Sunday 7 August 2011

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







5 comments:

Jeff Renner said...

Image of the table, please?

Ron Pattinson said...

Jeff,

there you go.

Jeff Renner said...

Thanks.

Jon Scudamore said...

I've read your article in the Beer Advocate here in the states. It mentioned that if I contacted you I could get a recipe to home brew. Could that be a future Brew day post please?

Ron Pattinson said...

Jon, I'm amazed to discover that we've never done a Whitbread Double Brown recipe. We really should. Maybe when we've finished the current Scottish season.

We have published one DB recipe:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2009/06/lets-brew-wednesday-1936-barclay.html