Women in brewing before WW I

The numbers employed in brewing were quite small, just 84,969. In 1910 there were 4,512 breweries in the UK. That works out to just 18 employees per brewery. Or fuck all, really. Though not so surprising, as around three-quarters of those breweries were brewpubs. Which probably employed, at most, one or two people.

Let’s take look more closely at where those 80,000-odd people were employed and who they were. In particular, looking at how many of them were women. Starting with hourly-paid workers.

Employment in the brewing industry in 1907
	Wage-earners. Average No. and age class.
	Males.		Females
Trades.	Under 18.	Over 18.	Under 18.	Over 18.
Brewing & Malting	4,148	63,069	175	1,604
Spirit Distilling	125	5,378	5	124
Spirit Compounding, Rectifying, &c	23	633	7	27
Bottling	3,115	9,793	697	3,148
Aerated Waters, British Wines, &C	3,063	16,354	449	4,804
	10,474	95,227	1,333	9,707
Source:
Brewers' Almanack 1915, page 222.

In brewing, male employees vastly outnumbered women. Only about 2.5% were women. Most of those would have worked in bottling. While in specialist bottlers, around 30% of the hourly-paid workers were women. Though there would have been the occasional female brewer amongst the thousands of publican brewers.

Let’s have a look now at salaried staff. Which would mostly be the office staff.

Employment in the brewing industry in 1907
	Salaried persons. Average No. and age class.
	Males.		Females.
Trades.	Under 18.	Over 18.	Under 18.	Over 18
Brewing & Malting	978	14,786	14	195
Spirit Distilling	60	812	2	19
Spirit Compounding, Rectifying, &c	23	412	4	6
Bottling	278	2,989	20	225
Aerated Waters, British Wines, &C	261	3,399	30	297
	1,600	22,398	70	742
Source:
Brewers' Almanack 1915, page 222.

The proportion of women in salaried positions was even lower. Just 1.3%. Lumping both categories together, it averaged out to only about half a woman per brewery.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1883 Truman (Burton) Ale

Truman’s Burton brewery bashed out a very wide range of beers. Both Burton Ales and Pale Ales. We’re starting off with the Burton Ales. Which cover broad gamut of gravities. As we’ll see later.

Considering this the weakest of the Burton Ales, it has a pretty decent gravity of over 1050º.

It would be hard to imagine a much simpler recipe. There was just base malt and two types of hops. Not many words I can string together about that.

Contrary to what you might expect of a Burton-brewed beer, the hopping rate is extremely low. A mere 2.6 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. Resulting in a pitifully low level of bitterness which would embarrass even a modern Mild Ale.

The two types of hops were, I believe, German. Bavarian from the 1875 season and undated illegible. I can’t for the life of me work out what it says in the brewing record. The handwriting of Truman’s brewers was truly dreadful. 

1883 Truman (Burton) Ale
pale malt	11.75 lb	100.00%
Fuggles 180 mins	0.33 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.33 oz
Hallertau 30 mins	0.33 oz
OG	1051
FG	1016
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	68.63%
IBU	12.5
SRM	4.5
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	180 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP013 London Ale (Worthington White Shield)

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part fifty-five)

This is so much fun. Well, I'll be having fun as this is published. As I'll be in Brazil. Hopefully, sitting on a beach with a cocktail in my hand.

We've now got as far as Scottish & Newcastle. Who operated the fewest breweries of any of the Big Six. Just four of them. Two of which were in Edinburgh.

I drank a reasonable amount of Younger's 70/- and 80/-, which were both perfectly decent beers, in cask form. Which, unfortunately, wasn't all that common. And I always had a very soft spot for No. 3. A bit of an oddity. But a tasty one.

Other than the occasional bottle of Newcatle Brown, I don't think I ever tried any beer from the Tyne Brewer. Simply because most of the time they produced no cask beer. And why the hell would I bother to drink keg.


William McEwan
Edinburgh,
Scotland.
Founded:    1856
Closed:            2005
Tied houses:    

One half of Scottish Brewers, McEwan had long been one of the largest brewers north of the border.

beer	style	format	OG	description
70/-	Pale Ale	draught	1036.5	smooth and malty
80/-	Pale Ale	draught	1043.3	heavy, full-flavoured
60/-	Pale Ale	tank
70/-	Pale Ale	tank	1036.5
80/-	Pale Ale	tank	1043.3
Harp Lager	Lager	keg	1032.4
McEwans Cavalier	Lager	keg	1030	Superb rich flavour.
McEwan's Special (80/-)	Pale Ale	keg	1039.6	Full-bodied rich flavour
McEwans Scotch (70/-)	Pale Ale	keg	1035.3	good value
Mc Ewans Export	Pale Ale	bottled	1042.2
Mc Ewans Pale	Pale Ale	bottled
Mc Ewans Blue Label	Pale Ale	bottled
Mc Ewans Strong	Strong Ale	bottled

William Younger
Edinburgh,
Scotland.
Founded:    1778
Closed:            1986
Tied houses:    

The other half of Scottish brewers. They ran two breweries, Holyrood and Abbey, close to each other at the bottom of the Royal Mile. In the 1970s only Holyrood was in operation.

beer	style	format	OG	description
IPA	IPA	draught	1043.2	smooth
XXPS or Scotch Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036.2	well-balanced
No. 3 Ale	Strong Ale	draught	1042
60/- or XXP	Pale Ale	keg
Tartan Keg	Pale Ale	keg	1035.3
Scotch	Pale Ale	keg	1036.2
Best Scotch	Pale Ale	keg	1036.7
IPA	IPA	keg	1043.5
Tartan Special	Pale Ale	keg	1029.6
Tartan Mild	Mild	keg	1029.6
Monk Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1046.3
No.3 Scotch Ale	Scotch Ale	bottled	1044.8
Wee Willie L.P.A.	Pale Ale	bottled	1030.9
Sweet Stout	Stout	bottled	1034
Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Double Century Ale	Brown Ale	bottled
Harp Lager	Lager	bottled	1032.4

Newcastle Breweries
Newcastle,
Tyne and Wear.
Founded:    1890
Closed:            2005
Tied houses:    

Formed by the merger of six northeast breweries. Brewed no cask beer in the 1970s.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Newcastle Exhibition	Pale Ale	keg	1041.8	crisp, nutty flavour
Newcastle Amber	Pale Ale	keg	1032.1	party beer
Four Star	Pale Ale	keg	1037.6
Scotch Ale	Pale Ale	keg	1032.3
IPA	IPA	keg	1032.2
Starbrite	Pale Ale	keg		light
Newcastle Amber Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1033.4
Newcastle Brown Ale	Brown Ale	bottled	1045.9

Still plugging away my latest book, "Keg!". If you want me to stop, buy a copy.

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Irish Stout exports in the 1880s

Large quantities of Porter/Stout were exported from Ireland. The figures below must include to Great Britain as they exceed the numbers for total UK exports. Certainly, in the case of Guinness, the beer was almost all Stout. I’m sure the same was true for the other brewers.

The figures are dominated by Guinness, who accounted for more than three-quarters of the exports. Way ahead of the second-placed brewery, who could manage no more than 6%.

What’s odd, is that neither of the Cork brewers appears in the table. Perhaps these are just the figures for Dublin-based firms.
 

Irish Porter exports 1888 - 1891 (barrels)
brewery	1888	1889	1890	1891
Guinness & Son	495,153	503,448	542,300	546,086
Watkins & Co	38,385	38,048	38,160	38,219
Jameson Pim	36,359	30,752	29,718	29,324
D’Arcy & Son	19,950	22,980	26,109	28,173
Phoenix Brewery	21,300	20,316	21,657	6,647
Mountjoy Brewery	17,265	15,302	15,630	17,513
Sweetman & Co	4,914	4,869	2,951	—
E. and J. Burke	2,159	4,836	9,671	9,753
Others	464	482	107	765
Total	635,948	641,061	686,346	691,478
Source:
Brewers' Guardian vol 22, January 1892, page 20.

 

 

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part fifty-four)

The end of this series is finally coming into view. The longest series of posts, by far, that I've ever written. Four of the Big Six finished now. Just three more to go.

The last two Courage breweries today. Both originally part of John Smiths. In the 1970s, Tadcaster phased out cask beer. And I'm pretty sure I didn't drink any beer from there. Though I did drink plenty of it in Newwark in the 1980s, after Holes had closed and cask was produced in Tadcaster again.

I drank plenty of Barnsley Bitter in the 1970s. While it was still available. Pretty much all of it in the Wing Tavern. The last pub in Newark to sell it. And the only Courage pub in town that sold cask.

Guinness? Well I drank plenty of bottled Guinness. Usually in pubs that sold no cask. Or, mixed with cask Bitter, when it was a bit dodgy. For example, in the Tenterden where the Trumans Tap Bitter wasn't the greatest beer. A bottle of Guinness livened it up a treat.


John Smith
Tadcaster,
North Yorkshire.
Founded:    1847
Closed:            still open
Tied houses:    1,800

Bought by Courage in 1970.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Magnet Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1034.8
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1036
Magnet Pale Ale	Pale Ale	draught	1043.5
Mild Ale	Mild	draught	1030.9
Golden Keg	Pale Ale	keg	1039.1
Magnet Pale Ale	Pale Ale	bottled	1043.5
Magnet Old Ale	Old Ale	bottled		strong and dark
Light Ale	Light Ale	bottled	1031.9
Milk Maid Stout	Stout	bottled	1042.2

Barnsley
Barnsley,
South Yorkshire.
Founded:    
Closed:            1976
Tied houses:    250

Bought by John Smith in 1961. Their Bitter was wonderful The first great beer I ever drank.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Barnsley Bitter	Pale Ale	draught
Mild	Mild	draught

Guinness (Park Royal)
Park Royal,
London.
Founded:    
Closed:    
Tied houses:    2

When the newly- independent Ireland was having trade problems with the UK, Guinness decided to build a new brewery in London. Though it never served the whole of the UK. The North and Scotland were supplied from Dublin. Despite not really having a tied estate, bottled Guinness Extra Stout was the most widely-available beer in the UK. And wonderful stuff.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Draught Guinness	Stout	keg		nitrokeg
Extra Stout	Stout	bottled	1044	Winter
Extra Stout	Stout	bottled	1042	Summer

Until enough of you have bought it, I'm going to keep on plugging my latest book, "Keg!". From which the above is an extract.

Get your copy of "Keg!" now!

 

Let's Brew - 1873 Ny Carlsberg DBS

Is it a coincidence that Carlsberg’s Stout has the same name as William Younger’s? I don’t think so. Given that Carl Jacobsen had served a brewing apprenticeship there.

Other than the Munich base malt, the grist has a very London look about it, with the combination of brown and black malt. And not just a little brown malt, but rather a lot of it. Between them, the roasted malts account for almost 25% of the grist. Easily enough to have a significant impact on the flavour of the finished beer.

British influence can be seen in the hopping, too. Both in the rate – which is far higher than in their other beers – and in the type of hops. As there are some simply described as “EK”. Which I’ve assumed are something Goldings-like.

Was this lagered? I really don’t know. There is a possibility that, rather than being cold lagered, it was aged at cellar temperature. Either could have happened. 

1873 Ny Carlsberg DBS
Munich malt 10L	13.75 lb	77.46%
brown malt	3.00 lb	16.90%
black malt	1.00 lb	5.63%
Saaz 150 mins	4.00 oz
Saaz 60 mins	4.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	4.00 oz
OG	1072
FG	1024
ABV	6.35
Apparent attenuation	66.67%
IBU	120
SRM	40
Mash double decoction
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	45º F
Yeast	Wyeast 2042 Danish lager

Mash in at 35º C (95º F)	5 minutes
Warm whole mash to 52º C (126º F)	20 minutes
Rest whole mash at 52º C (126º F) (protein rest)	15 minutes
Draw off first mash and without a rest bring to the boil	30 minutes
Boil first mash	10 minutes
The rest of the mash remains at 52º C (126º F)	40 minutes
Mash at 70º C (158º F)	25 minutes
Rest whole mash at 70º C (158º F) (saccharification rest)	30 minutes
Draw off second mash and without a rest bring to the boil	15 minutes
Boil second mash	10 minutes
Mash at 76º C (169º F) and mash out	20 minutes

Cold storage of hops

How could they use such old hops? People ask when seeing hops that were two, three - or more - years old appearing in brewing records. The answer is simple: refrigeration.

Brewers weren't stupid and realised that hops stored cold deteriorated less quickly.

The preservation of hops is a most important matter to all brewing concerns. The old practice of storing hops in a warm room in a brewery is a most erroneous one, and this  has been proved most conclusively by those who have investigated the subject. At the brewery where I am head brewer, we have sufficient storage for 3,000 pockets of hops, probably more, and it is possible to store these hops for three years and then to have them in sufficient condition for use for dry hopping. Hops to be correctly stored, should be placed in a department which is absolutely dry, where daylight is entirely excluded, and where the temperature is kept slightly below freezing point. Some think this temperature too low, and recommend 38° to 40° F.; others consider 30° to 34° F. gives the best results, but from experience we have found that a temperature of from 28° to 32° F. gives the best results. This is proved by the condition of the hops being excellent after three years' storage. Haslam's system of refrigeration is an excellent one for the purpose, as the temperature of the departments is entirely maintained by cold air. A form of freezing or ice machinery employed for the purpose must, of course, vary to suit the requirements of the proprietors of the hop stores, but the reader cannot do better than inspect the different systems before deciding which to adopt. The great advantage in storing hops in a cold store is that when hops are expensive, and the stock on hand should always be sufficient for one or two years’ consumption, the brewer is able to dispense with purchasing any hops during a dear season, and he may then, when he sees a bargain to be obtained, purchase them, especially during a season when prices are reasonable.
Thatcher, Frank, A Treatise of Practical Brewing and Malting (The Country Brewers' Gazette, London, 1907), pages 241 - 242.

Obviously, this optimal storage temperature only became pratical after 1870 and the introduction of artificial refrigeration. Luckily, this was something likely to be available in a brewery. Where cooling of various things - such as wort - was required.

I've seen figures from the interwar period comparing the alpha acid content of hops which had been cold stored with those that hadn't. After a couple of years. the difference was very significant.

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part fifty-three)

Still going through the Courage breweries.Though it won't take too long as they had far fewer breweries than Bass Charrington or Courage. All of today's trio have closed.

Not sure if I ever tried the beer from the Reading brewery. I think not. I definitely never drank anything from Worton Grange. As they brewed no cask beer. And I was going to waste my time drinking any keg shit.

Plymouth Heavy I remember well from serving at the Great British Beer Festival. I rated it as one of the best Milds in the country. Lovely stuff. Obviosly, closed the brewery and the beer disappeared.


Courage (Plymouth)
Plymouth,
Devon.
Founded:         1852
Closed:            1984
Tied houses:    

Bought by Courage in 1970. I disagree about Heavy. I thought it was a cracking pint.

beer	style	format	OG	description
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1039	smooth and hoppy
Heavy	Mild	draught	1032	bland
Superkeg Mild	Mild	keg		dark

Courage (Reading)
Reading,
Berkshire.
Founded:         1768
Closed:            1979
Tied houses:    

The former Simonds brewery. 

beer	style	format	OG	description
Best Bitter	Pale Ale	draught	1039	well hopped
Mild	Mild	draught	1032	well balanced

Courage (Worton Grange)
Reading,
Berkshire.
Founded:         1980
Closed:            2010
Tied houses:    

A massive new brewery designed to replace the former Simonds brewery in Reading. It brewed no cask beer.
 

 

I'm still plugging my latest book, "Keg!". From which the above is an extract.

Get your copy of "Keg!" now!

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1895 Ny Carlsberg Lagerøl Export

I've started with Lagers, so why should I stop? Another 19th-century Carlsberg beer.

Carlsberg were very nice about letting me photograph their archived brewing records. And didn't make me sign any NDAs. Unlike some brewers.

The export version of Lagerøl is a slightly odd beast. What exactly is it?  You couldn’t call it an Export, because it’s too strong and dark. Dunkles Export, then? Too strong. It’s just about Bock strength. So you could, perhaps, consider it a Dunkles Bockbier.

Export? A classier beer, you would expect. Yet the grist is a third barley flour. The rest, Munich malt. The former is the reason that the colour is paler than that of standard Lagerøl.

The hopping is a bit heavier at the equivalent of 2.5 lb per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. Quite a lot more than in the domestic version. Still way short of a UK export beer, which would have four or five times as many hops.

Those hops were, which makes this a bit more interesting, a combination of Saaz and East Kent hops. I’ve assumed the latter were something Goldings-like.

1895 Ny Carlsberg Lagerol Export
Munich malt 20L	11.50 lb	69.70%
barley flour	5.00 lb	30.30%
Saaz 150 mins	0.75 oz
Saaz 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1064
FG	1028
ABV	4.76
Apparent attenuation	56.25%
IBU	24
SRM	17
Mash double decoction
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	44º F
Yeast	Wyeast 2042 Danish lager

I’d give a beer of this gravity four months of lagering.

These are the decoction mash details:

Mash in at 35º C (95º F)	5 minutes
Warm whole mash to 52º C (126º F)	20 minutes
Rest whole mash at 52º C (126º F) (protein rest)	15 minutes
Draw off first mash and without a rest bring to the boil	30 minutes
Boil first mash	10 minutes
The rest of the mash remains at 52º C (126º F)	40 minutes
Mash at 70º C (158º F)	25 minutes
Rest whole mash at 70º C (158º F) (saccharification rest)	30 minutes
Draw off second mash and without a rest bring to the boil	15 minutes
Boil second mash	10 minutes
Mash at 76º C (169º F) and mash out	20 minutes

 

Foreign hops

From the middle of the 19th century, increasingly large quantities of foreign hops were used by UK brewers. Why? The UK simply couldn't produce enough hops to meet demand.

The result was that the UK imported hops from pretty much everywhere that grew them. But not all hops were created equal. And those from certain countries were far more valued. Though for different reasons.

German hops, in particular from Bavaria and Württemberg, were valued because of their flavour. While American hops were liked for their economy. That is, because they were higher in alpha acid fewer needed to be used.

The majority of English brewers employ very few foreign hops when those of their own country are good and may be purchased at a reasonable price. Foreign hops, such as those imported from Bavaria, Bohemia, America, Australia, and the Colonies, yield a decided harsh bitter flavour as already referred to, and although foreign beer consumers are used to, and like it, the public of this country would discard beer thus bittered. Usually, brewers employ one-fourth American hops for the production of mild ales, or even a larger percentage of other growths, but usually the limit does not reach or even exceed half foreign and half English. Bavarian hops, and especially those of the Halledau and Wurtemburg growths, are extremely good, both for copper and dry hopping all classes of beer. They impart a rich nutty flavour of their own.
Thatcher, Frank, A Treatise of Practical Brewing and Malting (The Country Brewers' Gazette, London, 1907), page 235.

As always, there's a warning about overuse of American hops, on account of their horrible flavour.

Californian and other hops coming from the Pacific States must be sparingly used, as although the black currant flavour and aroma is not so strong in these hops as it used to be, yet it can be easily detected if an excessive amount of such material is employed.
Thatcher, Frank, A Treatise of Practical Brewing and Malting (The Country Brewers' Gazette, London, 1907), pages 235 - 236.

While German hops were OK to use for dry-hopping.

Bavarians, Wurtemburgs, Halledaus, etc., also impart a rich flavour to beers, which is, however, entirely devoid of the characteristic delicate flavour usual to Worcester and Kent hops, although they may be employed for dry hopping in the cask during warm weather with the best possible iesults on account of their antiseptic constituents, and they are often the means of preventing beers developing premature acidity.
Thatcher, Frank, A Treatise of Practical Brewing and Malting (The Country Brewers' Gazette, London, 1907), pages 236 - 237.

Though note that they didn't rate the flavour as highly as the best-quality English hops.