Mid-19th century London Stout mashing

Despite the technique of sparging having spread to England, London brewers were still using multiple mashes for their Stout.

A couple of concrete examples of how London Stouts were mashed. If you’re wondering why I keep picking Barclay Perkins examples, I have to make a confession. I don’t understand the Truman or Whitbread mashing details. Whereas those of my favourite brewery are easy peasy.

Both of the following examples have three mashes, all at different temperatures. The hottest being the middle one.

Reid’s are a doddle to understand, too. I just have far fewer of their records. The temperatures are mostly different, but follow a similar pattern. 

Barclay Perkins 1849 FSt mashing scheme
Mash number	barrels	strike heat	tap heat
1	289	159° F	146.5° F
2	181	178° F	160° F
3	223	162° F	159.5° F
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/1/540.

Reid 1845 S Crs. mashing scheme
Mash number	barrels	strike heat	tap heat
1	244	163° F	141° F
2	130	182° F	156° F
3	104	162° F	153° F
Source:
Reid brewing record held at the Westminster City Archives, document number 789/271.