Belhaven beers in 1871

Here's the first results of last week's trip to the Scottish Brewing Archive in Glasgow. Details of Belhaven's beers in 1871.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this information copmes from a transcript rather than the brewing record itself. I'm guessing that there's more information in the original records. As it doesn't give any details of the malt and hops, just the quantities. Which is a bit of a bummer. But I'm just grateful to get anything at all.

The good thing is, because of the period, I know that the grist can't be that complicated. Being pre-1880, there can't be any adjuncts. And there's probably no sugar, either. And, this being Scotland, most of the beers almost certainly contain nothing other than base malt. The exception being the Stouts.

Interestingly, despite there being 17 different beers, there don't seem to be any Pale Ales. Unless they're hiding amongst the Shilling Ales. I'm ruling out XX and XXX because, though they have some of the highest hopping rates, they look too strong to be Pale Ales.

Not sure what the real name of the weakest beer, listed as "###" was. Maybe they just couldn't read the original. Whatever it was called, it looks very much like a Table Beer to me. What with its low gravity and quite heavy hopping.

What there are a lot of are strong beers. There are three with gravities over 1100º. Plus two others over 1090º. In fact, 12 of the 17 beers have gravities over 1070º. Which makes for quite an unbalanced range. Like William Younger, there were two parallel ranges of strong beers. Shilling Ales and numbered Ales. The only difference being that the latter were more heavily hopped.

The degree of attenuation is pretty crap. Though that's typical of Scottish beers in general. Only a couple are a little over 70%. And a couple are under 60%. 

Belhaven beers in 1871
Date	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
12th Oct	###	Ale	1033	1011	2.91	66.67%	10.00	1.03
14th Oct	50/-	Ale	1041	1011	3.97	73.17%	13.00	0.90
13th Oct	60/-	Ale	1058	1022	4.76	62.07%	6.67	1.74
6th Oct	80/-	Ale	1072.1	1025	6.23	65.33%	6.33	2.38
10th Oct	100/-	Ale	1084	1035	6.48	58.33%	5.41	2.35
5th Oct	120/-	Ale	1095	1035	7.94	63.16%	6.98	3.49
6th Oct	140/-	Ale	1110	1035	9.92	68.18%	7.17	4.47
9th Oct	160/-	Ale	1125	1053	9.53	57.60%	7.69	5.36
4th Oct	London	Ale	1078	1028	6.61	64.10%	8.33	3.41
9th Oct	XX	Mild	1064	1025	5.16	60.94%	7.80	2.32
11th Oct	XXX	Mild	1076	1028	6.35	63.16%	7.67	2.74
10th Oct	BS	Stout	1038	1013	3.31	65.79%	8.67	1.37
13th Oct	S	Stout	1076	1039	4.89	48.68%	8.48	3.26
7th Oct	2	Strong Ale	1096	1032	8.47	66.67%	8.14	4.17
3rd Oct	3	Strong Ale	1078	1025	7.01	67.95%	11.43	4.55
3rd Oct	4	Strong Ale	1068	1020	6.35	70.59%	12.41	4.29
14th Oct	II	Strong Ale	1108	1043	8.60	60.19%	7.88	5.13
Source:
Belhaven brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archives, document number B/6/1/1/3.

 

 

Singapore beers

I rise at 9:30 feeling pretty refreshed. Go through my emails. And do some writing.

Andrew is up quite late. Again. Still, we're in no real rush. We're free until 4 PM, when we're meeting Charles Guerrier. Whom I met when judging in Bahia in Brazil. And with whom I shared many caipirinhas.

We leave the hotel at 1:30. To go grab some lunch at Chinatown Hawker Center. We don't actually end up going there. go to the one we intended to visit. But stumble across a small one. 

Andrew is already looking a bit hot. Not quite at the turning grey and looking ready to collapse stage. But in need of cooling down. It’s not too hot under the massive ceiling fans. Which are rotating slightly faster than a spitfire propellor.

From a Vietnamese stall we each have a banh mi. Which is very nice. It’s very posh for a hawker centre. And one of the stands proudly proclaims:

"The World's First Michelin Rated Nasi Lemak Hawker".

The banh mi isn’t quite enough for me. 

“I’m still feeling a bit peckish.”

“Now there’s a surprise.”

“Do you want anything else?”

“No. But feel free to stuff your face some more, Dad.”

“I will.”

I get some roast pork with rice from another stall. Which is also very good. And dirt cheap. That should do me for a few hours. I love Chinese roast stuff.

We get to Lion brewery at around 3 PM. And get stuck into some beers. An IPA for me. Something Lagery for Andrew. It has a bit of an English pub feel, with lots of seating. Including some settees. And, of course, there's the shiny stuff behind a glass wall.

Charles turns up, as agreed, at 4 PM. It’s good to see him again. Despite the unfortunate arm-breaking incident in Salvador last November.

We have a few more beers. Then Charles suggests we go to Welcome Ren Min, which is in the Maxwell hawker centre. 

Today there’s on offer on IPAs. Both the Single and Double type. I have an excellent DIPA. Andrew and Charles just a normal IPA.

“Getting the strongest beer again, eh, Dad?”

“I just feel like a Double.”

“If they did Quadrupels I guess you’d be ordering one of them.”

“If I felt like one.”

“Which you obviously would.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re only fooling yourself, Dad.”

“Well, that’s good enough for me.”

“Pathetic.”

We manage to find seats amidst the chaos.

“I’m surprised that they use real glasses.” I remark.

“You have to take them back to the bar. Not to the normal returns place.” Charles says.

It's a bit odd having a craft beer stand in a hawker centre. But the beer is really good. It's brewed in Vietnam and then imported into Singapore. Which is a slightly unusual arrangement.

Next, we go to SG Taps. A small bar run by a Japanese bloke. It’s located in a typical old three-storey Chinatown house.

I have a Pink Blossoms Let it be Geraldine, a NE IPA. Which isn't as good as the beer at the hawker centre. But fine enough. Wet, alcoholic and drinkable. Just like me.

Charles has to leave to meet his daughter. But he points us in the direction of a street full of Korean and Japanese restaurants. We pick one at random, HiBuddy. Which turns out to be Chinese. Though it looks like a Korean BBQ. And they have kimchi.

Andrew orders a beer and we both get soju. Each with our own bottle.

“So much for soju being for sharing.”

“Shut up, Dad.”

Andrew isn't hungry. I order a rice, pork and egg thing. With a side order of kimchi. Which is sweeter than the one Dolores makes. And not as spicy.

On the way back to our hotel, we get some more booze and snacks. And watch YouTube for a couple of hours.



Lion Brewery
36 Club St, 
Singapore 069469.
http://www.lionbreweryco.com/


Welcome Ren Min
1 Kadayanallur St, 
Unit No. 01-33 
Maxwell Food Centre, 
Singapore 069184.


SG Taps Restaurant
13 Duxton Hl, #01-01, 
Singapore 089597.


HiBuddy BBQ
68 Tg Pagar Rd, 
Singapore 088489.
https://www.hibuddy.sg/ 

Glasgow

I made a flying visit to Glasgow this week. Obviously, to drop by the Scottish Brewing Archive. But also for frequent flyer reasons. As it looked like I was going to end 12 months just short of retaining my gold status with KLM. To make sure of qualifying, I've arranged a couple of trips to the UK to visit archives.

I'd already photographed a lot of the brewing records. But there was still plenty to keep me occupied for a day. Some of it was just filling in some gaps in William Younger and Thomas Usher records. There was some totally new stuff, though. Like Meiklejohn, Belhaven and Binnie. And sort of Lorimer & Clark. Because I'd never looked at their records in the archive before. But had photographed one of their books in the Caledonian brewery a few years back. Just as well I did, because they couldn't find it in the archive.

I was particularly interested in looking at the records of Belhaven. As there are some brewing books from the late 19th century. The topic of the book I'm currently working on. Unfortunately, the relevant book is in poor condition. Too poor for me to look at it.

However, there was a folder of loose sheets. Which seem to be a transcript of at least part of that book. But which had been weirdly miscatalogued. The dates as in the format dd.mm.yy. And they's assumed that the years were 1971 and 1983. While it's actually 1871 and 1883.

The transcripts are dead handy. Containing most of the information I need. There are a couple of things missing. I can live with that.

Here's an example:

 

 

Let's Brew - 1885 Thomas Usher PA

The next step up the Usher Pale Ale staircase is, er, Pale Ale. Which is about the same strength as a London Ordinary Bitter.

It’s another pretty simple recipe. Though this time there are two types of pale malt, 75% Scottish and 25% Smyrna (modern day Turkey). Usher was still using a lot of malt made from Scottish barley. A decade later, many of their beers used no local barley at all. Instead, using malt made from barley sourced from all over the world.

No UK hops again. With them all sourced from what was (then) Germany: Hallertau and Alsace. Both from the 1884 harvest.

My guess is that this wasn’t aged at all. Just allowed to condition for a couple of weeks.

1885 Thomas Usher PA
pale malt	12.50 lb	100.00%
Strisselspalt 90 min	2.75 oz
Hallertau 30 min	2.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1054
FG	1015
ABV	5.16
Apparent attenuation	72.22%
IBU	58
SRM	5
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Back to Singapore

I get up at 6:45 AM. And discover that out flight has been delayed by 40 minutes. I could have had another hour in bed.

Andrew rises about an hour after me. I'm not feeling great. One too many of the Imperial Stouts last night. But I look positively chipper compared to Andrew. He's not a great morning person at the best of times. He looks like death warmed up today.

“Feeling fresh and raring to go?”

“Fuck off, Dad.”

“Charming.”

“Just shut up, Dad.”

We leave at 8:30 AM and soon are rumbling our way down the motorway in an Uber.

Dropping off our bags is a bit of a fuss as the machine doesn't want to accept them for some reason. We get a member of staff to help. He has the same problem, but can get into an override screen and our bags shoot off.

There's quite a queue at security. But it moves pretty quickly and it doesn’t take long to get through. While immigration is a doddle with its electronic gates.

Just two things to do now. Get some duty free and get to the lounge. Cheap whisky for me, Appleton Estate for Andrew. 

“We wouldn’t want to pay Singapore prices for booze, Andrew.”

“No.”

“My bank account still hasn’t recovered from the days in Singapore on our way in.”

“Always about money, eh?”

“My money, not yours. Remember that.” 

Being a health-conscious sort of chap, I get some fruit. While Andrew notices that our flight has been delayed another 45 minutes. 

“More time in the lounge, then, Andrew.”

“That’s a positive way of looking at it.”

“You know me, Mr. Positive.”

“Right. Mr. Negative, more like. You’re always moaning.”

“Constructively critical, I’d call it.” 

“As constructive as a neutron bomb.”

“Bugger off.”

In Sydney, the bar in the lounge didn't open until 12. So, I'm a bit surprised when I see some people getting sparkling wine. It's only 9:30.

"Is the bar open?" I ask the young lady.

"Yes."

"I'll have a whisky then. One cube of ice. And a cafe latte."

The coffee is very good. And the whisky perks me up.

Andrew gets himself a Light Beer. Which is a surprise. It's only 2.2% ABV.

"Is that all they have?"

"No."

“Feeling rough? I’ve never seen you voluntarily drink a Light Beer before.”

“Shut up, Dad.”

“Ooh, touchy.”

“Fuck off.”

After a while, this bit of the lounge closes and we're asked to move upstairs. Where they have a range of draught beers, including Coopers Original Pale Ale. I get Andrew one of those. And a whisky for myself. Along with some scrambled egg.

We can see our gate from where we're sitting. Which is handy. 

When Andrew comes back from the bogs, I tell him:

"I just saw the crew getting on the plane. We must be going to board soon."

Still time for a couple more whiskies. And ice cubes.

When we see the flight starting to board, we head on down.

The on-board entertainment is done rather differently. Rather than embedded in the seat in front, they have a tablet that you plug in. It does have the downside of not being usable before or during take-off. I take advantage of the free wifi with my phone instead.

The lunch we're served isn't bad. Braised beef and mash. Followed by a timtam.

After the meal, the lights are turned down. I suppose they want people to sleep. But it's early afternoon. No sleeping for me. Instead, I watch a few films. Blockers, Spit, Another Small Favor. Spit is fairly decent. The other two pass the time. 

An hour or so before landing, we're served pork and kimchi dumplings. Which are really good. And quite spicy. Some of the best food I’ve ever had on a plane. Including in business class.

When I have to stow away the tablet for landing, I check on the test match on my phone. England need 35 to win. But keep losing wickets. When we land, it's down to 20 runs. But only 2 wickets left. One of which is one-armed Woakes.

Despite it being quite a way from our gate to immigration, it doesn't take too long as they have moving walkways. Unlike in fucking Rio airport.

A taxi transports us to our hotel in Chinatown. Once checked in, I ask Andrew:

“What’s the plan now?”

“Well, there’s a 7 Eleven just over the road.”

“Sounds like a good idea. Do you think you can make it that far in the heat?”

“Very amusing.”

“So, can you make it?”

“Yes I fucking can. I’m not that bad.”

“Just making sure.”

“Fuck off, Dad.”

Ay the 7 Eleven we stock up with essentials. Mixers for our duty free, sandwiches, crisps, beer and Strong Zero. The last one for Andrew, obviously.

Feeling quite knacked, we just laze around in our room watching YouTube.
 

The lift

I rise at 10:40. After a good long sleep.

Looking at my Whatsapp, I'm amazed to see a string of messages from the hotel. That's how they contacted me. Not via email, as stated in the confirmation email. Fuck. I really cocked that up.

I make myself a nice pot of English breakfast tea. You can’t go wrong with a nice cup of tea. Several nice cups are even better.

Andrew surfaces after midday. It's OK, we're in no rush. 

“Drinking tea again, Dad?”

“It helps wash the whiskey down.”

“Never too early for whiskey, is it?”

“Not when you’re on holiday.”

“And every day is a holiday now you’re retired.”

“Exactly.”

What's the plan for today? The Empire hotel for a cheap lunch. We head there about 13:30.

I've finally twigged that the Empire is linked to Valley Hops, the brewery next door. Which would explain why they supply most of the draught beers. At very reasonable prices, too. Some of the beers are only $10 for a pint. And the most expensive one, the Hazy IPA I'm drinking, is $15. Andrew, thankfully, is on the $10 Original Lager.

Between noon and 3 PM, the Empire has cheap meals. $18 for either a rump steak or a chicken parmo. Andrew has the latter while I go for the former. It's an absolute steal. Eating a chicken parmo was one of Andrew’s main objectives for the trip.

It's a funny old spot, the Empire. Doesn't exactly have a craft beer bar vibe. Lots of vertical drinking space, a few pool tables and a giant Fireball advertising statue.

“I'm starting to take quite a liking to this place, Andrew.”

“Me, too.”

 “The staff are friendly and the prices very reasonable.”

“Good for a cheapskate like you.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s a first.”

“What?”

“You said thank you at an appropriate time.”

“Damn.”

After we've eaten, a few more punters show up. Some wearing yellow and black scarves so I'm guessing that they're going to some sort of sporting event. My money would be on rugby league, which is big in these parts.

I Whatsapp Mikey with a photo of the $10 pints pumps.

“Oh my Buddha. That’s fucking cheap!” He replies.

Always good to make Mikey jealous.

After a few pints, we stroll back to our hotel. Flat, really. And chill for a bit. I know what we're doing this evening. Taking the lift.

When we checked into our emergency hotel, the nice man mentioned that nearby there's a lift which takes you down to the riverside. Where there's a brewery, amongst other things.

It's just around dusk when we head there. Providing us with a great view of the Story bridge and the downtown skyscrapers. Felons Brewing is massive. With a big frontage along the river. It's rather lovely. We sit outside and get some beers. A 10.5% ABV Imperial Stout for me, something Lagery for Andrew.

It's our last evening in Australia. Andrew seems to have enjoyed himself here. As have I.

“Would you like to come back to Australia?”

“Of course, Dad.”

“But in the summer, when it’s nice and hot?”

“Haha. You know I can’t take the heat.”

“What about living here?”

“Maybe Tasmania.”

We have a few beers. Well, I do. Andrew swaps onto cider, as he's apt to do. We don't stay too late, having an early start tomorrow. Our flight to Singapore is at 11 AM. Meaning we'll need to be up at around 7 AM.

"Have you noticed something, Andrew?"

"What?"

"It hasn't rained today. Like it has every other day we've been in Australia."



Empire Hotel
339 Brunswick St, 
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006.
https://www.empirehotel.com.au/


Felons Brewing
5 Boundary St, 
Brisbane City QLD 4000.
http://felonsbrewingco.com.au/ 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1885 Thomas Usher X Stock

More confusion at Usher, with an X Ale clearly marked in the brewing record as “Stock”. Pretty obvious, then, that this isn’t a Mild Ale.

What is it then? It looks to me like a Stock Pale Ale. The hopping rate certainly bears that out. At 12 lbs per quarter (336 lbs), it was significantly more than the 8 or 9 lbs that usually went into Usher’s Pale Ales.

An all-malt grist consists of two types of pale malt, a quarter made from Smyrna barley, the remainder from Scottish. 

The hops were an even split between Alsace and Hallertau, both from the 1884 harvest.

Obviously, this beer was aged. My guess would be for between six and nine months. Which would have lowered the FG a fair bit. 

1885 Thomas Usher X Stock
pale malt	11.50 lb	100.00%
Strisselspalt 90 min	3.00 oz
Hallertau 30 min	3.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1050
FG	1015
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	70.00%
IBU	65
SRM	4.5
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Breakfast Creek

I rise at 10. Andrew a little later. We check out and then trail down to our other place.

It’s very spacious, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We chill out for a while, before getting an Uber to the Breakfast Creek hotel. A pub dating from the 1880s, with one particular claim to fame.

The place is mobbed.

"Do we need to wait to be seated?" I ask.

"Yes. Unless you want to just sit at the bar."

That's exactly what we were planning. We weave our way through the seating to the private bar in the original part of the building. It's rather lovely. With a marble-topped bar and leaded glass windows. And a cask perched on the bar.

Because this is the one place where XXXX Bitter is served by gravity from a wooden cask. We get ourselves schooners. It's quite pleasant. Smooth.

There's women's rugby league on the TV. It's pretty brutal.

After a couple of schooners, I order some prawns. Giant ones. They're rather nice.

I take a look at the public bar over the corridor. It's a real, old-fashioned Aussie public bar. Fully tiled, island bar counter in the centre, horse racing on the TV. It's quite raucous. In contrast to the more sedate private bar.

“You should have a look in the public bar, Andrew.”

“Is that where all the noise is coming from?”

“Yes. They’re watching horse racing.”

“Hence the shouting.”

“Yes. Take a look. It’ll give you an idea of the six o’clock swill days.”

Andrew is feeling a bit hungry and orders some chips. In the meantime, he has a pint of Hahn Superdry.

I have a couple of Bundaberg rums to accompany my schooners. This is all rather nice.

They’re getting through the casks pretty quickly.  Each one only lasts 30 or 40 minutes. It looks like a firkin in size. Meaning a cask contains about 100 schooners. So, they’re serving them at a decent pace.

After several happy hours, we get an Uber back to our hotel.

I fancy some Asian food. There seem to be loads of places down the road. So that's where we head. We, somewhat randomly, choose the Fat Dumpling. As it's pretty early, we can get a walk in.

We order spring rolls and three types of dumplings. Pretty much exactly what we want in terms of variety and quantity. I feel quite stuffed at the end. Even Andrew eats a fair bit.

“Feeling hungry for once?”

“Fuck off, Dad.”

“Charming. I’m only concerned about your welfare.”

“Really? Not just trying to wind me up?”

“Would I do that?”

“Yes. You’re always saying shit just to annoy me.”

“Bantz, Andrew. Just bantz.”

“That’s what all abusers say.”

Now it's time to find somewhere to watch the Lions game. We first check out the Empire. But that doesn't seem to have any large screens. We pop over the road to the Royal George. It's really buzzing outside, but pretty empty inside. With lots of rugby league games on. I have an IPA-type thing, Andrew a cider.

“Not sure this is the best place to watch the game, Andrew. It’s a bit dead.”

“Like you?”

“Very funny. I’m still alive.”

“Just about.”

“And it’s very rugby league in here. Not sure they’ll show a union game.”

Heavily carpeted and with a bland, modern look, it reminds me of a Watney’s tied house circa 1974. Not exactly homely.

We find a much better candidate back up on Brunswick Street, the Ginger Lion. They have two big screens. One is showing an Aussie rules game featuring Brisbane (who are also called the Lions). The other, the rugby union Lions game. We get beers and are lucky enough to find seats next to an older chav with an impressive beard.

It's absolutely pissing it down when the game starts. And it doesn't go well for the Lions. It's a bit disconcerting as half the punters are cheering for the rules game.

We get chatting to the bearded gentleman, whose name is Stuart. He spent a couple of decades in the Australian army. He seems a nice chap.

Unlike the pissed-up arsehole who screams in the face of a mild-mannered Irishman when the Lions lose. What a total and utter cunt.

We leave soon after the end of the game. For drinks and YouTube in our hotel.



Breakfast Creek Hotel
2 Kingsford Smith Dr, 
Albion QLD 4010.
https://www.breakfastcreekhotel.com/


Fat Dumpling
370 Brunswick St, 
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006.


Royal George Hotel
327 Brunswick St, 
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006.
http://royalgeorgehotel.com.au/


Ginger Lion
446 Brunswick St.,
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. 

Hotel confusion

I rise at 6:30 AM. Which is loads of fun. It takes a while longer for Andrew to rouse himself.

We're outside a little before 8 and order an Uber. Which is where the fun starts. Andrew moves the pickup point a little, which makes the pickup point look like it's on Druid Street. Where they can't stop. We see one Uber just sail past and cancel.

Moving the point further up York Street doesn't help. And the Uber seems to stop somewhere else entirely.

We move to another, quieter street, cancel the first car and order a new one. It's getting on for 8:30 AM when we finally get aboard.

Checking in isn't much of a problem. Nor is security. There are signs saying liquids are allowed on domestic flights.

“They must have the new X-ray machines here, Andrew.”

“And not have the stupid EU rules.”

“Exactly.”

“Why the fuck did the EU forbid liquids in hand baggage?”

“No fucking idea.”

We head to the massive lounge. No booze available until noon, sadly. I content myself with some breakfast. Starting with fruit. Followed up with an eggy thing, cheese and tomato. Coffee and orange juice, too.

We time getting to the gate perfectly. Our group is boarding and we walk right onto the plane.

It's a very full flight. Totally full, I think. But it isn't a very long flight. Not much over an hour.

Andrew's bag pops out pretty quickly but mine takes a while. We go for the Uber option. A couple seemingly cancel. Maybe we aren't going far enough for them.

When we arrive at our accommodation, we realise that it isn't a normal hotel. There's no reception. I look through my emails for the confirmation. And, sure enough, there are some special instructions. I should have received an email 48 hours before arrival. With a link to a website to perform a virtual check in.

Fuck.

Andrew finds the company's website which has a phone number and an email address. I email them and wait. And wait.

With time ticking by, I wonder if I'm going to get a response. I start looking for nearby hotels.

"Do you want to wait here longer or should we just get a hotel now?"

"Let's get a hotel now, Dad."

There's one a couple of hundred metres away. We walk there.

"Do you have any availability for today?"

"Yes."

That's a relief. I was a bit worried there for a minute. It’s quite a way to any other hotels. Not walking distance. 

Up in our room, I see that there is a reply to my email. Though they haven't sent a link to the check in portal. I ask them to send me it. While we're waiting, we go to the BWS for supplies of booze.

There's a sign on the door saying "Back in 10 minutes."

"Let's have a drink over the road while we wait." Andrew suggests.

"OK."

The Empire is a typical, if rather large, balconied corner hotel. Valley Hops Hazy IPA for me, Pilsner for Andrew.

About as soon as we sit down, we notice that the BWS is open. We'll just be having the one, then.

Bourbon and beer bought in the BWS. We go back to the hotel. And find that I have an email with the necessary link. The online check in process goes fairly smoothly. Luckily. I have a photo of my passport and of myself saved on my laptop.

Armed with the passcode, we head to our accommodation. And can get in! Hurray! We return to the Empire to celebrate. Where it's happy hour. I get a Valley Hops Hazy IPA again. Andrew is still on Lager.

"Do you fancy a curry?"

"I'm not really hungry, but you can have one."

What a shocker: Andrew isn’t hungry. Again.

Curry it is, then. For me. Watching me eat a curry for Andrew. We walk up the road to Bangalore Days. I order a goat curry with parathas. And a whisky. Andrew gets . . . a beer.  There’s a shocker.

The curry is good, but very heavy on the ground coriander. Could have been a bit spicier, too.

On the way back to our hotel, we drop by Bonnie Doone, a craft beer bar. Where I have some hazy thing. Again. Don’t blame me. That’s often the only type of IPA available.

We only have a couple, then head back to our hotel. Where it's sandwiches, bourbon and YouTube.




Empire Hotel
339 Brunswick St, 
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006.
https://www.empirehotel.com.au/


Bangalore Days
421 Brunswick St, 
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006.


Bonnie Doon Public House
454 Brunswick St, 
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006.
https://www.bonniedoonpublichouse.com.au/ 

Sydney brewery crawl

I rise at 11:15 AM. Feeling a bit groggy. I'm feeling the effect of that Murphy's XXX.

I make myself a nice cup of English breakfast tea. I’ve made sure to look inside every kettle before filling. Some weirdos shit in hotel kettles. I kid you not. I’ve seen it on the internet.

Andrew surfaces at around 2 PM. Just about in time for us to head over to meet Peter at Chuck & Son. Good news is that public transport is free today. Something to do with some strikes.

We get the train at Town Hall and ride a few stops to Sydenham. From which it's a bit of a walk. Some of it uphill, which I love. And it's raining. Even better.

We roll up at 3:15 PM and Peter is waiting for us. IPA for me, Pilsner for Andrew. Only schooner size, mind.

The Murphy’s XXX got to Peter, too.

"I'm really feeling my age." He says.

“Me, too.” Oh, to be eighteen again. Or 28. To be honest, I’d be happy enough with 58. 

“It was that last pint. It’s always the last pint that gets you.”

“Very true.”

It’s pretty typical brewery taproom. Large, spartan with an industrial edge. With plenty of open floorspace. Presumably for vertical drinking. Which is pretty typical of Aussie boozers.

The brewery is the latest project of Chuck Hahn, legendary Australian brewer. In collaboration with his son, obviously.

Peter recommends the Superdelic Stout. Which is, indeed, quite nice. Though maybe not quite superdelic. Rather disappointingly, it’s just named after a new variety of New Zealand hops.

We chat about brewing records. Fascinating stuff, I know. Peter is one of the few people in the world I can have these discussions with. I'm not going to miss the opportunity. For once, I’m not going to bore you with the details.

After a couple of beers, we get ourselves burgers. Which are pretty good, if a bit leaky.

Then it's time to move on. To Village. We catch an Uber. Bumping into Matthew just before it comes. It's just getting dark when we arrive at the brewery

Village houses the Wildflower brewery, but the taproom is run in conjunction with another brewer, Mountain Culture. Who are based in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.

It's a bit gloomy inside. And chilly. A wood stove attempts forlornly to provide some heat. A fire that would struggle to warm up a caravan, let alone this barn of a space.

Me and Peter order a hand-pumped Dark Mild. Andrew a Czech Pale Lager. It takes ages to pull the Mild. And all a waste of time, as it's undrinkable. We get a Czech Dark Lager instead. Which is pretty good.

Barrels line the walls. But it's rather wet inside. Andrew points to a hole in the roof.

“I don’t think the water is from cleaning the floor. It’s raining in.”

“Lovely.”

I’m not impressed.

“There’s an air of couldn’t give a shit about here, Andrew.”

“It is all a bit shit.” 

“I can’t imagine this is the best environment for barrel-ageing.” I say. “Cold in the winter, boiling hot in the summer.”

“At least they sell pints.”

“Er, half litres.”

“Close enough, Dad. You fucking pedant.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t get started with that again.”

After a while Aziz Tan and Karl Riseborough, the owner of Flat Rock, who's English, arrive. More beers are drunk and I flog a couple of books.

Time to move onto the final brewery in the crawl, Batch. Which has a bright taproom at the front, with all the shiny brewing things further to the rear. Which indicate a decent-sized brewery. 

Next door there’s a strip club. 

“That could come in handy later, Andrew.”

“Piss off, Dad.”

Peter and I get Elsie, a Milk Stout. Which is pretty nice. Not too sweet. And the nitro isn’t too offensive. I hope Andrew doesn’t notice after what I’ve told him about miytp being the devil’s work.

We order food from the Portuguese truck outside. A bifana for me. Without mustard. Very tasty. And just $15. Andrew isn’t hungry. Though he does have a few of the communal chips.

Noticing an Imperial version of the Milk Stout, Elsie’s Other Udder. I go for one of those. It’s a refreshing 8.5% ABV.

At 8:30 PM, the barmaid calls last orders. What is it with places closing so early? 9 PM is fucking ridiculous. Andrew gets himself a last beer. As always.

We get the Metro back into town. It's very flash. And rather like the Elizabeth Line in London.

I get to bed pretty early. Have to get up for a 10:35 flight. God knows how long Andrew stays up.



Chuck and Son's Brewing Co.
Unit 3E-3F/1-7 Unwins Bridge Rd, 
St Peters NSW 2044.
https://chuckandsonsbrewing.com.au/


Village
11-13 Brompton St, 
Marrickville NSW 2204.
https://wildflowerbeer.com/pages/village


Batch Brewing Company
44 Sydenham Rd, 
Marrickville NSW 2204.
http://www.batchbrewingco.com.au/
 

Let's Brew - 1885 Thomas Usher Stout

For somewhat of a change of pace, we now have a Stout. Though it’s far from the stoutest Stout I’ve ever come across. At just 1050º, it’s weaker than a London Porter of the period.

At this point Usher wasn’t brewing much Stout. This small batch of 50 barrels was the only brew of Stout in the first three months of 1885. Which is bugger all, really.

I have to say that it’s a rather interesting grist.  With almost 40% coloured malt. Most of it in the form of amber malt. Which is quite unusual. Unlike the black malt, which is pretty standard.

The hops were a combination of Bavarian from the 1882 harvest, Californian from 1883 and Alsace from 1884.

This certainly looks like a Running Stout, given the modest gravity and fairly standard level of hopping. 

1885 Thomas Usher Stout
pale malt	7.50 lb	62.50%
amber malt	3.75 lb	31.25%
black malt	0.75 lb	6.25%
Cluster 120 min	1.25 oz
Strisselspalt 120 min	0.75 oz
Hallertau 30 mins	2.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1050
FG	1019
ABV	4.10
Apparent attenuation	62.00%
IBU	56
SRM	27
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale