The aludi brewers of the Georgian highlands don’t necessarily bother with precise measurements—instead, they focus on traditional methods and local ingredients. Those methods vary by village and region, but there are at least two common elements: They malt their own barley and dry it in the sun; and they forage for wild hops and dry them for later use.
Beyond that, accounts vary by village and region. Some brewers let the mash sit overnight (or longer) before heating it with fire. In some places they apparently boil the mash, then filter; in others they filter before boiling the wort. They may add the hops to the mash, at the end of the boil, or they may brew a hop tea and add that to the boil or before fermentation. Reliable accounts in English are relatively scarce and vary, so there’s much we still don’t know. The idea here is simply to communicate some methods and principles of what may be one of the world’s oldest surviving brewing traditions.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.053 (13.1°P)
FG: 1.013 (3.3°P)
IBUs: unknown
ABV: 5.3%
