London Stout 1840 - 1860

As the century progressed, a set of Stout styles evolved. Differentiated not just by strength but also by conditioning time.

In terms of conditioning, there were Keeping and Running versions. The former being aged for a period of months or years, while the latter was sold young. It’s possible that, as with Porter, aged and fresh versions were blended before sale. After 1860, aged beers fell rapidly out of fashion and only stronger Stouts were vatted.

The standard strength differentiations were Single, Double and Treble Stout. Obviously, in ascending order.

When you throw in Mid-Keeping, Export and extra strong Imperial Stout, a London brewer could easily produce ten different Stouts. Much of this variation was achieved by parti-gyling, through which multiple different strength Stouts could be spun from a single brew.

It should come as no surprise that the stronger the Stout, the more it cost. Here are a few examples, with Porter added in for reference. Porter being the standard-priced beer.

Porter averages out to be about 13.5d per gallon, which works out to around 2d per pint retail.  Single Stout averages just shy of 18d per gallon and Double Stout around 20.5d.

All the Keeping Stouts ware vatted before. For a Single Stout, this might be just six to nine months. But for the strongest versions two years wasn’t unusual. As the ageing took place in wood, it’s inevitable that Brettanomyces would have been present.

The price of Stout 1840 - 1860
year	Brewery	beer	price per barrel (s)	price per gallon (d)
1845	Truman	Prime London Porter	48	16
1846	Barclay Perkins	Porter	38	12.67
1852	John Lovibond	Porter	36	12
1855	A.E. Druce	Porter	40	13.33
1855	Calvert & Co.	Porter	40	13.33
	Average		40.40	13.47
1845	Truman	Prime London Stout	60	20
1846	Barclay Perkins	Stout Porter	48	16
1855	A.E. Druce	Single Brown Stout	52	17.33
1855	Calvert & Co.	Stout	55	18.33
	Average		53.75	17.92
1846	Barclay Perkins	Double Brown Stout	58	19.33
1845	Truman	Prime London Double Stout	72	24
1852	John Lovibond	Double Stout	48	16
1855	A.E. Druce	Double Brown Stout	64	21.33
1855	Calvert & Co.	Double Stout	67	22.33
	Average		61.80	20.60
Sources:
Birmingham Gazette - Monday 07 July 1845, page 3.
Hampshire Advertiser - Saturday 21 November 1846, page 1.
"W. Archdeacon's Greenwich & Woolwich directory for 1852" page 2
"Food and its adulterations" by Arthur Hill Hassall, 1855, page 51.