Monday 23 September 2013

Bottled beers in the 1890's

There's a wonderful air of inevitability about this little series of posts. One small consistency in an uncertain world. It's certainly giving me something to hang onto. What will I do once I've run out of decades?

I've done a little analysis of the number of examples of each style to try to highlight the trends in bottled products. This is what I came up with:


style number of examples % of total
Stout 21 34.43%
Porter 1 1.64%
Pale Ale 11 18.03%
IPA 10 16.39%
Dinner Ale 3 4.92%
all Pale Ales 24 39.34%
Strong Ale 4 6.56%
Lager 2 3.28%
Cooper 3 4.92%
Ale 5 8.20%
alcohol free 1 1.64%
total 61

More than 70% of the beers are either some sort of Pale Ale or Stout. I think that's pretty conclusive. There was just a single Porter, though that could probably be combined with the three Coopers. While there was no beer called Mild Ale, it's possible some of those I've classified as just Ale were in reality Mild. It's just not possible to tell.

Notice how Lager is starting to pop up regularly as we reach the end of the 19th century. At this point it was one of the few styles that was mostly sold in bottled form. On the other hand, there are surprisingly few Strong Ales, just four.

After WW II, the range of beers probably wouldn't look much different, save for the addition of Brown Ale, a style that shot to popularity in the inter-war period.

Before we get to the main table, I'm happy to report that I've brewing records to match some of the beers, namely those from Fullers. Here's the advert from which their beers in the table were taken:

And here's a table of their beers:

Fuller's beers in 1897-1898
Beer Style OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation lbs hops/ qtr hops lb/brl
A Mild 1044.3 1007.8 4.84 82.50% 6.13 1.14
AK Pale Ale 1049.9 1014.4 4.69 71.11% 9.43 2.03
AKK Pale Ale 1050.4 1012.5 5.02 75.27% 13.43 2.80
BS Stout 1074.8 1026.0 6.45 65.19% 6.31 2.23
IPA IPA 1057.6 1016.1 5.50 72.12% 12.43 3.07
IPA Stock IPA 1057.9 1017.7 5.31 69.38% 13.39 3.48
KA Pale Ale 1044.0 1009.7 4.54 77.99% 6.65 1.30
Porter Porter 1057.1 1018.6 5.09 67.48% 6.10 1.68
X Mild 1055.4 1015.0 5.35 73.00% 7.06 1.72
XK Pale Ale 1055.4 1013.9 5.50 75.00% 13.43 3.07
XXK Strong Ale 1076.5 1020.2 7.44 73.55% 12.33 4.33
XXK for vatting Strong Ale 1082.0 1023.8 7.70 70.95% 12.33 4.59
Source:
Fuller's brewing records held at the brewery.

The two Stouts shown in both draught and bottled form are a bit of a mystery. Why? Because Fullers only brewed one Stout, BS. My guess is that the Single Stout was a blend of Porter and BS, giving it a gravity of around 1065º. Based on the price (assuming bottled Pale Ale is XK), the bottled Stout looks like it's really their Porter.

Here's the full table of beers:

Bottled beers in the 1890's
Brewery Place year beer style price per dozen size source
Rogers' Ales Bristol 1896 Non-intoxicating Hop Ale alcohol free Bottled
Albion Brewery (Heppenstalls) Newark 1892 Ale Ale 1s 4d half pint
Albion Brewery (Heppenstalls) Newark 1892 Ale Ale 1s 6d half pint
Rogers' Ales Bristol 1896 Monarch Ale Ale Bottled
Ash & Co London 1897 "Canterbury" Ale Ale 2s 6d pint
Ash & Co London 1897 "Gold Medal" Ale Ale 3s pint
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1891 Cooper Cooper 2s 6d Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, 1891
Ind Coope & Co Romford 1893 Cooper Special Cooper 2s 6d pint
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1899 Cooper Cooper 2s 6d Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1899
Eldridge Pope Dorchester 1891 Crystal Light Dinner Ale Dinner Ale 2s 6d Imperial pint Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser - Wednesday 04 February 1891, page 4.
E & H Kelsey, Culverden Brewery Tunbridge Wells 1896 No. 2 Family Ale Dinner Ale 3s Pelton's illustrated guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1896
Ash & Co London 1897 Light Tonic Dinner Ale Dinner Ale 2s 3d pint
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1891 India Pale Ale IPA 3s Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, 1891
Fuller, Smith & Turner Chiswick 1893 India Pale Ale IPA 3s 6d Kelly's Directory for Ealing, Acton, 1893-94
W & S Lucas Hitchin, Herts 1894 India Pale Ale IPA 3s 6d Kelly's Directory of Essex, Herts & Middx, 1894
C. Hammerton & Co. London S.W. 1895 India Pale Ale IPA
Bass  Burton 1895 Pale Ale IPA 2s small Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 05 July 1895, page 4.
Bass  Burton 1895 Pale Ale IPA 3s 10d large Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 05 July 1895, page 4.
Rogers' Ales Bristol 1896 East India Pale Ale IPA
E & H Kelsey, Culverden Brewery Tunbridge Wells 1896 No. 3 East India Pale Ale IPA 3s 6d Pelton's illustrated guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1896
Ash & Co London 1897 India Pale Ale IPA 3s 6d pint
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1899 India Pale Ale IPA 3s Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1899
St. Anne's Well Brewery Exeter 1891 ST. ANNE'S LAGER BEER Lager 3s 6d screw Imperial pint Exeter Flying Post - Saturday 26 December 1891, page 8. 
Wrexham Lager Beer Co. Wrexham 1893 Lager Beer Lager 3s Imperial pint Burnley Express - Saturday 19 August 1893, page 3. 
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1891 Bitter Beer Pale Ale 2s 3d Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, 1891
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1891 Pale Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, 1891
St. Anne's Well Brewery Exeter 1891 ST. ANNE'S PALE ALE Pale Ale 3s Imperial pint Exeter Flying Post - Saturday 26 December 1891, page 8. 
Eldridge Pope Dorchester 1891 KK Light Pale Ale Pale Ale 3s Imperial pint Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser - Wednesday 04 February 1891, page 4.
Fuller, Smith & Turner Chiswick 1893 Pale Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d Kelly's Directory for Ealing, Acton, 1893-94
C. Hammerton & Co. London S.W. 1895 Pale Ale Pale Ale
E & H Kelsey, Culverden Brewery Tunbridge Wells 1896 No. 1 Light Bitter Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d Pelton's illustrated guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1896
Ind Coope Romford 1897 AKK Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d imperial pint Reading Mercury - Saturday 27 March 1897, page 1.
Waltham Bros. London 1898 The Half Guinea Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d pint
Morgans Brewery Norwich 1898 Light Bitter Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d Imperial pint Norfolk Chronicle - Saturday 11 June 1898, page 1.
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1899 Pale Ale Pale Ale 2s 6d Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1899
E & H Kelsey, Culverden Brewery Tunbridge Wells 1896 No. 5 Porter Porter 2s 6d Pelton's illustrated guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1896
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1891 Single Stout Stout 2s 6d Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, 1891
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1891 Double Stout Stout 3s Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey & Sussex, 1891
St. Anne's Well Brewery Exeter 1891 ST. ANNE'S STOUT Stout 3s Imperial pint Exeter Flying Post - Saturday 26 December 1891, page 8. 
Albion Brewery (Heppenstalls) Newark 1892 Stout Stout 1s 6d half pint
Fuller, Smith & Turner Chiswick 1893 Stout Stout 2s 6d Kelly's Directory for Ealing, Acton, 1893-94
Fuller, Smith & Turner Chiswick 1893 Extra Stout Stout 3s 6d Kelly's Directory for Ealing, Acton, 1893-94
W & S Lucas Hitchin, Herts 1894 Double Stout Stout 3s Kelly's Directory of Essex, Herts & Middx, 1894
C. Hammerton & Co. London S.W. 1895 Stout Stout
C. Hammerton & Co. London S.W. 1895 Double Stout Stout
C. Hammerton & Co. London S.W. 1895 Brown Stout Stout
Guinness Dublin 1895 Dublin Stout Stout 1s 9d small Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 05 July 1895, page 4.
Guinness Dublin 1895 Dublin Stout Stout 3s 4d large Lincolnshire Chronicle - Friday 05 July 1895, page 4.
Rogers' Ales Bristol 1896 Monarch Stout Stout
E & H Kelsey, Culverden Brewery Tunbridge Wells 1896 No. 6 Stout Stout 3s 6d Pelton's illustrated guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1896
Ash & Co London 1897 Luncheon Stout Stout 2s 6d pint
Ash & Co London 1897 Nourishing Stout for Invalids Stout 3s pint
Waltham Bros. London 1898 SN Stout Stout 3s pint
Waltham Bros. London 1898 London Brown Stout Stout 2s 6d pint
Morgans Brewery Norwich 1898 Stout Stout 2s 6d Imperial pint Norfolk Chronicle - Saturday 11 June 1898, page 1.
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1899 Single Stout Stout 2s 6d Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1899
Breeds & Co, the Hastings Brewery Hastings 1899 Double Stout Stout 3s Kelly's Directory of Sussex, 1899
St. Anne's Well Brewery Exeter 1891 ST. ANNE'S DINNER ALE Strong Ale 2s 6d Imperial pint Exeter Flying Post - Saturday 26 December 1891, page 8. 
W & S Lucas Hitchin, Herts 1894 Strong Ale Strong Ale 3s Kelly's Directory of Essex, Herts & Middx, 1894
Rogers' Ales Bristol 1896 XXXXX Strong Ale Strong Ale
E & H Kelsey, Culverden Brewery Tunbridge Wells 1896 No. 4 Strong Ale Strong Ale 4s 6d Pelton's illustrated guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1896

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