UK Beer exports to North America in 1898

I'm so glad that I found these numbers. Because it's telling me a lot about UK beer exports. Especially those from Scotland. And it's showing that English and Scottish brewers often had very different export markets.

Remember that, overall, about 25% of UK beer exports came from Scotland. The average for North America was higher, at about 33%. However, the percentage for individual countries varied enormously. For example, very little Scottish beer went to the USA. A mere 1.58%. While to the British West Indies it was 77.58%.

Why such large differences? I suspect it's to do with the type of beers being exported. For example, I know that the beer exported to the West Indies was mostly either Stout or Scotch Ale. No surprise then that A lot of it came from Scotland. But what about the USA? What was being exported there? Was it mostly IPA? I'd love to know. Whatever it was, it was expensive. As the average price was over 95 shillings a barrel. One of the highest for any market.

Talking of the USA, almost half of UK exports to North America went there. Considerably more than to British North America (Canada). And much less than to the West Indies and Bermuda. Why so much going to the islands? Probably because there was no local brewing industry. While in Canada there were plenty of brewers.

I'm surprised that so much beer was going to the Spanish West Indies. Far more than to all the other foreign islands and Central America combined. Which is intriguing.

Just South America to go. 

UK Beer exports to North America in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
British North America	3,392	14,760	453	1,300	3,845	16,050
U. States of America	24,902	108,993	452	3,104	28,656	136,397
Bermudas	1,776	5,280	6,631	20,455	8,406	25,735
British W. Ind. Islands	3,411	13,759	11,803	49,183	15,214	62,942
Spanish W. Ind. Islands	1,629	4,931	183	870	1,712	5,801
French W. Ind. Islands	40	199	2	6	42	205
Dutch W. Ind. Islands	74	267	-	-	74	257
Danish W. Ind. Islands	101	396	57	316	158	712
British Honduras	196	732	39	203	235	935
Hayti and S. Domingo	98	396	115	535	213	931
Mexico	267	1,112	-	-	267	1,112
Central America	62	251	4	20	66	271
Total	35,948	151,076	19,739	75,992	58,888	251,348
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.

 

 

William Younger grists in 1884 and 1885

Want to see what went into those dozens of William Younger beers? Of course you do. As it turns out, not very many different ingredients.

Let's get the ball rolling with the Holyrood brewery. There's not much to the grists. There are only two elements: pale malt and dextro-maltose. And they appear in every beer, other than S XP. Though the percentages do vary a bit, from 7% to over 11%. 

There does seem to be some logic to this, with beers such as No. 1, which were going to be aged longer, receiving the most sugar. The function of the dextro-maltose being to provide food for the Brattanomyces during the long, slow secondary fermentation.

There are a few more ingrdients at the Abbey brewery. Which makes sense as they brewed a broader range of styles. Though more than half of the beers are 100% pale malt.

The three Stouts all contain black malt in addition to the pale malt. But no other coloured malts, such as crystal, amber or brown. Instead, they go for the simplest possible Stout grist. Not even with any sugar.

Here, the role of the dextro-maltose is very clear. It's present only in the numbered Strong Ales and the Shilling Ales. Beers which were going to be aged. With the sogar being there as Brettanomyces food. Though, at the time, they had no idea that it was Brattanomyces they were feeding. Secondary fermentation being something of a mystery.

Hops. You'll be interested in those, won't you? Everyone is into hops nowadays. We'll be looking at those next. 

William Younger (Holyrood) grists in 1884
Beer	Style	pale malt	dextro-maltose
S XP	IPA	100.00%	0.00%
XP	IPA	92.00%	8.00%
XXP	IPA	92.86%	7.14%
XXX	Mild	91.67%	8.33%
XXXX	Mild	91.67%	8.33%
XXXX / 3	Mild	88.57%	11.43%
Ext	Pale Ale	90.00%	10.00%
S Ext	Pale Ale	95.12%	4.88%
PX	Pils	91.67%	8.33%
1	Strong Ale	88.57%	11.43%
3	Strong Ale	92.59%	7.41%
Source:
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/3/11.

William Younger (Abbey) grists in 1885
Beer	Style	pale malt	black malt	dextro-maltose	Sacc.
T	Table Beer	100.00%
50/-	Ale	100.00%
S 50/-	Ale	100.00%
B 50/-	Ale	95.12%			4.88%
H 60/-	Ale	100.00%
60/-	Ale	100.00%
80/-	Ale	100.00%
100/-	Ale	100.00%
120/-	Ale	91.89%		8.11%
140/-	Ale	87.40%		12.60%
160/-	Ale	87.40%		12.60%
X	Mild	100.00%
XX	Mild	100.00%
XXX	Mild	100.00%
XXXX	Stock Ale	100.00%
P	Pale Ale	100.00%
XP	IPA	100.00%
XP Scotch	Pale Ale	100.00%
DBS	Stout	93.10%	6.90%
S1	Stout	92.86%	7.14%
S2	Stout	92.00%	8.00%
1	Strong Ale	90.48%		9.52%
2	Strong Ale	90.00%		10.00%
3	Strong Ale	89.69%		10.31%
3 pale	Strong Ale	100.00%
Source:
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/2/31.

 

 

Let's Brew - 1885 William Younger S2 Stout

We now move onto Younger’s Stouts. Which are a bit of a weird bunch. And a preview of what Scottish Stouts were like in the mid-20th-century.

This beer is very unusual for the 19th century. Usually, Sweet Stouts are associated with the addition of lactose, a practice which only started just before WW I. Yet here is a very sweet Stout from a few decades earlier. Here the sweetness comes from a very low degree of attenuation and minimal hopping.

The grist is about as simple as you can get for a Stout: just base pale malt and black malt. Quite a high percentage of the latter leaving the beer quite dark.

Getting back to the hopping, I picked this particular example because, unlike many, it contains no spent hops. Most brews contained some, or even all, spent hops.

There were quite a few different types of hops. Just not very many of them. American from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, Kent from 1884 and Bohemian from 1885.

Definitely no ageing for this beer. 

1885 William Younger S2 Stout
pale malt	14.00 lb	91.80%
black malt	1.25 lb	8.20%
Cluster 120 min	0.50 oz
Cluster 60 min	0.25 oz
Fuggles 30 min	0.25 oz
Saaz 30 min	0.25 oz
OG	1064
FG	1032
ABV	4.23
Apparent attenuation	50.00%
IBU	19
SRM	34
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

UK Beer exports to Australasia in 1898

I expected more Scottish beer. Why? Because a list of beers imported into Sydney in Australian Brewers' Journal of 21st February 1910 has a very high percentage of Scottish beers. Though, having said that, the percentage of Scottish beer is in line with the overall proportion of toal exports, at around 25%.

Almost half the exports went to New South Wales. Which makes sense as that was the most populous part of Australia. But, all totalled together, Australia was the largest market for UK exports. Accounting for around 22% of the total.

That may seem odd, given how far away Australia was and how long - months - it would take beer to get there. But British was tough and capable of long journeys without refrigeration. Unlike poncey Lager which couldn't cross the road without being chilled. It's weord to think that the most important market for UK beer was as far away as possible. I guess that's what happens in an empire where the sun never sets.

The average value of the beer - over 79 shillings a barrel - implies that it was mostly pretty strong beer. The price list from 1910 lists mostly Pale Ales, Scotch Ale and Stout. A surprising amount of it already bottled.  

UK Beer exports to Australasia in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
Australasia:
West Australia	13,043	51,686	4,156	15,118	17,799	66,804
South Australia	3,645	16,030	1,390	7,008	5,035	23,038
Victoria	12,299	49,975	5,837	26,731	18,136	76,709
New South Wales	31,950	114,055	12,436	44,817	44,385	158,872
Queensland	8,441	41,917	1,945	7,295	10,386	49,212
Tasmania	897	4,714	-	-	897	4,714
total Australia	70,275	278,377	25,764	100,969	96,638	379,349
New Zealand	4,781	25,742	47	275	4,828	26,017
Fiji Islands	39	152	30	45	69	197
Islands in the Pacific	101	459	-	-	104	459
Total	75,196	304,730	25,841	101,289	101,639	406,022
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.

 

Exhibit of Foreign and Colonial Beers (part eleven)

You'll be pleased to hear that this is the last post in this series.

We start with New Zealand.

New Zealand samples
Exhibitors	Country	Samples	Style
Hancock and Co., Auckland	New Zealand	Finest Double Stout	Stout
Hancock and Co., Auckland	New Zealand	Imperial Pale Ale	Pale Ale
Hancock and Co., Auckland	New Zealand	Lager Beer	Lager
Crown Brewery Coxpany, Ltd, Christchurch	New Zealand	East India Pale Ale	IPA
R. Shand, Oamaru	New Zealand	XXXX Pale Ale	Pale Ale
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

New Zealand.— Of the brands of pale ale the "East India pale ale,” of the Crown Brewery, Christchurch, was of very fair flavour, though rough. It was awarded three marks. The XXXX pale ale of Mr. B. Shand, Oamaru, was brilliant, but had a rather bad nose. It is awarded two marks. The imperial pale ale of Messrs. Hancock and Co., Auckland, drank thin and wanting in flavour. It is awarded one mark.

The lager beer of Mr. Hancock, Auckland, was not bright, and had a curious yeasty flavour. It is awarded two marks. I would especially remark on the attractive get-up of this brand as regards bottles and labels.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Once again, we see the IPA/Pale Ale inconsistency. It would be fascinating to know exactly how strong these beers were. Unlike the Australian beers, there was a Lager.

I'm surprised at the beers which were awarded scores of two and three, as they seem to all have had significant faults. The jury seems to have been rather generous.

We finish with the USA.

Australian samples
Exhibitors	Country	Samples	Style
Ph. and Wm. Ebling Brewing Company, New York	USA	Dark Brombacher	Lager
Ph. and Wm. Ebling Brewing Company, New York	USA	Wiener Export	Vienna Lager
Ph. and Wm. Ebling Brewing Company, New York	USA	Wiener	Vienna Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Old Setter Brand, Red	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Old Setter Brand, Blue	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Bohemian Beer	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Bavarian Beer	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Walkuren Brau	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Siegfried	Lager
Pabst Brewing Company, Milwaukee	USA	Export Beer	Export
Indianapolis Brewing Company, Indianapolis	USA	Duesseldorfer	Alt
F. A. Potts and Son, Philadelphia	USA	Pott’s Dark	Lager
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

 

United States.— The "Dark Brombachers” of Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Brewing Company, New York, was a brilliant full-flavoured beer in good condition. It is awarded three marks. “Pott’s Dark" (Messrs. Potts, Philadelphia) was too sweet. It is awarded two marks.

The “Wiener” of Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Company, New York, was a very good beer in excellent condition. It is awarded three marks. The “Dusseldorfer” of the Indianapolis Brewery Company drank clean, though thin and was not bright. It is awarded two marks.

The export beer of the Pabst Brewing Company, Milwaukee, was a very high-class beer full of character, clean and brilliant. It is awarded three marks. The “Export Wiener” of Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Brewing Company, New York, was too sweet. It is awarded two marks.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Never heard of Brombacher before. I wonder what colour it was? I'm guessing dark, as they seemed to have grouped the beers by colour. Note than all the beers, other than the Alt, were Lagers. I wonder why they didn't include any Ales or Stouts? There were plenty still being brewed on the East Coast.

Interesting that a couple of the beers were criticised for being too sweet. I wonder if that was a deliberate characteristic of some styles in the USA.

Two US breweries won the prizes for the best packaging.

The first award for the get-up of bottles and labels is given to Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Brewing Company, New York, and the second to Messrs. Hupfels, New York.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Now wasn't that fun? I've now got to hunt around for another article to spin out into series of posts. This blog won't fill itself. 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1885 William Younger XP Scotch

Younger produced several versions of XP, this one, presumably, being for the Scottish market. Which was fairly common for Younger, who had specifically Scottish versions of other beers, such as No. 3.

The recipe isn’t hugely different from the other XP versions. Three types of pale malt make up the grist. It’s as simple as that. Nothing really much I can add to that.

Lots of hops again: Kent from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, American from 1884 and 1885, Californian from 1884 and Württemberg also from 1884. The hopping rate is higher than in the other XPs, which is reflected in the higher (calculated) IBUs.

Interestingly, all of this brew was racked into hogsheads. That implies to me that this was a beer intended for bottling. Though I could be wrong. My guess is that this was a semi-Stock Pale Ale, aged for maybe three or four months. 

1885 William Younger XP Scotch
pale malt	12.75 lb	100.00%
Cluster 120 min	2.00 oz
Fuggles 60 min	0.75 oz
Hallertau 60 min	1.25 oz
Fuggles 30 min	2.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1055
FG	1016
ABV	5.16
Apparent attenuation	70.91%
IBU	80
SRM	5
Mash at	155º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

UK Beer exports to Asia in 1898

In earlier posts I was asking: where were Scottish exports going? That question is answered today. It was going to India.

More than double the amount that was exported from England. Which may have you scratching your head and asking: but wasn't IPA from Burton sent to India? Well, that's the usual story. Though, if you've been paying attention to this blog, you'll know that far more Porter than IPA was sent to India. And that was brewed in London.

So what were the Scots shipping to India? The obvious guess would be IPA. As I know lots of it was brewed in Scotland. This is where it's dead handy that the value of the beer is included as well as the volume. The average price was 58s 5.5d. Which is one of lowest of any export market. It's also lower than the wholesale price of IPA, which was usually 60 shillings a barrel. Some of the beer must have been something other than IPA.

What the hell was it then? I've no idea. It certainly wasn't Porter. Because at this point they weren't brewing any in Scotland. The other big export beers from Scotland were Stout and Scotch Ale. Both of which would have been more expensive than 60 shillings a barrel. Perhaps it was a lower-gravity Pale Ale. That's about all that's left.

The next biggest export market in Asia was Straits Settlements. Which means Singapore and Malacca. I'm guessing another region with a large British military presence. Ditto Hong Kong and number 3. Aden, too. I can't imagine much beer being drunk by the locals there.

Non-British possessions took only minimal quantities of British beer. The largest of these, China, only imported 842 barrels. An insignificant amount. 

UK Beer exports to Asia in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
Turkey, Asiatic	260	899	6	27	266	926
Aden	3,578	11,611	-	-	3,578	11,511
Persia	12	67	4	19	16	86
British East Indies:
Continental Territories.	23,343	69,196	48,072	139,567	71,415	208,763
Straits Settlements	4,759	19,122	4,569	13,582	9,328	32,704
Ceylon	5,418	16,632	985	4,920	6,403	21,552
India: Dutch Possessions:
Java	322	1,492	-	-	322	1,492
Other Possessions	8	41	-	-	8	41
Spanish Possessions, Philippine Islands	146	599	9	60	155	659
British Possessions:
Borneo	-	-	14	63	14	63
Labuan	13	40	-	-	13	40
Siam	-	-	35	151	35	151
French Indo-China	8	38	8	37	16	75
China	812	3,299	30	145	842	3,444
Hong Kong	5,714	16,721	3,491	9,977	9,208	26,698
Japan	556	3,112	-	-	656	3,112
Total	44,949	142,869	57,223	168,548	102,275	311,317
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.