The Oxford Companion to Beer definition of
parti-gyle
Parti-Gyle is the name given to a number of beers that may be brewed from a single batch of grist ingredients in the brewhouse. The process of brewing a parti-gyle is standard in traditional brewhouses in the UK, where wort from one mash tun may be run off into two or more kettles. See copper. Each part of the run-off will have different strengths or gravities; the wort run-off into the first kettle will be stronger, while that run into the second will be weaker. See run-off. The first high-gravity kettle will also have more yeast nutrients than the weaker second kettle. The wort in each of the kettles may be mixed in different quantities to produce different beers, while different sugars and hops may be added to the kettles to make alternative beers. For example, the strong first worts may be used on their own to brew a strong ale or barley wine; a mixture of two kettles with mostly strong wort in the first copper may be used to brew a “special bitter ale” with an original gravity of 1.050 (14.5°Plato), whereas the worts containing beer from the weaker second kettle may be used to brew a “light ale” of 1.035 (9°P). Parti-gyling is not carried out in modern breweries using “high gravity brewing.” That technique involves brewing and fermenting a strong beer that is then diluted to the intended final strength with deoxygenated (deaerated) brewing water before it is packaged. See also high gravity brewing.