Grodno Beer and Gabriel Rzączyński

Introduction

While researching The Curious Natural History of the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Adjacent Provinces, written by the Jesuit, naturalist, native of Podlasie and bearer of the Ślepowron coat of arms Gabriel Rzączyński (1664–1737), and published in 1721, I came across a passage that marked the beginning of a small adventure — and a significant step towards reviving Belarusian historical brewing.

In a section discussing the properties of water in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and its suitability for cooking and brewing, Rzączyński makes a remarkable observation:

"In Grodno, the New Market has three wells whose water is exceptionally suitable for brewing beer."

In the original Latin:

“Grodeci forum novum continet puteos tres, cerevisiae parandae aptissimos”.

This discovery immediately raised several questions. Where was Grodno's "New Market" located? Have any of these three wells survived? Are there wells in the city that are more than a century old? And what was the mineral composition of the very "Grodno water" that Rzączyński singled out?

The search for answers led to the study of the city's water supply, historical maps, archival documents, hydrogeological research and the history of local breweries. Ultimately, it culminated in a practical experiment: the reconstruction brewing of a dark Grodno beer in the Bock style.

The History of Grodno's Water Supply

To understand the role water played in Grodno's history, and why Rzączyński considered it exceptionally suitable for brewing, we must first examine the development of the city's water supply.

Among the researchers who have studied this subject are historians Yuri Gordeyev and Andrei Vashkevich, whose publications and consultations help reconstruct the historical circumstances surrounding Grodno's water infrastructure.

The history of the city's wells and water supply systems can be traced back at least to the late fifteenth century. It was closely connected with everyday urban life and the development of crafts, including brewing.

In 1541, Queen Bona Sforza ordered the cleaning of the main municipal well in the market square, corresponding to today's Sovetskaya Square. By that time, the well had fallen into disrepair.

It was probably equipped with a mechanical water-lifting device and served as one of the principal sources of water for residents of the city centre.

However, its central location also had disadvantages. Intensive use and domestic contamination could impair the quality of its water, creating a need for alternative sources and more reliable supply systems.

In 1629, Mayor Hanus Fandeberg financed the construction of one of Grodno's earliest municipal water pipelines.

Water was carried from the Gorodnichanka River to the market and the Old Castle through wooden pipes. These were made from logs with longitudinal holes drilled through them. Individual sections were joined with metal sleeves, while the joints were sealed with resin to prevent leaks.

Both written records and archaeological discoveries provide evidence of this technology.

An inventory of the Old Castle from 1653 mentions large drills used to manufacture wooden pipes. In 1931, fragments of an old water pipeline were discovered on Krivaya Street. Similar finds were made along the banks of the Gorodnichanka in the early 2000s.

In 1641, a craftsman from Vilnius named Wilhelm Pol proposed expanding Grodno's water supply system.

His project envisaged drawing water from the Putrishki estate and transporting it by gravity, using the natural difference in elevation, towards the Vilnius Gate and the Old Castle.

The estimated cost amounted to several thousand złotys. The work would have required specialist pipe makers, known as rurniki, who drilled wooden water pipes.

However, the war that began in 1654 interrupted these municipal development plans.

In addition to public wells, Grodno had private, monastic and courtyard wells.

Historical documents mention an ancient monastery well near Kalozha, wells across the Neman River and wells in the Jewish quarter.

Water quality varied from one part of the city to another. Rzączyński explicitly compared the wells of the New and Old Markets, considering the water from the latter to be less suitable.

The reasons for this difference remain unknown. They may have involved the characteristics of underground aquifers, the locations and construction of the wells, or their sanitary condition.

The development of municipal water infrastructure was directly relevant to brewing.

In the late 1570s, King Stephen Báthory confirmed the rights of Grodno's townspeople to brew beer, produce malt, operate mills and maintain beer and mead taverns.

Brewing was therefore an established part of the urban economy, and access to suitable water was an important condition for its development.

It is against this historical background that we should consider Rzączyński's account from 1721 of three wells containing water exceptionally well suited to brewing beer.

Grodno's "New Market" in the Eighteenth Century

To identify the location of the "New Market" mentioned by Rzączyński, I contacted the historian Yuri Gordeyev, who specialises in the history of Grodno.

Asked which market the author might have been referring to in the early eighteenth century, he replied:

"There were three markets in Grodno, and the fourth, which is most likely the one being referred to, was the Hay Market."

According to the historian, the name Hay Market derives from the trade in hay. Similar place names existed in other European cities.

On a Polish map of Grodno from 1932, Sienny Rynek — the Hay Market — is clearly marked next to plac Batory'ego (Báthory Square), now Sovetskaya Square.

An aerial photograph from 1915 has also survived, showing the historical layout of this area, its market square and surrounding structures.

However, the photograph does not allow us to identify the exact locations of the old wells with confidence.

Today, the former Hay Market occupies an inner courtyard area bounded by Stefan Batory, Karl Marx, Sotsialisticheskaya and Parizhskoy Kommuny streets.

Historically, an entrance to the market was located opposite the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross.

Interestingly, the Kuntz brewery — one of Grodno's notable brewing enterprises of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — stood nearby.

The Hay Market therefore appears to be a plausible candidate for the "New Market" described by Rzączyński.

Nevertheless, this identification remains a hypothesis.

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century maps establish the existence and location of the Hay Market, but they do not prove that it was known as the New Market in 1721.

Additional eighteenth-century documentary evidence would be needed to establish that connection conclusively.

Searching for Rzączyński's Wells

Having investigated Grodno's historical topography, the next step was to search for surviving wells, or at least traces of the city's older water sources.

I first contacted the Grodno Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

According to the response I received, no register of old drinking-water wells is maintained. If any such wells have survived, the most likely places to find them are in privately owned areas.

This led to the beginning of our field investigations.

Kirill Mishin, a local-history enthusiast and member of the Beer League (Pivnaya Liga), joined the research and suggested a route through the historic city.

The historians Alexander Khotko and Yevgeny Makhnach also contributed information and advice.

Exploring the Upper and Lower Terraces

Kirill Mishin proposed examining Grodno through its distinctive terrain, provisionally dividing the historic centre into upper and lower terraces in relation to the Neman River.

The upper terrace includes the castle hills, Kalozha Hill, Sovetskaya Square, the Bernardine church area and neighbouring districts.

This part of the city is also home to the well-known water towers, "Kasia" and "Basia".

As the historian Yevgeny Makhnach explained, they were once used as part of a system supplying water from the Neman, although they ceased performing that original function long ago.

The lower terrace covers the riverside districts. At the foot of these slopes, groundwater and natural springs might be expected to emerge.

Our route began at the presumed site of the New Market — the present-day courtyard behind the Neman Hotel.

The distance between the historic Old Market and the supposed New Market is only about 250 metres.

At first glance, such a short distance might suggest similar water properties. Yet groundwater composition can vary considerably even between nearby locations, depending on the aquifers, well depth and local environmental conditions.

The Hay Market and Surrounding Streets

The former market area has been almost completely transformed. It now consists of asphalted courtyards, pedestrian paths and buildings from later periods.

During the 1930s and 1940s, this area was also known as the Bernardine Market.

Local residents whom we questioned could not identify the locations of any old wells.

On Parizhskoy Kommuny Street, where some older buildings and private properties remain, we found neither wells nor surviving public water standpipes.

On Podgornaya Street, one long-time resident recalled two water standpipes that had once stood there. By the time of our investigation, both had disappeared.

Podol and the Former Kuntz Brewery

The next stage took us to Podol, a historic district descending towards the Neman.

The writer Eliza Orzeszkowa described it as follows:

"Podol descends from the top of the hill, with the Gothic tower of the Bernardine church, towards the sands along the Neman."

According to information obtained during our investigation, drilling work had been carried out near the Sherwood restaurant.

Local residents reported that old wells had not survived in this area and that former public water standpipes had been taken out of service.

We continued along the Neman towards the site of the former Kuntz brewery.

No visible traces of an old well were found.

The situation was similar near the Old and New Castles, where modern landscaping, road surfaces and later buildings make it difficult to locate traces of earlier water infrastructure.

The Gorodnichanka River and Rybatskaya Street

Our next stop was the area around the bridge over the Gorodnichanka.

Brewing enterprises once operated here. According to the available information, one of the buildings may have been used as a distillery.

The banks of the Gorodnichanka were also associated with hop cultivation. Until relatively recently, wild hops could still be found near the city executive committee building.

Today, the river's water quality raises concerns. Nevertheless, there are places nearby where natural springs may emerge.

According to local historians, numerous groundwater outlets can sometimes be observed at the foot of Kalozha Hill — occasionally as many as ten.

On Rybatskaya Street, we discovered one privately owned well.

It is of interest as a potential site for further investigation and water sampling.

However, its age, depth and water quality cannot be determined without additional research.

The Kalozha Terrace

Near the Church of Saints Boris and Gleb, commonly known as Kalozha Church, we found two metal water standpipes.

One stands near the entrance to the church grounds; the other is located in a nearby landscaped area.

No ancient wells were identified during our visual inspection.

The route then passed through Kalozha Park and ended near the historic Old Market.

We had come full circle.

Results of the Search

Our investigation did not reveal any surviving wells at the former Hay Market or along the route that could be reliably associated with Rzączyński's account.

Some water standpipes and well structures remain in the historic city, but their origins require further investigation.

According to local residents, natural water sources can still be sought in the Rumlyovo and Lososno districts, near the Lososyanka River and downstream from the New Bridge on the right bank of the Neman.

Historians and long-time residents note that many wells in Grodno were traditionally constructed where natural springs emerged.

This is consistent with the city's terrain and hydrogeological characteristics, but it does not establish the locations of the three wells described in 1721.

The principal result of our search was not the discovery of the wells themselves, but the identification of the most plausible historic area and directions for further research.

Since the original wells have not yet been located, the next step was to examine modern Grodno water and assess its properties from a brewing perspective.

Grodno Well Water for Brewing

Can modern knowledge of water chemistry help explain Rzączyński's observation?

To address this question, we must consider hydrogeological studies of Grodno, laboratory analyses of natural water sources and specialist literature on brewing water treatment.

According to the research discussed in this article, water from certain Grodno springs and shallow aquifers has a calcium-bicarbonate composition.

It is characterised by relatively high concentrations of calcium (Ca²⁺) and bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻), a slightly alkaline pH of approximately 7.3–7.8 and total mineralisation of around 300–430 mg/L.

However, water characteristics can vary significantly between individual springs and water intakes.

Potential contamination by nitrates, microorganisms and other impurities must also be considered, particularly where wells are located near densely built-up districts or agricultural land.

Iron in Grodno Water

Iron content deserves particular attention.

Measurements reported for some Grodno springs indicate concentrations of approximately 0.76–0.80 mg/L.

When dissolved ferrous iron (Fe²⁺) comes into contact with oxygen, it can be oxidised to the ferric state and form poorly soluble compounds that precipitate from the water.

This process is known as natural iron removal.

Aeration and settling can indeed remove some dissolved iron. However, simply allowing water to stand does not guarantee that it is safe to drink, nor does it replace laboratory testing.

Iron content is also important in brewing: excessive amounts may negatively affect the flavour, colour and stability of the finished beer.

Historically, finding suitable water was important not only for urban breweries but also for monastic estates.

Studies of historical water supplies mention artificial ponds known as sazhalki, constructed near natural springs. Such structures may have been used to collect and store water for practical purposes.

Comparing Grodno and London Water

A particularly interesting comparison can be made between Grodno's water and that of London, a city historically associated with the development of porter and other dark beers.

In Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers (2013), John Palmer and Colin Kaminski discuss the approximate mineral characteristics of historic brewing water profiles.

For the London profile, commonly cited reference values include approximately 90 mg/L calcium, 300 mg/L bicarbonate, 50 mg/L sulfate, 30 mg/L chloride, 10 mg/L magnesium and 30 mg/L sodium.

Modern data for the Gozha water intake near Grodno, as presented in the original research materials, give the following composition:

• pH — 7.56;
• Calcium (Ca²⁺) — 96.3 mg/L;
• Magnesium (Mg²⁺) — 18.92 mg/L;
• Sodium (Na⁺) — 19.61 mg/L;
• Chloride (Cl⁻) — 15.54 mg/L;
• Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) — 1.42 mg/L;
• Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) — 320 mg/L.

Comparative Table of Water Mineral Composition

Comparison of modern Grodno water data with an approximate London brewing-water profile discussed in the brewing literature. These figures are not direct measurements of eighteenth-century water.

The calcium and bicarbonate concentrations are relatively close, while the Grodno sample contains substantially less sulfate and chloride.

Nevertheless, this water should not be described as soft. The stated calcium and magnesium concentrations indicate a fairly high level of total hardness.

For brewing, alkalinity is particularly important alongside water hardness. Alkalinity is strongly influenced by bicarbonate content.

Highly alkaline water can affect mash pH. When brewing dark beer, the acidity contributed by certain speciality and roasted malts may partly offset this alkalinity.

This helps explain why some water profiles historically associated with dark-beer production are of interest for brewing reconstructions.

However, whether a particular water source suits a specific recipe depends on several factors: the grain bill, calcium and magnesium content, alkalinity, sulfate and chloride concentrations, and the desired mash pH.

The Practical Experience of Grodno Brewers

The observations of local brewers are also valuable.

Viktor, the owner of the Grodno-based homebrewing resource samovarow.by, comments:

"Actually, our city's water is not that bad. For dark beer styles, it's almost ideal. For lagers, it needs softening, which even relatively inexpensive filters can handle. Yes, the iron level is elevated, but it's not critical."

His assessment is consistent with the possibility of using local water for certain dark beer styles, although the appropriate water-treatment process must be based on laboratory analysis.

What Does This Tell Us About Rzączyński's Water?

Modern evidence suggests that natural water in the Grodno area could indeed have possessed properties suitable for producing certain types of beer.

However, the mineral composition of the water from the three New Market wells in 1721 remains unknown.

It cannot be reconstructed precisely from analyses of present-day water sources.

Nevertheless, similarities between certain characteristics of Grodno water and brewing-water profiles associated with historic centres of dark beer production provide an interesting basis for experimentation.

To understand why such an experiment might be worthwhile, we must now turn to the history of Grodno beer itself.

Grodno Beer: Dark Styles and Urban Brewing Culture

Rzączyński's remarks about the quality of Grodno water acquire additional significance when viewed alongside the city's brewing history.

Grodno had a long-established brewing tradition. According to historical accounts, as many as 19 breweries were operating in the city by 1564.

Beer played an important role in the urban economy and everyday life.

Later, particularly during the nineteenth century, developments in trade and industry encouraged the adoption of new technologies and a broader range of beer styles.

Especially valuable information about this period can be found in research by Alexander Radzyuk, a Grodno historian, PhD in History and homebrewer, published in the collection Grodnæ et orbi (2018).

Who Brewed Beer, and How Did the Industry Develop?

During the second half of the eighteenth century, beer was brewed by townspeople, noble families and monastic estates.

A state-owned brewery also operated in the Gorodnitsa district of Grodno. After 1795, it was leased to private operators.

By the early nineteenth century, the enterprise was gradually declining.

Some of its equipment was sold or requisitioned. In 1812, certain brewing kettles were transferred for military use. Archival materials also record instances of property being stolen.

Statistics from the first half of the nineteenth century are contradictory.

Some documents report six breweries in Grodno in 1839, while others claim there were no breweries anywhere in the governorate in 1847.

These discrepancies may reflect differences in official accounting practices and the classification of industrial enterprises.

Nevertheless, beer production did not disappear. It continued on noble estates and in smaller establishments.

By 1865, seven breweries were operating within Grodno itself.

According to the figures presented by Alexander Radzyuk, brewing occupied a significant place in the urban economy and exceeded several other industries in the value of its output.

Regulation of Beer Production and Sales

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought substantial changes in legislation and the operating conditions of brewing enterprises.

Alexander Radzyuk identifies several important stages:

• 1897. The introduction of the state monopoly on the sale of strong alcoholic beverages was accompanied by trading restrictions that negatively affected some beer-selling establishments.
• 1901. Changes to the excise system contributed to a reduction in the number of breweries in the governorate from 46 to 29. According to the figures cited, production fell by approximately 100,000 vedros between 1901 and 1902.
• 1906. Changes to the legal framework for beer sales encouraged the expansion of the retail network. Between 1905 and 1907, the number of beer outlets reportedly tripled, while production increased by approximately 150%.

Against this background, Grodno's breweries adapted to changing market conditions, adopted new technologies and competed both with one another and with imported beer.

The Geography of Grodno's Breweries

The locations of brewing enterprises were strongly influenced by the city's geography.

The Neman River and the surrounding districts formed the principal axis of brewing development.

Breweries owned by Leyba Shereshevsky, Yudel Lapidus and the Yafe (Yofe) family stood along Khlebnaya Embankment.

Sh. Shereshevsky operated a brewery on the Right Embankment, while Leyba Slutsky's enterprise was located near Vilensky Lane.

On Ogorodnaya Street stood a brewery established by Oshar Vilner, which was later leased and then purchased by Osip Kuntz.

Brewing was often a family business.

A substantial proportion of brewery owners belonged to the city's Jewish community. There were also entrepreneurs of foreign origin, including M.-R. Tourno and Osip Kuntz and his successors.

Proximity to the Neman and other waterways facilitated brewing operations and transport.

At the same time, these locations created sanitation problems, especially where water supply and wastewater systems were poorly developed.

Technology, Beer Varieties and Sanitary Conditions

Brewing Technology

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Grodno breweries employed a brewing method described in contemporary documents as Munich or Bavarian.

An important feature was decoction mashing, in which a portion of the mash was removed, boiled and returned to the main mash vessel.

The subsequent stages involved boiling the wort with hops, cooling, fermentation and maturation.

Historical brewing systems used wooden fermentation vessels, cooling apparatus and ice cellars.

Manual operations were gradually replaced by mechanised equipment.

From 1902, the Kuntz brewery operated a steam-powered mill of the Pashepny system.

According to the research, its milling capacity was approximately 83 poods of malt per hour, compared with 8–12 poods when milling was carried out manually.

Beer Varieties and Prices

At the end of the nineteenth century, the range of locally produced beer was relatively limited.

Many breweries offered one principal product: "ordinary" dark beer, priced at approximately 3–3.5 kopecks per bottle, or "Bavarian" beer, priced at around 6–7 kopecks.

The Kuntz brewery was notable for its wider range.

Alongside more common varieties, it produced "English porter", costing approximately 20 kopecks per half-bottle, and an "export" beer priced at about 10 kopecks.

In the early twentieth century, "extra" and "Pilsner" beers also appeared in the brewery's range.

According to Alexander Radzyuk, consumer preferences showed a degree of social differentiation: ordinary beer was more frequently purchased by peasants, while Bavarian beer was popular among workers and townspeople.

Sanitary Conditions

Industrial development did not always bring corresponding improvements in production hygiene.

Excise inspection reports recorded problems at certain establishments, including leaking roofs, mould, rainwater entering through ventilation openings, accumulated rubbish and wastewater being discharged directly into the Neman.

Such problems were recorded, for example, at brewery No. 69, owned by Rakhil Andres.

These conditions may have damaged the reputation of local producers and encouraged demand for imported beer.

Imported Beer and the Development of Dark Styles

According to records from 1908, beer was imported into Grodno from the Warsaw, Vilna, Kovno, Livonia, Minsk, Suwałki and Saint Petersburg governorates.

Some consumers considered imported beer to be of higher quality, despite its higher price, which could reach two rubles per vedro.

There was also an older tradition of trading in imported beer.

According to researcher V. Grinkevich, Prussian porter was already being transported to Grodno along the Neman in the first half of the nineteenth century, alongside rum and wine.

Travel accounts from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries provide further context.

In notes published in 1807, Baron Balthasar von Campenhausen described a dark beer produced in Dubrovno, near Orsha, which resembled porter.

According to his account, centaury, referred to as "Zindelika", was used in its preparation.

The English traveller William Coxe also wrote about beer in the region that reminded him of strong English dark varieties.

Rzączyński himself identified the Orsha region as one of the notable brewing centres of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Dark-beer traditions therefore existed within a broader regional network shaped by local production, trade and the influence of foreign brewing techniques.

Grodno was one of the centres within this network.

Rakhil Andres and the Kuntz Brewery: The History of Dark Beer

Rakhil Andres's Brewery

Records concerning brewery No. 69 mention the production of "black beer" made from wort of high original gravity.

This is valuable evidence for the study of local dark beers. However, colour and gravity alone are insufficient to establish their exact stylistic classification.

Excise documents relating to this brewery also contain observations concerning its sanitary conditions.

The Kuntz Brewery

The brewery of Osip Kuntz and his successors occupies a particularly important place in Grodno's brewing history.

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the enterprise produced English porter, export beer and other varieties.

The most intriguing evidence for our investigation, however, dates from July 1913.

A Grodno newspaper dated 4 (17) July 1913 carried an advertisement announcing the release of a new variety of dark, matured beer called "Бокъ-биръ" (Bock Bier).

The advertisement also gave the brewery office telephone number: 73.

The newspaper clipping was provided by historian and homebrewer Alexander Radzyuk.

This constitutes direct documentary evidence that a dark, matured beer marketed as Bock Bier was being produced in Grodno in 1913.

The name refers to the well-known German Bock tradition, generally associated with stronger, more substantial beers.

However, the advertisement does not provide precise information about the wort's original gravity, alcohol content or recipe.

Consequently, it is not yet possible to classify Grodno's historical Bock Bier confidently within a particular modern Bock subcategory.

The Kuntz brewery's history also contains dramatic episodes.

According to the materials discussed by Alexander Radzyuk, excise inspectors discovered in 1911 that sugar had been systematically used at Ignat Kuntz's brewery, in quantities of approximately 18 poods per brew.

This was treated as a violation of the excise regulations then in force.

The research also reports that the owner died by suicide amid the proceedings.

This episode illustrates how serious the consequences of government inspection and financial irregularities could be for breweries at the time.

Grodno's Dark-Beer Tradition and the Role of Water

The historical evidence supports the existence of an established tradition of dark-beer production in Grodno.

At the same time, much of the everyday beer range in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries consisted of varieties brewed using Bavarian techniques and bottom-fermenting yeasts.

Alongside these, breweries produced porter, "black beer" and matured Bock Bier.

The similarities between certain modern Grodno water profiles and those used for dark-beer brewing make it worthwhile to explore a possible relationship between local water and the development of these styles.

However, no direct documentary connection has yet been established between the water of Rzączyński's three wells and the recipe used at the Kuntz brewery.

That is precisely why the next stage of our research took the form of an experiment.

We decided not merely to study the history, but to continue it: to prepare brewing water based on modern Grodno mineral data and produce a dark beer in the Bock style.

Reviving Grodno's Historic Dark Beer

After studying the historical records, I wanted to move beyond archival research and carry out a practical experiment.

If Grodno's water really possessed properties suitable for dark-beer production, and local breweries were making matured Bock Bier in the early twentieth century, why not attempt to recreate a similar beer today?

I brought this idea to the team at the Garadzenski Brovar microbrewery.

My appeal was simple:

"Давайце ратаваць беларускае нашае піва!"

In English: "Let's save our Belarusian beer!"

The team welcomed the proposal.

Head brewer Kirill Bulanov took responsibility for the technical preparations, including the selection of malt, yeast and mineral additives to adjust the brewing water.

I also had the opportunity to participate personally in the reconstruction brew, helping prepare the ingredients and adding crushed malt to the mash tun.

Historical research had become a real brewing experiment.

Water Preparation

The first stage was to prepare the water — one of the most important ingredients in our beer.

To obtain a controlled mineral composition, we used a reverse osmosis system.

After treatment, the water contained considerably fewer dissolved minerals.

We then adjusted its composition using mineral additions, taking the investigated modern Grodno water profile as our reference.

Our approximate target values were:

• Calcium (Ca²⁺) — 95 mg/L;
• Magnesium (Mg²⁺) — 18 mg/L;
• Sodium (Na⁺) — 20 mg/L;
• Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) — 320 mg/L;
• Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) and chloride (Cl⁻) — maintained at low concentrations.

This allowed us to bring the prepared water closer to the composition of the selected modern sample.

It is important to emphasise that this was an experimental model based on presumed historical conditions, not an exact recreation of eighteenth-century water. No chemical analyses of Rzączyński's original wells have survived.

Mashing and the Malt Bill

For the experimental beer, we selected a malt bill appropriate for a dark, malt-forward lager.

Vienna malt and caramel malts formed the basis of the recipe.

Vienna malt contributed the main malt flavour and body, while caramel malts provided colour and caramel notes.

Once the malt was prepared, mashing began.

I personally took part in this stage of the brew, adding the crushed malt to the mash tun.

The mash schedule included three temperature rests:

• 63°C — 60 minutes, a maltose-producing rest;
• 72°C — 20 minutes, further starch conversion;
• 78°C — 5 minutes, a final temperature rest.

This schedule was selected to produce wort with the desired fermentability and body.

Wort Boiling and Hops

The wort was boiled for 90 minutes.

Magnum hops were used to provide bitterness, while a small addition of Perle towards the end of the boil introduced a subtle spicy note.

Our goal was a beer with a pronounced malt character, allowing hop bitterness to remain in balance rather than dominate the flavour.

Fermentation and Maturation

We selected a bottom-fermenting process for the experimental Grodno Bock.

Lager yeast with a neutral aroma profile and good attenuation characteristics was used.

Primary fermentation was planned at approximately 12–14°C for around 14 days.

This was to be followed by lagering — cold maturation at approximately 0°C for four to five weeks.

The wort was transferred into cylindroconical fermentation tanks, where the main stages of fermentation and maturation would take place.

And finally, when the beer reached the desired condition, the most eagerly anticipated moment arrived: the tasting.

Everything we had done — from reading Rzączyński's old Latin treatise to investigating Grodno's wells, analysing water, researching historical sources and brewing the beer — had been directed towards one goal: to experience a living connection with the past.

Conclusion

When the first glass of our Grodno Bock Bier was filled, we were finally able to evaluate the outcome of the experiment.

Before us was a dark lager brewed using a mineral water profile approximating selected modern characteristics of Grodno water, inspired by historical accounts of local brewing.

We cannot claim that beer tasted exactly the same in Grodno three hundred years ago.

We possess no complete recipe from Rzączyński's time, and both brewing technologies and the properties of local water may have changed considerably over the centuries.

Rzączyński himself wrote only that the water from three wells was exceptionally suitable for brewing.

Yet we can imagine Grodno's brewers using local water three centuries ago to prepare their beer, while townspeople judged its flavour and quality.

Our experiment was an attempt to reconnect with this lost tradition.

During the research, we assembled evidence concerning historic wells and water pipelines, studied the city's historical topography, examined archival documents about its breweries, analysed modern Grodno water composition and discovered a newspaper advertisement from 1913 announcing the production of matured dark Bock Bier at the Kuntz brewery.

Equally important was the way the project brought together people with different skills and interests.

Historians helped locate documents and establish historical circumstances. Local-history enthusiasts explored the city and searched for surviving water sources. Water chemistry provided parameters for our brewing experiment. Brewers selected the ingredients and carried out the brew.

As a result, a historical observation discovered in a book published in 1721 found an unexpected continuation in the twenty-first century.

We did not recreate a lost recipe word for word. Instead, we attempted to continue a tradition using the historical evidence that has survived.

And so the story came full circle: from the three wells of Grodno's "New Market" and Gabriel Rzączyński's account to a modern brewery, where we brewed a dark beer with our own hands, inspired by the city's history.

May this Grodno Bock Bier be more than just a drink. May it also serve as a reminder that Belarusian beer has deep historical roots.

It is a history worth remembering, studying — and continuing.