Saturday, 8 February 2025

Let's Brew - 1895 Rose PA

Climbing ever higher up the Pale Ale tree we get to, er, Pale Ale. A pretty decent strength. If not quite at the heights of a Burton Pale Ale.

As with the other Pale Ales from Rose, there’s not a great deal to the grist. Just base malt, flaked rice and sugar. Once again, with around a quarter of the malt made from foreign barley, the rest from English.

Two types of sugar, No. 1 invert and something just described as “White”, which I’ve interpreted as sucrose. Combined with the pale malt, all this basically colourless sugar leaves the beer with a very light shade. Just 5 SRM. Which is extremely pale for a beer of this gravity.

As always with Rose, there are three types of hops, Kent, Worcester and Hallertau, all from the 1895 harvest. As were the Hallertau dry hops.

My guess is that this was a semi-Stock beer, aged for three months or so. 

1895 Rose PA
pale malt 10.25 lb 84.85%
flaked rice 0.75 lb 6.21%
No. 1 invert sugar 0.75 lb 6.21%
white sugar 0.33 lb 2.73%
Fuggles 130 mins 1.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins 1.50 oz
Hallertau 30 mins 1.50 oz
Hallertau dry hops 0.50 oz
OG 1055
FG 1015
ABV 5.29
Apparent attenuation 72.73%
IBU 55
SRM 5
Mash at 154º F
Sparge at 175º F
Boil time 145 minutes
pitching temp 58º F
Yeast Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale Timothy Taylor

Friday, 7 February 2025

What wasn't allowed in a pub in 1914?

Quite a lot of things, as it turns out. Some of them pretty understandable.

The first set mostly refer to pissed-up punters.

2.—As to Public Order.
Offences.-Any licence holder is guilty of an offence against the Licensing Acts and renders himself liable to a penalty not exceeding on a first conviction £10, and on a second or any subsequent conviction £20, who by himself or by his servants acting within the general scope of their employment does any of the following things:—

(1) Selling to Drunken Person.—Sells any intoxicating liquor to any drunken person. Note.—If the person to whom the liquor is sold is in fact drunken the offence is committed whether the person by whom the liquor was sold knew him to be drunken or not.
Brewers' Almanack 1915, page 305.

To put those fines into context, a pint of Mild cost 2d. Ten quid, then, was the equivalent 240 pints of Mild. Quite a sum.

More about drunks.

(2) Selling to Habitual Drunkard.-Knowingly sells or supplies any intoxicating liquor to or for the consumption of any person, notice of whose conviction has been sent to the police authority under Section 6 of the Act of 1902 within three years of the date of such conviction.

(3) Permitting Drunkenness.-Permits drunkenness to take place on his licensed premises. Note.—Where a licensed person is charged with this offence, and it is proved that any person was drunk on his premises, the presumption will at once be raised that the fact of the drunkenness was known or connived at by the licensed person or by the person left by him in charge of the premises, and that presumption cannot be rebutted unless the licensed person proves that he and the persons employed by him took all reasonable steps for preventing drunkenness on the premises.

If the drunkenness is on the part of a lodger on the licensed premises, or of a private friend of the licence holder, the licence holder will still be liable to conviction; and it is immaterial whether the drunkenness takes place before or after closing time.

(4) Permitting Disorder.—Permits any violent, quarrelsome, or riotous conduct to take place on his licensed premises.
Brewers' Almanack 1915, page 306.

You get the idea. The authorities really didn't like the plebs getting pissed up and causing trouble. Those killjoy bastards.
 

Thursday, 6 February 2025

Beerhouses

In 1830, in a rare attack of liberalism, beerhouses were created. Intended to usher in an era of free trade in beer, licences were issued for beer-only pubs directly from the Excise, outside the control of local licensing magistrates. This was changed in 1869, when such licences came under control of the justices.

However, beerhouse licences which had existed before that date were given some protection. And couldn't be revoked as easily as full licences (ones allowing the sale of all alcoholic drinks).

Two Classes of “old On-Licences."- Beerhouse licences, beer and wine on-licences, and cider on-licences which were in force on May 1, 1869, and have since remained continuously in force, were specially protected as regards the grounds upon which their renewal might be refused by the Wine & Beerhouse Acts of 1869 and 1870. The protection so given to them was preserved in a modified form by the Act of 1904. Licences so protected are hereinafter spoken of as protected or ante-1869 beerhouse licences. Old on-licences of the same kind which either were not in force on May 1, 1869, or, having been in force at that date, have not since remained continuously in force, do not enjoy this protection, and are herein after spoken of as unprotected beerhouse licences. Full licences are also outside this protection, and must be deemed to be included whenever in the following paragraph is unprotected old on-licences are spoken of.
Brewers' Almanack 1915, page 257.

There was a specific list of circumstances which allowed for the removal of beerhouse licences:

(2) Ante-1869, or Protected Licences. In the case of protected beerhouse licences--that is to say, of beerhouse licences, beer and wine on-licences and cider on-licences--which were in force on May 1, 1869, and have since remained continuously in force in respect of the samepremises, the justices may not refuse to renew without compensation on any ground other than the following:

 1. That the applicant has failed to produce satisfactory evidence of good character.
 2. That the house or shop in respect of which the licence is sought, or any adjacent house or shop owned or occupied by the person applying for the licence is of a disorderly character, or frequented by thieves, prostitutes, or persons of bad character.
 3. That the applicant, having personally held a licence for the sale of wine, spirits, beer, or cider, the same has been forfeited for his misconduct, or that he has through misconduct been at any time previously adjudged disqualified from receiving any such licence or from selling any of the said articles.
 4. That the applicant or the house in respect of which he applies is not duly qualified as by law is required.
Brewers' Almanack 1915, page 258. 

The licensing authorities really didn't like prostitutes and thieves.


Wednesday, 5 February 2025

A gentle reminder

that my latest book, "Keg!" is now available.

It's packed full of information about the grooviest decade of the 20th century, the 1970. As well as a brewery guide to the 1970s, there are also more than 100 home-brew recipes. All in all, it's the perfect guide to the decade.

Get your copy of "Keg!" now!

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1895 Rose B

You'd better get used to the late Victorian and Edwardian period. Because I'm now 100% concentrating on that, as I return to working on "Free!".

And now we move onto our second gravity tree, this time for Pale Ales. Of which there are four.

Kicking off with B. Which I assume stands for “Bitter”. It’s pretty low gravity for a 19th-century Pale Ale. A Light Bitter, really. I would say that it’s the equivalent of an AK. Except that Rose has an AK in their range. A beer next up the strength tree trunk.

Beautifully simple is how I would describe the grist. Just base malt, flaked rice and sucrose. There were three types of pale malt, two made from English barley and one from foreign. Which, as you’re probably aware by now, was pretty standard.

Three types of hops, too. Two English, Worcester from the 1895 harvest and Kent from 1894. Both of which I’ve interpreted as Fuggles. Along with Hallertau from 1894.

As a Light Bitter, this wouldn’t have been aged. As is obvious from the gravity and hopping rate. 

1895 Rose B
pale malt 9.00 lb 85.71%
flaked rice 1.00 lb 9.52%
white sugar 0.50 lb 4.76%
Fuggles 135 mins 0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 mins 0.75 oz
Hallertau 30 mins 0.75 oz
Hallertau dry hops 0.25 oz
OG 1046
FG 1013
ABV 4.37
Apparent attenuation 71.74%
IBU 29
SRM 4
Mash at 154º F
Sparge at 175º F
Boil time 125 minutes
pitching temp 59º F
Yeast Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale Timothy Taylor

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Lager in the early 20th century

For the next couple of months I'll be back before WW I. Now that my attention has turned full time to my book "Free!".

During my research, I came across this passage on the different types of Lager.

Our attention must now be directed to the principal subject of this evening's paper: Lager Beers ("Lager Biere"). Of these there are four recognised types :—Bohemian, Vienna, Bavarian, and American. As a general rule, three varieties of each are brewed : Light, Ordinary  or Summer Lager, and Export. The exports are all brewed consider ably stronger and contain more alcohol. All the types vary a good deal in colour, flavour, palate-fulness, amount of hops, acidity and alcohol. For example :—

1. Bavarian and Munich beers possess a light to dark-brown shade of colour, are lightly hopped, and are characterised by their palate fulness, sweet taste and malt flavour. Their gravities vary from 12.5° to 15.0° B. in the Light, and from 15.0° to 18.0° B. in the Export beers.

2. The Bohemian are light-yellow, as in the case of the Pilsener, to a peculiar greonish-yellow colour. They taste somewhat sharp, dry and wine-like, but with a prevailing bitter of hops as opposed to the lightly-hopped Bavarians. Their gravities vary from 10.5° to 11.5° B. for the Light, and from 11.0° to 12.8° B. for the Heavy.

3. The Vienna Lagers come somewhere midway between the Bavarian and Bohemian, especially as regards colour, hops, and taste. The gravities vary from 10.5° to 13.5° B. in the Light, and from 13.5° to 15.5° B. for the Heavy and Export beers. The larger amount of the common beer of Vienna is brewed at a gravity of 13.5° B.

4. The American Lagers generally follow the German rather than the Austrian types, yet differ considerably in the many American cities.
"Lager Beers" by James Grant in Journal of the Institute of Brewing Volume 15, Issue 3, May 1909, page 379. 

Interesting that American Lager was considered a type in its own right. Though, of course, there were various different styles of Lager brewed in the USA. These did have European Lagers as their inspiration, but had been adapted to meet American tastes and production methods.

 

Monday, 3 February 2025

1780 - 1815 Cellarmanship

Well, that's the 1970s finished. Time to look further back. All the way to the 18th century. Which is about as far back as I go.

Just as with cask-conditioned beer today, all the care taken in brewing a good beer was in vain if it was poorly handled in the cellar.

The text below is taken from "A Treatise on the Brewing of Beer" by E. Hughes, Uxbridge, 1796, pages 34-37.

"Beware, lest you forget to pay attention to your beer which is at tap; for, "as the eye of the master maketh his horse fat", so the head of a family, now and then giving a look into his cellar, may be the cause of beer drinking more agreeable to his palate, by taking care that the vent-holes are kept closely stopped, and the cocks secure.

"Do not fail to stoop your cask when the beer is about two parts in three out; this should be done whilst the tap is spending, for then you will not disturb the sediment. By stooping the cask when the beer is about two parts in three out will prevent it from becoming flat and sour; when, on the other hand, it is too frequently to be observed when a person is drawing a pot of beer, the stream is impeded; for the beer, being so nearly out, will not run till it is stooped. Now before this, the cock discharging the beer but slowly, the air is admitted into the cask, which causes the beer to drink flat, and, perhaps, turn sour: therefore this will enforce the necessity of stooping your cask before it be so nearly out."

Stooping I take to be tipping up the cask. Which you need to do to get the last of the beer out of a cask. Interesting  that the author recommends that this is done while the tap is open. That sounds rather counterintuitive.

"This is a fault with many publicans, not paying attention to their cellars; even many who brew their own beer are neglectful, notwithstanding their own interest and credit is concerned. Tis not uncommon for the vent-peg, and even the bung, to be left out of those casks which are actually on draught.

"Publicans, who retail common brewer's beer, and neglect their cellars, have this excuse, if their customers find fault with the beer, by saying "tis such beer as my brewer sends me," so it may be; but let a publican be served with beer of the first quality, it entirely depends on the management of the retailer thereof, whether the beer shall be of good or bad quality. This is proved by persons in the same town, each being served with beer from one and the same brew-house; there will be generally a disparity in the quality after it comes into the stock of the respective retailers thereof, which proves it to be the good or bad management in the cellar."

Just as today, there was plenty of room for the publican to fuck up a good beer, either through ignorance or laziness.

"I am convinced I shall not offend the attentive publican by what I have said respecting the cellar; but should this fall into the hands of the inattentive, it may offend; but that I will excuse, if, by the reading of this, he should be convinced of his error, and pay more attention to his cellar; that he may be enabled to draw a pot of beer to please those useful and valuable men, the labourer and the mechanic; and where they used to drink but one pot of beer with him, they may, from finding his ale much better than usual, perhaps, drink two." 

There you have it: if the beer was well looked after, customers would drink more. I don't think I can argue with that.
 

Sunday, 2 February 2025

Beer Guide to the 1970s (part forty-seven)

Three Bass Charrington breweries today. All in the Northwest. All closed as production was switched to the disastrous Runcorn plant.

I've absolutely no idea what any of their beers were like. Doubtless better than the stuff churned out by Runcorn.

Bent
Liverpool,
Merseyside.
Founded:    1810
Closed:            1975
Tied houses:    514

Bought in 1967 by Bass Charrington, soon after its formation. One of the breweries closed to make room for Runcorn.

beer style format OG description
Red Label Stout Stout bottled 1045.2  


Case
Barrow-in-Furness,
Cumbria.
Founded:    1860
Closed:            1972
Tied houses:    60

Bought by Hammond's United Breweries Ltd. 1959. One of the smallest breweries operated by Bass Charrington.


Catterall & Swarbrick
Blackpool,
Lancashire.
Founded:    1871
Closed:            1971
Tied houses:    104

Bought by Northern Breweries in 1961.

The above is an excerpt from my latest book, "Keg!".

Get your copy of "Keg!" now!

Saturday, 1 February 2025

Let's Brew - 1966 Maclay PA 6d

To get you in the mood for the 1970s, here's a beer from the mid-1960s. A 60/-. Is it a Mild, is it a dark Pale Ale? Who gives a fuck? I don't any more. SO what if I thought it was a Dark Mild when I drank it?

There’s not a great deal to the recipe, which is also typically Scottish. Mostly pale malt with a bit of sugar and, some flaked maize. There’s also a proprietary sugar called DCS. No idea what that is, so I’ve just increased the quantity of No. 1 invert. And a touch of malt extract. But it’s really just a variation on a theme. Styrian Golding and English hops.

As for colour, the one in the recipe is as brewed. The versions I drank were around 20-25 SRM. Feel free to colour it with caramel to any shade you fancy.

1966 Maclay PA 6d
pale malt 5.00 lb 75.28%
flaked maize 0.75 lb 11.29%
malt extract 0.125 lb 1.88%
No. 1 invert sugar 0.75 lb 11.29%
caramel 5000 SRM 0.02 lb 0.26%
Styrian Goldings 90 mins 0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins 0.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins 0.50 oz
Goldings dry hops 0.50 oz
OG 1030
FG 1012
ABV 2.38
Apparent attenuation 60.00%
IBU 23
SRM 11
Mash at 148º F
Sparge at 165º F
Boil time 90 minutes
pitching temp 61º F
Yeast WLP028 Edinburgh Ale