Thomas Usher beers in 1914

As promised, here's a over-detailed look at Thomas Usher's beers on the eve of WW I. And see how much, if at all, they have changed since 1894.

The most obvious change is the number of beers. Seventeen compared with just 12 back in 1894. A lot of this is accounted for by the range of Shilling Mild Ales. Which are five in total, ranging in gravity from 1029º to 1065º. Though the 60/-, 80/- and 100/- probably did exist in 1894, just without the MA suffix. 

The two weakest – 40/- MA and 50/- MA – do seem to be new beers. With gravities, 1032º and 1035º, which were pathetically weak for pre-WW I beers.

I’ve still no idea what the “Br” suffix means. There’s been a new, extremely weak beer added to the set: 40/- Br.  Its gravity of just 1029º is at a level only really seen in Table Beer.

There’s also a new 40/- PA with the extremely low gravity of 1029º. Which is truly ridiculous for a pre-WW I Pale Ale.

All the beers have lost 1º or 2º in gravity in the intervening two decades. Which is pretty standard across all breweries. And a reaction to the increase in taxation after 1900.

There are still two Stouts, though one is now a good bit weaker at 1046º. Which is pretty low for a Stout. Weaker even than most Porter.

They’re up to five Pale Ales and an IPA. Which is an indication of how the market was going in Scotland. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that there was a difference in 3º between each of them: 1042º, 1045º, 1048º, 1051º and 1054º. Other than the feeble 40/- PA. I can’t imagine that there was any pub that sold the whole set. More likely just a couple of them.

XP is a weird one. I’ve only one example of it, from 1913. XP was used by other brewers, such as William Younger. But there it was an IPA of about 1055º. Whereas here it’s clearly some sort of Strong Ale. Though it was parti-gyled with a couple of Pale Ales. 

Thomas Usher beers in 1914
Date	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
24th Dec	40/- Br	Ale	1029	1010	2.51	65.52%	6.00	0.72
24th Dec	50/- Br	Ale	1032	1010	2.91	68.75%	6.00	0.80
17th Dec	60/- Br	Ale	1033	1010	3.04	69.70%	6.00	0.82
26th Aug	44/- MA	Mild	1032	1012.5	2.58	60.94%	5.00	0.69
26th Aug	50/- MA	Mild	1035	1013	2.91	62.86%	5.00	0.75
24th Dec	60/- MA	Mild	1039	1016	3.04	58.97%	5.00	0.84
24th Dec	80/- MA	Mild	1047	1018	3.84	61.70%	5.00	1.01
26th Aug	100/- MA	Mild	1065	1027	5.03	58.46%	5.00	1.40
24th Aug	X	Pale Ale	1045	1013	4.23	71.11%	7.25	1.35
20th Aug	X 60/-	Pale Ale	1051	1013.5	4.96	73.53%	7.25	1.52
26th Aug	IP	IPA	1042	1013	3.84	69.05%	6.00	1.04
24th Aug	40/- PA	Pale Ale	1029	1009	2.65	68.97%	7.25	0.87
24th Aug	PA	Pale Ale	1048	1014	4.50	70.83%	7.25	1.44
21st Dec	PA 60/-	Pale Ale	1054	1016	5.03	70.37%	6.00	1.28
25th Aug	48/-	Stout	1046	1021	3.31	54.35%	5.00	1.04
25th Aug	54/-	Stout	1056	1025	4.10	55.36%	5.00	1.27
25th Sep	XP	Strong Ale	1085	1027	7.67	68.24%	7.00	2.46
Source:
Thomas Usher brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number TU/6/1/5.

 

Binnie hops 1903 - 1905

I'm almost done with Binnie's beers. Well, until I start writing recipes. I hope you've enjoyed this series. I certainly have. Mostly as I need to build up some posts to cover my next overseas jaunt. Maybe I'll pull the same trick with Thomas Usher. That would get me through until October. By which time I'm sure I'll have lots of new material.

For example, the fascinating material in the letters between J. C. Jacobsen and his son Carl. In particular, the details about Younger and Bass IPA. And the rather condescending way they wrote about William Younger, where Carl was an apprentice.

Finally, let’s consider the hops. Most beers contained at least two types. And many three types.

Most common types were Kent, Bavarian and Californian.  With a single example each of Sussex and Betd. Not sure what the latter one was. Those first three types seem to have been pretty common amongst Scottish brewers. For example, at Thomas Usher.

Note the heavy use of spent hops. Mostly in conjunction with fresh hops. Other than in the Table Beer, which was exclusively spent hops. It’s not unusual to see spent hops in certain types of beer. But not in Pale Ales. Where normally only the best hops were used.

Binnie hops 1903 - 1905
Beer	Style	hop 1	hop 2	hop 3	hop 4
TB	Table Beer	spent
80/-	Ale	Kent	Bavarian	California	spent
100/-	Ale	Kent	Bavarian	spent
140/- Ale	Ale	Kent	Bavarian	California
BB	Pale Ale	Kent	American	Bavarian
Ex B	Pale Ale	Kent	California	spent
54/- IPA	IPA	Sussex	Bavarian	California	spent
60/- IPA	IPA	Kent	Bavarian	California
XXX Porter	Porter	Bavarian	Kent	Betd.
DBS	Stout	Kent	Bavarian	California	spent
Source:
Binnie brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number BH/6/1/1/1.

 

Let's Brew - 1885 Thomas Usher 100/-

The strongest of Usher’s range of Shilling Ales was 100/-. A beer which very much looks like a strong Scotch Ale.

This particular example was a member of the parti-gyle which included the 80/- above. Not much to discuss about the recipe, them. Other than to remark that the black malt was added in the copper rather than the mash tun. Which is interesting. Barclay Perkins would add some of the black malt used in their Stouts to the copper, but not all of it.

Despite the strength, I don’t think that this was aged at all. Mostly based on the low level of hopping, which isn’t enough to form protection during ageing. 

1885 Thomas Usher 100/-
pale malt	15.25 lb	89.44%
black malt	0.30 lb	1.76%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.50 lb	8.80%
Cluster 120 min	1.50 oz
Strisselspalt 30 min	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1078
FG	1032
ABV	6.09
Apparent attenuation	58.97%
IBU	25
SRM	17
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Binnie sugars 1903 - 1905

I'm glad that I'm managing to spin some posts out of my Scottish Brewing Archive visit. I need something to fill up the blog now I've finished off the posts about my trip to Australia. 

There's not much in the way of sugars. Just two, called saccharum and sugar. Which is a bit confusing as I thought saccharum was just another word for sugar. I would have thought that it was just an inconsistency in notation. Except a couple of beer contain both.

What are they then? I’m guessing at least one is a type of invert. And perhaps the “sugar” was raw cane sugar. Who knows?

Several of the beers – 80/-, BB, Ex B and XXX Porter – contained no sugar at all. While 100/- and 140/- contained more than 10%. Presumably, because of the higher gravity. 

Binnie sugars 1903 - 1905
Beer	Style	Saccharum	sugar	total sugar
TB	Table Beer	4.51%		4.51%
80/-	Ale			0.00%
100/-	Ale	5.88%	5.88%	11.76%
140/- Ale	Ale	4.17%	8.33%	12.50%
BB	Pale Ale			0.00%
Ex B	Pale Ale			0.00%
54/- IPA	IPA	7.69%		7.69%
60/- IPA	IPA	5.71%		5.71%
XXX Porter	Porter			0.00%
DBS	Stout		5.78%	5.78%
Source:
Binnie brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number BH/6/1/1/1.

 

Past or present?

Is a question I sometimes ask myself. In those two or three minutes between flopping into bed and flipping into sleep.

Twenty years back, I was spending a lot of time on my European Beer Guide website. Trying to keep up with the beer scene in multiple European countries necessitated reading lots of publications, mostly the magazines of beer consumer orgainsations. A stupid number of which I was a member of. Just as well I'd taken the time to learn to read so many languages in the preceding decade.

When I started my blog, the main point was to direst traffic to the website. How quickly that changed. With the blog and history taking over. From the guide and the present. Because I had to make a choice.

Why? Very simple: time. Keeping the European Beer Guide up to date was a Sisyphean task. Especially in the highly-dynamic modern beer world. Simply treading water was pretty much a fultime task. As I started to dive deeper and deeper into the history loch, I didn't have time to work on the Guide. Slowly, I gave up updating it.

I'm easily distracted. Too many things fascinate me. If I come across an interesting source of information, I can all too easily slip into its icy waters. Keeping a tight focus is the solution. And history is my focal point of choice.

Much tighter than that, now. The focus. Not just history, but a specific bit of it. I try to spend most of my time on my current book project. Currently, "Free!", about UK brewing between 1880 and 1914. My favourite period. For the beer. I wouldn't want to live there permanently.

I abandonned the present for the past.* Partly, because the past doesn't keep changing. Unlike the annoying present. I'm sure I made a good decision.
 




* Only in my research, not in real life. I very much live in the present. As I have a limited amount of future left. 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1885 Thomas Usher 80/-

More confusion with these Shilling Ales, with an 80/- which is lower in gravity than 54/- M. Note also that this beer has no relationship with modern 80/-, which is a type of Pale Ale. Don’t ask me why this beer, unlike the weaker Shilling Ales, has no suffix, such as “B” or “N”.

This was part of big parti-gyle of Shilling Ales, consisting of 100/-, 54/- M, 80/-, 60/- B and 40/- B. Though for this beer I’ve used a different brew from the preceding Shilling Ales. Just to demonstrate variations in the basic recipe.

This time, instead of a large quantity of high-dried malt providing the colour, it’s a small amount of black malt. Which makes the colour rather darker. And must have resulted in a rather different flavour, with some background roastiness.

The hops were Californian from the 1883 harvest and Alsace from 1884. A low hopping rate leaves the beer with a fairly modest bitterness level of under 30 IBU (calculated). 

1885 Thomas Usher 80/-
pale malt	11.25 lb	89.11%
black malt	0.25 lb	1.98%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.125 lb	8.91%
Cluster 120 min	1.00 oz
Strisselspalt 30 min	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1058
FG	1025
ABV	4.37
Apparent attenuation	56.90%
IBU	28
SRM	15
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Binnie malts 1903 - 1905

What was Binnie brewing these beers from? Well, let’s take a look. But don’t expect a huge number of malts. That’s just not the way they brewed in Scotland. The vast majority of beer contained just a single malt: base pale malt.

The exceptions, obviously, were Black Beers. Which needed some roasted malt to get the right colour and flavour profile. Here there’s a combination of black and amber malt for the Porter and Stout. Though there’s also a tiny amount in Table Beer, presumably for colour correction.

Two types of pale malt are listed: Scotch and foreign. That being where the barley was grown. Where would “foreign” be, exactly? Could be lots of places. Most likely were California, Chile and the Middle East. But Hungary, Germany and Cyprus are also a possibility

Only the Pale Ales contained adjuncts. Don’t take as definitive the split between flaked maize and flaked rice. All four beers contained both maize and rice at different times. Seemingly quite randomly. 

Binnie malts 1903 - 1905
Beer	Style	pale malt	black malt	amber malt	flaked maize	flaked rice
TB	Table Beer	94.65%	0.85%
80/-	Ale	100.00%
100/-	Ale	88.24%
140/- Ale	Ale	87.50%
BB	Pale Ale	86.67%				13.33%
Ex B	Pale Ale	86.67%				13.33%
54/- IPA	IPA	80.77%			11.54%
60/- IPA	IPA	85.71%			8.57%
XXX Porter	Porter	78.43%	9.80%	11.76%
DBS	Stout	77.98%	7.58%	8.66%
Source:
Binnie brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number BH/6/1/1/1.

 

 

Binnie beers 1903 - 1905

More results from my visit to the Scottish Brewing Archive. This time we're looking at Binnie, a small brewery in Haddington.

With batch sizes of just 20 barrels, it really was on the small size. Though they did still brew a decent range of beers, from a Table beer to a 140/-.

In most of the UK, Table Beer had disappeared by the middle of the 19th century. While in Scotland it was still being brewed up until WW I. The example here is particularly weak at under 1030º and only 2.25% ABV.

There are three Shilling Ales, 80/-, 100/- and 140/-. The latter was brewed surprisingly often, parti-gyled with Table Beer. Do I need to remind you that this 80/- has nothing to do with the modern beer of the same name? Because it doesn't.

BB and Ex B might well be the same beer. As they look very similar. For a Pale Ale of the period, it's pretty weak. But reasonably heavily hopped. It would be difficult to find a Pale Ale this weak in England.

The two IPAs appear under different names. 54/-, 54/- IPA and 54/- Bitter. And 60/-, 60/- IPA and 60/- Bitter. Which is pretty confusing. Though given the strength and recipes are pretty much the same, I'm sure that they're the same beers. If you remember, Belhaven also had Pale Ales at 54/- and 60/- with similar gravities. And at Thomas Usher, their PA and PA 60/- were around the same gravities, too.

The Porter and the Stout might also be the same beer. Given the similarities of their gravities. Which both look about right for a Double Stout.

The rates of attenuation are pretty crap. With the highest just 66%. Though it's possible the high FGs might be deliberate to leave enough fementables for secondary conditioning without the addition of primings.

Pretty low hopping rates all around, maxing out at just 6 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. 

Binnie beers  1903 - 1905
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
7th Apr	1904	TB	Table Beer	1028	1011	2.25	60.71%	0.66	0.63
24th Dec	1903	80/-	Ale	1059	1020	5.16	66.10%	3.27	0.82
24th Feb	1905	100/-	Ale	1068	1034	4.50	50.00%	3.00	0.95
19th Jan	1905	140/- Ale	Ale	1084	1039	5.95	53.57%	3.00	1.34
18th Feb	1904	BB	Pale Ale	1037	1013	3.18	64.86%	6.40	1.04
3rd Jun	1904	Ex B	Pale Ale	1037	1014	3.04	62.16%	6.40	1.00
22nd Sep	1904	54/- IPA	IPA	1049	1019	3.97	61.22%	6.00	1.23
15th Sep	1904	60/- IPA	IPA	1057	1020	4.89	64.91%	5.00	1.50
3rd Dec	1903	XXX Porter	Porter	1075	1029	6.09	61.33%	4.39	1.33
9th Mar	1905	DBS	Stout	1071	1036	4.63	49.30%	4.55	1.42
Source:
Binnie brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number BH/6/1/1/1.

 

 

Belhaven Beers in 1881

Time to take another look at Belhaven's beers, from a decade later. And there have been a lot of changes.

There are far fewer different beers. That could just be because not everything was transcribed from the original record. But I suspect not. A majority of the brews were XX 54/-. Which I assume was a Pale Ale. I'm guessing this and XXX 60/- are the same beers as XX and XXX in 1871.

Of the Shilling Ales only 80/- and 100/- have survived. (At lower gravities.) Though there's also a new beer called P 48/-. I would have guessed that the "P" stood for "pale". But it seems too lightly hopped to be a Pale Ale.

All of the Strong Ales are gone, both the Shilling Ales and the numbered Ales.

Overall, it's a way simplified set of beers. And one very dominated by a single Pale Ale, XX 54/-.

Belhaven Beers in 1881
Date	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
21st Nov	TB	Table Beer	1036	1015	2.78	58.33%	5.00	0.71
12th Jan	P 48/-	Ale	1057	1027	3.97	52.63%	5.88	1.18
21st Dec	80/-	Ale	1062	1027	4.63	56.45%	6.15	1.67
28th Nov	100/-	Ale	1069	1031	5.03	55.07%	5.56	1.64
8th Dec	XX 54/-	Pale Ale	1050	1017	4.37	66.00%	9.09	1.85
14th Dec	XXX 60/-	Pale Ale	1055	1020	4.63	63.64%	9.09	2.06
Source:
Belhaven brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number B/6/1/1/3.

 

 

Let's Brew - 1885 Thomas Usher 68/- M

Another somewhat confusing use of shillings. What were they up to at Usher? 

Strongest of the Shilling Ales was, of course, 68/- M.  You explain the logic to me. I can’t see it myself.

This wasn’t in a Shilling Ale parti-gyle, but in a Pale Ale one. With a much higher hopping rate. Hence the high (calculated) bitterness. The black malt was added to the first copper, so a lower percentage of the darkened wort would have been in the PA and X, the parti-gyle partners.

The single type of pale malt was Scottish. Now there’s a surprise. While the hops were all imports: California from the 1883 season and Alsace from 1884.

Was this aged? If the “M” stands for “Mild”, then that’s unlikely. Though the heavy level of hopping makes it look more like a Stock Ale. Age it if you feel like it. But don’t feel obliged. 

1885 Thomas Usher 68/- M
pale malt	18.50 lb	98.67%
black malt	0.25 lb	1.33%
Cluster 120 min	3.75 oz
Strisselspalt 30 min	3.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1080
FG	1025
ABV	7.28
Apparent attenuation	68.75%
IBU	91
SRM	15
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Going home

I rise just after 9 AM and have a shower. Now I feel better.

Today will be an odd day. After checking out of our hotel, we have around 10 hours to kill before going to the airport. Our flight is at 00:40. What could we possibly do? Hang around in pubs, I guess.

We check out at 11 AM and dump our bags.

Lion Brewery opens at noon and isn’t far away. That’ll do. The walk there takes us through Chinatown.

It’s warm. Very warm. By the time we get to the Buddha Tooth temple, we’re in need of a cold drink. And pop into the little hawker centre we ate in yesterday. We each get a cola and take seats. Directly underneath a giant fan.

After a little cooling, we carry on to Lion Brewery. Plonk ourselves down and spend a few moments appreciating the airco. Then order some beers. Nitro Stout for me, Pilsner for Amdrew.

It’s pretty quiet. Though they have just opened. It’s all very low-key. Which is how I generally like things. Dead, I think, is the technical term.

The Stout is OK. But quite burnt tasting. I explain to Andrew that there’s a long history of Stout brewing around this way. He continues to play with his phone. That’s how impressed he is.

I’m not drinking very quickly. We’re going to be here for a long time. I don’t want to get too pissed. Or spend too much money.

There’s tennis on the TV.

“You’re not keen on tennis, are you, Dad?”

“No.”

“Boring as fuck. Isn’t that what you said?”

“Something like that. Though I may have been less subtle.”

Feeling peckish after a while, I order baked oysters. Very tasty, they are.

“That’s not much of a meal, Dad.”

“You can talk. You’ve only had about three full meals all trip. And that’s counting the bacon and beans breakfast.”

“I’m having a cheeseburger.”

“And it’s just my starter.”

I’ve switched to Boss IPA. It’s alright. Doesn’t blow my socks off, but it’s perfectly drinkable.

The tennis seems to be on a loop. The same handful of games, over and over.

“This is a preview of hell, Andrew.”

“What?”

“Endless repeats of boring tennis matches. For all eternity.”

“We’ll only be here until seven.”

“That’ll seem like an eternity.”

“Exaggerating, as always.”

Totally out of character, Andrew shows an interest in food. For a full meal, at that.

“I’m having a cheeseburger.”

“Oh, you’re being serious. I’d assumed that was a joke. Given your record, so far.”

“Very funny, Dad. You haven’t exactly been stuffing yourself.”

”OK. Jalapeno bacon mac and cheese for me. It really should be macaroni cheese. That’s the proper name for it.”

“Back when all the computers were still clockwork.”

“Ha, fucking, ha.” I’m always there with a witty riposte.

“And that’s only a small meal, according to the menu. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Fuck off, smartarse.” Wit just comes naturally to me.

We do some more bonding as the clock moves slowly around. And the pace of my drinking gets ever slower. Which is weird. Usually, I’d be speeding up. Am I getting old? Or just sensible?

A taxi gets us to Changi in plenty of time. Though dropping our bags takes longer than usual. Nothing too crazy.

The Qantas lounge is massive. And fairly empty. No trouble finding seats. No Cooper, but Stone & Wood and Little Creatures Pale Ale on tap. Plus some Lagery stuff.

“A whisky with one ice cube, please.”

Andrew goes for a Stone & Wood.

They’ve got beef rendang. The proper consistency, not the soup they had in the Schiphol lounge. Just mot spicy enough. Which is surprising.

We’ve got a few hours. No rush. I whip out my laptop and watch some rubbish.

It’s a good job they only serve stingy single measures of spirits. Saved me from getting too pissed. Not a good idea before a long flight.

Our gate isn’t too far from the lounge. By the standards of Changi. It’s just big. The last gates on pier C are almost in Malaysia.

A full flight again. Which is always fun. Chicken or pasta are the food options. Not sure if I’ve had this chicken curry and rice before. Better than some of their meals. At least there’s a bit of heat to it. 

I watch The Accountant II over my gourmet dinner. Filling the time until lights out. When it’s lights out for me, too.

Six hours of blissful sleep. Followed by some dozing. When I get bored of that, I turn to Black Bag. Made me think of the Viz cartoon. Where there’s a black plastic bin bag blowing around the moors like a sheepdog. Not a bad film. And it finishes just before landing.

Breakfast is weird. There’s this weird sliced up dumpling thing.  What the fuck is it? There’s some fruit, too. I eat Andrew’s, as well as mine.

At passport control, a lady ushers some passengers to the electronic gates.

“Nedelandse passen. [Dutch passports].”

Happens every time.

Our bags take a while to unload. The carousel is full. No-one is taking a bag off. Leaving no room for new ones. Eventually, there’s a space for our bags.

The taxi winds his way into Amsterdam. This is the morning rush hour. But, it being the holidays, the traffic is fine.

Soon, we’re greeted by Dolores and cups of tea. It’s good to be home. And in one piece. At least, as far as I can tell.