Youngs X Ale boiling and fermentation 1939 - 1945

Finally, we come to processes. They’re always fun.

Both coppers were boiled for 1.75 hours at the beginning of the war. You might find it odd that some of the brews in 1941, 1942 and 1943 were boiled for two hours. That’s because these were parti-gyles which included XXX.

A change came in 1944, when the time was reduced to one and a half hours. Where it was to remain for decades. I assume the reduction was to save fuel. It’s something which happened at most breweries.

As with PA, there was a reduction in the pitch temperature right at the start of the war. Dropping from 60º F to 58º F. Where it remained for the duration. Nothing much to say about that. Other than to wonder what the reason for the reduction was.

There’s much more inconsistency in the maximum fermentation temperature, ranging from 63.25º F to 67.25º F. Pretty randomly. Mostly it’s around 65º F to 66º F. Which is fairly cool. 68º F to 70º F was more typical.

The length of fermentation is much the same as for PA. Namely, seven or eight days. Though some are a little shorter at five, six or even four days.

Just for fun, I’ve included the dropping time. Which was between one and a half and two days. Which is the same as for PA, pretty much. For some context, at Fullers they usually dropped within 24 hours. 

Youngs X Ale boiling and fermentation 1939 - 1945
Date	Year	boil time (hours)		Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp	length of fermen-tation (days)	dropped after (hours)
18th Oct	1939	1.75	1.75	60º F	68º F	8
17th May	1940			58º F	63.25º F	5
2nd Dec	1940	1.75	1.75	58º F	65.25º F	8
30th Apr	1941	2	2	59º F	66º F	7
6th May	1941	2	2	58º F	65.5º F	8	37
24th Oct	1941	1.75	1.75	58º F	65.5º F	7	38
4th May	1942	1.75	1.75	58º F	64.75º F	7	37
8th Jul	1942	2	2	58º F	65.5º F	6	41
19th Oct	1942	2	2	58º F	65º F	8	41
5th May	1943	2	2	58º F	64º F	7	36
28th Apr	1944	1.5	1.5	58º F	65º F	5	40
5th May	1944	1.5	1.5	58º F	63.5º F	6	37.5
20th Oct	1944	1.5	1.5	58º F	66º F	7	41
2nd Jul	1945	1.5	1.5	58º F	66.75º F	5	37.75
4th Jul	1945	1.5	1.5	58º F	67.25º F	4	46
Sources:
Young's brewing records held at Battersea Library, document numbers YO/RE/1/8 YO/RE/1/9 YO/RE/1/10, YO/RE/1/11, YO/RE/1/12, YO/RE/1/13 and YO/RE/1/14.

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1909 Lees U

I would really love to know what the “U” stood for. It’s not a name I’ve seen used by anyone else.

The passage of a couple of decades have seen some significant changes to U. The gravity has fallen by 10º to just 1032º. Which is pretty damn watery for a pre-WW I beer. Now I’ve strayed outside London, I’ve noticed some Mild Ales which look very much like ones from after WW II.

The grist is still pretty simple. Just pale malt, flaked maize and sugar. Though, this time, there are three different types of pale malt. As is often the case in older records, it’s very vague about the sugar. Simply describing it as “sugar”. As a conservative guess, I’v gone with No. 2 invert.

Not quite as many types of hop as in 1884, just four. Two English, one Bavarian and one Californian, all from the 1907 harvest. A bit on the old side, then. Which is reflected in the low (calculated) IBU count. 

1909 Lees U
pale malt	5.25 lb	76.36%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	14.55%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.625 lb	9.09%
Fuggles 65 min	0.67 oz
Hallertau 30 min	0.33 oz
OG	1032
FG	1005
ABV	3.57
Apparent attenuation	84.38%
IBU	12.4
SRM	5
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	65 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons)

 

What is air pressure Lager?

 My look at the wonderful air-pressure served Lager of Czechoslovakia. The way their Lager should be served.

 

Youngs X Ale hops 1939 - 1945

Hops next. The most obvious feature is that all the hops were English, even at the start of the war.

Unlike some brewers, Youngs did record the region their hopes came from. Which, in the majority of cases, was either Kent or Mid-Kent. That makes sense, Kent being the closest hop region to the brewery. The rest came from either Worcester or Sussex. The former the second-largest hop region and the latter also close to London.

Once the war started, it’s no surprise that there were no foreign hops as imports had come to a halt. The only foreign hops knocking were old ones, imported before the start of the war. Though, to be fair, Youngs had used exclusively English hops before the war.

The hops are generally pretty fresh. All are from either the most recent harvest of the one before. With some of the older hops having been cold-stored. (That’s what the “CS” stands for.)

Most surprising is the occasional use of spent hops. A practice Youngs definitely hadn’t indulged in pre-war.  Though its use was restricted to the Mild Ales. The Pale Ales always received all fresh hops. 

Youngs X Ale hops 1939 - 1945
Date	Year	hop 1	hop 2	hop 3
18th Oct	1939	Kent 1937 CS	Kent 1938
17th May	1940	Worcs 1939	Kent 1938
2nd Dec	1940	Kent 1939	Kent 1938 CS
30th Apr	1941	Sussex 1940	spent
6th May	1941	Sussex 1940	spent
24th Oct	1941	Mid-Kent 1939 CS	Mid-Kent 1941
4th May	1942	Worcs 1941	Mid-Kent 1941	spent
8th Jul	1942	Worcs 1941
19th Oct	1942	Kent 1941	spent
5th May	1943	Kent 1942	Kent 1941
28th Apr	1944	Mid-Kent 1942	Kent 1943
5th May	1944	Kent 1942	Kent 1943
20th Oct	1944	Kent 1943
2nd Jul	1945	Kent 1944	Kent 1944
4th Jul	1945	Kent 1944
Sources:
Young's brewing records held at Battersea Library, document numbers YO/RE/1/8 YO/RE/1/9 YO/RE/1/10, YO/RE/1/11, YO/RE/1/12, YO/RE/1/13 and YO/RE/1/14.

 

The Bass archives

Kafka was a brilliant writer. But his world of constant bureaucratic obstacles and frustration is not one I'd choose to live in. Yet I do.

To complete my ridiculously detailed looked at late 19-th century UK brewing, I really need to look at Bass. One of the classic Burton Pale Ale brewers. It's a key part of UK brewing of the period.

With all the records at the London Metroplitan Archives, I've a pretty good idea of what was going on in the capital from 1800 onwards. That's only a part of UK brewing history. After 1830, what's happening in Burton is of particular interest. The story of IPA. And Barley Wine, as a side quest.

Because of all sorts of weird shit that I neither understand, nor appreciate, I can't look at this material. For no fucking good reason.

I can grasp why Guinness won't let me look at their records. They're still a going concern with some commercial interest in their old records. It pisses me off, but I can see their point of view.

Totally different with the Bass records. The brewery no longer exists. The people with the rights to the old Bass beers - AB Inbev - are happy for me to look at the old records.

So why the fuck can't I? Someone please explain why. 

What is 1930s UK Lager?

I look at the developments in UK Lager between the wars. How exciting is that?

 

Youngs X Ale adjuncts and sugars 1939 - 1945

At the start of the war, Youngs used no adjuncts of any type. That obviously wasn’t going to last the war. And it didn’t. In 1941, they introduced flaked barley. This wasn’t a voluntary decision. Brewers were compelled to use flaked barley by the government. There was plenty of barley, but not enough labour to malt it. Hence the use of flaked barley. Which, at most breweries, replaced flaked maize.

Moving on to the sugars, there are three. Which all appear in almost every iteration of the beer.

The sugar content started the war at a bit over 10%. This fell in the first couple of war years to around 7%.  It then rose to around 10% in 1942 to 1944. Finally bumping up to 14% in the final year of the war. All these changes would have been out of the control of Youngs.  With the government providing rationing the quantity of sugar for brewers could use.

The quantity of malt extract is pretty constant at 2.5% - 3%. And is missing only from one brew in 1941.  I assume its absence is due to a supply problem. Its purpose was simply to provide more enzymes in the mash.

The bulk of the sugar used came in the form of No. 3 invert. Though the exact amount varied quite a bit across the war years. Starting at 7%, then falling to a low of around 3% in late 1940. Rising again, in late 1941 to almost 6.5%, where it remained until the final war year, when it rose to over 10%.

Caramel was less volatile across the war. Starting at around 1%, then falling a little to 0.75% or so. In the final war years, the quantity was a bit lower. Presumably, as less was needed to achieve the required colour with the increased percentage of No. 3 invert. 

Youngs X Ale adjuncts and sugars 1939 - 1945
Date	Year	flaked barley	malt extract	no. 3 sugar	caramel	total sugar
18th Oct	1939		2.21%	7.19%	0.97%	10.37%
17th May	1940		2.91%	4.37%	1.00%	8.28%
2nd Dec	1940		2.95%	2.95%	1.02%	6.93%
30th Apr	1941		3.20%	3.20%	0.93%	7.32%
6th May	1941		2.38%	3.97%	0.79%	7.14%
24th Oct	1941	4.76%		6.35%	0.79%	7.14%
4th May	1942	7.69%	2.56%	6.41%	0.68%	9.65%
8th Jul	1942	7.69%	2.56%	6.41%	0.68%	9.65%
19th Oct	1942	9.61%	2.56%	6.41%	0.68%	9.65%
5th May	1943	5.22%	3.48%	6.96%	0.87%	11.30%
28th Apr	1944	9.52%	3.17%	6.35%		9.52%
5th May	1944	9.29%	3.10%	6.19%	0.90%	10.19%
20th Oct	1944	12.39%	3.10%	6.19%	0.90%	10.19%
2nd Jul	1945	15.79%	3.01%	10.53%	0.75%	14.29%
4th Jul	1945	16.36%	3.03%	10.90%	0.64%	14.58%
Sources:
Young's brewing records held at Battersea Library, document numbers YO/RE/1/8 YO/RE/1/9 YO/RE/1/10, YO/RE/1/11, YO/RE/1/12, YO/RE/1/13 and YO/RE/1/14.

 

Let's Brew - 1884 Lees Porter

I’m quite surprised to see that Lees were still brewing a Porter in 1884. It’s in this period that Porter was starting to become rare outside London.

It’s a good bit weaker than versions from the capital, which had gravities in the high 1050ºs. And were over 5% ABV. The hopping is also much lighter, with London Porters normally weighing in at over 50 IBU (calculated).

Like many Porters and Stouts from outside the capital, Lees Porter had a simple grist of just pale and black malt. Along with an unspecified type of sugar. There’s also half a packet of something called “black juice”. No idea what that was. Possibly a type of caramel.

There are also 3 lbs of something called “Glycyrrhlize” which seems to be another word for liquorice. It appears to have been added to the copper. Liquorice is an ingredient which crops up now and again in Porter and Stout after 1880, when it became a legal ingredient.

Two types of hops were employed. “Ba” from 1878 and “foreign” with no vintage specified. Not the best quality hops. But I suppose, in a Porter hop, hop character wasn’t that important. 

1884 Lees Porter
pale malt	7.75 lb	86.54%
black malt	0.875 lb	9.77%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.33 lb	3.69%
Strisselspalt 180 min	0.75 oz
Hallertau 60 min	0.75 oz
Hallertau 30 min	0.75 oz
liquorice	0.10 oz
OG	1040
FG	1008
ABV	4.23
Apparent attenuation	80.00%
IBU	25
SRM	30
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	180 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons)

 

The Golden Age of UK brewing

1880 to 1914. Let's get that out of the way at the start. No need to build up any artificial tension.

I'm going to present the arguments for it being the Golden Age. Do I really believe it was? Sort of. And I certainly wouldn't be unhappy if a local pub starting selling a beer range from the period. But I'm still reluctant to unequivocally state that it was the best ever period. I'm sure many would disagree.

The points in favour:

1. A wide range of strengths was available.

While average strength was over 5% ABV, there were beers that were significantly weaker. Down as low as 2,5% to 3%, at least in some parts of the country. And, at the other end, there were beers as strong as 11% ABV. And plenty of 8% ABV and more.

2. A wide range of styles was available. 

In an Edwardian London pub, for example, the following draught beers were available:

X Ale Mild
Porter
Pale Ale
Stout
Burton Ale
Strong Burton Ale (in the winter)

Then you had the bottled beers. There was an explosion in the types of bottled beer at the end of the 19th century. New bottling techniques, which allowed the production of non-deposit beer, prompted a massive growth in lighter types of bottled beers. Things like Luncheon Ale, Luncheon Stout, Nourishing Stout and the like.

Most pubs would also stock some of the the few national brands in bottle. Guinness Double Stout or Bass Pale Ale. Classy, relatively expensive beers.

3. Beers were generally of a good technical quality. By the end of the 19th-century, UK breweries were mostly pretty modern and able to produce beer that was bright and free of infection. A century of technical advances left most UK breweries with fairly decent kit. Especialkly the larger ones. 

4.  Adulteration was mostly a thing of the past. The introduction of local health inspectors in the 1870s saw to that. About the only form left was watering beer down. A practice which was still rife in some regions in the 1950s.

5. Large regional variation. Each are of the country retained its own particular take on the styles of the day. With variations in colour, hopping rate, ingredients and degree of attenuation. Travelling around the country would have been great fun.

I can't really think of any negative points. Other than watering. And that was present in pretty much any period you care to pick. 

Which other periods could I have picked? You might have expected me to go for the 1970s, when I started drinking. But I can remember all the bad points. Lots of dreadful keg beer, badly-kept cask beer and a very limited variety of beers on draught.

I'm sure that some will argue that the 2000s or 2010s were a golden age. Well, maybe if you like evil keg.Or IPA. It didn't do it for me.

Be sure to share your thoughts. When was the Golden Age of UK brewing? 

What is mixing beers?

Another short video, this time about mixing beers. 

 

Youngs X Ale malts 1939 - 1945

As with Pale Ale, the hopping rate was up and down during the war. Kicking off at 6 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. But, by the end of the war, it was down to under 3 lbs per quarter. In the intervening years, however, it went up and down quite a bit. None of it voluntary, obviously. Brewers were, at several points, ordered to reduce their hopping rates.

We’ll move on with the malts. That’s going to be really exciting. No, I’m not taking the piss. I really believe that. I do have pretty odd interests, mind.

The big shock is that mild malt formed the backbone of, er, this Mild Ale. Who would have expected that? Everyone, obviously. What is weird, is that sometimes it’s described as X malt, and others as MA malt. Sometimes both in the same beer. I’ll be honest here, I assumed that they were the same thing. How naïve was I?

In case you’re wondering, X malt and mils malt I’ve rolled into just mild malt. Don’t judge me. I can’t be arsed to split the two apart. Mostly because I don’t know what the fucking difference is between them.

Intermittently, some standard pale malt was thrown in. Again – how many times have I said this? – it’s all to do with what was available at the time. Brewers didn’t exactly have a free choice of which ingredients they could use. 

Youngs X Ale malts 1939 - 1945
Date	Year	pale malt	mild malt	crystal malt	enzymic malt	total malt
18th Oct	1939	16.60%	63.07%	9.96%		89.63%
17th May	1940		82.98%	8.74%		91.72%
2nd Dec	1940		84.21%	8.86%		93.07%
30th Apr	1941		83.09%	9.59%		92.68%
6th May	1941		83.33%	9.52%		92.86%
24th Oct	1941		78.57%	9.52%		88.10%
4th May	1942	55.75%	19.22%	7.69%		82.66%
8th Jul	1942		74.97%	7.69%		82.66%
19th Oct	1942		73.05%	7.69%		80.74%
5th May	1943	36.52%	36.52%	10.43%		83.48%
28th Apr	1944		71.43%	9.52%		80.95%
5th May	1944	21.68%	49.55%	9.29%		80.52%
20th Oct	1944		65.03%	9.29%	3.10%	77.42%
2nd Jul	1945	18.05%	42.86%	9.02%		69.92%
4th Jul	1945	16.36%	45.44%	7.27%		69.06%
Sources:
Young's brewing records held at Battersea Library, document numbers YO/RE/1/8 YO/RE/1/9 YO/RE/1/10, YO/RE/1/11, YO/RE/1/12, YO/RE/1/13 and YO/RE/1/14.

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1884 Lees Bitter

Interestingly, Lees called this beer Bitter in the brew house and not Pale Ale. Which is what it would have been called in most breweries.

It’s a little bit weaker than a London Stock Pale Ale, but not by much. So was this a stock Pale Ale? I’m genuinely not sure. My guess would be no, but I can’t be sure. Despite the gravity and heavy hopping.

The grist is pretty simple. Just one type of pale malt and an undefined type of sugar. The pale malt came from Newark, from the Gilstrap maltings, to be precise. I’ve guessed No. 2 sugar, just to hedge my bets.

As a Pale Ale, you’d expect the hopping to be heavy. And it is: 19 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. That’s right up there in IPA territory.

There were lots of different hops. Seven in total. Three English – Farnham, Worcester and Kent, all from the 1883 harvest. American, also from 1883, “Chams” 1882 from 1882, and “Bur” from 1882 and 1883. Not sure where those last ones were from.

1884 Lees Bitter
pale malt	12.75 lb	98.08%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.25 lb	1.92%
Fuggles 190 min	2.50 oz
Fuggles 60 min	2.50 oz
Goldings 30 min	2.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.50 oz
OG	1057
FG	1018.5
ABV	5.09
Apparent attenuation	67.54%
IBU	92
SRM	5.5
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	190 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons)

 

What is Dutch Bokbier?

Another of my little videos, this time looking at Dutch Bokbier.  A style that I have quite a soft spot for.

 

Youngs X Ale 1939 – 1945

Let’s take a look at the other main Youngs beer, X Ale. Part of the other wartime parti-gyle.

Ooh look, there’s a shock: the gravity dropped from 1035º to 1028.7º over the course of the war. Between 1939 and 1945 was 18%. Which is a lot more than for Pale Ale, where the fall in gravity was just 10%. Though the fall for Pale Ale was unusually small. The average decline in UK gravity over the was 18.5%. 

An increased rate of attenuation, however, means that the ABV only fell from 3.6% ABV to 3.2% ABV. Still enough alcohol to get you a bit pissed. If you put in a little effort. You just needed to be determined enough.

I’ve highlighted the changes in bold to make them more obvious.

As with Pale Ale, the hopping rate was up and down during the war. Kicking off at 6 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. But, by the end of the war, it was down to under 3 lbs per quarter. In the intervening years, however, it went up and down quite a bit. None of it voluntary, obviously. Brewers were, at several points, ordered to reduce their hopping rates. 

Youngs X Ale 1939 - 1945
Date	Year	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
18th Oct	1939	1035.0	1007.8	3.60	77.84%	6.19	0.85
17th May	1940	1034.0	1007.2	3.55	78.82%	5.87	0.78
2nd Dec	1940	1034.0	1010.0	3.18	70.67%	4.80	0.63
30th Apr	1941	1031.0	1005.5	3.37	82.13%	3.88	0.48
6th May	1941	1030.0	1006.6	3.09	77.84%	4.02	0.49
24th Oct	1941	1030.6	1008.9	2.88	71.03%	4.02	0.51
4th May	1942	1030.0	1005.5	3.24	81.53%	3.34	0.43
8th Jul	1942	1029.2	1008.3	2.76	71.54%	4.49	0.56
19th Oct	1942	1029.9	1005.5	3.22	81.47%	3.47	0.45
5th May	1943	1029.8	1007.8	2.92	73.97%	4.32	0.67
28th Apr	1944	1028.4	1005.0	3.10	82.44%	4.45	0.52
5th May	1944	1028.2	1007.8	2.70	72.50%	4.95	0.57
20th Oct	1944	1028.8	1005.5	3.08	80.76%	4.54	0.55
2nd Jul	1945	1028.8	1005.5	3.08	80.76%	3.83	0.47
4th Jul	1945	1028.7	1004.4	3.21	84.56%	3.79	0.46
Sources:
Young's brewing records held at Battersea Library, document numbers YO/RE/1/8 YO/RE/1/9 YO/RE/1/10, YO/RE/1/11, YO/RE/1/12, YO/RE/1/13 and YO/RE/1/14.