I’ve been asking myself one question as I plod through “Brewing in Canada”. Will I make it all the way through or get distracted by some new shiny thing? My enthusiasm and attention are still intact, so perhaps I will.
We’ve got as far as fermentation in the brewing process:
“Fermentation: The wort is now moved to the fermenting vessels, and yeast, the jealously guarded central mystery of the ancient brewer's art, is added on the way. It is the yeast, these living, single-cell plants, which takes the sugar in the wort and breaks it down to carbon dioxide and alcohol.
There are many kinds of yeast, but that used in making beer is the Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. The brewer uses two types of this yeast, and depending on which is chosen, he produces ale or lager. One yeast type which rises to the top of the liquid at the completion of fermentation is used in brewing ale and stout. The other, which drops to the bottom of the brewing vessel, is used in brewing lager.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 32.
I don’t there were any surprises for us there. Pretty basic stuff, really. Were they really always top-fermenting beers labelled as Ale? It wouldn’t surprise me if they were bottom-fermented at breweries whose main focus was Lager.
This tells us a couple of things:
“In all modern breweries, elaborate precautions are taken to ensure that the yeast remains pure and unchanged. Through the use of pure yeast culture plants a particular beer flavor can be maintained year after year.
During the fermentation, which usually lasts seven days, the yeast may multiply tenfold, and in the open tank fermenters used for brewing ale a creamy, frothy head may be seen on top of the brew. When the fermentation is over the yeast is removed — by skimming off when it is a top fermentation (ale) or by pumping off the beer when it is a bottom fermentation (lager). Now, for the first time, the liquid is called beer.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, pages 32 - 33.
Namely that brewers used pure yeast cultures. Something that even today isn’t always the case in Britain. Adnams, as I found out last week when I was at the brewery, pitch two strains, both of which are needed to get the right flavour profile and the right degree of attenuation.
Finally something about the Canadian tax system:
“It is at the end of fermentation that the Canadian government makes its "excise dip" to determine the number of gallons on which taxes must be paid. The beer still has some weeks to go before it reaches the market, but the taxes must be paid immediately.”
"Brewing in Canada", Brewers Association of Canada, 1965, page 33.
This looks like the US system – a flat rate based solely on quantity, not on strength.
The system is still in use, but with a sliding scale for the first 75,000 hl.:
Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14)
Duties
• 170. (1) There shall be imposed, levied and collected on every hectolitre of beer or malt liquor the duties of excise set out in Part II of the schedule, which duties shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act.
• Marginal note:Wastage allowance
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where beer or malt liquor is produced by a person licensed under section 168 to carry on the trade or business of a brewer, an allowance prescribed by the regulations shall be made for loss in production based on the duty assessed on the beer or malt liquor produced, but the allowance shall not exceed five per cent thereof.
Marginal note:Reduced rates — production
• 170.1 (1) With respect to the first 75,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada per year by a licensed brewer and any person related or associated with the brewer, there shall be imposed, levied and collected on each of those hectolitres the duties of excise set out in Part II.1 of the schedule, which duties shall be paid to the collector as provided in this Act, and section 170 does not apply to those hectolitres.
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-14/page-50.html#h-34
These are the duty rates which currently apply:
II.1 CANADIAN BEER
• 1. On the first 2,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,
o (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $3.122 per hectolitre;• 2. On the next 3,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,
o (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $1.561 per hectolitre; and
o (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $0.2591 per hectolitre.
o (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $6.244 per hectolitre;• 3. On the next 10,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,
o (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $3.122 per hectolitre; and
o (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $0.5182 per hectolitre.
o (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $12.488 per hectolitre;• 4. On the next 35,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,
o (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $6.244 per hectolitre; and
o (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $1.0364 per hectolitre.
o (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $21.854 per hectolitre;• 5. On the next 25,000 hectolitres of beer and malt liquor brewed in Canada,
o (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $10.927 per hectolitre; and
o (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $1.8137 per hectolitre.
o (a) if it contains more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $26.537 per hectolitre;http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-14/page-72.html#h-58
o (b) if it contains more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume but not more than 2.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $13.269 per hectolitre; and
o (c) if it contains not more than 1.2% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume, $2.2024 per hectolitre.
This is a big change from the system in place at the start of the 20th century, when tax was levied on malt, not beer.
Next time we’ll be in the cellar.
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2 comments:
I recall well that Charrington Toby, made locally under some type of license arrangement, you could get it both on draft and bottled. It had a good taste but restrained, as if you added fizzy mineral water to a good British pale ale, say. Nice reddish-brown colour. Not a patch on anything craft or trad English, though.
Gary
I also remember Toby all too well. My dad bought it all the time and kept it in his "workshop" next to the furnace. In those days, I couldn't stand the stuff, so the old man's stash was safe from my light teenage fingers. Apart from any taste issues, that was a major factor in his purchasing decisions.
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