When converted to the industry standard or STP ("standard temperature and pressure"), the output in hectos produced a much lower figure, and hence a lower duty.
That some Scottish brewer had loads of low gravity beer on hand in their inventory ( 1950's ?) and that the inventory manager is poor at math, since the numbers on the left column don't correctly add up ( should be 2,875414 :0
Well, I'd guess the brewery had two main beers, probably a mild and a bitter, or two milds. The 1034 would have been the main seller of course. Perhaps this was in one of the periods when gravities were quite depressed, after WW I say. Since this is a guessing game, and given we are somewhere "en province", I'd hasard further that it's two milds, one dark, one light.
As to the OG 1100+ items not being beer, that clue had me puzzled. Either it's a malt extract of some kind, maybe a Mathers-type beer without alcohol, or small amounts were brewed of very strong beer to use in gyling (but then isn't it still beer?).
I'd guess a stronger beer was brewed for export to the Continent than was locally available. Is this a calculation of the duty payable in the export country? It sounds too like the batches varied in OG achieved.
I know, I assumed the boiled strong worts had the high OGs mentioned (1100 and over) and were blended with weaker worts to produce some beer for export, some for local use. The 1034 and 1031 were the "basic" worts. I dunno, this is hard!
The stuff over 1100ยบ. Cask primings? Stands to reason that they would have to pay duty on those too, when you think about it. In a system based on original gravity an exemption for priming sugar would be a massive loophole allowing duty fraud.
Last stab: Beer excise tax is computed (today, and perhaps back then) on a hectoliter. The number of liters for the beers - the 1034 and 1031 milds or mild and bitter - don't correlate to the hectoliters given, the latter are less than if you divide 100 into all those liters. Not sure why this was, perhaps to underpay the duty?
I think the large numbers are washes for distillation. The OGs are very high but also very close, and they kept meticulous notes. Stands to reason its for fermenting out and distilling; since breweries are pretty apt at making worts, why not make washes with the first running? The right hand column I guess is proofs of the fermented products.
Has it got something to do with parti-gyling and the blending ratio?
ReplyDeleteI'll stab a guess at this one-is the LH column anything to do with parti-gyle gravities and quantities?
ReplyDeleteI was always told a picture tells a thousand words.
ReplyDeleteDid I win?
That someone was calculating beer duty in hectolitres while also still using the notional standard gravity of 1.055 ?
ReplyDeleteBarm, that is true - and quite bizarre.
ReplyDeleteBut not what I was after.
It's something simpler.
When converted to the industry standard or STP ("standard temperature and pressure"), the output in hectos produced a much lower figure, and hence a lower duty.
ReplyDeleteGary
something to do with the use of litres rather than an imperial measure?
ReplyDeleteGary, that's STD, not STP.
ReplyDeleteOK, here's a clue: it's to do with the top two lines of the left hand column.
ReplyDeleteThat somebody was producing massive, massive amounts of very weak beer compared to very small amounts of very strong beer, and nothing in between.
ReplyDeleteMartyn, the entries over 1100 aren't beer.
ReplyDeleteThat some Scottish brewer had loads of low gravity beer on hand in their inventory ( 1950's ?) and that the inventory manager is poor at math, since the numbers on the left column don't correctly add up ( should be 2,875414 :0
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I'd have expected someone to guess that it was connected with my trip to Manchester.
ReplyDeleteI just assumed it was Boddies.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd guess the brewery had two main beers, probably a mild and a bitter, or two milds. The 1034 would have been the main seller of course. Perhaps this was in one of the periods when gravities were quite depressed, after WW I say. Since this is a guessing game, and given we are somewhere "en province", I'd hasard further that it's two milds, one dark, one light.
ReplyDeleteAs to the OG 1100+ items not being beer, that clue had me puzzled. Either it's a malt extract of some kind, maybe a Mathers-type beer without alcohol, or small amounts were brewed of very strong beer to use in gyling (but then isn't it still beer?).
Gary
Gary, that's getting close. Though think about the fact that litres appear.
ReplyDeleteI'd guess a stronger beer was brewed for export to the Continent than was locally available. Is this a calculation of the duty payable in the export country? It sounds too like the batches varied in OG achieved.
ReplyDeleteGary
Gary, I told you the stuff over 1100 wasn't beer.
ReplyDeleteI know, I assumed the boiled strong worts had the high OGs mentioned (1100 and over) and were blended with weaker worts to produce some beer for export, some for local use. The 1034 and 1031 were the "basic" worts. I dunno, this is hard!
ReplyDeleteGary
The stuff over 1100ยบ. Cask primings? Stands to reason that they would have to pay duty on those too, when you think about it. In a system based on original gravity an exemption for priming sugar would be a massive loophole allowing duty fraud.
ReplyDeleteLast stab: Beer excise tax is computed (today, and perhaps back then) on a hectoliter. The number of liters for the beers - the 1034 and 1031 milds or mild and bitter - don't correlate to the hectoliters given, the latter are less than if you divide 100 into all those liters. Not sure why this was, perhaps to underpay the duty?
ReplyDeleteGary
I think the large numbers are washes for distillation. The OGs are very high but also very close, and they kept meticulous notes. Stands to reason its for fermenting out and distilling; since breweries are pretty apt at making worts, why not make washes with the first running? The right hand column I guess is proofs of the fermented products.
ReplyDelete