Saturday 26 November 2011

Fowler's other beers 1862 - 1961

Fowler may have been best known for their Twelve Guinea Ale, but it wasn't the only beer they brewed. OH no indeedy. They brewed a normal range of a Scottish brewery: Pale Ale, Stout, IPA, etc.

As you should be aware by now, Fowler's brewery in Prestonpans closed in 1962. That means I've beers spanning the last 100 years of their existence. Cool, eh? Back in the 19th century, like the brewers of Edinburgh and Alloa, they were as famous for their Pale Ales as their strong Scottish Ales. Bit of a recurring theme that one. Breweries specialising in both Pale Ale and Barley Wine type things. It explains why I've several analyses of Fowler's Pale Ale from the 1860's.

Straight away there's something that jumps out: the 19th-century PA's aren't that strong. A proper top-of-the-range Pale Ale of the 1860's was 1060º to 1065º. All of Fowler's are under 1060º and one is even below 1040º. That's kiddy beer for the Victorians. There's something else. The acidity. 0.27 to 0.29% is rather a lot. You'd expect a Pale Ale to be well below 0.10%.

The interwar Pale Ales are pretty weedy, too. Most are under 1030º. Even cheap London Pale Ales would have been over 1040º. Note the change in level of attenuation. The 19th century Pale Ales are 75% to 95%, the interwar ones 61% to 75%. That's quite a shift.

There's not much change after WW II. Most of the Pale Ales hover around the 1030º mark. Again, that's a few points off the pace. An average Bitter just after the war's end was around 1035º. The final analysis, Export Ale from 1961 is uncharacteristically strong. In fact, about exactly where you would expect an Export to be, gravity-wise. 1040º to 1054º the BJCP says the gravity range of Export is. They should know.

IPA. Every time I think I'm getting the hang of how brewers used the term, they surprise me again. I suspect it was just random whether a beer was called a Pale Ale or an India Pale Ale. Fowler's two pre-war IPA's are a good bit stronger than their Pale Ales at 1046º. Postwar, it's a feeble 1030º. I'm surprised the Style Council didn't jump all over them.

Heavy. I've explained its meaning in Scottish brewing several times, but it doesn't hurt repeating. Strong, that's all it means. Not a specific style. Just strong. As is clear from the 1948 Heavy Ale. It's not Heavy as in 70/- Pale Ale, but Heavy as in Strong Ale. I know it's confusing. What in Scottish beer isn't?

I really wish a colour had been given for the Sweet Ale. If it was dark, I suppose it could be classified as a Brown Ale. As it is, I've no idea what to call it. With that high finishing gravity, it must have been sweet as its name claims. It doesn't resemble any other beer I can remember coming across. Bit of a weird one.

The one Stout doesn't tell us much. Except that it's in the sweet, low-gravity, low-attenuation Scottish style. Which is no real surprise.

Here's the table itself:


Fowler beers 1862 - 1961
Year Beer Style Price size package Acidity FG OG colour ABV App. Atten-uation Flavour
1862 Prestonpans Beer Pale Ale 1010 1047.1 4.86 78.77%
1862 Pale Ale Pale Ale 1008 1057.4 6.50 85.89%
1869 Pale Ale Pale Ale draught 0.29 1013 1053.55 5.34 74.94%
1869 Pale Ale Pale Ale draught 0.29 1013 1054.76 5.38 76.57%
1869 Pale Ale Pale Ale draught 0.27 1007 1044.99 4.95 84.51%
1869 Pale Ale Pale Ale draught 0.28 1002 1039.15 4.93 95.71%
1928 Pale Ale Pale Ale 3d half bottled 1010 1027 30 2.20 62.96%
1928 Pale Ale Pale Ale 4d half bottled 1014 1036 35 2.84 61.11%
1930 Pale Ale Pale Ale 3d half bottled 1009 1027.5 31 2.39 67.27%
1930 Pale Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1012 1039 46 3.50 69.23%
1931 Pale Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1009 1028 32 2.46 67.86%
1931 Pale Ale Pale Ale 4d half bottled 1007 1027.5 2.72 76.36%
1931 Pale Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1007 1026 31 2.46 73.08%
1932 Sweet Ale Ale pint bottled 1021 1040.5 2.57 49.38%
1939 I.P.A. (XP) IPA pint bottled 1011 1046.25 7 – 8 4.61 76.76%
1939 90/- Pale Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1010 1037.5 10 3.63 74.67%
1939 I.P.A. (XP) IPA pint bottled 1011 1046.5 4.68 77.42%
1939 60/- Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1010 1038.5 11 3.70 74.03%
1940 Pale Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1011 1037 3.37 70.27%
1946 60/- Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1009 1029 2.59 68.97% Sweetish. Appears to be primed. Lacks all character.
1947 120/- Ale Pale Ale pint bottled 1011 1039.5 3.69 72.15% Sound good round beer. Drinks full. Bright.
1947 Heavy Ale Strong Ale pint bottled 1026 1081.4 7.27 68.67%
1948 Strong Ale Strong Ale pint bottled 1020 1079.5 7.84 75.47%
1948 54/- Ale Pale Ale pint draught 1007 1028 2.72 75.00%
1949 XP (extra Pale) Pale Ale 9s 3d per dozen pint bottled 1009 1029.5 2.65 69.49%
1949 India Pale Ale (Extra Pale) IPA pint bottled 1009 1030 2.72 70.00%
1955 Stout Stout 1/3d half bottled 0.04 1019 1038 400 2.49 51.05%
1961 Export Ale Pale Ale 15d half bottled 0.04 1014 1044 20 3.79 68.86%
Sources:
"The lancet 1853, Volume 2", 1853, page 631.
British Medical Journal August 28th 1869, page 245 
Younger, Wm. & Co Gravity Book document WY/6/1/1/19 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002

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