Bass in court again

It's been too long since I featured an article from "Food and Sanitation", quite possibly the scariest magazine I've ever read.

Bass seems to have always been in court in the 19th century. Either getting people prosecuted for passing off their own beer as Bass, or, as in this case, getting sued by  a drinker. Long pockets syndrome, I guess. It's a curious case. And the most important (to me) question is unanswered. How did the oxalic acid get into the bottle?

"BASS'S ALE.

Bass & Co. last week obtained an injunction restraining one firm from vending as Bass's ale a product not brewed by that eminent firm. The amount of damage done to first-class firms by such impositions upon them and the public is enormous. It would be interesting to know who bottled the beer that gave rise to the following case heard before

Mr. Justice Lawrence and a common jury.

Mr. Charles John Davis sued Mr. R. E. Miller for damages for injuries caused to him by reason of having sold to him a bottle purporting to contain Bass's ale, whereas it in fact contained oxalic acid. Mr. H. C. Richards and Mr. Soper appeared for the plaintiff; Mr. Johnstone Watson for the defendant. Mr. H. C. Richards, in opening the case for the plaintiff, said that on September 10th last a nurse bought two bottles of what purported to be Bass's ale from Mr. Miller's shop in the Fulham-road. The bottles of ale were bought by the defendant from the Cooper Company, of Southwark-street, S.E. No imputation was suggested against Messrs. Bass. The first bottle was opened and was drunk. The second bottle appeared to be specially bright. Fortunately the plaintiff did not drink it, but he put it to his mouth and he was immediately found to be suffering from an irritant poison. The bottle of beer was given to Mr. Longstaffe, an eminent analyst, and he would give evidence as to what the bottle contained. Emily Lowe was then called, and, in answer to Mr. Richards, said :—I am a nurse,.I attended Mr. Davis's daughter in September, and was sent on the 6th of that month to Mr. Miller's shop, where) I bought two bottles of Bass's ale. Mr. Davis drank some. I heard an exclamation, " Oh, dear ! what is the matter with you?" Mr. Davis went to the doctor's. Cross-examined by Mr. Watson : The bottles were screw-stopped and the labels unbroken. It was the only ale in the house. Mr. Davis is an oilman. I took the bottles back to Miller's shop. Mr. C. J. Davis, the plaintiff, examined by Mr. Richards, said : On September 6th I was at Fulham. I opened the bottle, the label being intact. I poured some in a glass and put it to my mouth. I immediately felt a burning sensation at the back of my throat, I can still feel a dry, burning, cutting sensation in my tongue. Cross-examined by Mr. Watson: I went to see my daughter at her private house at Fulham. I suffered from a shock to my system for a week. For two or three days I swallowed my food with difficulty. Mrs. Henrietta Davis, the plaintiffs wife, confirmed the evidence given by her husband. She said tliat immediately her husband drank the ale he spat it out and was sick. Dr. Calder, examined by Mr. Richards, said : 1 am a medical man, and practise at 2, Fulham Park-villas. The plaintiff came to me and complained of having swallowed something. 1 gave him an emetic, and found he was suffering from an irritant poison. The fact that he had been given salad oil as an antidote to the poison would not explain the condition of the throat. Mrs. Patterson, wife of a medical man, said she received

the bottle and locked it up. Mr. Longstaffe, an analytical chemist, of Fulham, said : I received this bottle (produced) from Dr. Patterson. I evaporated one ounce of the beer and found 52 grains of solid matter. The quantity in an ounce of an ordinary bottle of Bass would be about ten grains. Oxalic acid is an irritant poison. It will produce evil results. Cross-examined by Mr. Watson : The bottle was more than two-thirds full when I received it. This was the case for the plaintiff. Mr. Watson submitted that there was no case to go to the jury. There was no suggestion of any negligence on the part of the defendant. The defendant sold the article under a trade description, and he sold it in the same condition as he received it. Mr. Richards : " Randall v. Newson " (2, Q.B.D., 102) shows that the article was sold as a commercial article. (His Lordship : So it would be if you wanted it to clean top boots with.) His Lordship ruled that the case must go to the jury upon the question as to whether the defendant had been guilty of negligence. Mr. Richards then addressed the jury upon behalf of the plaintiff, and said that if the plaintiff had drunk the whole of the bottle he would probably have been taken from this world, and probably from this court. (His Lordship : If he had been taken from this world he would certainly have been taken from this court. We do not stand between this world and the next.) Mr. Watson having replied, his Lordship in summing up said the question for the jury was, was there negligence on the part of the defendant; and, secondly, assuming there was negligence, what damage had the plaintiff suffered ? The jury found there was no negligence, but if there was they found £20 damages. Mr. Watson submitted that there was no implied warranty that a bottle labelled "Bass and Co.'s Pale Ale " contained beer ; there was only a warranty that the bottle contained a fluid which Messrs. Bass called ale. He also submitted that under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1862 (25 and 26 Vic, c. 88), sections 19 and 20, the only warranty was that the label was not a false label, not that the bottle contained beer. Mr. Justice Lawrence held that the label constituted a warranty that the bottle contained Bass's beer, and gave judgment for the plaintiff for £20 damages."
"Food & sanitation, Volume 4", 1894, page 60.

Saddo that I am, I was intrigued to learn that the Bass was in screw-top bottles. They mean the bottles with an internal screw thread. A type that was around for ages. The Whitbread brewery in Kirkstall, Leeds, was still using them in the 1970’s.

18th-century Pale Ale

Pale Ale.  Why the hell does it have that name? The stuff we think of today as Pale Ale, I mean. Because it's a completely different malt liquor from the 18th century version. Not an Ale at all, but a Beer.

Take a look at this:

"In boiling, both time and the curdling or breaking of the wort should be consulted; for if a person was to boil the wort an hour, and then take it out of the copper before it was rightly broke, it would be wrong management, and the drink would not be sine and wholesome; and if it should boil an hour and a half, or two hours, without regarding when its particles are in a right order, then it may be too thick; so that due care must be had to the two extremes, to obtain it in its due order; therefore, in October and keeping beers, an hour and a quarter's good boiling is commonly sufficient to have a thorough cured drink; for generally in that time it will break and boil enough; because in this there is a double security by length of boiling, and a quantity of hops shifted; but in the new way there is only a single one, and that is by a double or treble allowance of fresh hops boiled only half an hour in the wort; and for this practice a reason is assigned, that the hops, being endowed with discutient apertive qualities, will, by then, and their great quantity, supply the defect of under-boiling the wort; and that a farther conveniency is here enjoyed by having only the fine, wholesome, strong, floury, spirituous parts of the hop in the drink, exclusive of the phlegmetic, earthy parts which would be extracted, if the hops were to be boiled above half an hour; and therefore there are many now that are so attached to this new method, that they will not brew ale or beer any other way, thinking, that if hops are boiled above thirty minutes, the wort will exhibit some of their bad qualities.

The allowance of hops for ale or beer cannot be exactly adjusted without coming to particulars, because the proportion should be according to the nature and quality of the malt, the season of the year it is brewed in, and' the length of time it is to be kept.

For strong brown ale brewed in any of the winter months, and boiled an hour, one pound is but barely sufficient for a hogshead, if it be tapped in three weeks or a month.

If for pale ale brewed at that time, and for that age, one pound and a quarter of hops; but if these ales are brewed in any of the summer months, there should be more hops allowed.

For October or March brown beer, a hogshead made from eleven bushels.of malt boiled an hour and a quarter, to be kept nine months, three pounds and a half ought to be boiled in such drink at the least.

For October or March pale beer, made from fourteen bushels, boiled an hour and a quarter, and kept twelve months, six pounds ought to be allowed to a hogshead of such drink, and more if the hops are shifted in two bags, and less time given the wort to boil."
"Encyclopædia Britannica", 1773, page 671.

There are two different points of interest in there. First, the hop additions. The method of tripling the quantity of hops, but only boiling them for half an hour. Unusual method, a single 30-minute addition.

Then there are the hopping rateds for specific types of malt liquor (we're in the 18th century, remember, where "Beer" and "Ale" have a specific meaning.). Strong Brown Ale had only a pound per hogshead, or 0.67 lb per 32 gallon barrel. That's bugger all for something with an OG of at least 1080º.

Pale Ale got a few more hops, 1.25 lbs per hogshead, or 0.84 lbs per barrel. Let's put that into context. In 1839 Reid IPA had 5.88 lbs and Reid BPA 5.61 lbs per barrel. And in 1921, Whitbread PA received 1.81 lbs per barrel and even their X Ale 1.41 lbs. And these were lower in gravity the the 18th-century Pale Ale.

Notice how much more heavily-hopped the Beers are: Brown Beer 2.33 lbs, Pale Beer 4 lbs per barrel.

What am I trying to say? What we understand by Pale Ale is very different from its 18th-century namesake. So different, that it's difficult to believe the one is the ancestor of the other. And I don't think it is. Modern Pale Ale clearly belongs to the Beer family. Now isn't that confusing? If only they'd plumped for Bitter Beer as name, I wouldn't have so many stupid arguments with home brewers.

Pale colour again

I seem to be going off on a pale colour tangent. Hope you don't mind. I see it as the charm of this blog. Occasionally wandering off unexpectedly.

I'll start off with another quote of a quote. This is the "Journal of the Institute of Brewing" summarising an article from a German technical publication:

"The Pale Colour of Beer. (Gambrinus; through Der Bierbrauer, 1900, 473).—The Pilsener beer has stimulated the demand for very pale beers, but a correct imitation of the slight greenish tint of Pilsener beer is a matter of some difficulty. The author has observed this greenish colour in four kinds of beer, namely, the Berlin "white beer," the Scotch export pale ale, the Pilsener and the Gratz beers. The first and fourth are prepared by top fermentation, " the second partly by top and partly by bottom," and the third by bottom fermentation.

In considering the causes of this tint the Berlin white beer may be left out of account, since it is made from unboiled wort and the albuminoids of the wort have no chance of being converted into soluble products affecting the colour.

The Indian pale ale for export is brewed as follows :—68 lb. of best hops are used for 1000 lb. of pale malt; 60 lb. of the hops are digested separately with 108 lb. of water at 75° C., and allowed to infuse. This hop infusion is added to the wort, which is then boiled with 8 lb. of hops. The author suggests that the hop infusion extracts the tannin of the hops, which precipitates the albuminoids of the wort during boiling, and the greenish shade is produced.

The Pilsener beer is treated with so large a proportion of hops, that if these were all boiled with the wort the beer would be unpalatable. The hops are therefore divided into three parts: one-third is boiled with the wort in the usual manner, another third receives only half-an-hour's boiling, and the hot wort is then run through the other third at the time of striking the pan. In this way there is a selective extraction of the tannin from the large quantity of hops, and only a partial extraction of the bitter principles ; the large amount of tannin is therefore available for interacting with the albuminoids to produce the greenish colour. The Gratz beer also receives an excessive proportion of hops, and if they were fresh hops the beer would be undrinkable. But only hops five or six years old are employed; it is well known that the storage of hops for long periods causes a destruction or disappearance of the bitter principles and the essential oil, but the tannin would not be affected.

Hence, in all these cases where the greenish colour is characteristic of the beer, the conditions are such as to favour the utilisation of the tannin of the hops, and to restrict that of the bitter and flavouring principles. It therefore follows that the same effect ought to be obtainable by the artificial addition of tannin to a wort treated with a more moderate proportion of hops. This is in fact the case as regards colour, but the artificial addition of tannin causes disturbances in the albuminoids which serve as yeast nutrients, and the fermentation is not satisfactory."
"Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 7" , 1901, pages 122-123.

That lumps together an odd collection of beers: IPA, Berliner Weisse, Pilsener and Grätzer. Beers whose only connection is their pale colour. I missed the Grätzer reference first time I read it. Another one for my collection. It's the first mention I can remember of it using hops that were 5 or 6 years old.



Lets look at the IPA recipe. 68 lbs of hops for 1000 lbs of malt. That's approximately 3 quarters of malt, so around 22 lbs per quarter. That sounds about right.  Around 5 or 6 lbs a barrel, depending on the gravity of the beer. But did they really infuse most of the hops in hot water before adding them to the boil? I'm not convinced about that.

Now Pilsener. That, they say, had three hop additions: a third at the start of the boil, a third half an hour before the end of the boil and a third right at the end. Looks like one of those modern hop schemas. It looks pretty plausible for a beer as renowned for its hoppiness ad Pilsener.


On to quote number two.

"Personally, I have always considered malt flavour a most important characteristic of first-class ale, both pale and mild, but of late years the increased demand for low gravity pale-coloured ales has greatly reduced the sale of full malt-flavoured ales. Pale malts being in such demand, the maltster is afraid to fire his malt high enough to develop much flavour, and consequently most of the pale ale of the present day lacks the delicate malt flavour which only a fair amount of firing, as distinct from curing, will produce.

The use of a high percentage of thin foreign malts which seldom or never give much flavour, and flaked rice and maize, also accounts largely for this absence of true malt flavour."
"Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 7" , 1901, page 199.

Someone else who wasn't too happy of the impact of the serach for a very pale colour on beer flavour.

I must find that piece in "Zeitschrift für das gesammte Brauwesen" about German rice beer. They were obsessed with a very pale colour as well.

The Indian beer market in the 1830's and 1840's

More from Tizard about the market for IPA. I say from Tizard, but he's actually quoting someone else. A quote of a quote. I hope that's not too complicated for you.

"Great Britain must always be the source whence British India is to be supplied with good wholesome malt liquor. Attempts have been made by the French, Americans, and Germans, to supply it, but it has proved to be quite unsuited to the Indian palate: in fact, very bad. There is nothing to be dreaded from them; and although it is not impossible to brew good table beer in Upper India, yet it is not likely to succeed permanently, for various reasons. No person of capital would run the risk of losing it, as it is only whilst prices are high that he could be handsomely repaid; and in that case, the English brewer would be in the market, and upon equal terms at least . The cost of apparatus, materials, labour, and interest on capital, added to the expense of transportation from Muttral, or any other of the colder stations, to the principal towns of the central and lower provinces of Bengal, would be much greater than the English brewer's charges to accomplish the same object.

Previous to the years 1816 and 1817, the demand for beer in India was nothing, compared with what it has become during the last seven or eight years. The pressing calls of 1821 for an increased supply, led Hodgson, of London, to enlarge his brewery, and induced some to enter into arrangements for monopolising the market: this, as usual in such cases, ended in severe losses to all concerned. Beer has for many years been an article of extensive consumption in Bengal, and it is highly probable that a greater increase would take place, were it not for the very high price to which it has frequently risen: this, however, could not be guarded against, as long as Hodgson exclusively had the supplying of the market; but now that other brewers can furnish equally good beer, there is no fear of a short supply, or of being subject to monopolies, such as were tried some few years ago. The great fluctuation in the price of this article has been caused entirely by the irregularity of the supply, and the plans laid down by Hodgson and some of his moneyed neighbours, to keep the others out of the market. So entirely dependent were the public upon this brewer, that he in-a great degree regulated the price and the quantity imported. Others who attempted to introduce their beer into the market were compelled to withdraw, having lost very considerably by their speculations; for Hodgson, when he knew that other brewers were shipping, sent out large quantities, and thereby reduced prices to such low rates as to frighten his rivals from making second shipments; and having effected this, the following years he had the market to himself, and the prices rose occasionally under the short supply to 180 Rs., and even 200 Rs., a hogshead. He thereby made up for the sacrifice of the previous year, and effectually deterred others from prosecuting their speculations in this market. Another thing in his favour, and which operated for a long time, was the high repute to which his name stood for beer; so much so, that no other, even of a good quality, was bought by the retailers, as they could not dispose of it. The commanders and officers were, up till 1824, Hodgson's best customers ; his beer formed one of the principal articles in their investments, and it was customary for him to give them credit for twelve or eighteen months, if not for the whole amount of their purchase, at least for one-half of it; but about this time he not only raised his price from £20 to £24-, but refused to sell on any terms except for cash, even to parties of unexceptionable credit. This naturally drove many of his best customers to other brewers, but Hodgson and Co., confident of the power they had in the market, sent the beer out for sale on their own account; and thus they in a short time became Brewers, Shippers or Merchants, and even Retailers. These proceedings naturally and justly excited hostile feelings in those engaged in the India trade at home, whilst the public here, seeing the complete control which Hodgson endeavoured to maintain over the market, turned their faces against him, and gave encouragement to other brewers, who fortunately sent out excellent beer.

In 1825 and 26, several brewers tried the market, and as the spell had been broken, met with liberal and fair encouragement. The most successful of them were Alsop and Son, Bass and Ratcliff, Ind and Smith, and Charrington, with a few others. It being therefore clear that England must furnish the supply, and it being the interest of the brewers to keep the market steadily supplied, we shall now give some data to guide the brewer or shipper.

It will be perceived that since 1830-31, (the 30th of April terminating the Indian Commercial Year,) the imports of Beer and Porter into Calcutta have increased nearly 100 per cent.: this in a great measure arises from the moderate rate and little fluctuation there has been in prices, whereby a taste for beer has been more generally diffused throughout the poorer classes of British inhabitants, which having once acquired, they will continue to indulge as long as prices continue moderate.

Imports of Beer and Porter into Calcutta
Year ending April 30th	Butts	Hogsheads	Dozens
1831	418	5,566	2,105
1832	111	5,946	1,167
1833	252	7,916	2,293
1834	322	7,193	2,028
1835	244	6,282	2,632
1836	140	4,519	1,392
1837	404	9,544	3,241
1838	841	11,356	2,102
1839	606	8,937	719
1840	391	10,779	671
1841	824	11,808	2,989
1842	669	11,035	6,457

The beers now most saleable, and which command the highest quotations, are those of Messrs. Alsop and Son, Bass and Co., and Ind and Smith, especially the former, on account of the superior lightness and brilliancy of their shipments: there is, however, a wide field for competition, and we have little doubt that by caution and care, one of the most lucrative and extensive businesses might be opened with the port. The first point for consideration is, quality, a few remarks on which may not, we trust, prove uninteresting. The ale adapted for this market should be a clear, light, bitter, pale ale, of a moderate strength, and by no means what is termed in Calcutta' heady;' it should be shipped in hogsheads, which we need scarcely observe should be most carefully coopered, and small shipments and frequent, in preference to consigning heavily at one time, as the natives, who frequently purchase on the invoice, (which by the by should always be made out at an advance of prime cost of 50%, as invoices are sold taking the rupee at 2s. 6d., and generally at a discount of from 5 to 10°/o) cannot often raise funds to take off the same. Another point is, that by frequent consignments you acquire a name, which, as you may be aware, is every thing in India."
"The theory and practice of brewing illustrated" by William Littell Tizard, 1846, pages 521 - 525.

Once again, Martyn Cornell's point is proved: how many struggle with the spelling of Allsopp. I'd never heard before of Charrington having an India trade. I must look into that further.

Of most note is how IPA is described "clear, light, bitter, pale ale, of a moderate strength". Of moderate strength. Let me say it once more for the hard of hearing: IPA was not a strong beer. Get that? No? One more time then: IPA was not a strong beer.

Oh yes, and how Bass's beer was valued for being pale and bright. I wonder what the colour was? It would be easy to assume that it had the amber colour of later years. But did it? This isn't the first mention of the particular paleness of Bass. Could it have been more of a golden yellow colour in the 19th century? Unless I stumble on an analysis that includes the colour, that may be difficult to discover.

The bit about the feasibility of beer brewed in India struck me, too. This is in the pre-railway days, remember. Where it says that it would cost more to supply central and southern India with beer from the north of the country than it would to ship it from Britain. That's quite remarkable. It's no surprise that production of beer in India took off  after the railway network had been built, presumably drastically reducing transport costs.

One last point: note that the figures are for Beer and Porter. It often gets forgotten that Pale Ale wasn't the only beer exported from Britain to India. Large quantities of Porter and Stout were shipped, too. I'll be returning to this theme soon. Once I've laid my hands on a few more numbers

Brewing IPA in England in the 1840's

Want to know how to brew IPA? Look no further. Here are pretty detailed instructions from the 1840's. Supplied courtesy of William Tizard. He may have had his eccentricities - all those old brewing manual writers did - but at least he was thorough.

"India Ale.—After the explanations and intelligence that have been given within the body of this work, on the subjects of boiling, mashing, fermenting, and the rest, nothing here, it is presumed, can be required in further elucidation of the practice of brewing, than that which is directly applicable to the best practical means of obtaining the necessary properties and peculiar characteristics that distinguish a malt liquor made for exportation, and used as a medicine at home, from that which is manufactured for ordinary and general home consumption. In the foregoing chapter, allusion has been made to the introduction of pale beer by the faculty as a medicinal cordial . This practice has induced brewers to prepare an article that may be exclusively appropriated to domestic consumption, and yet retain the name of East India Pale Ale, because its treatment is the same through its several stages, the only difference being in the quantity of material engaged in its production, that for the home market being somewhat less bitter and spirituous, and in some cases a few pounds heavier than such as is exported to India.

. . . . . . .

Like all other worts, those intended to form this unique medicine require speedy cooling, which will prevent too voluminous an absorption of oxygen ; and hence the imperative necessity of an efficient refrigerator. They do not require more yeast than other worts of the same gravity, but it would be almost futile to attempt their fermentation without an attemperator; for it is absolutely necessary to conduct this process with the nicest regularity, since the ultimate purification and brightness will otherwise never be perfected. It is not needful again to allude to the peculiar kind of fermentation enforced by the subterranean expedient, farther than to observe, that nothing can equal its efficacy, and the uniform certainty which it will ensure in the manufacture of ales destined for a market such as that of India. The correctness of this remark, it is presumed, cannot for a moment be doubted; but the author will here confine the sphere of his operation to the provision of an ordinary brewhouse and common plant.

The malt should be of first-rate quality, perfectly dried, and very pale, colour being the first consideration in point of importance; and the hops should therefore be of the palest growth; and in selecting those that impart the least colour, their maturity should not be overlooked. The quantity must vary inversely with the quality; but as the flavour of this kind of ale emanates more from the aroma and bitter of this flower than from any other material, from the ultimate extreme decay of the malt extract, it is advisable that the hops should be of the description which contains the greatest share of condition in the smallest bulk reasons for which qualification have already been assigned (vide p. 247). Such as those designated Goldings, Farnhams, and the very best East Rents, may be used with advantage, and seldom less than 22 lbs. to the quarter will suffice.

In boiling liquids that contain vegetable matter, the colour of the liquor will not only heighten in proportion to the time of continuing the heat, but also according to the amount of solid present to be affected by the fire; in all cases, therefore, it would be profitable, as has been observed, to steep the hops in water of any temperature between 120° and 170°, for eight or ten hours, where such a heat can be conveniently preserved so long. In consequence of the extraordinary quantity of hops required for the ale, a rather considerable allowance must be made in the quantity of the raw wort, because of the great absorption in the hop-back; and although some little increase of density is gained from the hops, yet they retain possession of a degree of bitterness almost equal to that which they originally possessed. Hence, when the business of the day is over, they will be found to have sustained their strength with but partial exhaustion, of which condition advantage can be taken by reboiling them in the raw wort of the following day; and in this case, it will be better to brew porter next, as here the absence of the aroma in the half-spent hops is not so deeply felt, and a smaller quantity of new ones, by 25 or 50 per cent,, will suffice, according as circumstances may demand.

. . . . . . .

The pitching temperature may be from about 56° to 60°, and the exciting yeast may be diluted with some of the wort, to which more may be added occasionally, as the worts are flowing into the square. The materials forming the extract, not being over-dried, or carbonised, on the kiln, or in the copper, will immediately evince symptoms of decomposition ; and in order that the elements which aid the fermentation may be preserved as long as necessary, the heat of the gyle should occasionally be curbed by the attemperator, particularly soon after the commencement, and when the attenuation becomes rapid; with which resolution it should be constantly watched, or inspected at least every 4 or 5 hours, by night and by day, during the first forty-eight hours, at the expiration of which period the heat ought not to be found to have increased more than 2° or 3°, and the saccharometer should indicate a diminution of 7 or 8 lbs. gravity. Should the attenuation and the heat not keep pace at this rate, as it probably may not if the water is of a quality to be termed hard, a little indulgence may be extended to the accumulation of a degree or two, or, which is preferable, the exercise of a little more patience may be introduced, and less frequent inspection will suffice as an equivalent for the extension of time. By the period when the attenuation has prograded to within one-half of the original density, the heat should not be allowed to rise above 62°. The remainder of the process will require very close attention; for as the attenuation approaches the crisis for its cleansing and purification from excrementitious matter, three-fourths of its saccharine being converted, the thermometer appearing rather below than above 64°, about one-half of the yeasty head may be skimmed off, and at the same time the tap of the attemperator may be turned off. When 2 lbs. more have disappeared, the skimming may be resumed, and about three-fourths of the head may be removed. The density will now be 6 lbs., and at least 2 lbs. more should be attenuated before the fermentation can be considered complete, and which, it is presumed, the previous skimming will not prevent. If any obstinacy is experienced on this account, a small quantity of its own yeast may be roused well in, and so much early skimming must be afterwards avoided. When, however, only 4 lbs. remain undecomposed, the gyle should be skimmed quite clean, and the cooling powers of the attemperator should be appealed to.

The stream and the heat of the gyle must continue to pass gently away, and the cleansing skimmer should be put into requisition whenever the light head thickens to within an inch deep.

All that now remains to be done, is to expedite the clarification ; and as we know that heat, or calorific repulsion, is a power opposed to aggregation, being as such repellent, a separater of particles, the attemperator should now be put in requisition to extract the caloric, and thereby encourage the natural affinity of each remaining azotised particle for the others, that through their gravitation, and combination, and ultimate quiescence, a speedy precipitation may take place, so that by remaining in this cool state a few days, it may be fit for the vat. To make this peculiar process the more perspicuous to the inexperienced, the author subjoins a few figures from the end of a brewing of his own, which may be taken as an example and tested as a guide. The square contains 200 barrels of wort, the gravity at pitching (commonly called density) was 24 lbs. per barrel, and the hop employed was East Kent.

Hours in square	Heat of gyle	Attemperator tap	Attenuation	Remarks
0	57º	off	0
10	57.5º	on
22	58º	on	19.1
36	59.5º	off	17.5
48	60º	on	16
55	60º	on	15.3
62	61º	on	14
72	61.5º	on	13
78	61º	on	12.2
83	62º	off	11.2
90	63º	on	10
96	64.5º	on	8.5
102	64.5º	on	7.6	Partially skimmed
113	65º	off	5	Skimmed closer
120	66º	off	4.3	Skimmed quite close
134	60º	on	4	Skimmed quite clean
150	52º	on	3.9	Skimmed quite clean
160	50º	on	3.9	Skimmed quite clean
190	50º	on	3.8	Vatted one-half. Sent other half out.

This precise time of fermentation is impracticable with such waters as are termed " hard," or such as the Burton brewers use. In these cases higher pitching heats and a higher fermentation are necessary for general practice, or where it is desirable to complete the attenuation without vatting, on account, as before observed, of the obstinacy with which worts ferment when so constituted ; but with soft or medium water, the above Table may be followed with confidence and accuracy.

If found desirable, the attenuation may be carried a pound or two lower, as before suggested ; and by proper management, the trial may be made with safety. To avoid premature acidity after its arrival at the place of its destination, it is necessary that all matter tending to its turbidity should be removed by attraction and precipitation, and that it should not be racked for exportation until it has become perfectly bright. About half a pound of new hops per barrel might now be added. The very small quantity of unattenuated matter yet remaining, should be no more than just sufficient to supply enough of carbonic acid gas for the requisite effervescence during its limited decay, without causing the slightest turbidity at any time, and to prevent its accumulating in excess, after shipping, and endangering the safety of the cask, a porous plug or two should be inserted into the shive or near it, through which the surplus gas may escape."
"The theory and practice of brewing illustrated" by William Littell Tizard, 1846, pages 514 - 521.

There's so much detail there, I'm not sure where to start. Perhaps where he does. That there were three types of IPA: ones for export, ones for use as a medicine and ones for normal UK consumption. The ones for the home market were less bitter and less alcoholic, but sometimes from a higher OG, i.e. less well attenuated.

Tizard then stresses the need for strict temperature control during the fermentation, to be achievd by use of the attemperator. And the need for using the best raw materials. Pretty obvious, really.

He recommends soaking the hops in hot water for 8-10 hours before use. And, to avoid wasting much of their goodness, re-using the hops in Porter. 22 lbs of hops to a quarter of malt is, assuming the OG he gives of 24 lbs per barrel (1066.5º), about 6.5 lbs per barrel. Or a shitload. 

The pitching temperature is quite cool and the wort isn't allowed to heat much during fermentation. The process was pretty slow by the standards of the day. Just shy of 8 days from pitching to racking. Porter was pitched a good bit warmer - around 64º F - and allowed to heat to over 70º F, sometimes almost 80º F. As a result, the fermentation was shorter and more violent.

The fermentation was allowed to completely work its way out and the beer to naturally drop bright. Only then was it racked for transportation to India. Clearly they were trying to remove as much fermentable material as possible before the voyage. Even so, the casks were only soft-spiled.

There you have it then. IPA the 1840's way.