Great Lakes Brewing News, June/July 1996

The last medieval brewery, dating from the 14^th century, survived intact until shortly after World War II at Queen’s College, Oxford. In Syracuse, New York, however, one can catch a glimpse of the Middle Ages at 120 Wilkinson Street. The site is not a ruin, but the home of the Middle Ages Brewing Company, Ltd., owned by Marc and Mary Rubenstein. 

On a festive Friday evening this May, Middle Ages celebrated its first birthday with 250 guests, food, costumed Morris dancers, and their standard brews – White Knight Ale, Grail Ale and Beast Bitter. They also offered up two special hand-pumped, cask-conditioned firkins of “the Beast,” and shared an India Pale Ale they are contract brewing for the Lake Placid Pub & Brewery.

Although they have been brewing since 1995, the Rubenstein’s quest began years earlier with homebrewing. As their interest grew, they visited 25 microbreweries, talked to 50 brewers, and eventually interned at Kennebunkport Brewing and Shipyard Brewing in Maine.

As Head Brewer and President, husband and wife, the Rubensteins bring to the endeavor a willingness to work, a love of good beer and a ready smile, three indispensable qualifications. Peter Austin & Partners provided the equipment, built in England to the Rubenstein’s specifications. Austin & Partners also installed the hardware, including highly specialized piping and the brickwork that surrounds the brew kettle.

A typical brew begins when Marc opens 26 (or more) sacks of two-row barley malt from Munton & Fison in Suffolk, England, and runs it through the mill and into the mash tun for mashing and extraction. The wort is then strained into the brew kettle where bittering hops from the Pacific Northwest are added, and the mixture is boiled over a direct flame for one hour. Meanwhile, aroma hops are steeped in hot water in the hop percolator. When the wort is ready, it is passed through the percolator for filtration, and another layer of hoppy flavor and aroma, on its way to the fermenting tanks.

The wort cools in an open fermenting tank, and yeast from a 150-year-old Yorkshire strain is “pitched” in, and begins to work. Clad in a Middle Ages t-shirt, jeans and brewery boots, Marc keeps an eye on the fermentation. When he senses the yeast needs more oxygen, he “rouses” the yeast with a rousing stick. One of the major accomplishments in Middle Ages’ first year was the “training” of the yeast, now controlled by temperature. In the early days, it could rouse Marc at 3 a.m.

When the yeast has finished its work, it is skimmed for the next batch. The beer is conditioned in the fermenter for four and one-half days and sent over to conditioning tanks for one day to clarify, then filtered and carbonated to the proper level, followed by kegging or bottling. Middle Ages is neither computerized nor automated. The whole process takes nine days, strong hands and personal attention.

The results are Grail Ale, a rich ruby-red, full-bodied ale; White Knight Light Ale, a golden ale brewed in the tradition of English session ales; and Beast Bitter, in the ESB style. While the beers’ style and manufacturer harken back to the venerable English methods, their names and packaging bring to mind Sir Thomas Malory’s 15^th century Arthurian legends for some, and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” for others.

For those with an eye on the future, a Brown Ale will make its debut in kegs in the early autumn. Wizard Winter Ale, a classic “warmer” first offered last year, will return in October in kegs and 12-ounce bottles. A porter or stout is scheduled for 1997.

Middle Ages began by shipping beer within New York State, but has recently found a thirsty audience in Philadelphia and northern New Jersey. By June, the brewery will be shipping to Vermont, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, which should make the Quest for the Holy Grail much easier.