Friday 19 December 2014

European beers in 1929

Not much this time. Just a table of analyses.

It's in the Wahls' book, but they had borrowed them from someone else:

"Composition of various European beers, according to Prof. Dr. H. Luers, Munich, in "Grafe Handbuch Der Organischen Warenkunde", Volume III, 1929."

It's mostly Bavarian breweries, speiced with a few exotics from Prague and Britain:

European beers in 1929
Year Brewer Town country Beer OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation OG Plato
1929 Pschorr Munich Germany Dunkles 1054.26 1019.2 4.53 64.61% 13.43
1929 Hofbrau Munich Germany Dunkles 1057.58 1020.2 4.75 64.92% 14.21
1929 Weihenstephan Freising Germany Dunkles 1057.16 1017.2 5.16 69.91% 14.11
1929 Spaten Munich Germany Dunkles 1053.83 1021.4 4.19 60.25% 13.33
1929 Tucher Nuernberg Germany Dunkles 1053.45 1017.8 4.59 66.70% 13.24
1929 Kulmbacher Sandlerbraeu Kulmbach Germany Dunkles 1062.61 1015.8 6.05 74.76% 15.38
1929 Dortmunder Union Dortmund Germany Export 1055.15 1012 5.55 78.24% 13.64
1929 Schultheiss brauerei Berlin Germany Maerzenbler 1053.75 1012.3 5.09 77.12% 13.31
1929 Erste Pilsener Actienbrauerei Pilsen Czech Republic Pilsener 1046.99 1011.6 4.56 75.32% 11.71
1929 Burgerliches Brauhaus Pilsen Czech Republic Pilsener Urquell 1048.17 1013.4 4.51 72.18% 11.99
1929 Dreher Kleinschwechat Austria Wiener Maerzenbier 1058.95 1016.9 5.44 71.33% 14.53
1929 Unknown Berlin Germany Berliner Weissbier 1036.68 1007.1 3.84 80.64% 9.23
1929 Barclay Perkins London UK Porter 1087.61 1022.9 8.40 73.86% 21.06
1929 Bass Burton UK Pale Ale 1060.80 1018.8 6.28 69.08% 14.96
Source:
Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint by Arnold Spencer Wahl and Robert Wahl, 1937, page 166.

I've no idea what that Barclay Perkins beer is. Obviously some sort of Stout. But it doesn't match any they brewed in the 1920's: BBS Ex had an OG of 1079º and IBS Ex 1103º*. I suspect the analysis is really from before WW I.

The Bass Pale Ale has an OG that looks right for the export version, but the FG looks far too high. Don't quite understand that one.

Moving on to the Munich beers, they still have the high OG and poor attenuation of the 19th century.

The Kulmbcher has a surprisingly high gravity  - though didn't we just read something saying it had a bock-like OG? - and reasonable attenuation leaving quite an alcoholic beer.

The Pilseners look . . . very much like modern Pilsner Urquell in terms of OG and ABV. It seems a very unchaging beer in terms of strength. More so than any other individual beer I can think of.

Told you there wasn't much this time. That's it.





* Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/01/614.

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