tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post2461781241086085746..comments2024-03-19T03:07:24.942-07:00Comments on Shut up about Barclay Perkins: AdulterationRon Pattinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-20602648892534772832008-06-30T10:46:00.000-07:002008-06-30T10:46:00.000-07:00Zythophile, fascinating stuff. The gravities of Bi...Zythophile, fascinating stuff. <BR/><BR/>The gravities of Bitter samples seem much more consistent than those for Mild and Bitter. The ones for ordinary Mild are almost never the same.<BR/><BR/>Be good to get the titles of those books, when you're at home. I'm intrigued. You don't happen to know a good German brewing manual from 1900 - 1910, do you?Ron Pattinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-88625493150719662062008-06-30T10:34:00.000-07:002008-06-30T10:34:00.000-07:00There was a saying in the 19th century about recyc...There was a saying in the 19th century about recycling waste into the porter: "Black beer tells no tales". In the 20th century, right through to the 1950s, at least, the recycling of waste beer into the mild was formalised to the extent that all the beer from the driptrays ran down into a ceramic bucket hanging from the cellar roof, which had its own little pump designed to put the waste back into the mild as it was drawn, a teaspoonful at a time. "Bulk" waste beer recycling also went into the mild, as this generally had little or no yeast in the cask (because it wasn't meant to have a secondary fermentation in the pub cellar) - you couldn't put waste beer into the bitter because it would kick up the sediment as it went in, and make the beer cloudy ... there are one or two books written by landlords (or ex-landlords) that mention this kind of activity, but I'm not at home so I can't tell you their titles ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-47164160046086410122008-06-30T10:29:00.000-07:002008-06-30T10:29:00.000-07:00Stonch, I wouldn't have expected you to be anythin...Stonch, I wouldn't have expected you to be anything but an honest landlord. But is everyone as principled?<BR/><BR/>It's good to have two opinions from within the trade. Even though they do confusingly 100% contradict each other. If just one more member of the trade pipes up, I'll be able to draw a definitive conclusion.<BR/><BR/>I'm not bringing this up to have a go at anyone. It's just that the long tradition of adulteration has been little discussed. For fairly obvious reasons. It wasn't something you'd want to make public. Almost everything on the topic is based on rumour.Ron Pattinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-11493217872267650982008-06-30T08:57:00.000-07:002008-06-30T08:57:00.000-07:00PS. I just reread your comment and realised you we...PS. I just reread your comment and realised you were referring to pubs in Yorkshire. Yet I'd stand by what I've said. Slopping beer back into casks wouldn't be worth the effort. When a technician comes to work on your line you get credited for any beer wasted. When you line clean you either pour the beer away, or drink it with staff/regulars. We use some for cooking and pour the rest away.Stonchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15927490011165896353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-66557125370443939332008-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:002008-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:00Just about every pub cellar I've been in I've seen...<I>Just about every pub cellar I've been in I've seen steel funnels lying around or on top of casks.</I><BR/><BR/>I think this is pretty much unheard of in Britain.Stonchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15927490011165896353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-28508578244126397462008-06-29T01:16:00.000-07:002008-06-29T01:16:00.000-07:00At the period in question, a typical London range ...At the period in question, a typical London range of draught beers was something like this: Mild, Bitter, Burton and Stout. If the slops are getting mixed up, then you can't really put them back into the Bitter, because it's going to mess up the colour. The obvious choice would be the Burton or Mild, where it's least likely to be noticed.<BR/><BR/>Isn't Timothy Taylor's Dark Mild just the Golden Best with caramel? I seem to remember that it was illegal to store sugar of any kind in a pub cellar.<BR/><BR/>I don't think I would dare take a hydrometer into a pub. Just discretely taking some of the beer away would be safer. I think it would be very revealing.Ron Pattinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03095189986589865751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5445569787371915337.post-92209829556309932162008-06-28T01:50:00.000-07:002008-06-28T01:50:00.000-07:00Ron,Those are some great stats! I can chime in wi...Ron,<BR/><BR/>Those are some great stats! I can chime in with some experience I've had in Yorkshire. <BR/><BR/>Just about every pub cellar I've been in I've seen steel funnels lying around or on top of casks. One time when I was trying to fix an air-intake problem on one line, pulling beer through as I went, the publican was filling pitchers and running them downstairs as I did so. <BR/><BR/>I've also seen pubs that clean a line, rinse the line, pull the beer through and go back downstairs with the pitchers (of varying shades of amber).<BR/><BR/>Now it may be a stretch to go from there to blending cheap with pricey. I suspect that at the rate a typical pub would go through our beer it just wouldn't be worth the effort.<BR/><BR/>But are miss-pours, half empties and slop trays poured into a bucket and carted back downstairs? I suspect this does happen. My palate tells me this happens anyway. We've gone into pubs after crediting "ullage" for sour, cloudy beer and this practice would be the most logical explanation (especially considering that the other 79 casks from that batch went fine).<BR/><BR/>But I like the idea of taking a hydrometer to the pubs and taking a cheeky look.<BR/><BR/>I also wonder about mild ale once again. Is this why so many of them taste so much like caramel colouring? Do publicans have this stuff on hand? I swear I had a pint of Tomothy Taylor Mild that tasted like it was water, a small amount of bitter and 75% caramel colouring.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>danndaniel holley-paquettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09408887793713235369noreply@blogger.com