Calling all brewers

A thought just occurred to me. (I have at least one thought every day. Usually involving an opener and a bottle.) About the data I'm collecting from brewing records. There's nothing after the 1970's.

You know what would be great? To compare 21st century beers with those of the past. See how grists have changed, gravities fluctuated, hopping rates jumped about, and all that crap. Just one problem: getting hold of modern records.

Then I had my thought. It's not a great one. Just the best I could come up with today. Why not ask brewers to send me information about their beers? I'd be happy to publish it anonymised. And not pass on recipes.

Any of you brewers out there fancy sending me details of your brews?

Brewing with oats (1943) part two

I don't issue threats lightly. Here's the technical stuff about brewing with oats. One or two of you may find it fun. You weirdoes.

"Flaked Oats
Brewers have now been requested to use flaked oats in their grists, and asa this is a new constituent its technical qualities are of immediate interest. Little need be said of the husky part because oat husks have been in use in a few breweries for many years for the purpose of assisting mash tun drainage, so it is the remaining chief components, namely, starch, protein and fat which require consideration.

First of all one must take into account the flaking process which we understand is the same as that adopted for maize, namely, passing between steam-heated drums. This brings the temperature of the moist oats somewhere about 180º - 200º F., and is likely to have much the same effect on the starch of oats as on the starch of maize: indeed, we should expect it to have a greater effect in rendering the starch more susceptible to the action of diastase because oat starch is an easier convertible starch than maize before such treatment. Anyway, brewers may feel confident that they will get the whole of the starch converted into extract without any change of mash tun procedure. We would add this reminder to those taking the opticity of their worts that just as in the case of maize they should allow an additional one degree for every 4% of oats used, since the oats will not be yielding any extract of low opticity value as malt does. It should be added that equal care in mixing the flaked oats with the grist as intimately as possible is as desirable as with maize flakes.

With respect to protein matter, in the case of maize this is practically insoluble. Hopkins has found a very slight proteolytic action on it in the mash tun, but it was so small as to be insignificant. We may hope for the same with flaked oats, or very nearly so, that the heating has denatured the protein to an extent which renders it unattackable by proteolytic enzyme even under ordinary mash tun conditions. Even if a little is rendered soluble it is unlikely to have a serious technical effect.

As regards the oil or fat in flaked oats, this is very appreciably higher than anything the brewer has so far used in his grists so he would naturally feel suspicious. Fifty years ago authorities insisted on flaked maize keeping its oil percentage down to one and flakes showing as much as 1.5 were condemned. Likewise, about that time the Billing's converter was introduced into this country which used maize grits which were 2% of oil, and objections to it were sometimes raised that the oil would cause turbidity and loss of head on the beer. We have never heard any scientific justification for these opinions. In fact, in those days we knew very little about the causes of haze in beer and as often as not put them down to hop resins. On the other hand, on the principle that there cannot be any smoke without a fire, the accusations against fatty oilin brewing materials made an impression which still lasts. So the question has been as to whether the oil in flaked oats will affect the beer. So far, we understand that it has not been found to have any effect when oats are used at the moderate rate of 10%; although this rate contributes very little to the total fat in the grist yet it is the quality of the fat that matters. Thus, one has heard of oats smelling rancid owing to an oxidation or bacterial action on the fat, but whether this would as readily occur with oats that have been flaked we do not yet know It is to be hoped that the fat in oats will not be troublesome, and on the whole we expect this will prove to be the case."
"The Brewing Trade Review 1943" pages 105-106.

There's still more about oats from the The Brewing Trade Review to come. Just send me 100 euros if you want to be spared it.

Brewing with oats (1943)

As threatened, more about the use of oats in WW II.

During both World Wars central government exercised considerable control over the brewing industry,. Dictating what materials could be used, beer gravities and even, through fuel economy measures, brewing techniques.

Soon after the beginning of the war, brewers had been obliged to start using flaked barley. When supplies of this ran short in 1943, oats were a compulsory substitute.

"Flaked Oats
In September 1941, the use of flaked barley was introduced by the Ministry of Food in order to conserve malt supplies, and a large proportion of the brewing trade has achieved a substantial reduction in the use of barley, whether flaked or malted, while maintaining the present level of output of beer. Supplies of flaked oats will be available from the present suppliers of flaked barley, and in most districts these supplies are already sufficient. A proportion of the barley crop is reserved for the loaf, and it has become necessary in the national interest to ask every brewer to take steps without delay to obtain delivery of flaked oats and to carry out experiments in order to ascertain the maximum proportion of this material that he can use. It is hoped that brewers will lose no time in putting the results of their experiments into effect. In some cases breweries are working to the full capacity of their mash tuns, and the greater bulk of oats, necessary to replace a given proportion of barley malt, presents a difficulty. It may be possible to overcome this difficulty by using ground oats in place of flakes, and there is no reason why a brewer who can more conveniently use oats in this form and has the facilities for grinding should not take his supplies in grains instead of flakes. It should be said, however, that the malting of oats will not be permitted, as this would be uneconomic in malting labour having regard to the lower output of beer obtainable as compared with that from a corresponding quantity of barley malt."
"The Brewing Trade Review 1943" page 63.

Because I know there are a few of you who love technical brewing details, I'll be boring all of you with further posts on how to brew with oats.

Tied Houses in 1902

More about tied houses. I blame magistrates. For creating the tied house system and making it almost impossible for new breweries to start. Funny the unforeseen consequences official actions can have.

"There is hardly a town in England without a brewery, and certainly none with any pretensions to importance. The tendency with breweries, as with most other industries, has within recent years been to amalgamate, which has led to the creation of enormous undertakings with stupendous totals of capital that of Messrs. Watney, Combe and Reid, the largest company, being upwards ot seventeen millions sterling. A large proportion, however, of the capital of a brewery company is invested in public-houses by way of loan to the tenant, or purchase of the freehold, thus securing the custom of the house for beer. This system of tied houses was to an extent forced on the brewers by public opinion being not only averse to the granting of new public-house licences, but showing a tendency to demand a reduction of those already existing. The brewers quickly recognised that a licence had become not only a valuable asset, but a modified monopoly, and they each secured as many as possible to "tie" a trade for their respective breweries. At the present time the number of "free houses," or public-houses which are under no obligation to buy beer from a particular brewery, are under ten per cent. of the total number of licences ; there is thus little scope for further expansion among existing breweries, and practically no opening for a new brewery to start business, as the extent of a brewer's business is practically limited to the number of public-houses he can control. The only exceptions are certain brewers with a family trade, and some of the large firms of world-wide reputation. It is generally understood that Guinness, of Dublin, own no tied houses."
"Britain at work: a pictorial description of our national industries", 1902, pages 160-161.

Though the ried house system isn't an exclusively British phenomenon. The vast majority of pubs in Holland are tied. Though in a slightly more subtle way. I may get around to posting about that sometime.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1943 Whitbread Oat Mild

It seems like these recipes never appear on Wednesday. Never mind. 67 years have already passed before this recipe was published. One day won't make much difference.

You may remember (if your memory id better than mine) that I posted about this Oat Mild a week or so ago. It looked so fabulicious  I asked Kristen to knock up the recipe. It's an example of a brewery following government directives to use oats as a barley malt substitute.

Though it was officially called XX it's really a 4d Ale, a type of beer with its origins in the low-gravity Government Ale of the final years of WW I. You could certainly session such beers. To be honest, you could probably knock back a couple of pints an hour of this stuff and never get properly pissed.

One point. The colour was darker than Kristen lists below. It's a bit tricky to convert the colour scale Whitbread used at this time, but I reckon it's the equivalent of around 90 EBC.



Now over to Kristen for all the brewy-type details . . . . .

Whitbread - 1943 - Oat Mild
General info: Oat mild...WTH is an oat mild!? Ok, its not REALLY an oat mild. However this is one of the first instances where oats become a major part of the grist of any of ‘ beers. 1943 was not a good year for supply of regular ingredients; Something about a one-balled, tooth brush mustachioed megalomaniac from the east. All in all, a very low gravity neat little 'mild' that teaches us about the lengths people went to still get beer on the table.
Beer Specifics			Recipe by percentages
Gravity (OG)	1.028		10.2% American 6-row			1.9% Cane Sugar
Gravity (FG)	1.008		61.1% Mild Malt			6% No3 Invert
ABV	2.67%		12.4% Flaked oats
Apparent attenuation	71.43%		8.5% Crystal 75L
Real attenuation	58.51%
IBU	11.0		Mash	60min@157°F		0.88qt/lb
SRM	9.0			60min@69.4°C		1.84L/kg
EBC	23.5
			Boil	60 min
	Homebrew @ 70%				Craft @ 80%
Grist	5gal		19L		10bbl		10hl
American 6-row	0.56	lb	0.255	kg	30.2	lb	11.67	kg
Mild Malt	3.34	lb	1.521	kg	181.21	lb	70.01	kg
Flaked oats	0.68	lb	0.310	kg	36.67	lb	14.17	kg
Crystal 75L	0.46	lb	0.209	kg	25.07	lb	9.69	kg
Cane Sugar	0.10	lb	0.046	kg	5.59	lb	2.16	kg
No3 Invert	0.33	lb	0.150	kg	17.9	lb	6.92	kg
Hops
Goldings 4.5% 60min	0.57	oz	16.2	g	35.43	oz	0.856	kg
Fermentation	62°F /16.7°C
Yeast	Safale S04
	WLP007 Dry English ale
	Wyeast 1099 Whitbred ale
Tasting Notes: Raw bread dough, porrage and lightly toasted bread. Hints of figs, plums and a rummy raisin note in the end. Very smooth and mouthfilling which finishs quite dry. Very refreshing and easy to drink, tastes no where near as smal as it is.

Ingredients and technique

Grist & such

A very neat little grist for a low gravity mild. Nearly everything in this recipe is strictly from the UK. About 10% American 6-row malt would have been definitely left over from pre-war years. Nearly 25% of this beer is adjunct with the rest comng from the mild malt. Its very hard to duplicate the flavor of mild malt so try and find some. The invert No3 is only 6% so if you miss it that’s not a massive problem. Get some dark unrefined sugar as a possible substitute.

Hops

Hops? Yeah, they are here somewhere. Oh, here they are. 0.76lb/ bbl is very little which the 11bu’s indicate. Only a single addition at the beginning would have done it along with a healthy pressing of the hops.

Mash & Boil

A very high mash temperature would really be the only way that they could possibly get any sort of body left in this beer without having to add more No3 invert…which they didn’t have.  The boil is a very short 60min which is very uncommon but you have to save money and fuel some how.

Fermentation, Conditioning & Serving

A cool fermentation temp would have ensured a good amount of sweetness. This thing fermented out in 3 days, into the cask on the 4^th day and then off to the pubs. Not something that sat around for even a little time. Condition to about 2vol of CO₂ or so and drink copious amounts of.

Gyling & Blending

There is a gyle for this. It’s probably one of the most extensive and exhausting gyles I’ve seen anywhere, at any brewery. Four different gyles were used, along with a good amount of return, to blend this beer and ferment in 4 separate fermenters each one having exactly the same starting gravity. Crazy cool. HOWEVER, not something we need to worry about for this beer.

The difference between Lager and British beer in 1882

What a snappy title. But descriptive, you have to admit that. It's sort of a continuation of yesterday's post, if you can remember back that far.

You've already seen that Lagers contained loads more dextrine than English Bitters and Milds. Well there was something else they had more of. CO2.

"The Bavarian beer, if of the same original gravity as the English, has greater fulness on the palate, because with less attenuation, and, therefore, less alcohol, and also more albuminoids.

These various differences show why a beer of 1040 original gravity, if brewed on the German method, tastes very different from English harvest ale of the same gravity. There remains, however, a still more important factor in giving fulness to beers of medium original gravity, and that is the carbonic acid. Beer cooled to a few degrees above the melting point of ice must necessarily contain more carbonic acid than at 60° F., which may be taken as the average temperature of English beer as consumed. We all know that draught or bottled ales, if allowed to stand some hours, become insipid and flat, and taste as if several pounds per barrel less in the original gravity. The important influence of carbonic acid in making beers taste fuller and rounder has long been carefully attended to by the German brewer, whose great aim has been to secure as large an amount as possible. Hence an important part of the duty of a German brewer is to have his beers in perfect condition in the cellar, so that with a fortnight's closing of the bunghole, a sufficient amount of carbonic acid shall be formed and retained. For the same object one often finds in restaurants and beer kellers, air or carbonic acid forcing pumps to increase the amount of gas when the beer becomes too flat. The greater amount of carbonic acid in German beer is partly due to the greater amount of saccharine and albuminoid matters, but chiefly to the low temperature. The influence of temperature in the lager cellar upon the amount of carbonic acid has been the subject of some experiments by Professor Langer and Dr. Schultze. The beer they experimented on was made from a wort showing 10 degrees Balling, and had been attenuated 60 per cent. The carbonic acid found in 100 volumes of beer was at—

0.4° C. . .. 0.332 by weight 100 volumes by volume
1.6° C. . .. 0.320 by weight 96.4 volumes by volume
2.8° C. . .. 0.311 by weight 93.7 volumes by volume
4.0° C. . .. 0.297 by weight 89.5 volumes by volume
4.7° C. . .. 0.285 by weight 85.8 volumes by volume"

"Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Volume 1, 1882" page 23.

Did you see the temperature British beer was usually consumed at? 60° F, according to this article.Seems a little on the warm side, even for cask beer.

Random 1880's beer analyses

Random analyses from a random chemistry journal.

British beers in the 1880's
	English various
	Burton									Somersetshire Old Vat Ales
	Mild	Pale	Bitter	Mild X	XX	XXX	X	AK Bitter	AK Bitter	A. 2 years	B. 3 years
Maltose	2.13	1.75	1.62	1.87	1.99	2.88	2.14	0.84	0.81	1.54	1.363
Dextrine	3.64	2.48	2.601	1.881	1.728	2.045	1.37	1.48	0.754	2.48	1.963
Albuminoids	0.26	0.21	0.156	0.201	0.202	0.3	0.23	0.16	0.207	0.42	0.705
Lactic & Succinic acids	0.18	0.14	0.171	0.144	0.151	0.098	0.09	0.1	0.144	0.64	0.63
Colouring matters, hop extract, ash, etc (by difference)	0.53	0.55	0.876	1.301	1.368	1.477	1.17	0.39	0.849	0.94	0.835
Total solids	6.74	5.13	5.424	5.397	5.439	6.8	5	2.97	2.764	6.02	5.496
Acetic acid	0.01	0.02	0.015	0.036	0.031	0.024	0.01	0.03	0.06	0.07	0.225
Alcohol by weight	6.78	5.37	5.44	4.6	5.13	6.5	3.29	4.34	4.69	6.5	8.57
Water by difference	86.47	89.48	89.121	89.967	89.4	86.676	91.7	92.66	92.486	87.41	85.709
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100
Alcohol by volume	8.45	6.71	6.78	5.76	6.41	8.1	4.12	5.44	5.86	8.1	10.69
Original Gravity	1080	1062	1064	1055.5	1060.7	1073.7	1044	1045	1044.6	1071	1085
Ratio of Maltose to Dextrine	1:1.7	1:1.4	1:1.6	1:1	1:0.87	1:0.7	1:0.6	1:1.07	1:1	1:1.6	1:1.38
Source: "Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Volume 1, 1882", page 20.

Scotland and Ireland:

British beers in the 1880's
	Scotch various				Dublin Stout
	Mild	Export Bitter	Bitter	Bitter	XX	XXX
Maltose	1.5	1.621	0.87	0.87	3.45	5.35
Dextrine	1.86	2.5	1.45	1.38	3.07	2.09
Albuminoids	0.35	0.3	0.3	0.32	0.26	0.43
Lactic & Succinic acids	0.14	0.091	0.1	0.2	0.172	0.252
Colouring matters, hop extract, ash, etc (by difference)	0.23	0.7	0.48	0.78	1.76	1.4
Total solids	4.08	5.212	3.2	3.55	8.712	9.522
Acetic acid	0.03	0.16	0.02	0.03	0.012	0.036
Alcohol by weight	4.62	5	5.5	5.87	5.5	6.78
Water by difference	91.27	89.628	91.28	90.55	85.776	83.662
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
Alcohol by volume	5.78	6.21	6.86	7.32	6.86	8.45
Original Gravity	1053	1057	1057	1059	1074	1089
Ratio of Maltose to Dextrine	1:1.2	1:1.5	1:1.7	1:1.6	1:0.88	1:0.39
Source: "Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Volume 1, 1882", page 20.

Now what does that tell us?

Maybe a bit more if we make a comparison with Lagers of the same period.

German beers in the 1880's
	Sold in London			Sold in Germany
	Vienna	Pilsen	Tivoli	Vienna	Pilsen	Munich
Gravity of wort	1052.4	1045.5	1062	1058.6	1040.3	1064
Gravity of beer	1015	1005	1014	1016.5	1011.8	1021
Solids in beer	5.34	3.102	5.58	5.991	4.21	7.08
Nitrogen *(by soda lime)	0.084	0.082	0.06	0.134	0.09	0.103
Albuminoids	0.24	0.195	0.17	0.365	0.2	0.4
Alcohol	4.25	4.44	5.31	4.69	3.29	4.75
Maltose	1.054	0.534	1.75	1.643	0.69	1.57
Dextrine	2.847	1.44	2.15	2.736	2.65	3.15
Lactic & Succinic acids	0.09	0.08	0.12	0.126	0.09	0.14
Acetic acid	0.036	0.018	0.02	0.024	0.02	0.01
Colouring matters, hop extract, ash, etc	1.109	0.953	1.39	1.121	0.59	1.82
Water by difference	90.374	92.34	89.09	89.295	92.47	88.16
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100
alcohol by volume	5.32	5.6	6.63	5.86	4.12	5.94
Ratio of Maltose to Dextrine	1:2.7	1:2.7	1:1.23	1:1.66	1:3.8	1:2
Source: "Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Volume 1, 1882", page 22.

And some Bohemian ones, too.

German beers in the 1880's (analysed by Hebenstreit
	Bohemian					Bavarian
	1	2	3	4	Averages	1	2	3	4	Averages
Gravity of wort	1042.8	1043	1042	1045.8	1043.5	1054.5	1049.4	1054.7	1061.2	1055
Gravity of beer	1007	1006	1009	1012	1008	1020	1009	1011	1024	1016
Solids in wort	11.42	11.46	11.28	12.22	11.59	14.53	13.19	14.59	16.33	14.66
Solids in beer	3.66	3.46	3.96	4.8	3.97	6.64	4.71	5.53	9.81	6.17
Dextrine	2.42	2.4	1.82	1.92	2.14	3.21	3.18	2.96	3.69	3.26
Maltose	0.48	0.48	0.48	0.85	0.57	1.04	0.62	0.9	0.92	0.87
Alcohol (ABW)	3.88	4	3.66	3.71	3.81	3.96	4.24	4.53	4.26	4.14
Ratio of Maltose to Dextrine					1:3.75					1:3.75
Source: "Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, Volume 1, 1882", page 22.

Did you spot it? That's right, the Lagers have a much higher proportion of dextrine.

Fascinating, fascinating.



You can find the original  tables here:



http://books.google.com/books?id=1ijOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=high-dried+malt&source=bl&ots=hr75U31OfF&sig=4yRjiB0ByyzO_IkNE-F7WF_jSM8&hl=en&ei=unNZS7GJM4a1tgey2aioAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=high-dried%20malt&f=false