Parti-gyling in the 1950s

A technique much-beloved of UK breweries, for a whole variety of reasons. The most obvious being efficiency. It was a way of using every last drop of wort.

Parti-gyling was also a very convenient and economical way of producing low-volume beers. Fullers, for example, with a brew length of 200-300 barrels, produced OBE, their Burton Ale, in batches as small as 10 barrels. This was only possible because it was parti-gyled with a much larger quantity of Mild Ale.

Here’s an example of one of those Fullers parti-gyles of OBE with Mild:

1958 Fullers OBE
barrels	OG
21.75	1059.5
4.25	1013.1
1.25	1002.8
27.25	1049.6
Source:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery

1958 Fullers Hock
barrels	OG
79.25	1059.5
117.5	1013.1
2.25	1002.8
199	1031.4
Source:
Fullers brewing record held at the brewery

The three worts were hopped and boiled separately then blended post-boil to hit the required volumes and gravity for the two beers.

In Scotland, virtually everything was parti-gyled. Most breweries had a single recipe from which they produced three separate Pale Ales (60/-, 70/- and 80/-) and a Strong Ale.


This is an exceprt from my excellent book on brewing after WW II.


http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/austerity/23181344