Even though these are “standard” Brown Ales, a couple are surprisingly strong, with gravities around 1040º. I’m guessing that these probably aren’t tweaked versions of Mild, as the gravities are just too high. You didn’t really get Mild of that strength in the North.
Some examples are much better value than others. Walker’s Brown Peter is considerably stronger than Duttons Nut Brown – 10º and 1% ABV – yet retailed for the same price. Easy enough for brewers to get away with when there was no indication of a beer’s strength on the label.
There’s quite a range in degrees of attenuation from under 60% to over 80%. Taddy Brown Ale being the poorest attenuated and Brown Peter the best.
Most examples are reasonably dark, though there are a couple in the 40-50 twilight zone between pale and truly dark.
Some Brown Ales from the Northeast of England are in a very different style. Stronger, and at the palest end of the style’s colour spectrum.
Averaging around 1050º and 5% ABV, I assume that Double Maxim was brewed in reaction to Newcastle Brown, a beer brewed by their biggest local rival. As we’ll see later, this type of beer wasn’t just limited to the Northeast of England. Some Scottish breweries produced similar beers.
| Standard Northern Brown Ale after WW II | ||||||||
| Year | Brewer | Beer | Price per pint (d) | OG | FG | ABV | App. Atten-uation | colour |
| 1952 | Duttons | Nut Brown Ale | 20 | 1029.9 | 1005.8 | 3.13 | 80.60% | 56 |
| 1952 | Greenhall Whitley | Wilderspool Brown Ale | 20 | 1038.7 | 1008.5 | 3.92 | 78.04% | 80 |
| 1952 | Hammonds United | Brown Jack Ale | 18 | 1029.5 | 1005.8 | 3.08 | 80.34% | 105 |
| 1952 | Hey & Son | White Rose Ale | 20 | 1040.7 | 1007.9 | 4.27 | 80.59% | 60 |
| 1951 | Peter Walker | Brown Peter Ale | 20 | 1039.2 | 1008.3 | 4.02 | 78.83% | 90 |
| 1952 | Peter Walker | Brown Peter Ale | 20 | 1038.6 | 1006.7 | 4.15 | 82.64% | 44 |
| 1948 | Samuel Smith | Taddy Brown Ale | 18 | 1032.5 | 1013.8 | 2.41 | 57.54% | 95 |
| 1952 | Samuel Smith | Taddy Ale | 15.5 | 1034.5 | 1008.5 | 3.37 | 75.36% | 90 |
| 1948 | Tennant Bros. | Brown Ale | 18 | 1031.8 | 1010.2 | 2.79 | 67.92% | 68 |
| 1952 | Tetley | Family Ale | 15 | 1035.5 | 1009 | 3.44 | 74.65% | 54 |
| 1950 | Vaux | Maxim Ale | 14 | 1033.5 | 1009.7 | 3.08 | 71.04% | 105 |
| Average | 18.0 | 1034.9 | 1008.6 | 3.42 | 75.23% | 77.0 | ||
| Source: | ||||||||
| Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002. | ||||||||
| Strong Northern Brown Ale after WW II | ||||||||
| Year | Brewer | Beer | Price per pint (d) | OG | FG | ABV | App. Atten-uation | colour |
| 1949 | Newcastle Breweries | Brown Ale | 22 | 1051.6 | 1012.2 | 5.12 | 76.36% | 46 |
| 1951 | Newcastle Breweries | Brown Ale | 22 | 1052.5 | 1011.8 | 5.30 | 77.52% | 44 |
| 1950 | Vaux | Double Maxim | 19 | 1048.7 | 1011.2 | 4.88 | 77.00% | 46 |
| 1952 | Vaux | Double Maxim | 23 | 1049 | 1009.8 | 5.10 | 80.00% | 48 |
| Average | 21.5 | 1050.5 | 1011.3 | 5.10 | 77.72% | 46.0 | ||
| Source: | ||||||||
| Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002. | ||||||||
Did Newcastle Brown Ale represent a new style of beer when it was introduced in 1927?
ReplyDeleteUsed to drink a lot of Brown Peter in Liverpool in the 80s. Did the colour really change so much over a year though? 90 - 44? It was a fairly dark brown in the 80s though not as much as Manns.
ReplyDelete1951 Peter Walker Brown Peter Ale 20 1039.2 1008.3 4.02 78.83% 90
1952 Peter Walker Brown Peter Ale 20 1038.6 1006.7 4.15 82.64% 44
Traditionally Newcastle Brown Ale was a blend of two beers - a light beer called Newcastle Amber Ale and a much stronger brown ale that was not available to the trade. I recall Amber Ale as being pretty dreadful -it came in the same pint clear bottle as the Brown with an almost identical label featuring blue, not brown. I believe that when the Tyne Brewery closed and production moved to Dunston, Brown Ale was switched to a single gyle.
ReplyDelete