Brown Ale and Double Brown Ale

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Where would this blog be without them? just full of words, that's what.

Brown Ale. I won't stoop to mention the invented catgorisation of Northern and Southern Brown Ale. Let's try using a more useful split: Brown Ale and Double Brown Ale.

Why split that way? because it just seems to make so much more sense. Especially as some brewers produced more than one Brown Ale. And they usually called the Stronger one Double Brown.

Barclay Perkins and Whitbread both brewed what I would call Double Brown. Even though, it Barclay Perkins case DBA stood for Doctor Brown Ale (after Doctor Johnson, their mascot) it fits the bill for a Double Brown. I suspect that they retrofitted the name Doctor.

There's a fair variety of strengths amongst the beers below. With Fremlin's Brown Ale at the bottom (1028.7º) and Newcastle Brown at the top (1060.1º). I suspect there was a similar variation in colour and character, but unfortunately I have no hard data.

Where to put the dividing line between Brown and Double Brown? I'd say somewhere around 1042º. But, like the difference between Bitter and Best Bitter, it's a hard one to pin down definitively. Any tipping point will necessarily be arbitrary.

Here's the table for you to contemplate and enjoy.

Brown Ale 1924 - 1938
Year	Brewer	country	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	atten-uation
1931	Aitchison and Co	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.06	1015.9	1047.9		4.14	66.81%
1929	Barclay Perkins	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1012.4	1047		4.49	73.62%
1930	Barclay Perkins	UK	Doctor Brown	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1016	1046		3.88	65.22%
1931	Barclay Perkins	UK	Doctor Brown	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1014.8	1046.5		4.10	68.17%
1931	Barclay Perkins	UK	Doctor Brown	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.06	1014.6	1046.8		4.17	68.80%
1931	Barclay Perkins	UK	Doctor Brown	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled	0.07	1015.2	1046		3.99	66.96%
1932	Barclay Perkins	UK	Doctor Brown	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled	0.05	1015.4	1046		3.96	66.52%
1935	Barclay Perkins	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.07	1018.5	1049		3.94	62.24%
1936	Barclay Perkins	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.07	1017.2	1046		3.72	62.61%
1936	Barclay Perkins	UK	Doctor  Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.06	1018	1048		3.87	62.50%
1938	Barclay Perkins	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.05	1018.9	1046.8		3.60	59.62%
1931	Beard	UK	Double Brown	Brown Ale	7d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1009.2	1043.4		4.45	78.80%
1929	Campbell Praed	UK	Double Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled	0.07	1019.9	1053.4		4.33	62.73%
1929	Campbell Praed	UK	Double Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled	0.07	1017.5	1046.7		3.77	62.53%
1930	City of Winchester	UK	Double Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled		1008.2	1049		5.32	83.27%
1931	Davenport	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	6.5d	pint	bottled	0.07	1014.2	1044.8		3.96	68.30%
1929	Fremlin	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1007	1028.7		2.81	75.61%
1930	Fremlin	UK	Double Elephant Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1009	1043		4.42	79.07%
1931	Fremlin	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.2	1041.2		4.43	82.52%
1931	Fremlin	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1005.4	1035		3.85	84.57%
1931	Fremlin	UK	Double Elephant Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1004.6	1040.7		4.71	88.70%
1931	Fremlin	UK	Double Elephant Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1010.6	1041.1		3.96	74.21%
1934	Fremlin	UK	Double Elephant Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.05	1012.2	1043		3.99	71.63%
1935	Fremlin	UK	Double Elephant Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1010.3	1042		4.12	75.48%
1936	Fremlin	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled		1013.8	1041		3.52	66.34%
1936	Fremlin	UK	Double Elephant Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.06	1012.2	1043		3.99	71.63%
1936	Fremlin	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	6d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.6	1036.8		3.79	79.35%
1938	Fremlin	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.04	1012.8	1041.8		3.76	69.38%
1929	Friary	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.06	1012.2	1045		4.25	72.89%
1928	Gilmour	UK	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1008.8	1043.8		4.55	79.91%
1932	Gilmour	UK	Nut Brown	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.08	1008.8	1033		3.14	73.33%
1929	Hodgson	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.06	1009	1040		4.03	77.50%
1932	Hoskins	UK	City Brown Ale	Brown Ale	6d	pint	bottled		1009.7	1036.6		3.49	73.50%
1929	Jenners	UK	Double Nut Brown	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.05	1011.8	1040.4		3.71	70.79%
1930	John Smith	UK	Double Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled		1014.8	1055		5.22	73.09%
1930	Kemp Town	UK	No. 1 Brown	Brown Ale	5.5d	half pint	bottled	0.07	1014.3	1057.4		5.61	75.09%
1930	Mew Langton	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled		1018.8	1047		3.64	60.00%
1928	Newcastle Breweries	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled	0.08	1012.5	1060.1		6.21	79.20%
1932	Northampton Brewery	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.05	1009.8	1038		3.66	74.21%
1929	Page and Overton	UK	Double Brown Ale	Brown Ale	5d	half pint	bottled	0.06	1011.7	1044.9		4.31	73.94%
1931	Pompey	UK	Double Brown	Brown Ale	6d	half pint	bottled	0.07	1009.3	1048.3		5.08	80.75%
1930	Portsmouth and Brighton Breweries	UK	Pompey Double Brown	Brown Ale	9d	pint	bottled	0.08	1008.3	1052		5.71	84.04%
1931	Shipstone	UK	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled		1010.9	1037.6		3.46	71.01%
1929	Steward and Patteson	UK	Norfolk Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.08	1009.4	1035		3.32	73.14%
1930	Steward and Patteson	UK	Norfolk Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.06	1011.8	1036.6		3.21	67.76%
1932	Stone, Wm.	UK	Nut Brown	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.05	1008.8	1036		3.53	75.56%
1931	Strong	UK	Treble Brown	Brown Ale	6d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1014.9	1057.2		5.50	73.95%
1932	Tennant Bros.	UK	Nut Brown	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.08	1008.9	1032		2.99	72.19%
1924	Vaux	UK	Maxim Ale	Brown Ale		pint	bottled			1043.6
1925	Vaux	UK	Maxim Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1011.1	1039.4		3.67	71.83%
1930	Vaux	UK	Dark Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1012.7	1058.7	40 + 6	6.00	78.36%
1932	Ward	UK	Nut Brown	Brown Ale		pint	bottled	0.06	1007.6	1035		3.56	78.29%
1928	West's	UK	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1006.1	1040.2		4.44	84.83%
	Average							0.06	1011.9	1043.84		4.1402	72.93%
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001