Saturday 19 November 2011

Scottish Stout 1920 - 1939

Hi there. It's time for more about Scottish Stout. You know the score, I assemble a pretty little table of numbers and then bullshit about it. Fun you can never tire of.

A quick glance at the should tell you a few things.  

First, that I've a much more varied range of sources and far more breweries represented.  

Second, that they're a right disparate bunch of beers. Gravities going from 1078º all the way down to 1024º. The level of attenuation is just as varied, from a nice round 80% down 37.5%. Nourishing Stout? You're having a laugh.

The evolution of Tennent's Milk Stout is a marvel. Starting in 1924 with an OG of 1038.3,and ABV of 3.56% and 71.80% attenuation. By 1933 it was down to OG 1024, 1.16% ABV and 37.50% attenuation. 1.16% ABV. That's even lower that the watery German top-fermenting beers of the 19th century.

As you've probably guessed, there are several differnt types of Stout jumbled up in there. There are some old-fashioned style ones like McEwan's Double Imperial Stout, Bernard Imperial Stout, Usher Export Stout, Wright Crown Stout and George Younger XXX Stout. When the 1930's roll around, this type has mostly disappeared. Replaced by Nourishing Stout and Milk Stout.

Now here's a strange phenomenon. Some of the Milk Stouts are quite high OG - William Younger an McEwans, for example, which are over 1060º - and are normally attenuated, that is 70%-odd. You'd expect a Milk Stout, if it contains any amount of lactose, to have a much higher FG. Other, like Murrays, are much more like you would expect: low attenuation, low ABV.

And, of course, there are those barely-alcoholic Nourishing Stouts. Which must have been pretty damn sweet. Certainly sweeter than most of the Milk Stouts.

That's it for now. Though there's still one more instalment to come: the postwar years. If anyone is still awake.


Scottish Stout 1920 - 1939
Year Brewer Beer Style Price size package Acidity FG OG colour ABV App. Atten-uation
1920 Usher Stout Stout pint draught 1021 1048 3.52 56.87%
1920 Usher Export Stout Stout pint bottled 1024 1067 5.51 63.58%
1921 Brown (Coldstream Brewery) Stout Stout pint bottled 1016 1050.8 4.51 68.50%
1922 Calder Stout Stout pint draught 1011 1053 5.47 79.24%
1922 Ushers (Edinburgh) Extra Stout (Belgian sample) Stout pint bottled 1022 1069.2 6.15 68.50%
1923 Bernard Imperial Stout Stout pint bottled 1023 1057.6 366 4.40 59.21%
1923 Henderson, Alloa Stout Stout pint 1008 1040 4.16 80.00%
1923 Wright (Perth) Crown Stout Stout pint bottled 1017 1050 4.27 66.00%
1924 Ballingall Imperial Stout Special Quality Stout pint bottled 1016 1038.7 2.87 57.62%
1924 McEwan Double Imperial Stout Stout pint bottled 1022 1056.5 4.49 61.59%
1924 McEwan Double Imperial Stout Stout pint bottled 1020 1078 7.57 74.36%
1924 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1011 1038.3 3.56 71.80%
1925 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1011 1037 3.37 70.27%
1927 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1014 1039 3.23 64.10%
1928 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1015 1039 3.10 61.54%
1928 Usher Stout Stout 1022 1045 3.11 52.22%
1928 Wright (Perth) Stout XXX Stout pint bottled 1013 1035 2.84 62.86%
1929 McEwan Imperial Stout Stout pint bottled 1010 1044 4.42 77.27%
1929 Murray Oatmeal Stout Stout pint bottled 1016 1044 3.62 63.64%
1929 Younger, Geo XXX Stout Stout pint bottled 1012 1047.5 4.61 74.74%
1930 McLennan & Urquhart Dalkeith Stout Stout pint bottled 1020 1040.5 2.70 51.85%
1931 Caler Milk Stout Stout nip bottled 1023 1059 4.65 61.02%
1931 Dryborough Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1014 1033 2.45 57.58%
1931 McEwan Special Stout Red Label Stout nip bottled 1019 1043.8 3.19 56.62%
1931 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout 3d nip bottled 1016 1039 2.97 58.97%
1931 Younger, Geo Milk Stout Stout pint bottled 1020 1044 3.09 54.55%
1932 Bernard Double Brown Stout Stout pint bottled 1010 1035.5 3.37 73.24%
1932 Jeffrey & Co Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1012 1031 2.45 61.29%
1932 Morrison Stout Stout pint bottled 1016 1033 2.19 51.52%
1932 Reid Special Stout Stout pint bottled 1012 1051.5 5.14 76.70%
1932 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1012 1030 2.32 60.00%
1933 Dryborough Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1019 1031 1.54 38.71%
1933 Murray Milk Stout Stout pint bottled 1018 1036 2.31 50.00%
1933 Tennent Light Stout Stout pint bottled 1014 1032 2.32 56.25%
1933 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1015 1024 1.16 37.50%
1933 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1014 1029 1.93 51.72%
1933 Tennent Nourishing Stout Stout pint bottled 1013 1031 2.32 58.06%
1933 Younger, Wm. & Co Stout Stout 8d pint bottled 1052.6
1936 McEwan Milk Stout Stout 6d half pint bottled 0.07 1013 1064.4 6.70 79.66%
1936 Younger, Wm. & Co Milk Stout Stout 10.5d pint bottled 0.08 1015 1063 6.30 76.67%
1937 Calder Alloa Milk Stout Stout pint bottled 1022 1055.8 4.32 60.09%
1937 Murray Milk Stout Stout 6d pint bottled 0.06 1019 1044.8 3.30 57.14%
1937 Younger, Geo Cream Double Stout Stout pint bottled 1026 1045.5 2.56 43.96%
1937 Younger, Wm. & Co Milk Stout Stout pint bottled 1020 1068 6.24 70.59%
1939 Calder Alloa Milk Stout Stout 5d half pint bottled 1021 1052.5 4.06 60.00%
1939 Younger, Wm. & Co Milk Stout (Monk Export Brand) Stout bottled 0.08 1024 1065.8 1 + 25 5.42 63.68%
1939 Younger, Wm. & Co Milk Stout Stout 6d half pint bottled 1019 1065.5 6.04 70.99%
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Younger, Wm. & Co Gravity Book document WY/6/1/1/19 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Thomas Usher brewing record TU/6/1/6 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252

2 comments:

Martyn Cornell said...

I wonder if some of the figures for milk stout are distorted because the lactose was added AFTER fermentation, and/or the OGs recorded were BEFORE the lactose addition? Just a thought. I'm fairly sure, reading between the lines, the deal Sidney Nevile struck with the excise in the 1920s after Whitbread acquired the rights to Mackeson was to get the beer taxed on the actual fermentables, rather than any OG including the non-fermentable lactose, which, of course, would have cut the tax payable and make the beer capable of being sold at a lower price (or at the same price for more profit).

Rod said...

Martyn-
what you say sounds right to me - it makes sense. The addition of lactose, in this context, is not part of the brewing/fermentation process, it's non-fermentable sugar added after fermentation (I think) to sweeten the beer.
Getting the beer taxed on the actual fermentable sugars sounds like a very fair solution to me.