Consumption of wine, beer and spirits in 1899

Got a new cast on my arm this morning. And they told me that I've broken a small bone in my hand, too. No big deal, as the same cast will take care of both. My typing ability is still limited. And I'm feeling a bit of a lazy git. More random statistics, then.

This time it's the consumption of various alcoholic drinks. Looking at the same six countries again. The total consumption figure really doesn't tell us much, as the countries vary massively in population. It's the per head figures that tell a story.

For example, that the French really liked their wine. 112 litres each is a fuck of a lot. That's a third of a litre a day. Or getting on for a half bottle. Such a figure is only possible if most of the population drinks every day. Which is, indeed, what people did in France. Drinking wine with meals, every day.

The UK falls far short of that. For the simple reason that most people didn't drink wine at all. That being the preserve of the better off. I would have expected Germany to score higher, though. Given that parts of the South are wine country. You can see that in the wine production figures. Bavaria, Baden and Württemberg were big producers. But those did make much more combined than number one wine state. Alsace Lorraine, the bit they'd just nicked from France.*

Rather surprisingly, Australians drank more wine than Germans. Well short of French levels, mind. I suppose they did make a lot. And they were a bunch of pissheads. The big question is: why weren't the French-speakers in Canada drinking wine? Because it was all imported?

The UK proudly heads the beer consumption table. 22 litres ahead of the Germans. And way head of the USA in third place. Pretty disappointing showing from the Aussies in fourth place. You'd expect all that sun to give them a thirst.**

The French are out in front again when it comes to spirits. Closely followed by the Germans. Particularly those in the North. Production of spirits was even more skewed than for wine. 82% was distilled in Prussia.*** It was a big state, but that's still a huge percentage.

I wouldn't have bet on the UK out-drinking the USA in the case of spirits. And what was it with Canada? They're bottom in every single category.

All I can add is: well done France. Do try to drink a little more beer, though.

Consumption of wine, beer and spirits in 1899
	Wine		Beer		Spirits
	Consumption	Per head	Consumption	Per head	Consumption	Per head
Country	hl	litres	hl	litres	hl	litres
United Kingdom	752,045	1.86	58,301,086	145.02	1,870,634	4.68
France	42,750,129	112.01	9,607,153	25.00	3,598,432	9.41
Germany	1,887,226	3.50	66,313,957	123.20	4,590,551	8.41
United States	778,821	1.05	44,106,974	59.10	3,085,825	4.18
Australian Colonies	205,525	4.77	2,082,113	48.19	148,609	3.45
Canada	20,230	0.36	858,876	16.37	152,746	2.95
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 36 1900, February 15th 1900, page 205.

The original figures were in gallons. I thought hectolitres and litres are a bit more useful for most people.



* The Brewers' Journal vol. 36 1900, February 15th 1900, page 206.
** It rained every one of the twenty days I was in Australia this summer.
*** The Brewers' Journal vol. 36 1900, February 15th 1900, page 206. 

Home production vs imports of wine, beer and spirits in 1899

My arm is still broken and in plaster. Hence some more random statistics. Still have to post every day, no matter what the state of my limbs.

Let's start with wine. Two countries in the table imported all of their wine: the UK and Canada. A situation that I know is no longer true. Especially in the case of Canada. Honestly, I'm shocked that it produced no wine in the 19th century. Especially with all the French speakers.

Canada's lack of wine production is particularly surprising given how high domestic production was in the USA. Higher even than in France. Not such a shock is how few imports there were in Australia. Which has a good climate for viticulture. And is a fuck of a long way from most other wine-producing regions.

Moving on to beer, where imports were fairly insignificant in every one of the countries listed. Just 0.1% in the case of the UK. Only Canada and Australia imported significant quantities. Beer being a pretty bulky commodity, it does make sense that it wouldn't be moved around that much. Though those imports into Australia had come quite a distance. As the vast majority came from the UK.

Finally, spirits. Where Germany, France and the USA imported bugger all. I'm slightly surprised at the low level of imports in the last of those. I thought the USA imported quite a lot of Irish whiskey and Scotch.

Spirit imports were highest in Australia. I'm guessing that most were coming from the UK. What was made in Australia? Rum? Canada, number 2 importer, I assume was bringing in whisky from the UK and whiskey from Ireland and the USA. 

Home production vs imports of wine, beer and spirits in 1899
	Percentage of Wine		Percentage of Beer		Percentage of Spirits
Country	Imported	Home-Made	Imported	Home-Made	Imported	Home-Made
United Kingdom	100	-	0.1	99.9	20	80
France	20	80	1.2	98.8	7.5	92.5
Germany	37.8	62.2	0.8	99.2	2.1	97.9
United States	15	85	0.2	99.8	1.2	98.8
Australian Colonies	6	94	8	92	79	21
Canada	100	-	8	92	38.6	61.4
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 36 1900, February 15th 1900, page 205.

 

 

Revenue from Alcoholic Beverages 1898-99

With my freshly-broken arm, I'm keeping thins simple. Not too much typing or computer work. Because, er, it fucking hurts.

Today, we've a quick look at how important taxation on alcohol was in various countries. It comes as absolutely no surprise that the UK was the most dependent on alcohol taxation. Which accounted for more than a third of tax revenue. That was a typical number for most of the 19th century.

In France and Germany, it was only around half of that. I wonder where they were getting all their tax from?

The only country in the table that comes anywhere close to the UK is the USA. Which makes Prohibition, which came along a couple of decades later, seem quite problematic. I'm sure any country would struggle with more than a quarter of tax revenue suddenly disappearing. That's one of the reasons banning alcohol was never really on the cards in the UK. Where would the tax have come from?

I was a bit surprised that France's total revenue was higher than the UK's. Was that simply down to a larger population? 

Revenue from Alcoholic Beverages 1898-99
Country	Year	Total Revenue	Alcohol Revenue	% from alcohol
United Kingdom	1898-9	£94,301,000	£34,400,000	36%
France	1898	£116,448,000	£22,051,000	19%
Germany	1897-8	£72,171,000	£12,884,000	18%
United States	1897-8	£102,986,000	£28,710,000	28%
Australian Colonies	1898	£29,142,000	£2,965,000	10.20%
Canada	1898	$40,555,000	$6,940,000	17.10%
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 36 1900, February 15th 1900, page 205.

 

 

Let's Brew - 1903 Binnie XXX Porter

Showing wonderful inconsistency, in most of the brewing records this beer was named DBS – presumably Double Brown Stout. But I’m pretty sure that they are the same beer.

The gravity certainly looks like a Stout rather than a Porter. A Double Stout is particular. Nothing unusual there.

What about the recipe? Well, it’s a bit interesting. In that, additionally to pale and black malt, there’s also some amber malt. Which pops up sometimes in London Stouts, but not much elsewhere. Notably, there’s no sugar and no adjuncts.

Three types of hops: Bavarian, Kent and “Betd.”, all from the 1903 crop. No idea what that last one was. So I’ve just gone with the first two.

Here’s the big question: was this aged? Hard to say, as the hopping rate isn’t that high. My guess would be no more than a couple of months.

1903 Binnie XXX Porter
pale malt	14.25 lb	78.62%
amber malt	2.125 lb	11.72%
black malt	1.75 lb	9.66%
Hallertau 90 min	1.50 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1075
FG	1029
ABV	6.09
Apparent attenuation	61.33%
IBU	28
SRM	44
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Bottled Indonesian beer after WW II

Another extract from my monster gravity table. Courtesy of the Heineken gravity book. Who, with their brewery in Soerabaja, had a commercial interest in what was then the Dutch East Indies.

You'll have to excuse me for this type of post. In my current impaired state, I can't really perform at 100%. And I still need to churn out posts daily. I know, it's a rod I've created for my own back. But I just can't give it up. If I drop dead on a trip, you probably won't realise for a week as my preloaded posts continue to appear.

You can see the effect of WW II in the relatively low strength of all the beers. With all the examples under 4% ABV and the weakest under 3% ABV. While pre-war there had been 5% ABV beers.

Do I have any other interesting observations on these beers? Not really. Look at the table your fucking selves. I'm not going to do everything for you.

Batavia, in case you're wondering, was the colonial name for Jakarta.

Bottled Indonesian beer after WW II
Year	Brewer	Town	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	Colour
1948	ABC	Batavia	Pilsener	Pils	1033.2	1010.0	2.97	69.88%	0.22
1948	ABC	Banging	Pilsener	Pils	1033.9	1009.6	3.09	71.69%	0.22
1948	Heineken	Soerabaja	Javabier	Pils	1032.1	1005.9	3.39	81.63%	0.22
1948	Heineken	Soerabaja	Licht Javabier	Pils	1032.0	1009.5	2.88	70.31%	0.25
1949	Heineken	Soerabaja	Licht Javabier	Pils	1031.8	1008.0	3.09	74.95%	0.22
1950	Heineken	Soerabaja	Licht Javabier	Pils	1032.8	1006.7	3.37	79.56%	0.28
1948	Heineken	Soerabaja	Licht Pilsener	Pils	1034.3	1009.9	3.15	71.23%	0.35
1949	Heineken	Soerabaja	Licht Pilsener	Pils	1036.0	1007.0	3.74	80.51%	0.24
1950	Heineken	Soerabaja	Licht Pilsener	Pils	1036.4	1008.8	3.57	75.81%	0.28
1950	Oranje	Batavia	Anker	Pils	1034.0	1012.8	2.76	62.30%	0.35
1950	Oranje	Batavia	Diamant	Pils	1035.7	1011.8	2.98	67.02%	0.35
Source:
Rapporten van laboratoriumonderzoeken naar producten van Heinekenbrouwerijen in binnen- en buitenland en naar producten van andere brouwerijen held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1794.

 

 

As Christmas is approaching

it's time to remind you that my books make great presents. For family, friends or yourself. 

First, my look at the Golden Age of UK brewing: the 1970s. With over 100 recipes, including such classic keg beers as Watney's Red, Whitbread Trophy, Whitbread Tankard and Drybrough Heavy. Yum!

 

My history of London Stout from its 18th-century origins through to the 1970s has even more recipes: 277, to be precise.

   

It took me two volumes to properly cover WW II in "Blitzkrieg!". It contains a crazy number of wartime recipes, over 500. Wit, as a bonus, some very watery recipes from Heineken.

 

My travel books are so popular, I've sold almost two copies of each. 

 

"Weisse!" is easily Berlinet Weisse is easily the best book on Berliner Weisse in English. With 19 historic recipes. 

 

"AK!", covering a deep obsession of mine,details the history of the classic style of Light Bitter. Along with a couple of dozen historic recipes

   

"Strong!" is part of my series on UK beer styles. Volume 2 contains the recipes, of which there are 135. Volumes 1 and 2 contains both the general history text and recipes.

 

"IPA!" is a very tightly-focused monograph, looking at IPA during WW II. 31 historic recipes this time.

 

Folkestone breakfasts

I know you love to see my travel breakfasts. So here you go.

I would write more about the trip, Sadly, a couple of factors make that tricky.

For one thing, it was a pure holiday trip with Mikey. Nothing much happened. Other than eating cooked breakfasts, hanging around in pubs and buying contraband (cheese, crumpets, bacon, et.) to take back home. Not sure you'd find it that interesting.

OK, I had a few decent pints. Nothing that fancy or special. Nothing to tickle a geek's fancy. Abbott in 'Spoons. Shepherd Neame Masterbrew in an estate pub. All very mundane. Because this wasn't a trip for beer. It was a trip with beer. Vital difference, that. It's important to keep a degree of perspective. Not to see everything through a beery lens.

What's my other reason for not writing a detailed report? There's a clue in the final breakfast photograph. Why so little food?

I wasn't feeling that great on the last day. Having fallen in the bathroom the night before. And broken my arm. Pretty much identical to last year's break.

Typing is just a pain in the arse with only my left hand. 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1904 Binnie 60/- IPA

True to style, Binnie also sometimes called this 60/- Bitter. What was this, then? I’m going for IPA. Just because it might annoy some style Nazis.

Speaking of styles, in BeerSmith, this comes out quite close to English IPA. Only the bitterness and colour are a little too light. Justification – yes – for calling this an IPA. Take that BJCP .*

Unlike its brother 54/-, there’s some sugar in the mix. With the wonderfully specific and helpful description “S’ in the brewing record. I’ve gone for raw cane sugar. Pure 100% arse-out guess that. Feel free to interpret the evidence differently.

They didn’t really vary the hops between the different types of beer at Binnie. It’s the usual even split between Kent, Bavarian and Californian.

Was this aged? Good question. Possibly. Maybe a few months. Doesn’t look like a long-ager to me.

1904 Binnie 60/- IPA
pale malt	10.00 lb	80.00%
flaked maize	1.50 lb	12.00%
raw cane sugar	1.00 lb	8.00%
Cluster 90 min	0.875 oz
Hallertau 60 min	0.875 oz
Fuggles 30 min	0.875 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1057
FG	1020
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	64.91%
IBU	36
SRM	4.5
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

* Some of my best friends are BJCPs. And I did contribute to their style guidelines. Making me as guilty as anyone of, at least, being style-Nazi adjacent.
 

Dutch beer during WW II

I'm off travelling again. Nothing really beer-related. It's my annual trip to Folkestone with Mikey. Which, obviously, will involve a degree of beer-drinking.

Every trip necessitates queueing up a good few posts. And what better way to generate posts than to consult my massive gravity spreadsheet. I first stared collecting gravities more than 20 years ago. The first iteration had maybe 50 entries. Now, it's just shy of 25,000. Most of which - 21,600 - are from the UK. It's an incredibly handy resource.

Anyway, I digress. I thought that it might be interesting to compare Dutch beers of WW II with the German ones we looked at yesterday. All of the beers I have analyses of would be confusing. Instead, I've plumped for those of two largest breweries from Holland's two largest cities: Amstel from Amsterdam and Oranjeboom from Rotterdam.

Though gravities had fallen below their pre-war strength, until the end of 1941, you could still find a beer of around 3% ABV. Not long into 1942, that dropped to 1.5% ABV at most. SO pretty much a waste of time, other than for hydration.

Note that there was much more than just Pils being brewed. With Dark Lagers both at full-strength (Münchener) and lower-gravity (Donker Lagerbier). 

Amstel beers during WW II
Date	Year	Beer	Style	package	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
19th Mar	1941	Donker Lager	Donker Lagerbier	draught	1030.7	1006.7	3.10	77.99%	6.80
18th Feb	1941	Licht Lagerbier	Licht Lagerbier	draught	1036.3	1006.7	3.79	81.41%	0.40
28th Dec	1941	M	Münchener	draught	1029.2	1010.9	2.35	62.67%	8.00
28th Jan	1941	Pils	Pils	draught	1041.4	1009.0	4.16	78.34%	0.48
30th May	1941	Pils	Pils	bottled	1039.6	1006.9	4.24	82.55%	0.40
5th Jun	1941	Pils	Pils	draught	1033.6	1006.7	3.46	80.17%	0.42
5th Dec	1941	Pils	Pils	draught	1029.2	1007.9	2.73	72.85%	0.45
18th Dec	1942	M	Münchener	draught	1014.5	1002.9	1.51	80.14%	2.50
18th Dec	1942	Pils	Pils	draught	1014.7	1003.7	1.41	74.83%	0.42
26th Jan	1943	Lager	Licht Lagerbier	draught	1010.1	1002.5	1.01	75.01%	2.80
25th Jan	1943	Pils	Pils	draught	1014.6	1003.3	1.46	77.13%	0.42
Source:
Rapporten van laboratoriumonderzoeken naar producten van Heinekenbrouwerijen in binnen- en buitenland en naar producten van andere brouwerijen held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1794.

 

Oranjeboom beers during WW II
Date	Year	Beer	Style	package	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
19th Mar	1941	Donker Lager	Donker Lagerbier	draught	1030.1	1008.9	2.75	70.62%	6.80
17th Sep	1941	Donker Lager	Donker Lagerbier	draught	1025.0	1007.7	2.26	69.10%	10.00
30th Dec	1941	Dortmunder	Dortmunder	draught	1030.4	1005.4	3.24	82.27%	0.50
18th Feb	1941	Licht Lagerbier	Licht Lagerbier	draught	1030.9	1006.6	3.13	78.79%	0.48
17th Sep	1941	Licht Lagerbier	Licht Lagerbier	draught	1026.0	1005.2	2.71	79.86%	0.35
17th Sep	1941	M	Münchener	draught	1034.9	1007.1	3.61	79.67%	12.50
30th Dec	1941	M	Münchener	draught	1033.9	1007.1	3.43	78.96%	12.50
28th Jan	1941	Pils	Pils	draught	1040.6	1009.5	4.00	76.64%	0.52
30th May	1941	Pils	Pils	bottled	1032.5	1009.5	2.74	70.76%	0.60
17th Sep	1941	Pils	Pils	draught	1034.2	1005.7	3.66	83.22%	0.52
2nd Jan	1942	Belegen Gerste	Gerste	draught	1021.9	1006.1	2.01	72.14%	10.00
18th Dec	1942	Belegen Gerste	Gerste	draught	1011.9	1003.0	1.18	75.07%	4.80
2nd Jan	1942	Pils	Pils	draught	1030.7	1005.0	3.29	83.60%	0.55
26th Jan	1943	Belegen Gerste	Gerste	draught	1011.9	1003.6	1.07	69.87%	5.00
Source:
Rapporten van laboratoriumonderzoeken naar producten van Heinekenbrouwerijen in binnen- en buitenland en naar producten van andere brouwerijen held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1794.

 

 

 

German beers in Holland during WW II

There's loads of dead handy Heineken material in the Amsterdam archives. Not just their brewing records. They also had their own version of a gravity book, containing analyses of all sorts of Dutch and foreign beers.

What makes it particularly interesting is that it covers WW II. A period where various unpleasantness made both brewing and moving beer about rather problematic. Plus the fact that the authorities weren't always keen on drinkers finding out what was happening to their beer.

For example, at one point in WW II the Dutch brewers organisation reduced the strength of beer without informing the public. No doubt fearing what their reaction would be.

Holland was quite fortunate is being just about self-sufficient in malting barley. Which allowed beer of a reasonable strength to be brewed much longer than in other places under Nazi control. In 1942, you could still get a Pils over 3% ABV.

It seems as if German beer was imported into Holland up until 1942. When I presume there was no longer enough beer to let it leave the country.

The beers in the table, though lower in gravity than pre-war, are at least still intoxicating, with only a couple below 3% ABV. And are stronger than the beers the general public were getting back home in Germany. As beers like these, intended for German servicemen, were stronger.

Unsurprisingly, most come from North Germany: Dortmund, Bremen and Hamburg. No surprise with the first of those, Dortmund producing the most beer of any German city and being relatively close to Holland. 

German beers in Holland during WW II
Year	Brewer	town	Beer	Style	package	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1941	Dortmunder Kronen	Dortmund	Dortmunder	Dortmunder	bottled	1039.3	1009.5	3.79	75.78%	0.52
1941	Dortmunder Union	Dortmund	Dortmunder	Dortmunder	draught	1046.3	1012.3	4.35	73.35%	0.52
1941	Dortmunder Union	Dortmund	Dortmunder	Dortmunder	bottled	1040.2	1008.5	4.06	78.78%	0.48
1942	Bavaria Brauerei	Altona	Export Bier	Export	bottled	1031.6	1006.9	3.18	78.18%	0.35
1942	Bavaria Brauerei	Altona	Export Bier	Export	bottled	1031.8	1006.4	3.25	79.73%	0.45
1942	Beck	Bremen	Export Bier	Export	bottled	1034.2	1008.7	3.26	74.67%	0.30
1942	DAB	Dortmund	Export Bier	Export	bottled	1028.8	1008.0	2.70	72.41%	0.58
1942	Dressla	Bremen	Export	Export	draught	1033.1	1007.1	3.35	78.65%	0.28
1942	Dünckler & Rüppert		Export Bier	Export	bottled	1028.7	1007.1	2.75	75.10%	0.38
1942	Holsten	Bremen	Export Bier	Export	bottled	1040.0	1008.8	4.03	77.99%	0.30
1942	Janssen	Hamburg	Export Tafelbier	Export	draught	1045.3	1012.1	4.24	73.30%	0.40
1942	Schloss-Cabinet	Berlin	Export Bier	Export	bottled	1032.3	1008.6	3.04	73.44%	0.30
1942	Tijger?		Export	Export	draught	1037.2	1010.4	3.44	71.99%	0.40
1941	Paulaner	Munich	Helles	Helles	bottled	1039.3	1009.5	3.83	75.78%	0.52
1942	Schultheiss	Berlin	Helles	Helles	draught	1032.6	1009.9	2.90	69.63%	0.40
1942	Bavaria Brauerei	Altona	Pils	Pils	draught	1039.9	1007.8	4.11	80.46%	0.40
1941	Dortmunder Union	Dortmund	Pilsener	Pilsener	draught	1040.0	1011.0	3.73	72.59%	0.48
1941	Schultheiss-Patzenhofer	Berlin	Patz	Pilsener	draught	1042.6	1009.2	3.76	78.31%	0.50
Source:
Rapporten van laboratoriumonderzoeken naar producten van Heinekenbrouwerijen in binnen- en buitenland en naar producten van andere brouwerijen held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1794.