</u>:
<p> An enclosed earthen oven with a heating surface made
of stone was used as a heat source. The oven has heavy doors
made of what appeared to be surplus boiler plate which provide
access to the fire. The cooking surface lay about 2 feet above
the base of the oven where the fire is built. The fire used
hard wood initially until a strong heat was built up. Fuel used to
maintain the fire was principally moss and scrub with a fair portion of
hardwood. About a foot above the base lay a thick iron lattice.
<br> Upon this lattice a few rocks, each roughly
the size of a fist, were placed. I don't know what kind of rocks
were used as i know nothing about geology. The rocks were heated
until they glowed with heat. They were transported to the mash tub
in well soaked buckets and handled by two pairs of tongs.
<p><u>Mash Technique</u>:
<p> Nine heated stones are placed into the mash
tub roughly eight inches apart from each other in lines.
Three quarts of water per pound of mash are poured slowly over
the rocks after the top layer of shavings catch fire and smolder
a bit. The mixture is allowed to prove for roughly half an hour before
being stirred. A second batch of six stones are placed
into the mash tub at this time.
<br> After half an hour wait, three gallons of
wort is drawn off into a barrel containing an equal amount of cold water.
Three heated stones are placed into the barrel containing the mix.
After fifteen minutes the wort is returned to the mash tun and the whole
mash mixed. The aforementioned procedure is repeated two more times
with the wait times increased to 3/4's an hour. The stones used during
these phases are set aside until fermentation.
<br> At this time the wort is allowed to set for the
final hour of the mash. During this final hour of mashing a few handfuls
of elder berries are flung into the wort. Also, several stones
are removed from the mash tub and placed back into the oven during this
period.
<p><u>Boil</u>
<p> The wort is drawn of into a wooden tub
roughly fifty percent smaller then the mash tub. The wort is raised
to a boil by placing six heated stones into the vessel. After
a wait of a quarter hour or so an additional four stones are placed
into the wort This procedure is repeated twice before
the stones are set aside to cool .
<p><u>Fermentation</u>:
<p> The ale is racked to several casks into which
a couple of sugar coated stones are placed along with birch shavings.
After a day the young ale is racked into a second set of casks along
with the remainder of the sugared stones, more shavings and century
extract where fermentation continues for 10 days. The ale is racked
a last time into casks containing woodruff and/or balm to condition for
two months prior to consumption.
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