Without getting too far into the details of the brewing process, parti gyle brewing is a traditional (nearly, extinct, commercially at least) technique. Most modern brewers make one beer from one mash/grain bill. In parti gyle brewing, multiple beers are made from one mash/grain bill. With current brewing techniques, the first runnings (first drain of sugary water from the grain) are combined with the subsequent sparge (rinsing of the remaining sugars) to make one batch of wort, which will become one batch of beer when the yeast are done doing their thing...
With the parti gyle technique (originating in Scotland), the first runnings are used to make a bigger (stronger/higher gravity) beer, and the subsequent sparge(s) is used to make one or more smaller (less strong/lower gravity) beers. In its simplest form, the first runnings compose the wort for one distinct beer, and each subsequent sparge creates another distinct beer. This is evident in monastic and farm brewing: the first runnings went to create beer for the abbot or landowner; the second runnings were for the monks or guests at the farm; and the later runnings went to create table beer for the laymen & pilgrims or the farmhands.
Another parti gyle technique involves blending of the various runnings, with the strongest of the line of beers being 100% (or near 100%) of the first runnings, and the lowest gravity beer being mostly last runnings. One commercial brewery that still uses this particular technique is Fuller Smith & Turner (aka Fuller's) in the UK. Fuller's Golden Pride is an example of the strong end of their line, with ESB and London Pride somewhere in the middle, and Chiswick Bitter at the bottom of the beer-strength continuum. The same grain bill is used to brew them all, but each is blended at a different rate from the runnings off of the mash.
For those brewers that brew two distinctive, individual (not blended) parti gyle beers, there is further variation.
The brewer can choose a runoff volume ratio to determine how much wort is created for each batch. Common ratios include 1/3 first runnings to 2/3 second ruings, or 50-50. In the 1/3 to 2/3 ratio, the first third yields a stronger, richer wort in smaller volume which means less finished beer quantity; but it is higher in alcoholic strength and arguably the stronger flavor profile yielded by the combination of grains selected for the mash; the final 2/3 result in twice as much finished beer, but at half the strength and possibly less-pronounced or more subtle grain flavor profiles. The 50-50 method yields equal volumes, with less alcohol content and flavor differentials; the brewer still ends up with one stronger beer, both in alcohol and flavor characteristics, but simple chemistry and physics leads to a narrower extreme on both ends.
My first attempt will be a 50-50, just for ease of process. I will be making an Old Ale with the first runnings and a Northern English Brown with the second runnings (as opposed to a stronger Old Ale or Barleywine with the 1st runnings and a mild or or ordinary bitter with the 2nd runnings if I did the 1/3 to 2/3 method). Old Ale is a big English style ale, characterized by an elevated level of sweetness and alcohol. Originally, these beers were aged significantly before being drunk, but these days most commercial examples are either not aged, or a blend of aged and newer beer. If you can get your hands on them, good commercial examples include Theakston Old Peculier or Greene King lde Suffolk. Northern English Brown is a malt-balanced ale, with low hop bitterness and minimal hop aroma. Commercial examples include Newcastle Brown Ale and Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale (I am hoping for more of the Samuel Smith's version).
I have two special, limited edition Wyeast yeasts for these beers. The Old Ale Blend (WY9097) is a blend of alcohol-tolerant, dry English ale yeast with a bit of Brettanomyces (a different, non-beer yeast); the ale yeast will do a good job fermenting down the beer with a nice English character for starters, then the Brettanomyces will take over, fermenting some of the sugars that were unfermentable by the ale yeast, adding some rustic aged characteristics to the finished beer. For the Northern English Brown, I am using West Yorkshire Ale (WY1469), which should help emphasize plenty of the malt flavor and character, and finish dry and balanced with some nutty/fruity esters. We'll see.
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