UK Beer exports to Australasia in 1898

I expected more Scottish beer. Why? Because a list of beers imported into Sydney in Australian Brewers' Journal of 21st February 1910 has a very high percentage of Scottish beers. Though, having said that, the percentage of Scottish beer is in line with the overall proportion of toal exports, at around 25%.

Almost half the exports went to New South Wales. Which makes sense as that was the most populous part of Australia. But, all totalled together, Australia was the largest market for UK exports. Accounting for around 22% of the total.

That may seem odd, given how far away Australia was and how long - months - it would take beer to get there. But British was tough and capable of long journeys without refrigeration. Unlike poncey Lager which couldn't cross the road without being chilled. It's weord to think that the most important market for UK beer was as far away as possible. I guess that's what happens in an empire where the sun never sets.

The average value of the beer - over 79 shillings a barrel - implies that it was mostly pretty strong beer. The price list from 1910 lists mostly Pale Ales, Scotch Ale and Stout. A surprising amount of it already bottled.  

UK Beer exports to Australasia in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
Australasia:
West Australia	13,043	51,686	4,156	15,118	17,799	66,804
South Australia	3,645	16,030	1,390	7,008	5,035	23,038
Victoria	12,299	49,975	5,837	26,731	18,136	76,709
New South Wales	31,950	114,055	12,436	44,817	44,385	158,872
Queensland	8,441	41,917	1,945	7,295	10,386	49,212
Tasmania	897	4,714	-	-	897	4,714
total Australia	70,275	278,377	25,764	100,969	96,638	379,349
New Zealand	4,781	25,742	47	275	4,828	26,017
Fiji Islands	39	152	30	45	69	197
Islands in the Pacific	101	459	-	-	104	459
Total	75,196	304,730	25,841	101,289	101,639	406,022
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.

 

Exhibit of Foreign and Colonial Beers (part eleven)

You'll be pleased to hear that this is the last post in this series.

We start with New Zealand.

New Zealand samples
Exhibitors	Country	Samples	Style
Hancock and Co., Auckland	New Zealand	Finest Double Stout	Stout
Hancock and Co., Auckland	New Zealand	Imperial Pale Ale	Pale Ale
Hancock and Co., Auckland	New Zealand	Lager Beer	Lager
Crown Brewery Coxpany, Ltd, Christchurch	New Zealand	East India Pale Ale	IPA
R. Shand, Oamaru	New Zealand	XXXX Pale Ale	Pale Ale
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

New Zealand.— Of the brands of pale ale the "East India pale ale,” of the Crown Brewery, Christchurch, was of very fair flavour, though rough. It was awarded three marks. The XXXX pale ale of Mr. B. Shand, Oamaru, was brilliant, but had a rather bad nose. It is awarded two marks. The imperial pale ale of Messrs. Hancock and Co., Auckland, drank thin and wanting in flavour. It is awarded one mark.

The lager beer of Mr. Hancock, Auckland, was not bright, and had a curious yeasty flavour. It is awarded two marks. I would especially remark on the attractive get-up of this brand as regards bottles and labels.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Once again, we see the IPA/Pale Ale inconsistency. It would be fascinating to know exactly how strong these beers were. Unlike the Australian beers, there was a Lager.

I'm surprised at the beers which were awarded scores of two and three, as they seem to all have had significant faults. The jury seems to have been rather generous.

We finish with the USA.

Australian samples
Exhibitors	Country	Samples	Style
Ph. and Wm. Ebling Brewing Company, New York	USA	Dark Brombacher	Lager
Ph. and Wm. Ebling Brewing Company, New York	USA	Wiener Export	Vienna Lager
Ph. and Wm. Ebling Brewing Company, New York	USA	Wiener	Vienna Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Old Setter Brand, Red	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Old Setter Brand, Blue	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Bohemian Beer	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Bavarian Beer	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Walkuren Brau	Lager
A. Hupfele and Sons, New York	USA	Siegfried	Lager
Pabst Brewing Company, Milwaukee	USA	Export Beer	Export
Indianapolis Brewing Company, Indianapolis	USA	Duesseldorfer	Alt
F. A. Potts and Son, Philadelphia	USA	Pott’s Dark	Lager
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

 

United States.— The "Dark Brombachers” of Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Brewing Company, New York, was a brilliant full-flavoured beer in good condition. It is awarded three marks. “Pott’s Dark" (Messrs. Potts, Philadelphia) was too sweet. It is awarded two marks.

The “Wiener” of Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Company, New York, was a very good beer in excellent condition. It is awarded three marks. The “Dusseldorfer” of the Indianapolis Brewery Company drank clean, though thin and was not bright. It is awarded two marks.

The export beer of the Pabst Brewing Company, Milwaukee, was a very high-class beer full of character, clean and brilliant. It is awarded three marks. The “Export Wiener” of Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Brewing Company, New York, was too sweet. It is awarded two marks.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Never heard of Brombacher before. I wonder what colour it was? I'm guessing dark, as they seemed to have grouped the beers by colour. Note than all the beers, other than the Alt, were Lagers. I wonder why they didn't include any Ales or Stouts? There were plenty still being brewed on the East Coast.

Interesting that a couple of the beers were criticised for being too sweet. I wonder if that was a deliberate characteristic of some styles in the USA.

Two US breweries won the prizes for the best packaging.

The first award for the get-up of bottles and labels is given to Messrs. P. and W. Ebling Brewing Company, New York, and the second to Messrs. Hupfels, New York.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Now wasn't that fun? I've now got to hunt around for another article to spin out into series of posts. This blog won't fill itself. 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1885 William Younger XP Scotch

Younger produced several versions of XP, this one, presumably, being for the Scottish market. Which was fairly common for Younger, who had specifically Scottish versions of other beers, such as No. 3.

The recipe isn’t hugely different from the other XP versions. Three types of pale malt make up the grist. It’s as simple as that. Nothing really much I can add to that.

Lots of hops again: Kent from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, American from 1884 and 1885, Californian from 1884 and Württemberg also from 1884. The hopping rate is higher than in the other XPs, which is reflected in the higher (calculated) IBUs.

Interestingly, all of this brew was racked into hogsheads. That implies to me that this was a beer intended for bottling. Though I could be wrong. My guess is that this was a semi-Stock Pale Ale, aged for maybe three or four months. 

1885 William Younger XP Scotch
pale malt	12.75 lb	100.00%
Cluster 120 min	2.00 oz
Fuggles 60 min	0.75 oz
Hallertau 60 min	1.25 oz
Fuggles 30 min	2.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1055
FG	1016
ABV	5.16
Apparent attenuation	70.91%
IBU	80
SRM	5
Mash at	155º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

UK Beer exports to Asia in 1898

In earlier posts I was asking: where were Scottish exports going? That question is answered today. It was going to India.

More than double the amount that was exported from England. Which may have you scratching your head and asking: but wasn't IPA from Burton sent to India? Well, that's the usual story. Though, if you've been paying attention to this blog, you'll know that far more Porter than IPA was sent to India. And that was brewed in London.

So what were the Scots shipping to India? The obvious guess would be IPA. As I know lots of it was brewed in Scotland. This is where it's dead handy that the value of the beer is included as well as the volume. The average price was 58s 5.5d. Which is one of lowest of any export market. It's also lower than the wholesale price of IPA, which was usually 60 shillings a barrel. Some of the beer must have been something other than IPA.

What the hell was it then? I've no idea. It certainly wasn't Porter. Because at this point they weren't brewing any in Scotland. The other big export beers from Scotland were Stout and Scotch Ale. Both of which would have been more expensive than 60 shillings a barrel. Perhaps it was a lower-gravity Pale Ale. That's about all that's left.

The next biggest export market in Asia was Straits Settlements. Which means Singapore and Malacca. I'm guessing another region with a large British military presence. Ditto Hong Kong and number 3. Aden, too. I can't imagine much beer being drunk by the locals there.

Non-British possessions took only minimal quantities of British beer. The largest of these, China, only imported 842 barrels. An insignificant amount. 

UK Beer exports to Asia in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
Turkey, Asiatic	260	899	6	27	266	926
Aden	3,578	11,611	-	-	3,578	11,511
Persia	12	67	4	19	16	86
British East Indies:
Continental Territories.	23,343	69,196	48,072	139,567	71,415	208,763
Straits Settlements	4,759	19,122	4,569	13,582	9,328	32,704
Ceylon	5,418	16,632	985	4,920	6,403	21,552
India: Dutch Possessions:
Java	322	1,492	-	-	322	1,492
Other Possessions	8	41	-	-	8	41
Spanish Possessions, Philippine Islands	146	599	9	60	155	659
British Possessions:
Borneo	-	-	14	63	14	63
Labuan	13	40	-	-	13	40
Siam	-	-	35	151	35	151
French Indo-China	8	38	8	37	16	75
China	812	3,299	30	145	842	3,444
Hong Kong	5,714	16,721	3,491	9,977	9,208	26,698
Japan	556	3,112	-	-	656	3,112
Total	44,949	142,869	57,223	168,548	102,275	311,317
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.

 

 

Beating Lager (at its own game)

The Brewers' Journal was a bit obsessed with Lager at the end of the 19th century. I suppose it must have been disconcerting for UK brewers to see the wave of Lager that spread over the Continent. And then the rest of the world. While the impact in the UK was minimal, it seriously damaged Britain's export markets.

A question which comes up quite often is: how can we brew a top-fermenting beer with the attributes if a Lager?

It has often been alleged that top-fermentation beers are, as a rule, very deficient of the sparkling brilliancy of the well-brewed lager, and that apart from any considerations of flavour, the bottom-fermentation beer possesses such a distinctly attractive appearance that comparison with ordinary English beers is altogether in its favour. There is no doubt a considerable substratum of truth in this, and, indeed, so much so that one cannot wonder at the want of appreciation of top-fermentation beers as displayed by our continental cousins. In Germany, for instance, this sort of beer has made no progress at all in the estimation of consumers, and a good deal of this want of success is attributable to the appearance of the beer. The splendid beers brewed at famous centres like Munich, Pilsen, Berlin, Bremen, and other towns are well calculated to hold their own, not only for their inherent qualities of flavour and purity, but also for the delightful appearance they present m the mugs and glasses as used on the continent. 
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, August 15th 1899, pages 484 - 485.

Brilliant, highly-carbonated Lager looked very pretty in the glass. How could dull, old top-fermenting beer compete with that? Well, UK brewers tried to achieve this with their skill.

English brewers, however, have no special reasons to fear an invasion of lager beer, to any disturbing extent, but, at the same time, they strive with all diligence to attain to the manufacture of brilliant and sparkling ales. Brillancy allied with flatness is not difficult to attain, but brillancy and sparkling condition are the goal of every brewer. 
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, August 15th 1899, pages 484 - 485.

It seems that a German brewer had a more technical solution.

Quite recently a German brewer, by name Schanderl, has described a process by which it is claimed top-fermentation beers may be brewed equally attractive in appearance to the lager. The process aims at applying the methods of bottom fermentation in large casks to top fermentation beers. The primary fermentation is conducted in the ordinary manner, at the termination of which the beer is let down into lager casks. To this is added a considerable quantity of “ krausen ” or yeast priming, and the lager casks are closed. The consequence is evolution of carbonic acid gas to a large extent, and since it cannot escape the beer becomes thoroughly impregnated with this gas. As much pressure is exerted, Schanderl advocates the use of metal casks, fitted with funnel-shaped bottoms, so that the removal of the large yeast deposit is facilitated. The quantity of yeast formed must be considerable, and of course this should be carefully excluded from trade casks, to which the beer is transferred without loss of pressure. It is said that beers thus fermented reach the customer in a highly sparkling condition, and certainly the scheme sounds well enough. Whether it is good in practice we cannot judge, but the experiment should certainly be tried in establishments where time and opportunity allow of such like investigations. There is no question that beers naturally impregnated with gas are superior in flavour to those artificially supplied, and this holds good in marked degree with bottled ales.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, August 15th 1899, pages 484 - 485.

What's being described is clearly Obergäriges Lagerbier: stuff like Alt or Kölsch. Beers which, after an initial warm fermentation, are cold stored like a Lager. Did this experiment work? Given that Alt and Kölsch are still around, I'd say yes.

As a loyal CAMRA member, I'm gratified to see confirmation that natural carbonation is best. 

UK Beer exports to Africa in 1898

Time for the second part of this series. This time looking at exports to Africa.

Much less beer was exported to Africa than Europe. And it mostly went to just two places: Egypt and South Africa. You may be spotting a trend here. Both locations had a considerable British military presence. I'm starting to wonder now if most British beer exports were being consumed by service personnel.

The only exception to this seems to be foreign East Africa, which is in place number 3. What would that cover? I guess Somalia, German East Africa and Mozambique. None of those sound like places likely to take much British beer. Especially odd, as fuck all beer was going to British East Africa. Far less than to Ascension and St. Helena, two tiny islands. Mauritius is another small island taking quite a lot of beer.

Again, I'm shocked at how little Scottish beer there was. Its share of 15% was double that of exports to Europe. But way below its 25% share of all exports. Where was all that Scottish beer going? Only South Africa was receiving about the average amount.  

UK Beer exports to Africa in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
Egypt	22,305	59,450	1,134	4,544	23,439	63,904
Tripoli and Tunis	28	78	-	-	28	78
Algeria	2	8	-	-	2	8
Morocco	85	288	-	-	85	288
West. Africa, Foreign	181	651	-	-	184	651
Western Africa, British	1,702	6,060	-	-	1,702	6,060
Ascension & St. Helena	1,395	4,120	-	-	1,395	4,120
British Possessions in South Africa	19,959	71,077	6,030	22,383	25,989	93,400
Eastern Africa, Foreign	1,906	8,355	454	2,124	2,360	10,479
Eastern Africa, British	103	506	-	-	103	506
Abyssinia	-	-	18	82	18	82
Madagascar	49	143	-	-	40	143
Bourbon	18	62	86	402	104	464
Mauritius	1,639	5,007	881	2,751	2,520	7,758
Total	49,372	155,805	8,603	32,286	57,969	187,941
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.

 

Let's Brew - 1885 William Younger No. 1

Strongest of the numbered Ales was, logically enough, No. 1. Though it wasn’t the strongest beer Younger produced. That honour lay with 160/-.

No. 1 is roughly equivalent to 140/- in terms of strength. And the grist is quite similar. So what was the difference between the two? The hopping rate. 120/- was hopped at 8.5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt, No. 1 at 12.5 lbs. To me, that’s an indication that No. 1 was intended to be aged longer.

The grist is much like that of No. 2. Base malt and dextro-maltose. Though with only two types of malt. There may have been some caramel added to darken the colour.

Rather more complicated hopping: Kent from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, American from 1884 and 1885, and Californian from 1884. Quite a lot of hops, too. Leaving it with over 100 IBU (calculated).

Long ageing for this big boy. Between 18 and 24 months, is my guess. 

1885 William Younger No. 1
pale malt	21.00 lb	90.32%
No. 2 invert	2.25 lb	9.68%
Cluster 120 min	4.50 oz
Fuggles 60 min	4.50 oz
Fuggles 30 min	4.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	2.00 oz
OG	1108
FG	1035
ABV	9.66
Apparent attenuation	67.59%
IBU	133
SRM	12
Mash at	155º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	56.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Exhibit of Foreign and Colonial Beers (part ten)

Still not finished giving this poor dog a good kicking. Got to get the last bit of fun out of it.

It's interesting that the beers today are listed under Victoria. Which would have been correct a few years earlier. But this is after Confederation and should really be listed as Australia.

The beers are all either Pale Ale or Stout.

Australian samples
Exhibitors	Country	Samples	Style
Shamrock Brewing and Malting Company	Australia	Pilot B and Bitter Ale	Pale Ale
Shamrock Brewing and Malting Company	Australia	Extra Pale Ale Special	Pale Ale
Shamrock Brewing and Malting Company	Australia	Extra Brown Stout	Stout
Shamrock Brewing and Malting Company	Australia	Extra Malt Stout	Stout
Bux Brewing Company, Melbourne	Australia	Non-Alcoholic Ale	Ale
Coghlan and Tulloch, Limited, Ballarat	Australia	Pale Ale	Pale Ale
Coghlan and Tulloch, Limited, Ballarat	Australia	Bitter Beer	Pale Ale
Carlton Brewery, Limited	Australia	Extra Stout	Stout
Carlton Brewery, Limited	Australia	All Malt Ale Bitter	Pale Ale
Carlton Brewery, Limited	Australia	Carlton Ale	Ale
Carlton Brewery, Limited	Australia	XXX. Pale Ale	Pale Ale
G. H. Bennett, Melbourne	Australia	Non-Intoxicating Ale.	Pale Ale
McCracken’s City Brewery, Limited, Melbourne	Australia	Australian Bitter Ale	Pale Ale
McCracken’s City Brewery, Limited, Melbourne	Australia	A K. Light Ale	Pale Ale
McCracken’s City Brewery, Limited, Melbourne	Australia	Extra Stout, Khaki Brand	Stout
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

We'll start with the Pale Ales.

Victoria.— Among the brands described as bitter ale, the first place must be given to the “All Malt Ale Bitter” of the Carlton Brewery Company, Limited. It drank clean with a pleasant palate, though a little thin; it had a clean white top. It is awarded three marks. The Australian bitter ale of McCracken’s Brewery, Melbourne, is also awarded three marks. It was of a character which should sell anywhere if in condition and brilliant.

Several brands of ale of a paler type were tasted, and of these the extra pale ale of the Shamrock Brewery and Malting Company was the best. Although it had a green wood flavour, probably due to cask timber, it was a very fair beer, and is awarded three marks. The A.K. light ale of McCracken's Brewery, Melbourne, was of good condition, but has a pronounced green wood flavour. It is awarded two marks. The Carlton ale and the XXXX pale ale, both of the Carlton Brewery, Limited, are each awarded two marks.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

It's a shame that the classic Carlton beer Vic Bitter wasn't included in the samples. Were they already brewing it in 1902? Odd that the the “All Malt Ale Bitter” drank thin. You'd expect an all-malt beer to be full-bodied. At this point, I think Carlton was 100% top-fermenting. Though it can be difficult yo tell in Australia, as terms like Bitter continued to be used after breweries switched to bottom-fermentation.

What most grabbed my attention was McCracken's AK. It's the first AK I've come across from outside the UK. It demonstrates just how common the term was at one point. I wonder if there any others brewed in Australia?

Among the stouts the extra malt stout of the Shamrock Brewing and Malting Company was of fair quality and in good condition. It is awarded three marks. The extra stout of the Carlton Brewery, Limited, had a somewhat rough taste. It is awarded two marks. The extra stout, Khaki brand, of Messrs. McCracken’s Brewery, Melbourne, had good condition, but lacked character. It is awarded two marks.

The non-intoxicating ale of Mr. G. H. Bennett, Melbourne, was good of its kind, and is awarded three marks. The non-alcoholic ale of the Bax Brewery Company, Melbourne, was devoid of hop flavour and too sweet. It is awarded two marks.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

I drank quite a bit of Carlton's Stout when I lived in Melbourne. Though that was branded Abbotsford. It was OK. Not a patch on Cooper's Stout. Fucking like Westvleteren compared to Carlton Lagers. Which were totally undrinkable.

Interesting that there were a couple of NABLABs anongst the samples.  Not non-alcoholic, as I suspect that the non-intoxicating Ale was simply a low-alcohol beer.
 

UK Beer exports to Europe in 1898

As part of my research for my current book, "Free!", I came across some wonderful figures for UK beer exports. Wonderful, in that they are more detailed than usual, listing every single country/territory that beer was exported to. 

There are quite a few surprises. Though the country which took in the most beer from the UK isn't: Belgium. Which has a long tradition of importing British beer.

Numbers 2 and 3 are more unexpected, due to their tiny size: Malta and Gibraltar. I'm guessing the beer was mostly being drunk by military personnel. 
Which I don't think was the case in numbers four and five: the Channel Islands and Germany. I'm guessing that the beer going to the Channel Islands was from the big English brands. Stuff like Bass. Probably the same to Germany, too. Bass got everywhere.

The only other countries taking more than 1,000 barrels a year, were France and Holland. Which have in common, I suppose, being relatively close geographically to the UK.

I would have expected the share of Scotland to be higher than 8%. As they were big exporters. Especially how little went to Belgium, where Scotch Ale was popular. I know the Scottish share to total exports was higher. It mist have been going elsewhere in the world. We'll find out exactly where in a later post.

If you're wondering where Ireland is in these figures, there's a note that says:

Included in the above total for the United Kingdom are the exports from Ireland comprising 22 barrels to Germany and Holland, valued at £47, and 3,202 barrels to the United States, valued at £21/100.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344. 

UK Beer exports to Europe in 1898
Destination	From England.		From Scotland.		From the U.K.
	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value.
	Barrels	£	Barrels	£	Barrels	£
Russia	876	3,152	3	8	878	3,160
Sweden	84	416	37	96	121	512
Norway	106	311	-	-	106	311
Denmark	370	1,204	2	6	372	1,209
Germany	12,970	42,965	112	395	13,098	43,395
Holland	4,513	13,737	16	67	4,535	13,816
Belgium	37,770	116,051	2,188	7,031	39,958	123,085
Channel Islands	17,731	41,706	-	-	17,731	41,706
France	7,469	21,991	8	25	7,477	22,016
Portugal, Azores, and Madeira	393	1,272	54	238	417	1,510
Spain and Canaries	770	2,547	189	789	969	3,336
Gibraltar	19,322	56,396	16	57	19,338	56,452
Italy	141	539	1	5	142	544
Malta	25,698	79,823	8,489	24,649	34,187	104,472
Greece	12	59	-	-	12	59
Roumania	1	8	-	-	1	8
Turkey, European	208	747	-	-	209	747
Total	128,434	382,924	11,115	33,366	139,551	416,338
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, June 15th 1899, page 344.
Note:
Year ending 30th September 1898.