Racking in the late 19th century

What can there be to say about racking? Isn't it just moving beer to its final destination? Well, not quite.

The temperature at which beer was racked was very important. That is, if you wanted your clear and nicely conditioned. 

"Racking itself is a very simple matter, and the chief points to observe seem to be the prevention of aeration and waste, although temperature at racking is of some special significance — for instance, if beer be racked at a high temperature it is not so free from suspended yeast as it would be when presenting the same appearance of brightness at the lower temperature, and as considerable aeration goes on, no matter how carefully we may carry out the racking process, it is not difficult to understand why in warm weather the high racking temperature facilitates a recommencement of fermentation, the air absorbed giving to each suspended cell a new lease of vigorous life."
"The Theory and Practice of Modern Brewing" by Frank Faulkner, 1888, pages 223-224.

It wasn't just a high racking temperature that could result in an unwanted restart of fermentation. Too cold a temperature could do exactly the same.

"On the other hand, while stated brightness means greater cleanliness at the low temperature, it is pretty evident that if this be fixed many degrees below that normal to the store there is a rapid rise immediately after racking, and this undoubtedly directly promotes fermentation unless the beer be very destitute of gas, since if the cask be shived off and gas be liberated by the rise of heat we have a state of turmoil inside corresponding to motion — another influence, as we have seen, inducing alcoholic change."
"The Theory and Practice of Modern Brewing" by Frank Faulkner, 1888, page 224.

What was the correct temperature, then? About the same temperature as the main storage cellar.

"On the face of it, therefore, it is wise to rack beer at the temperature of the main store, since it is no use racking higher, as in that case a drop in temperature results during preliminary storage, giving a cloud to the beer and a deposit in cask, which might just as well have taken place in tank ; and it is equally unwise to rack a beer at a very low temperature so that a rapid rise results; rapidity of rise or fall in temperature in the case of finished beer invariably leading to fretfulness on the one hand, flatness and turbidity on the other.

I may take a temperature of 55° to 59° as a range for winter and summer, most brewers, I presume, having storage sufficiently good to enable them to keep within such a range; and, if so, the racking temperature for the warmer months should be about 58°, ranging downwards to 56° in the winter, although it is pretty evident that in the colder weather the brewer has little control over temperature of beer when exposed for any time in tanks on basement, unless the racking-room be much more closed in than is usual."
"The Theory and Practice of Modern Brewing" by Frank Faulkner, 1888, page 224.

55° to 59° F is pretty much like a natural cellar temperature. Not that difficult to achieve without artificial refrigeration.

Racking during WW II

During the war draught beer was almost all in cask form. As it had been for centuries. About the only change to the process since the early 19th century had been the introduction of sugar primings, which really took off at the beginning of the 20th century.

Primings were a sugar solution with an OG of 1140º to 1150º added at racking time with the principal aim of providing readily fermentable material to condition the beer in the cask quickly. Additionally, the primings could also add colour through the presence of caramel.

With as much as a gallon of primings being added per 36-gallon barrel, they could significantly boost the effective OG of a beer by as much as 10%. The increase was especially prominent in low-gravity beers like Mild Ale.

Frustratingly, most breweries didn’t record details of primings in their brewing records. Those few that do, show how sophisticated a procedure had become.

Barclay Perkins primed many of their beers, not just draught ones, but some of the bottled, too. Here’s how it all looked a couple of years into the war:

Barclay Perkins primings in 1941
Beer	Style	primings (gallons)	OG before primings	OG after ptimings
A	Mild	0.25	1028.7	1029.5
X	Mild	0.75	1031.8	1034.2
XX	Mild	0.75	1037.7	1039.9
KK	Burton	0.5	1051.4	1052.7
LS draught	Stout	0.75	1040.8	1043
LS bottled	Stout	1	1040.8	1043.7
IBS	Stout	0.75	1055.6	1057.4
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/01/624.

Watney had brewed some keg beer before the war. I’m not sure if this continued after the start of hostilities. However, I know for certain that Barclay Perkins produced their draught Lagers as non-cask. Because the cask sizes for Lagers were 5.5 and 11 gallons. That’s 25 and 50 litres, continental sizes. And they sold CO2 cylinders for their Lager.  

This is an excerpt from my recently-released BlitzKrieg!, the definitive book on brewing during WW II.

Get your copy now!

The second volume contains the recipes. But not just that. There are also overviews of some of the breweries covered, showing their beers at the start and the end of the conflict.

Buy one now and be the envy of your friends!

 

Tetley cask Bitter specifications (part seven)

If all has gone well, I should be on plane jetting back to Europe. Do I feel guilty about all my air travel? No. Because I've never owned a car. Other than flights, all my travel is my electric-proered vehicles. Or on foot.

We've got to the end of the Tetley's Bitter specification. And a few surprises have been left until now.

Obviously enough, the last phase of the process was post fermentation. Where there was still lots of interesting stuff going on. I don't want to spoil things too much by getting ahead of myself. But there were a surprising number of differences between the handling of cask Bitter and cask Mild. For no obvious reason. We'll see all of this in my next series of posts. Bet you can't wait for that.

One of the drums I keep beating like a deranged football fan is the influence of tax systems on beer. We'll be seeing a very good example of the crap brewers were encouraged to do by the particular way UK excise duty on beer was collected.

After that tease, here's the first table of fun.

16. ADDITIONS POST-FERMENTATION
Material	Rate	Type	Where Added
Priming	NONE
Acid	NONE
Hop Pellets	2 Pellets (1 oz per Brl)	North Down	In Cask
PFB	25%	Isohopcon	Racking Tank
Colour	As required reboil after 48 hours	Caramel AB (1045°)	Racking Tank
Finings	4pt/Brl	Penang Leaf	Cask
Sterilised Beer	7.5% Max	1031°	Racking Tank
Preservative	As S02 (ppm)	NaMs
	468 1 pt Brl	NaMs	Colour C.V.
	155 1/3 pt/Brl	(working Soln)	Sterilised Beer
Protesal	None
Lucilite	None
Polyclar At.	None
Source:
Tetley Beer and Malt Specifications, 1985, beer page 5.

I'll start with a big surprise right at the start of the table. Tetley Bitter wasn't primed. Which is odd for a low-gravity Bitter of this type, which was supposed to come into condition quickly. Which means they were relying on residual sugars in the beer for conditioning in the cask. 

The figure on the first page described as "Limit Atten," Is presumably the lowest the gravity the beer should attain after cask conditioning. The value is given as 1003.5º. Which would leave the apparent attenuation at 90% and the ABV 4.2%. Which is a good bit stronger than I would have expected.

I'm not surprised that it was dry hopped. The quantity is fairly small, but it is a pretty low-gravity Bitter. Handy that the hop variety is listed: North Down.

What PFB stands for might be a puzzle, I do know what Isohopcon was. A hop extract manufactured by Pauls & Whites Ltd of Reigate. As we saw early, this provided 25% of the bitterness.  It's interesting how late this was added. Only in the racking tank.

The caramel was added at the same stage. Interesting that the OG of the caramel is listed, but not its colour. I suppose that it didn't really matter as only a sufficient quantity was used to hit the colour standard.

Nothing exceptional about the finings, which you would expect to be added to the casks.

Next we see the effect of taxing beer based on what was in the fermenter before fermentation. Because sterilised beer is a posh way of saying ullage. This is presumably retumed beer which has been sterilised to stop it infecting the fresh beer. At least Tetley limited the amount to 7.5% maximum. Watney was merrily using 15% and more, depending on the beer.

Why did brewers use returned beer? Because it was tax-free. When beer was returned to the brewery as unsaleable, the excise duty on it was refunded. If a brewery reused it, there was no tax on it. When the system was changed in the 1990s to be based on the ABV of the beer when it left the brewery, that advantage disappeared. Tax was due on everything leaving the brewery, including any ullage which had been mixed in.

I was slightly surprised to see preservative added. Though some was added to the sterilised beer which does make sense.

One final table.

7. DRAUGHT BEER RACKING
a) Temperature (°F) (°C)	55 +-3 (12. 8)
b) Yeast Count (10>6 cells/ML)	0.5 +- 0.4
c) Dry Hop i) Rate	2 Pellets per brl. 1 oz/brl
ii) Type	North Down.
d) Fining (pt/brl)	4
e) Storage Time (Brewery)	3 days
(Depot)	14 days max.
f) RT residence time	6-48 hours
Source:
Tetley Beer and Malt Specifications, 1985, beer page 5.

This is mostly a repeat of earlier information. You can see that the casks were given a reasonable amount of time to condition: 3 days in the brewery and up to two weeks at the depot.

Why would it sit for up to two days in the racking tank? I'm guessing that was so they could blend together different batches.

Next up is cask Mild.

Racking and Dry hopping 1880 - 1914

Time for another preview from my major book after next. Or something like that. I've a very good reason for posting this now. I've got a cold and can't be arsed to write anything new. Well, apart from this paragraph. But that doesn't really count, does it?

Racking
After fermentation had finished, the beer was left to settle for 24 hours either in the fermenting vessel or a settling back.

When the beer was bright, it was racked into trade casks. A rubber pipe, fitted with a metal nozzle was used to fill the casks. The nozzle's function was to ensure that the tube reached almost to the bottom of the cask so the beer didn't get too agitated and begin to froth over.  

Dry hopping
Before being filled with beer, a quantity of whole hops was added to the trade casks. Standard-strength beers received between 1 and 1.5 pounds per barrel, stronger beers more. The best quality hops were used, usually Goldings or Worcesters. Only whole flowers, free from disease of fungus, were suitable.  

Dry hopping was about a lot more than just adding flavour to beer. It also benefitted the secondary fermentation in the cask.

The volatile oils present in the hops added flavour and aroma to the beer. The hops also helped conditioning, as they contained a diastatic enzymes that broke down lower malto-dextrins into more fermentable sugars, which would be consumed by the yeast during secondary fermentation. By attracting suspended particles, the hops aided clarification, too.  

A pure beer brewery in Sheffield (3)

Yet more from Mr. Harston of the Anchor Brewery.

This time he's talking about primings.

5975. {Chairman.) Then you say that priming is in no form used in your brewery ?—That is so.

5976. But you are inclined to think that a small quantity of sugar or malt extract, used as priming, would be an improvement in that respect ?—I am.

5977- What improvement would be derived in your opinion from that ?—It would retain the head longer. When a man asks for a glass of beer and they bring it on to the bar counter, he likes to see a head on it—a foam on it. I do not know that it is much the better for it; but it pleases the eye, and we feel bound to try and suit that particular requirement.

5978. Do you think that the priming would be necessary in consequence of your brewing your beer only from malt and hops, and that it would not be necessary if you used more sugar substitute, or something of that sort, in the manufacture of your beer ?—I think the substitute beers carry the head better.

5979. How long is required before you are able to send your beer out ?—Do you mean from brewing or from the beer. racking of it ?

5980. After the brewing, how long have you to keep it on the premises before you send it out to your customers ? —We have no particular time, but we unfortunately have been very much behind our trade. Our brewing capacity has not been sufficient to keep time with the business until just lately. We really like to keep it in the summer about a fortnight.

5981. For clearing purposes ?- Yes.

59S2. (Sir J. H. Gilbert.) From what date does your 10 or 14 days run ?—From the racking.

5983. (Dr. Bell.) That is after the fermentation is completed ?—Yes."
"Minutes of evidence taken before the Departmental committee on beer materials", 1899, page 228.
Evidence given by George Harston, Managing Director of the Anchor Brewery, Sheffield.

The punters liked a head on their beer, purely for aethetic reasons and priming the casks was a good way of ensuring this.

Racking and cleansing gravities

OK. Racking and cleansing gravities. God, we discuss such fascinating stuff.

Here's what Barclay Perkins did:


For Ales, the difference varies from 2 to 5 degrees. For the Stouts, the difference is bigger, 4 to 8 degrees. Though that does include IBSt, which had an OG of more than 1100.

Ale Brewing circa 1850 (part three)

Here are the remaining instructions on how to brew Ale 1850's style.

Cleansing
This was a very important process, intended to remove yeast from the wort. Beer was transferred from the fermenting tun to cleansing casks. As it began to ferment again, beer would be forced out of the casks and into stillions. During the the first 8 or 9 hours, the fermentation would be vigourous enough to require refilling the casks with the beer that had overflowed in the stillions every hour. As the fermentation slowed down, refilling would only be needed occasionally. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 50.)

Beers were usually cleansed within three days of the start of fermentation. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 50.)


Racking
When fermentation in the cleansing casks had ceased, the casks were left open to allow the beer to lose its CO2 before racking. The beer was left to stand for 7 or 8 days during which time the yeast would gradually settle to the bottom of the cleansing cask. When clear, the beer was racked into new casks, leaving the sediment behind in the cleansing casks. During racking, mild Ale fresh from cleansing could be mixed with old Stock Ale, in a proportion of 2 parts mild to one part old. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 50.) The casks were bunged shut, but were vented as the beer began to condition. After a few weeks, it was ready to be drunk. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 51.)


Ageing
supply of Stock Ale was maintained for blending with fresh beer. One method of accomplishing this without wasting space or time was like a solera system. A vat of beer of moderate age was divided over two vats which were then filled with young beer.The old and young beers blended better if the fresh beer was added through a tap at the bottom of the vat. This process was repeated every four to six months. In this way steady supply of Stock Ale of a constant quality was always available. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, pages 52-53.)

Beer could be encouraged to age more quickly by adding the spent hops from two or three brews. The hops also helped to clear the beer. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 53.) In April, pouring a couple of pints of olive oil on the surface of the beer in a vat to helped seal it off from the air and prevent it spoiling. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 53.)

The maturing vats were airtight and only the best malt and hops were used for beers to be aged. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 56.)

Ale Brewing circa 1850 (part two)

Today it's details of the fermentation process.


Fermentation
A maximum pitching temperature of 66º F in cold weather and 62º F in warm weather was suggested by Loftus. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 44.) Though for hard-water worts slightly higher temperatures were needed than for soft-water ones. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 45.) Similarly, hard-water worts required a greater quantity of yeast to be pitched: 5 to 6 pounds per quarter of malt as opposed to 3 to 4 pounds for those from soft water. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 45.) [From one quarter of malt between 2 and 4 36 gallon barrels of wort was produced.]

Fermentation could be speeded up beating the yeasty head into the fermenting wort. This process also meant that less yeast needed to be pitched, something Loftus found a good idea. "By thus blending the yeasty principles of produced by the beer, we can make a smaller quantity of foreign yeast suffice; and it is a desirable object never at ant time to use more of the latter than is absolutely necessary to effect conversion. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, pages 45-46.)

The fermenters were kept closed, only being opened to add yeast or sample the gravity. When the weather was cold, the fermentation room itself kept closed to maintain a constant temperature. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 46.)

The degree or attenuation was determined by a variety of factors: original gravity, air temperature and how long the beer was to be stored. In general, strong worts could be attenuated more as they would still retain enough unfermented material to give the beer body and to leave some extract for secondary fermentation. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 46.)

Beer was not attenuated as much in cold weather as in warm, again to help secondary conditioning. If it was intended for immediate consumption, beer was moderately attenuated, so there were enough sugars left for conditioning, without leaving it too thick and heavy. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 46.)

Strong Keeping Ales were attenuated as much as possible. The greater the degree of attenuation, the more easily they blended with other beers. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 46.) But, in order to leave plenty of fermentable material for a long secondary fermentation, they were cleansed at a higher gravity than beers intended for immediate use. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 49.)

Hard water worts did not attenuate as easily as soft water worts and often needed extra yeast. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 47.)