England vs Scotland, part 2b: the 1840's

We're still stuck in the 1840's. It's not too bad, as long as you don't drink the water and avoid the pies.

The object of today's examination are stronger Milds. Most are XX Ale or similar. What you might call Best Mild. With gravities in the range 1080º to 1090º, they aren't exactly similar to any modern Mild.

I'm beginning to see a definite pattern. See if you can, too:

Date	Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	max. fermentation temp	length of fermentation (days)
7th Jul	1845	Truman	X Ale	Mild	1080.3	1024.9	7.33	68.97%	6.0	1.98				61.5	81	8
17th Apr	1841	Whitbread	XL	Mild	1080.6	1029.9	6.71	62.89%	7.31	2.41	1.5	2	3	64	76	7
11th Mar	1841	Whitbread	XL	Mild	1081.2	1029.9	6.78	63.14%	7.27	2.47	2	2	3	64	75	6
18th Jul	1840	Truman	40/- Ale	Mild	1084.8	1027.7	7.55	67.32%	6	2.38				60.5	77.5	8
14th Jul	1840	Truman	40/- Ale	Mild	1085.6	1029.1	7.48	66.02%	6	2.42				60	71	8
14th Feb	1846	Truman	40/- Ale	Mild	1086.7	1024.9	8.17	71.25%	6.0	2.34				59	78.5	10
6th Jul	1840	Truman	40/- Ale	Mild	1088.9				5	2.10				59.5	73.5
17th Apr	1841	Whitbread	XX	Mild	1089.5	1031.6	7.66	64.71%	7.31	2.68	1.5	2	3	60	78	7
Average					1084.7	1028.3	7.38	66.33%	6.36	2.35	1.67	2.00	3.00	61.1	76.3	7.7
11th Mar	1847	Younger, Wm.	100/-	Ale	1085	1032	7.01	62.35%	8.52	3.59	1.25	1.17		56	67	7
6th Jul	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1085	1036	6.48	57.65%	7.00	2.91	0.92			58	69	8
12th Jul	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1085	1034	6.75	60.00%	8.00	3.33	1			59	72	9
18th Mar	1847	Younger, Wm.	100/-	Ale	1086	1036	6.61	58.14%	7.67	3.19	1.25	1.5		58	68	10
18th Jul	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1086	1032	7.14	62.79%	7.00	2.96	1.25	1.17		58	68	7
9th Oct	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1086	1034	6.88	60.47%	6.48	2.56	1.25			56	69	9
17th Mar	1847	Younger, Wm.	100/-	Ale	1087	1039	6.35	55.17%	4.44	3.67				57	67	9
17th Mar	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1087	1036	6.75	58.62%	4.00	1.63	1.25	1.25		59	68	9
19th Apr	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1087	1033	7.14	62.07%	8.00	3.22	1.25	1.25		56	67	9
11th Jul	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1087	1035	6.88	59.77%	7.00	2.89	1.33			59	69	7
5th Oct	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1087	1035	6.88	59.77%	4.52	1.86	1			59	56	8
13th Mar	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1038	6.61	56.82%	4.00	1.69	1.25	1.25		56	67	8
15th Apr	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1036	6.88	59.09%	4.00	1.63	1.25	1.08		55	67	8
8th Jul	1848	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1036	6.88	59.09%	6.00	2.43	1.25	1.25		56	72	8
5th Jan	1849	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1037	6.75	57.95%	4.67	1.87	1.5	1.5		56	66	9
31st Mar	1849	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1034	7.14	61.36%	5.00	2.05	1.33	1.17		54	68	10
12th Nov	1849	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1032	7.41	63.64%	4.50	2.00	1.25			56	67	9
17th Nov	1849	Younger, Wm.	80/-	Ale	1088	1036	6.88	59.09%	5.00	2.09	1.25	1.33		56	68	10
22nd Mar	1847	Younger, Wm.	100/-	Ale	1089	1036	7.01	59.55%	4.14	1.76	1.33	1.5		56	68	9
Average					1087.0	1035.1	6.87	59.65%	5.79	2.49	1.23	1.28	0.00	56.8	67.5	8.6
difference					2.3	6.8	-0.52	-6.67%	-0.58	0.14	-0.44	-0.72	-3.00	-4.2	-8.8	0.9
Sources:
Truman brewing record document numbers B/THB/C/122 and B/THB/C/127 held at the London Metropolitan Archives
William Younger brewing record document number WY/6/1/2/3 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive
Whitbread LMA/4453/D/01/004 brewing record document number  held at the London Metropolitan Archives

As usual, let's start with the hopping rate. Now isn't this confusing. The eight most heavily-hopped beers were all from Younger. And the average hopping rate of the Younger's beers was a tiny bit higher. Who would have expected that? There's more variation in hopping of Younger's beers, as is demonstrated by the fact that the 6 beers with the lowest hopping rate were also from them. That the rate of hopping per quarter is slightly higher for the London beers is a sign that Younger were getting a worse yield from their malt. Only one conclusion possible: in the 1840's Younger's strong Milds were not less heavily hopped than equivalent London beers.

Sticking with tradition, next it's the turn of boil times. What's clear is that William Younger had very short boils, usually between 60 and 80 minutes. The average length of the boils of Younger's beers were 30 minutes and 45 minutes shorter than in London. The conclusion is again obvious: in the 1840's Younger's strong Milds had significantly shorter boils than equivalent London beers.

Fermentation temperatures come next. Again, it's not difficult to analyse. The average pitching temperature of Younger's beers was 4º F cooler than in London average and the maximum temperature almost 9º cooler. It's the same pattern as with the standard-strength Milds: not a huge difference in the pitching temperature but the increase in temperature during fermentation was greater for the London beers. The average rise was 10º F for Younger's beers but for London beers was over 15º F. Admittedly, it was easier for Younger to control fermentation temperatures because their fermenters were smaller than those of London brewers, around half the size. My conclusion: in the 1840's Younger's strong Milds were fermented 6º - 7º F cooler than equivalent London beers.

Attenuation is a doddle to analyse, too. Only one Younger's beer has greater attenuation than the least attenuated London beer.The averages also show a clear pattern, with Younger's beers about 10% less attenuated. Unsurprisingly, The finishing average gravity is also higher for Younger's beers, by around 25%. Though in reality that should be a little less as the average OG of Younger's beers was about 2º higher. Adjusting for that, it's around 18% higher. ABV, of course, follows suit and is 0.5% ABV lowere on average for Younger's beers. I feel confident in saying: in the 1840's Younger's strong Milds were less attenuated and slightly lower ABV than equivalent London beers.

And finally, length of fermentation. About a day longer on average for Younger's beers. Not very difficult, this one. In the 1840's Younger's strong Milds took a day longer to ferment than equivalent London beers.

It's all very confusing, isn't it? Some categories of Scottish beer seem less heavily hopped than in England, while others don't. But this is looking certain: Scottish beers had shorter boils and were fermented cooler.