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

 

 

 

1897 Fremlin Pilsener mashing scheme

Fremlin was lightly unusual for a largish regional brewery in brewing a Pilsener. 

Now, I wouldn't call it exactly a 100% authentic Lager. As it was brewed from pale rather than lager malt. They did, however, use Carlsberg yeast. Meaning it was properly bottom-fermented.

There was also authenticity in the mashing scheme, which was a double decoction. In which there were two boils of half the mash. This was a simplification of their mashing scheme from a few years earlier, where there were three boils, each of a third of the mash.

Here are the full details of the process. 

1897 Fremlin Pilsener mashing scheme
barrels	temp.	mash temp.
9	cold
3.5	210º F	95º F
1/2 boiled		135º F
1/2 boiled		165º F
5	170º F
6	170º F
6	170º F
Source:
Fremlin brewing record held at the Kent Archives, document number U3555/2/F/Bx2/1/22.

 

Dutch Pils in 1941

I've posted enough about Heineken. What was happening at other Dutch brewers? Pretty much exactly the same. Which shouldn’t come as any surprise.

Everyone had reduced the gravity of their Pils to something under 10º Plato. Averaged out, the numbers look very similar to Heineken’s version, which was OG 8.5º Plato, 3.2% ABV, 72.24% apparent attenuation, in case you’ve forgotten.

There are a couple of outliers with gravities over 10º Plato, but they could just be old stock.

Colour is more variable than you might expect, though, it being on weird Brand scale, it’s not immediately evident. This should help out. The minimum value of 0.37 Brand = 7 EBC, and the maximum value of 0.72 Brand = 11.9 EBC.
 

Dutch Pils in 1941
Date	Brewer	Town	OG Plato	FG Plato	ABV	App. Atten-uation	Colour
15th Apr	Coolen	Eindhoven	8.85	2.29	3.38	74.80%	0.55
30th May	ZHB	Den Haag	10.60	3.13	3.86	71.34%	0.52
30th May	Van Vollenhoven	Amsterdam	7.62	1.86	2.93	76.15%	0.4
30th May	Amstel	Amsterdam	9.93	1.79	4.24	82.55%	0.4
30th May	Grolsch	Groenlo	8.53	2.30	3.18	73.70%	0.37
30th May	Oranjeboom	Rotterdam	8.22	2.46	2.74	70.76%	0.6
27th May	Heineken	Amsterdam	9.08	2.17	3.56	76.75%	0.38
3rd Jun	Phoenix	Amersfoort	8.65	3.79	2.49	57.03%	0.52
3rd Jun	Drie Hoefijzers	Breda	10.04	2.95	3.66	71.44%	0.55
5th Jun	ZHB	Den Haag	9.07	2.63	3.29	71.74%	0.52
5th Jun	Amstel	Amsterdam	8.49	1.73	3.46	80.17%	0.42
5th Jun	Grolsch	Groenlo	8.55	2.30	3.20	73.77%	0.45
5th Jun	de Schaapskooi	Tilburg	8.31	1.92	3.26	77.48%	0.72
5th Jun	Van Vollenhoven	Amsterdam	8.75	1.87	3.56	79.21%	0.4
16th Jun	Phoenix	Amersfoort	8.66	3.04	2.92	65.68%	0.48
17th Sep	Oranjeboom	Rotterdam	8.63	1.49	3.66	83.22%	0.52
	Average		8.87	2.36	3.34	74.11%	0.49
Source:
Rapporten van laboratoriumonderzoeken naar producten van Heinekenbrouwerijen in binnen- en buitenland en naar producten van andere brouwerijen held at the Amsterdamse Stadsarchief, document number 834 - 1794.

 

Something other than Heineken

Only kidding. Of course it's more Heineken stuff. Lots of crumbs of knowledge for me to peck away at.

Lagering times is today's topic. Did I mention before that there wasn't much about them in the records? That's not totally true. There are a few details and dates. Annoyingly, no temperatures are given. My guess us that the lagering tanks would have been filled with the wort at the temperature where fermentation ended. That is 5º-6º C. Then slowly cooled to around freezing.

The pattern is fill the tank, leave it open for a few days, seal it up and finally let the pressure increase. That pressure coming from the continued fermentation while lagering. Fermentation must have occurred as the eventual FG is a good bit lower than at the end of primary fermentation. All, with the exception of Export Pils, lost more than 2º Plato during secondary fermentation.

Is lagering really a secondary fermentation? I suspect not, technically. As it's really a continuation of primary. Who gives a toss about that, really? I've certainly more worthwhile quibbles to waste my time on.

Yet another table showing that fall in gravity I mentioned a short while ago.

Heineken 1935 secondary fermentation
Beer	Racking gravity Plato	FG Plato	Fall Plato
Münchener	6.4	4.0	2.4
Pils	6	3.4	2.6
Export Pils	4.5	2.8	1.7
Bok	8.2	5.6	2.6
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792.

The lagering times are pretty reasonable. Around 10 weeks for the Piseners and for Münchener more than 17 weeks. Just a shame that there are no examples of the two Lagerbiers. I'd love to know how long they were lagereed.

That's enough fun for today. I've some more numbers that need fiddling with. Though,  as it's not raining, I may nip out for a quick walk and read of Private Eye. That night happen to take me past Ton Overmars. Where I may as well check if they've refilled the shelf with Abt.

Pilsener 11th Jul 1935 Lagering
Step	Date
Filled	20th July
Sealed	24th July
Pressurised	29th July
Tapped	30th Sept
Tasted	26th Oct
Total days	72
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 20.

Export Pils 18th Jul 1935 Lagering
Step	Date
Filled	26th July
Sealed	28th July
Pressurised	5th Aug
Tapped	1st Oct
Tasted	26th Oct
Total days	67
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 20.

Münchener 2nd Jul 1935 Lagering
Step	Date
Filled	10th July
Sealed	11th July
Pressurised	15th July
Tapped	9th Dec
Tasted	9th Dec
total days	122
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 11.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1935 Heineken Pils

I was so happy when Peter Symons pointed me at Heineken’s pilot brewery records. Because they contain all the process details missing from the main brewery records. All the really good stuff: decoction, hop additions, fermentation profile and lagering times. Making this one of my most accurate recipes.

The grist is pretty simple, consisting of just pilsner malt and rice. Not a great deal you can say about that. I assume that the rice was at least partially included to keep the body and colour light. The rice was mashed in separately, but there wasn’t a cereal mash. As you’ll see in the mashing scheme below.

A single type of hops was used, Leitmeritz from the 1934 season. Leitmeritz is the German name for the Czech town of Litoměřice. The hops grown there were similar to Saaz, which is what I’ve specified in the recipe.

Pitched at 45º F, the temperature rose to a maximum of 50º F, before falling back gradually to 43º F.  Primary fermentation lasted a total of 9 days. Lagering lasted just over two months – a total of 72 days. 

1935 Heineken Pils
pilsner malt	9.25 lb	80.43%
flaked rice	2.25 lb	19.57%
Saaz 120 mins	0.33 oz
Saaz 60 mins	0.50 oz
Saaz 20 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1050
FG	1013
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	74.00%
IBU	13.5
SRM	3
Mash double decoction
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	45º F
Yeast	WLP830 German Lager

Pilsener mashing scheme
step	duration (minutes)
Mash in at 51º C (124º F)	20
Mash in rice at 33º C (91.5º F)	5
Draw off first decoction and raise to 70º C (158º F)	45
Raise decoction to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil first decoction	15
Rest whole mash at 66º C (151º F)	75
Draw off second decoction and raise to 100º C (212º F)	15
Boil second decoction	15
Mash at 75.5º C and mash out (168º F)	5
Sparge at 75.5º C (168º F) and rest	60
Draw off main wort	55
Draw off second wort	90
Total time	415
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 19.

Still more ridiculous Heineken detail

Well, that was a busy weekend. Pub on Saturday, roast dinner preparation on Sunday, as well as the IPA talk. Time for me to relax a little. Ant what better way  to relax than looking at Heineken's brewing processes in ridiculous detail. It's now the turn of primary fermentation

What strikes me is how generally similar it us to a UK top-fermentation. The temperature slowly rises in the first half of the, peaks, and then falls back to slightly below pitching temperature at the end. The only real difference is that the temperatures are all a good deal colder. And that the fermentation takes a few days longer. In the UK 5 or 6 days was typical, while all Heineken's beers took around 9.

It's a shame that there's no record of what happened in the lagering tanks. There must have been a fermentation because the finishing gravities were: Beiersch 4º Plato, Pils 3.4º Plato and Bok 5.6º Plato. The Pils seems to have been lagered about 2 months. I'm not so sure about the length for the other beers, though it does look as it was longer for Beiersch, possibly more than 4 months. 

Annoyingly, lagering is the one part of the process which isn't properly documented. I assume that the beer was slowly cooled to around zero. The tanks were bunged at a certain point implying that it was allowed to condition naturally.

I was going to head out for a walk but it's absolutely pissing it down. The tropical-style rain we've started getting quite frequently. Just as well Amsterdam never floods.

Beiersch 2nd Jul 1935 Primary Fermentation
Date	Time	Cellar temperature	wort temperature	gravity (Plato)	% attenuation
2nd July	19	6.8	7	13.1
3rd July	7	5.9	7.3
	17.25	7.4	7.4
4th July	7	5.8	8	12.2	7
	18	6.4	8.2
5th July	7	5.8	9	10.7	18
	17.5	6.6	9.5
6th July	7	5.6	10.3	8.7	34
	17	6.2	9.6
7th July	9	5.6	9.7	7.3	45
	17	6.4	9.6
8th July	7	5.7	9.3	6.8	48
	17.5	6.4	9.1
9th July	7	5.4	8.8	6.6	50
	17.5	5.8	8.5
10th July	7	5.3	6.1	6.4	51
Source: Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 11.

Pilsener 11th Jul 1935 Primary Fermentation
Date	Time	Cellar temperature	wort temperature	gravity (Plato)	% attenuation
11th July	17	7.5	7	12.2
12th July	7	5.7	7.2
	18	3.2	7.6
13th July	7	6.2	8	11.6	5
	13	5.4	8.2
14th July	9	5.2	8.8	10.3	16
	17	5.6	9.2
15th July	7	5.7	10	8.6	30
	17	5.5	9.7
16th July	7	5.5	10	6.7	45
	17	6	9.6
17th July	7	5.5	9.6	5.6	54
	17	5.5	9.7
18th July	7	5.3	9.2	5	59
	18	7.2	9.2
19th July	7	5.8	9	4.6	62
	18	6.6	8.6
20th July	7	5.4	6	4.4	64
Source: Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 20.

Bok 5th Aug 1935 Primary Fermentation
Date	Time	Cellar temperature	wort temperature	gravity (Plato)	% attenuation
5th Aug	18.5	7	6.9	17.3
6th Aug	7	5.8	7.8
	17.5	7.8	7.4
7th Aug	7	5.9	8.1
	19.5	5.7	7.9
8th Aug	7.5	6.8	8.6	14.5	16
	17.5	7.8	9
9th Aug	7	5.2	10.2	12.6	27
	17	6	10.5
10th Aug	7	5.4	7	10.2	41
	13	5.8	7.2
11th Aug	-	-	-
12th Aug	7	4.8	7.1	8.4	52
	17	5.4	7.2
13th Aug	7	4.7	4.5	8.2	53
Source: Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 59.

Even more Heineken tedium

It's another busy day. Sunday dinner won't cook itself. I'll quickly bash this off while the oven is warming up. 

Today we're looking at Heineken's boiling schemes. Of all the essential processes involved in brewing, hop additions are some of the post poorly recorded. Other than a few Barclay Perkins records from between the wars, I've almost no information. Which is why I was dead happy to find Heineken's pilot brewery records had full hopping details.

Oddly enough, the standard records which have almost nothing about process do note the hop charges. Just not the timings.

What's unusual is that a very high proportion of the hops were added late in the boil, a mere 20 minutes before the end. And very few hops were added early in the boil. Presumably creating beers with a fair amount of hop aroma but little in the way of bitterness.

Got to leave you now. Time for the beef to go into the oven.

Pilsener 11th Jul 1935 Boil
Time	kg	%
120 mins	1	25.00%
60 mins	1.3	32.50%
20 mins	1.7	42.50%
Total	4
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 19.

Beiersch 2nd Jul 1935 Boil
Time	kg	%
120 mins	0.5	16.67%
60 mins	1	33.33%
20 mins	1.5	50.00%
Total	3
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 10.

Bock 15th Aug 1935 Boil
Time	kg	%
120 mins	0.6	24.00%
60 mins	0.8	32.00%
20 mins	1.1	44.00%
Total	2.5
Source:
Heineken Brouwjournalen van de proefziederij, 1935 - 1957 held at the Amsterdamse Stadtsarchief, document number 1785-1792, page 19.