More dull stuff avout Heineken in the 1930s

I keep finding reasons to delay finishing "Blitzkrieg!". It is complete. All but the small section on brewing in the Netherlands during the war are done. But I keep finding more information. And requesting the archive digitises more Heineken records.

You can request five documents per month. I used up my monthly ration this week. All on records of the pilot brewery. One in particular I'm keen to take a look in: 1944-46. I've currently no information later than 1943. I'm dead excited. Though patience is requires. Three to six weeks the process takes.

A couple of days later, I learnt Peter Symons had requested some of the same documents. He's been pointing me at various documents from the Heineken archive that he's already had digitised. Between the two of us, we should get through the interesting ones pretty quickly. Then move on to the Amstel stuff.

I can't take too long over this.  Got to be down the pub, well, brewery, quite soon for my Saturday afternoon pints with mates. The highlight of my unemployed week.  I'm not going to bang on too long about this double decoction. I want to line my stomach with some lunch before this afternoon session. Andrew chews his way through pints disturbingly quickly. I always drink faster when I'm with him.

Heineken Pilsener was mashed very differently to their Münchener, which had one more decoction. The heating and boiling of the decoction were shorter. While the saccharification rest at 66º C was far longer. The two just about balanced each other out and the whole process was only 5 minutes shorter, despite there being one fewer decoction.

The shorter boils make sense. They'd have been wary of darkening the wort. Not sure about the reason for longer rest.

That's enough about decoction. I'm thinking about my sandwich. Dolores made meatballs. Always dead good. This batch are particularly nice.

 

Pilsener 11th Jul 1935
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 51º C (124º F)	20
Mash in rice at 33º C (91.5º F)	5
Draw off first decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	45
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil first decoction	15
Rest whole mash at 66º C (151º F)	75
Draw off second decoction and raise to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil second decoction	15
Mash at 75.5º C and mash out (168º F)	5
Sparge at 75.5º C (168º F) and rest	60
Draw off main wort	55
Draw off second wort	90
Total time	415
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 19.