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

 

Fremlin beer gravities in 1924

When I took Andrew with me to photograph brewing records, I told him to always look inside the front and back covers. Because there's often interesting information scribbled down there.

Annual totals, water treatment, malts used and general notes. I've certainly harvested lots of dead handy stuff from these pages. Fremlin's records have several pages of this stuff. One of which, in their 1924/1925 records, contains the information below.

What it contains is rather typical of the immediate post-WW I period. Where brewers often fiddled around with their beers post-fermentation. Usually watering them down to hit the new lower gravities. Examples of breweries who did this are William Younger and Truman's Burton brewery.

At Fremlin, several beers were created by watering down others: IOS, BB and H. While others either had water added after fermentation or were blended with a low-gravity beer called "Spcl" (I assume that stands for "special". Though I'm not so sure what's special about something so watery. 

Fremlin beer gravities in 1924
beer	declare	action	finish
OS "Sp"	1044.5		1047.3
OS "Ord:	1041.7		1044.5
IOS	1028.4	dilute OS to 1028.4	1032.0
EB "Sp"	1045.3		1045.9
EB "Ord"	1042.3		1043.1
H	1042.3	dilute to 1034.5	1036.1
BB	1038.1	dilute EB or H  to 1038.1	1039.5
DA "Sp"	1032.5	add 12% Spcl @ 1026.4	1032.0
DA "Ord"	1031.1	add 12% Spcl @ 1026.4	1030.6
X	1028.1	dilute DA to 1028.1, add 12% Spcl @ 1026.4	1027.8
3 Star	1043.6	add 12% Spcl @ 1026.4	1041.7
Stock	1043.6		1044.5
EA	1049.2		1050.0
Source:
Fremlin brewing record held at the Kent Archives, document number U3555/2/F/Bx2/1/45.
OS = Oatmeal Stout

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

 

 

 

Let's Brew - 1893 Cannon KK

Playing Best Bitter to AK’s Ordinary Bitter was KK. Which is quite confusing. As, in London, KK meant a Stock or Burton Ale.

It has a pretty decent gravity. Not quite a full-strength Pale Ale though. It’s a few degrees light for that. But also highly-attenuated, leaving it 6.5% ABV.

It’s another very simple recipe. With only a single type of malt. Hard to spin many words out of that. Dum-dee-dum. Let’s move on.

A whole two types of hops, both Worcester. From the 1892 and 1893 harvests.

My guess is that it was a semi-stock beer. Aged for maybe three months. 

1893 Cannon KK
pale malt	13.50 lb	100.00%
Goldings 90 min	2.25 oz
Goldings 30 min	2.25 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1058
FG	1009
ABV	6.48
Apparent attenuation	84.48%
IBU	58
SRM	5
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	164º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1893 Cannon Table

Most of Cannon’s beers were brewed single-gyle. Though, occasionally, X was parti-gyled with Table.

The batches were pretty small. Around a dozen barrels, compared to 50 barrels for other beers. And it wasn’t brewed as often, either. Clearly the market for it was quite small. I’m guessing mostly – or totally – consumed at home. I don’t think pubs would usually sell a beer this weak in the 19th century.

It has the same achingly simple recipe as X. Just one type of base malt. Along with two types of hops, Californian and East Kent, both from the 1891 season.

Given its low gravity, this would have been drunk within a few days of racking.

1893 Cannon Table
pale malt	5.75 lb	100.00%
Cluster 90 min	0.625 oz
Goldings 30 min	0.625 oz
OG	1025
FG	1007
ABV	2.38
Apparent attenuation	72.00%
IBU	23
SRM	3
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew - 1893 Cannon AK 10d

I have so many AK recipes now. It’s so wonderful. 

This is a pretty typical example: light, in both senses of the word. A pretty high degree of attenuation must have left it pretty dry. As well as a relatively high, for the OG, alcohol content.

I am struggling to see how this differs from X in any significant way. Slightly lower OG, slightly higher hopping rate. Hardly enough for them to be in different styles.

Excitement on the recipe front. There are two whole malts. One unnamed, the other called “Queen St.”. That being the address of the brewery, I assume that they malted it themselves.

Two types of hops, both Worcester, one from 1892 and one from 1893.

No ageing. 

1893 Cannon AK 10d
pale malt	10.50 lb	100.00%
Goldings 90 min	1.33 oz
Goldings 30 min	1.33 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1045
FG	1007
ABV	5.03
Apparent attenuation	84.44%
IBU	34
SRM	4
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1897 Fremlin IPA

And here we finally are at the top of the Pale Ale tree. It’s been a long climb, but worth it.

You might be a little confused by this beer. As it actually looks like an IPA is “supposed to”: over 6% ABV and hopped to hell. By this time, you’ve probably realised that most of the IPAs brewed in the UK didn’t fit that profile. Other than the ones brewed in Burton.

The recipe is generally similar to the other Pale Ales. Except that the adjunct is flaked wheat. Why was that? For head retention? Possibly. But wouldn’t the same be desirable in all the other Pale Ales, too?

Once again, the sugar is a combination of No. 2 invert and dextro-maltose. Which I’ve consolidated to all No. 2 invert.

Pretty sure that this was a Stock Ale. Nine to twelve months with Brettanomyces is my guess. 

1897 Fremlin IPA
pale malt	9.50 lb	70.37%
flaked wheat	0.75 lb	5.56%
No. 2 invert sugar	3.25 lb	24.07%
Fuggles 120 mins	2.00 oz
Goldings 90 mins	4.00 oz
Goldings 60 mins	2.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.50 oz
OG	1069
FG	1018
ABV	6.75
Apparent attenuation	73.91%
IBU	101
SRM	12
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Fremlin BB 1st Oct 1897 mashing scheme

And how were these beers mashed? In a fairly complicated way is the short answer.

It’s fairly typical of mashing practices in England. The process begins with a small amount of hot water to warm the mash tun. This was followed by an infusion mash, with 18 minutes of mashing.

There was then an underlet with a small amount of hotter water. After which the mash was left to stand for almost two hours.

The process ended with four sparges at descending temperatures.

All of Fremlin’s beers were mashed in a similar way. With the exception of Pilsner, which had a decoction mash. 

Fremlin BB 1st Oct 1897 mashing scheme
operation	barrels	strike heat	mash time	stand time	tap heat
heat tun	4	180º F			148º F
mash	43	160º F	18 mins		153º F
underlet	3	180º F		117 mins	158º F
sparge 1	13	175º F
sparge 2	13	170º F
sparge 3	24	165º F
sparge 4	48	160º F
Source:
Fremlin brewing record held at the Kent Archives, document number U3555/2/F/Bx2/1/22.

 

Let's Brew - 1897 Fremlin PA L

We’re still not finished climbing the Pale Ale tree. Now we have the London version of PA.

Which, as you should have noticed by now, means slightly stronger and more heavily hopped than the standard version. This beer is no exception.

No adjuncts this time around. Just base malt (half made from English barley and half from Californian) and two types of sugar. As usual, No. 2 invert and dextro-maltose. Which I’ve consolidated into just No. 2.

Only two types of hops here. Both English from the 1897 season.

With both a relatively high gravity and level of hopping, I’m sure this was aged. Nine to twelve months is my guess. 

1897 Fremlin PA L
pale malt	8.50 lb	72.34%
No. 2 invert sugar	3.25 lb	27.66%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 90 mins	3.00 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.25 oz
OG	1061
FG	1019
ABV	5.56
Apparent attenuation	68.85%
IBU	79
SRM	11.5
Mash at	147º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	57º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1897 Fremlin BA L

The London variant was the strongest of the various BAs. Exactly what you would expect. The most heavily hopped, too. Also, predictable.

Only three elements to the grist: pale malt, No. 2 invert and dextro-maltose. The base malt being half from Californian and half from English barley. Bit boring, aren’t they, these Fremlin recipes?

Just two types of copper hops, both English from the 1897 harvest. With half added in the middle of the boil.

This looks like a semi-Stock Pale Ale to me with a couple of months of secondary conditioning. 

1897 Fremlin BA L
pale malt	8.00 lb	74.42%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.75 lb	25.58%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.33 oz
Goldings 90 mins	2.67 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.33 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1055
FG	1015.5
ABV	5.23
Apparent attenuation	71.82%
IBU	67
SRM	10.5
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew - 1897 Fremlin BA C

Looking very similar to BB is the country version of BA. It has the same gravity, and identical hopping. Only the grist is slightly different. Though it is the same as the standard version of BA.

Which is pale malt, flaked barley and No. 2 invert sugar. Nothing very exciting there. And very much like most of their other Pale Ales.

Loads of different types of hops again. Six in total, all English, from the 1896 and 1897.

I don’t expect that this was aged for more than a couple of weeks. 

1897 Fremlin BA C
pale malt	6.75 lb	71.05%
flaked barley	0.50 lb	5.26%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.25 lb	23.68%
Fuggles 135 mins	0.875 oz
Goldings 105 mins	1.75 oz
Goldings 75 mins	0.875 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1048
FG	1013
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	72.92%
IBU	52
SRM	9
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	135 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1897 Fremlin BA

Moving to the next strength category we find BA. Which, in the 1897 price list, is described as “No. 3 Bitter Ale”. 

The recipe isn’t quite the same as BB’s. As the cane sugar is replaced by No. 2 invert. Along with a smaller amount of dextro-maltose. For which I’ve substituted more No. 2 invert. Two types of base malt, one from Californian and one from English barley.

Four types of copper hops and another four of dry hops. English, from the 1896 and 1897 harvests.

I’m really unsure as to whether this was aged or not. I suspect not. I think that honour was reserved for the London subvariant.

1897 Fremlin BA
pale malt	7.25 lb	69.05%
flaked barley	1.00 lb	9.52%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.25 lb	21.43%
Fuggles 105 mins	1.25 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.25 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.25 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1052
FG	1015
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	71.15%
IBU	46
SRM	9
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

 

Fremlin copper hops in 1897

Hops. Fremlin used loads of them. Pretty much all of them English.

Every beer contained at least two types of hops. Except for the Pilsener, which had just the one. I’m not 100% certain of the type. I think it says “Veleke”. I’m guessing that it was some type of Czech hop,

Most beers have a combination 1896 and 1897 season hops. All pretty fresh, considering all these brews took place in October 1897. The exceptions were the London versions of BA, BB and PA, which only had hops from the 1897 harvest, A sure sign that these were posh, expensive beers.

Sadly, with the exception of a couple of instances, there’s no indication of the English region from which the hops came. In those few cases, it’s always Worcester. Leading mw to believe that the others are mostly from Kent. It was, after all, the region that produced the most hops. And was where Fremlin was located. 

Fremlin copper hops in 1897
Beer	Style	hop 1	hop 2	hop 3	hop 4	hop 5	hop 6
X	Mild	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
H	Pale Ale	Eng. 1897	Eng. 1897	Wor. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
BA	Pale Ale	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897	Wor. 1897
BA C	Pale Ale	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
BA L	Pale Ale	Eng. 1897	Eng. 1897
BB	Pale Ale	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
BB L	Pale Ale	Eng. 1897	Eng. 1897
PA	Pale Ale	Eng. 1897	Eng. 1897	Wor. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896
PA L	Pale Ale	Eng. 1897	Eng. 1897
IPA	IPA	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897	Eng. 1897
Pilsener	Pilsener	Veleke? 1896
P	Porter	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
Cooper	Porter	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
DS	Stout	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1896	Eng. 1897
Source:
Fremlin brewing record held at the Kent Archives, document number U3555/2/F/Bx2/1/22.