Zapotrzebowanie na energię krakowskiego przemysłu piwowarskiego w XVI i 1 połowie XVII wieku w świetle kwerendy archiwalnej i symulacji procesu spalania w piecach bezkominowych
Sławomir Dryja, Mirosław
Janowski
Zapotrzebowanie na energię
krakowskiego przemysłu
piwowarskiego w XVI i 1 połowie
XVII wieku w świetle kwerendy
archiwalnej i symulacji procesu
spalania w piecach bezkominowych
Res Gestae. Czasopismo Historyczne 6, 143-174
2018
RES GESTAE. CZASOPISMO HISTORYCZNE 2018 (6)
ISSN 2450-4475
DOI 10.24917/24504475.6.7
Sławomir Dryja, Mirosław Janowski
Sławomir Dryja*, Mirosław Janowski**1
(Kraków)
Zapotrzebowanie na energię krakowskiego przemysłu piwowarskiego
w XVI i 1 połowie XVII wieku w świetle kwerendy archiwalnej
i symulacji procesu spalania w piecach bezkominowych
…
Abstract: The XVI century Cracow-based malting and brewing industry was at the peak of its
development, in line with the European trend in the industry’s development. It is no coincidence
then, that the period is called the “golden age of beer”. Around the middle of the century nearly
140 breweries had operated in Cracow, furnished with normalized equipment which enabled the
production of 4680–4770 liters of beer from a single brewing batch. In Cracow from 130 to nearly
270 hectolitres of beer were produced annually (and that is discounting Kazimierz and Kleparz,
which at the time were separate municipal entities). We know relatively much regarding the units
of measure and magnitude of Cracow’s brewing industry during that period, however due to
gaps in sources the issues related to the trading of timber (trade measures, trade organization,
demand), essential to beer brewing, has not been discussed thoroughly. This article intends to fill
this particular gap. Due to the aforementioned gaps in sources, the estimated amount of timber
consumed in brewery production has been calculated based on a simulation of the stack-less
furnace combustion process. For that purpose, experiments conducted by heat engineering specialists at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow have been used.
Timber was rafted to Cracow via the Vistula River, from areas located in its upper section or
larger tributaries. The congregation of Cracow drafters had the monopoly on rafting and trading
wood. Rafted timber was stored at the royal timber garden, at the foot of the Wawel hill. In 1570
nearly 70 thousand timber logs were rafted to Cracow.
The measuring units for rafting during the modern period have been developed by Jerzy
Wyrozumski, however the trading measures remain almost unknown. The unit of measure for
rafted wood was simply a timber log. Trade timber (heating timber) was calculated according to
*
Sławomir Dryja, Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie, Instytut Historii Sztuki
i Kultury, e-mail: .
**
Mirosław Janowski, Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im. Stanisława Staszica w Krakowie,
Wydział Geologii, Geofizyki i Ochrony Środowiska, e-mail:
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Zapotrzebowanie na energię krakowskiego przemysłu piwowarskiego w XVI i 1 połowie XVII wieku… RES GESTAE 2018 (6)
spatial units of measure. It seems, however, that a correlation occurs between both these systems
(the common term of “plet” and “dziesiątek” or “tenth”). It has been adopted that a “dziesiątek”
consists of six clusters or eighteen wagons. The load capacity of a wagon has been assumed at
600 kg. This corresponds to a volume of 1,2–1,3 cubic meters of beech or oak timber (such
timber was burnt in Cracow’s breweries). In comparison to normative volumes for those tree
species, we can observe that one wagon corresponded to half a log, after cutting, lumbering and
drying (to a level of 15–18%). The calculated values served to the purpose of comparison with
the results achieved from calculating the stack-less furnace combustion process simulation.
For the calculations a boiler capacity at a level of 5000 liters and its permanent embedding
has been assumed. This is because a typical furnace at the time was a stack-less structure with an
embedded boiler, fired by hard, non-coniferous timber (oak, beech). Three stages of production
have been distinguished: boiling of water, boiling of the wort and sustaining the boiling of wort
(during the assumed time from 1 to 2,5 hours). It has been observed, that the first two stages of
the studied process have the same energy demand in every given variant. The difference is related to the brewing time of the wort. Energy expenditure increases at this stage proportionally to
extension of the boiling time. The fuel demand is a direct result of the process efficiency, and an
indirect result of the energy efficiency (caloric value) of the fuel.
The results allow to present several significant conclusions. Brewing beer was a highly energy-consuming process. Brewers based their process on highly caloric non-coniferous timber. In
furnaces with an embedded boiler (without a slot) boiling of water was associated with a constant energy expenditure corresponding to burning 0,9 to 1 cubic meter of timber. The energy
demand of the wort boiling process (brewing) was dependent on the length of the process. The
energy expenditure corresponded to burning 1 to 1,15 cubic meters of timber. The total consumption, therefore, was 1,9 to 2,5 cubic meters of timber (which corresponded to – 1300 kg).
Comparing this to a wagon’s load capacity (with an adopted average of approx. 600 kg), we can
observe that the portion for a single brew corresponded to 1,5 to 2 wagons.
It would seem, that for further studies it is recommended to conduct model tests. A 1:1 scale
is not a necessary requirement. A 1:3 scale model appears sufficient, therefore with a boiler volume of no less than 1500 dm3. Model tests would allow to verify the adopted assumptions and
adjust any possible errors.
The historical source verification method based on a theoretical analysis of the combustion
process simulation adopted in there article may find applications in other crafts which incorporate furnaces of different designs based on burning wood (brewers, bakers, coppersmiths, blacksmiths, etc.), which in consequence would allow for a comprehensive assessment of Cracow’s
(or other urban centers’) energy demand in the modern era.
Keywords: brewing, timber trade measuring units, combustion process simulation, stack-less
furnaces
Słowa kluczowe: browarnictwo, handel drewnem, jednostki pomiarowe, symulacja procesu
spalania, piece bezziarniste
Zagadnienia wstępne
W historii Europy okres od około 1450 roku do początków XVII stulecia to
niekwestionowany złoty wiek piwa1. Technologia jego wytwarzania osiągnęła
Określenie użyte przez R. Ungera (The years from around 1450 to the early seventeenth
century were a golden age of brewing). Już pod koniec XVI w. w piwowarstwie europejskim
obserwowany jest początek długotrwałego kryzysu, którego objawy zauważamy również
1
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RES GESTAE 2018 (6)
Sławomir Dryja, Mirosław Janowski
niespotykany wcześniej poziom. Nastąpił też szybki wzrost produkcji, przewyższający rozwój demograficzny, połączony z ekspansją na nowe terytoria.
Granica pomiędzy „piwną” a „winną” Europą przesunęła się znacząco w kierunku (...truncated)