Sunday 12 March 2023

Tetley cask Mild specifications (part one)

I'm plodding my way through these Tetley specifications. And now I've hit my favourite: Tetley's Mild. A beer I drank huge quantities of in the 1970s and early 1980s, I was living in Leeds. What else was I supposed to do.

It's sad going back to Leeds now. Nowhere sells the Mild. Not many pubs even sell the Bitter. Tetley used to completely dominate the city's pubs. When I lived there, it seemed as if their grip was unbreakable. Even when they swapped some pubs with Bass Charrington. 

I suppose it did last around 60 years. From when they gobbled up local rival Melbourne to the brewery's closure in 2011. Not a bad run, I suppose. I probably experienced the brewery at its height. When its beers were popular and good.

That's enough nostalgia for the heady days of the 1970s. (Many seem so nostalgic for that period, that they're trying to recreate it today. The empty shelves in the supermarkets. Endless strikes. Happy days.)

Let's crack on with the beer.

Tetley cask Mild specifications
O.G. (in package) 1032.0 +- 1.0.
PG (in package) 1007.0 - 1008.0
Apparent atten (%) 75
Limit atten 1004 +- 1.0
Alcohol (v/v) 3.15 +- 0.17
(w/v) 2.51 +- 0.14
Colour (EBC) 56 +- 3 
Bitterness (EBU) 24 +- 2.5
Haze (EBC/°F) Polished (Fined)
PH 4.2 +- 0.1
Head Retention (secs) > 100
SO2 (ppm) ¬> 20
Cu (ppm) ¬> 0.2
Fe (ppm) ¬> 0.4
Yeast Count (10^6 cells/ml) 0.5 +- 0.4
Microbiological Absence of beer spoilage organisms
Packaged in Cask 9:18:36 galls.
Storage  
Shelf Life (weeks) 4
At Brewery (days)  5 (prior to trunking)
 or Depot 14 days max.
Recommended age at point of sale (weeks) ¬> 3
Source:
Tetley Beer and Malt Specifications, 1985, beer page 6.

That sounds very much like the beer I drank. Fairly light, both in colour and body. It wasn't a really dark Mild. But dark enough to be easily distinguishable from Bitter.

I didn't know anything about bitterness units and would have had no idea how many the beer had. Not particularly bitter is what I thought. And less bitter than the Mild. Such simple times, back then.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget endemic racism Ron!