Let's Brew - 1832 Barclay Perkins TT

This is a very typical Porter recipe from the early 19th century. Brewed by what was, at the time, the largest brewery in London and, therefore, the largest brewery in the world.

The grists of Porter changed quite a bit over the years. They started off 100% brown malt, then, at the end of the 18th century, switched to 60% pale malt, 40% brown malt. After the introduction of black malt, grists changed again. Becoming a combination of pale, brown and black malts. Though, with quite a small percentage of black malt, the colour was dark brown rather than black. As the century progressed the percentage of black malt increased, as di the colour.

Two type of Mid-Kent hops were employed, from the 1826 and 1831 harvests. With almost 75% from the earlier year. Using very old hops was pretty common back then. I’ve reduced the quantities in the recipe to take the age of many of the hops into account.

This was Barclay Perkins Running Porter and would not have been aged.

 

1832 Barclay Perkins TT
pale malt	11.25 lb	83.33%
brown malt	2.00 lb	14.81%
black malt	0.25 lb	1.85%
Goldings 120 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 90 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1057
FG	1016.5
ABV	5.36
Apparent attenuation	71.05%
IBU	58
SRM	19
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	178º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	68º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1885 William Younger 80/-

Another Eighty Shilling that isn’t like the modern version. Instead, it’s of the Shilling Ales type. That is, sort of a bit like an English Mild Ale.

If you can remember the 80/- from 1851, that was a much stronger beer, with an OG about 20º higher. And a ABV pushing 7%. It doesn’t help that the rate of attenuation is even worse here. This brew was a parti-gyle with 60/-.

The recipe remains pretty simple. With a 100% malt grist, consisting of three types of pale malt, one Scottish and two foreign. There’s no sugar, even though it was present in some of Younger’s other beers.

The hopping rate is a good bit lower than in 1851: 5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt, as opposed to 7 lbs.  This is reflected in the somewhat lower (calculated) IBUs.

There were five types of hops, all from the 1884 season: two Kent, Californian, Spalt and American.

1885 William Younger 80/-
pale malt	14.75 lb	100.00%
Cluster 90 min	1.25 oz
Spalt 60 min	1.25 oz
Fuggles 30 min	0.50 oz
OG	1064
FG	1027
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	57.81%
IBU	45
SRM	5
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Here's a short YouTube video I made about Eighty Shilling.

 

 

Let's Brew - 1851 William Younger 80/-

Just for demonstration purposes, here’s a recipe of a Shilling Ale 80/-. Which, as you must be bored of hearing by now, has no connection with modern 80/-. Other than the name, obviously.

It has a pretty decent gravity of 1085º, though a poor rate of attenuation leaves it under 7% ABV. Which is pretty typical of Shilling Ales. They mostly have quite high finishing gravities.

Like the 60/- from the same year, the recipe is very simple. Though the two beers weren’t parti-gyled together, the recipes are pretty much the same. Two types of pale malt, one of which was Scottish. And that’s it for the grist.

There were three types of English hops: Kent, East Kent and Farnham. Pretty classy ones. With latter two generally being the most expensive types of hops. There’s no indication of the vintage of any of the hops. 

1851 William Younger 80/-
pale malt	26.25 lb	100.00%
Goldings 90 min	2.50 oz
Goldings 60 min	2.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	2.00 oz
OG	1085
FG	1034
ABV	6.75
Apparent attenuation	60.00%
IBU	72
SRM	8
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	184º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	56º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Here's a short YouTube video I made about Eighty Shilling.

 

And here's a video about this specific recipe: 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1851 William Younger 60/-

Another in my series of Sixty Shilling recipes. This time in the form of a mid-19th-century Shilling Ale.

It’s a good bit stronger than the Thomas Usher 60/- from 1885. That was only 1041.5º and 3.5% ABV. Whereas this is considerably higher in OG, though less highly-attenuated.

As is usual for recipes from the earlier decades of the 19th century, the recipe is very simple. Just two types of base malt, one of which was Scottish. Though sugar was already allowed at this point, it wasn’t much used. Especially in Scotland.

The hopping is pretty light for the period. Made up of a couple of different types of Kent and Farnham hops. The combination of light hopping and high FG must have left the finished beer rather sweet and full-bodied. 

1851 William Younger 60/-
pale malt	16.25 lb	100.00%
Goldings 105 min	1.00 oz
Goldings 60 min	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	1.00 oz
OG	1072
FG	1030
ABV	5.56
Apparent attenuation	58.33%
IBU	36
SRM	7
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	184º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	56º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

This is my short YouTube video about Sixty Shilling..

 

Largest Lager breweries worldwide in 1890

Even towards the end of the 19th century, the largest Lager breweries were still quite modestly-sized compared to the big producers in the UK.

The biggest two producers, both in the USA, made only about three -quarters of a million hectolitres. Which was only around a third of what Guinness was churning out each year. And the largest on continental Europe, Spaten, wasn’t even making half a million hectolitres.

It’s a demonstration of how far industrialisation of brewing had gone in the UK compared to the rest of the world. The process had started way back in the middle of the 18th century with the big Porter brewers.

Note that two of the original London Porter brewers, Barclay Perkins and Truman, remained amongst the largest breweries in the world. With Barclays still double the size of Spaten.

Largest Lager breweries year ending April 30, 1890
brewery	location	hl
Anheuser-Busch	St. Louis	746,552
Pabst Brewing Company	Milwaukee	725,255
Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company	Milwaukee	499,418
George Ehret	New York	363,237
Spatenbrauerei	Munich	466,752
Lowen	Munich	430,288
Anton Dreher	Vienna	417,918
St. Marx Brauerei	Vienna	275,974
Source:
The Abbeville press and banner, (Abbeville, S.C.), 19 Nov. 1890.

Largest breweries in the UK in 1884
brewery	location	hl
Guinness	Dublin	2,127,570
Bass	Burton	1,636,592
Allsopp	Burton	1,391,104
Barclay	London	900,126
Watney	London	736,467
Truman	London	736,467
Source:
Document ACC/2305/8/246 part of the Courage archive held at the London Metropolitan Archive.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Eighty Shilling - a recipe

As a follow-up to What is Eighty Shilling, I explain a recipe for 1851 William Younger 80/-. A Shilling Ale version of 80/-.

 

Let's Brew - 1885 Thomas Usher 60/- B

If you’ve looked at my YouTube video on Sixty Shilling, you’ll know that this beer has no relationship with the modern type. This being a Shilling Ale. The older type of Scottish Ale that was roughly equivalent to an English Mild. While modern 60/- is a type of Pale Ale.

The recipe is pretty simple: just base malt and sugar. With not the slightest indication of what that type of sugar might be. I’ve gone for cane sugar. It could also have been some sort of invert. There really was just a single type of base malt. What’s more surprising is that it was Scottish.

At just 5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt, the hopping rate is pretty low. A lot lower than Usher’s Pale ales, which received 9 lbs per quarter. There were two types of hops: Californian from  the1883 harvest and Alsace from 1884. 

1885 Thomas Usher 60/- B
pale malt	8.00 lb	88.89%
cane sugar	1.00 lb	11.11%
Cluster 90 min	0.75 oz
Cluster 60 min	0.75 oz
Strisselspalt 30 min	0.50 oz
OG	1041.5
FG	1015
ABV	3.51
Apparent attenuation	63.86%
IBU	39
SRM	4
Mash at	155º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

  

For those who missed it, this is my short video on 60/-.

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1893 Bentley IPA

Isn’t this exciting? A Yorkshire IPA. And one which might even satisfy a style nazi of today.

With an OG of 1064º, it’s a full-strength Pale Ale. Though a not too great level of attenuation leaves it a shade under 6% ABV. That’s the racking gravity. I’m sure the real FG was lower.

There’s not a great deal to the recipe. Just two types of pale malt, one English, the other Middle Eastern. Along with some sugar which is only described as “Garton”.  As they were a big invert sugar producer, I’ve guessed for No. 1. As I assume they were trying to keep the beer pale.

Interestingly, there are no adjuncts. By this time, most brewers had adopted adjuncts, usually in the form of flaked maize.

There were three types of copper hops: Hallertau from the 1892 harvest along with Kent from 1892 and 1886.  It’s weird to see hops as old as that in a fancy Pale Ale. The dry hops were Kent from the 1892 season. 

1893 Bentley IPA
pale malt	9.75 lb	77.23%
No. 1 invert sugar	2.875 lb	22.77%
Fuggles 110 mins	2.50 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	2.50 oz
Hallertau 30 mins	2.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1064
FG	1019
ABV	5.95
Apparent attenuation	70.31%
IBU	84
SRM	8
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	110 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale Timothy Taylor

 

Let's Brew - 1894 Cannon KKK

Strongest of Cannon’s range was KKK. Not that it’s all that strong by 19th-century standards.

My guess is that this was considered an Old Ale or Stock Ale. Not 100% sure about that. Though their parent company, Tomson & Wooton, called their KKK a Stock Ale.

No surprises in the recipe. Which has just a single type of malt, described as “Scotch”. Interesting, given how far Kent, where the brewery was located, is from Scotland.

A single type of hops, too. East Kent from the 1893 harvest. Pretty fresh, given that this beer was brewed in January. The hopping rate is a little lower than in XXX. Which isn’t what I would have expected. Though the dry-hopping is heavier.

As I believe this was a Stock Ale, it’s logical that it would have been aged. Probably for at least twelve months. 

1894 Cannon KKK
pale malt	14.50 lb	100.00%
Goldings 90 min	2.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	2.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1062
FG	1015.5
ABV	6.15
Apparent attenuation	75.00%
IBU	46
SRM	5
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1897 Fremlin Double Stout

Now here’s a surprise: Fremlin didn’t parti-gyle their Porter and Stout. Which, certainly by this late in the 19th century, is what I would have expected.

The recipes are also surprisingly different. There’s far more base malt in the Stout, 65% as opposed to just 43%. There’s about half as much of the two coloured malts, around 9% of the grist in total. Which leaves the Stout a bit paler than the Porter. The opposite of what I would have expected.

Fewer oats are also present. Again, around half of what’s in the Porter. It implies that Fremlin marketed two strengths of Oatmeal Stout. One based on the Porter and one on the Double Stout.

There’s less of the cane sugar, but it still makes up almost 20% of the grist. That’s an awful lot still. Especially for a Stout, which would be expected to be quite full-bodied.

A slightly higher hopping rate was employed than in the Porter, 7.5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt, compared to 6.5 lbs. That, combined with the higher gravity, leaves the bitterness level of the finished beer quite a bit higher at 71 IBU.

Was this beer aged? I’ve no real idea. There’s no indication in the brewing record. I don’t think it was vatted. Maybe a couple of months in trade casks. 

1897 Fremlin Double Stout
pale malt	9.75 lb	66.87%
brown malt	0.75 lb	5.14%
chocolate malt	0.50 lb	3.43%
oat malt	0.50 lb	3.43%
brown sugar	2.75 lb	18.86%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.33 lb	2.26%
Fuggles 120 mins	2.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	2.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	2.00 oz
OG	1072
FG	1017.5
ABV	7.21
Apparent attenuation	75.69%
IBU	71
SRM	38
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

 

Let's Brew - 1897 Fremlin Porter

It’s interesting to see that Fremlin were still brewing a Porter at this date. Probably because of the brewery’s proximity to London. In most of the country, brewers had dropped Porter, though continued to brew Stout.

The grist itself shows a London influence, with more than 11% brown malt. However, there’s no black malt, its place being taken by chocolate malt. Which is a substitution Whitbread also made, except a couple of decades later.

The presence of oat malt betrays that some must have been marketed as Oat Stout. Even though this beer was brewed single-gyle and not parti-gyled with a Stout.

There’s an awful lot of sugar in the recipe. Over 25% of the total. In the brewing record it’s simply described as “cane”. I’ve assumed unrefined brown sugar. In addition, there’s quite a bit of caramel. Which leaves the finished beer pretty dark.

Three types of English hops, two from the 1896 harvest and one from 1897. Pretty fresh, then, considering this was brewed in October. 

1897 Fremlin Porter
pale malt	4.25 lb	41.98%
brown malt	1.25 lb	12.35%
chocolate malt	0.875 lb	8.64%
oat malt	0.75 lb	7.41%
brown sugar	2.75 lb	27.16%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.25 lb	2.47%
Fuggles 145 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1052
FG	1015
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	71.15%
IBU	41
SRM	41
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	180º F
Boil time	145 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1897 Fremlin Pilsener

Now here’s a really unusual beer. A Pilsener brewed by a regional brewery that didn’t have a specialist Lager plant.

Rather oddly, they seem to have dropped Pilsener during WW I. A time when some other breweries started to experiment with Lager brewing when continental supplies were cut off.

It’s a pretty authentic stab at the style. OK, it uses pale malt rather than lager malt, but I’ll let them off that. Especially as they went to the trouble of a double decoction mash. Not totally sure how they achieved that in a standard UK brew house.

It looks like they had three rests, at 95º F, 135º F and 165º F. Achieving those temperatures through two boils of half the mash. Looks pretty authentic to me.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of the fermentation temperature. As Fremlin couldn’t be arsed to record that. Though, given that they used Carlsberg yeast, I’m guessing that it was pretty cool.

I’m pretty sure that the hops were Bohemian as the name of the grower was Veleke. That’s what I’ve guessed, anyway. They were pretty fresh, coming from the 1896 harvest. 

1897 Fremlin Pilsener
pale malt	8.75 lb	79.55%
flaked maize	2.25 lb	20.45%
Saaz 155 min	1.00 oz
Saaz 60 min	1.00 oz
Saaz 30 min	1.00 oz
OG	1047
FG	1010
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	78.72%
IBU	30
SRM	4
Mash at	double decoction
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	155 minutes
pitching temp	53º F
Yeast	Wyeast 2042 Danish lager

action	barrels	temp.	mash temp
dough in	9	cold
mash in	3.5	210º F	95º F
boil	6.25		135º F
boil	6.25		165º F
sparge	5	170º F
sparge	6	170º F
sparge	6	170º F

 

 

 

What was Britain's first Lager?

I'm back on the Lager again. With details of the first Lager ever brewed in the UK. Which was surprisingly early.

 

What was 19th-century IPA like?

I turn my attention to 19th-century IPA. What was it like?

 

Chapman 14th October 1880 AK mashing scheme

We’ll finish with a look at the mashing scheme.

It’s a rather complicated one. With no fewer than seven operations.

Things kick off with an infusion. Followed by an underlet. All pretty standard stuff. Then there’s something simply described as “O” in the brewing record. My guess is that it means “overlet”. That is, adding hot water to the top of the mash, rather than the bottom, as in an underlet.

There’s then the first sparge, which is followed by a second mash. Which is somewhat warmer than the first. Though the strike heat is lower. The process ended with more sparging.

As there are no column headers for the mashing details, it’s impossible to know whether the rightmost temperatures are initial heats or tap heats. I’m inclined to believe the latter. For all, except the initial infusion mash.

Chapman 14th October 1880 AK mashing scheme
operation	barrels	strike heat	initial heat	tap heat
mash 1	10	168º F	143º F
underlet	1	173º F
overlet	1	173º F
sparge 1	9	176º F		150.5º F
mash 2	3	160º F		150º F
sparge 2	4.5	164º F		158.5º F
sparge 3	4.5	161º F		160º F
Source:
Chapman brewing record.

 

 

Chapman boiling and fermentation in 1880

Moving on to processes.

Starting with boiling. Not that there’s anything very odd about it. For most beers, the first copper was boiled for 90 minutes and the second for 120 minutes. Times which aren’t anything out of the ordinary.

As none of the beers is super strong, it makes sense that there were no extremely long boils. The longest, for the second copper of Stout, was 160 minutes. I wonder if that was to try and darken the weaker wort a little. A dark colour being a bit of a requirement for a Stout.

Pitching times are a little on the low side. All of them, including for the weakest beers, are under 60º F.

The highest temperatures were generally 10º F to 12º F above the pitching temperature. So, generally a bit under 70º F. A pretty standard range of temperatures and pretty dull, really.

I can see from the brewing records that attemperators were used to control the temperature of the fermentation. The attemperators were generally switched on about two days into the fermentation and switched off about two days later.

Here’s a full fermentation record:

It’s interesting that the attemperators were switched off just before the wort hit its maximum temperature. 

Chapman boiling and fermentation in 1880
Beer	Style	boil time (hours)		Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp	length of fermen-tation (days)
X	Mild	1.5	2	58.5º F	69.25º F	8
XX	Mild	1.5	2	57º F	67.75º F	8
XXX	Stock Ale	1.5	2	57º F	66.5º F	8
AK	Pale Ale	2.5		58º F	69.25º F
PA	Pale Ale	1.5	2	57º F	68.5º F	5
S	Stout	1.5	2.67	58.5º F	69.5º F	7
Source:
Chapman brewing record.

Chapman 5th Oct 1880 XX fermentation
time (hours)	gravity	temperature
0	1067.9	57º F
13		59.5º F
23.5	1063.7	61.5º F
25	attenuators on
37	1054.8	63.75º F
47.5	1046.0	64.75º F
61	1032.4	66º F
72	1025.2	67º F
76	attenuators off
100	1020.5	67.75º F
107.25	1019.1	67.75º F
157	1015.2
	racked
Source:
Chapman brewing record.