Exhibit of Foreign and Colonial Beers

An argument that's often been thrown at me in defence of rigid beer style guidelines is that you can't hold beer competitions without them. Even though plenty occurred in the past. For example, the event we're looking at today. Despite it's title as an exhibition, there was a competitive element to it as the beers were given scores.

The exhibition was the idea of a Mr. Boake.

Seldom has a collection of greater interest to the trade been on view in London than the display of foreign and Colonial beers at the works of Messrs. A. Boake, Roberts, and Co., Stratford, between October the 20th and 24th. Great praise is due to Mr. Arthur Boake for having in his recent tour round the world conceived the idea-'of making arrangements with the various brewery companies he visited for the getting together of such an interesting collection; nor must we omit to mention the very excellent way in which this idea was carried into effect. The beers were most tastefully arranged, and every facility was given to those who were present at the exhibition to inspect and taste as many of the samples as they desired.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672.

In total, there were around 80 beers exhibited. Coming from Europe, Asia, America, Africa and Australia. Which is pretty impressive given that all would have been shipped by sea. Something which would have taken weeks or even months in 1902. Coordinating the deliveries from all the different parts of the globe must have been a nightmare. I assume that it was mostly arranged by telegram.

I found this an interesting remark on pasteurised beer:

The lager beers of France and Belgium were on the whole very creditable samples; we certainly preferred the non-Pasteurised to tne Pasteurised, as the latter had for the most part the peculiar flavour characteristic of some Pasteurised beers which obscured their original taste.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672.

I think I'm with the jury there on pasteurisation.

Slightly weird knowing that I've drunk beer from some of the breweries mentioned. In a couple of cases, even the specific beer.

A good dark lager beer was the Trappist Monastery beer (Holland). Some of the Russian beers were excellent of their kind. A dark lager from the Brasserie Francois Lutoslawski Fils was a very full-drinking sample, resembling the Munich "Salvator Bier” in type, but decidedly sweeter. We determined the original gravity of a sample of this beer, and found it to be 1090. The Lezak beer of a Warsaw firm was a fine pale lager, but quite different from the German pale beers in character, being much fuller. Messrs. D. Carnegie and Co., Goteborg, Sweden, sent a very good sample of stout.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672.

Was the La Trappe beer really a Lager? Odd that it's the only Dutch beer represented, as it was pretty small. Also odd that they were exporting to Java.

That Lutoslawski must have been incredibly sweet if it was sweeter than Salvator. Interesting that they, correctly, call Carnegie Porter a Stout. Which, of corse, it was. That's one of the specific beers featured that I've drunk.

Interested in seeing a full list of the beers exhibited? I don't know why I'm asking. I'll be posting them whether you like it or not.

Florida here I come

I rise around 7:30 and head straight to the bistro. For exactly the same breakfast as yesterday. That should keep me going for a while.

I've still three bottles of Mike Karnowski's beer. One of them a corked and caged 75 cl. I'm a bit wary of taking that type of bottle in my checked in bag. Best drink it up. It's an Arctic Ale, the perfect breakfast beer. I sip on it while catching up with my emails.

I meet Stan in the lobby at 9:15. Soon we're on the motorway headed for Atlanta airport. It gives us another chance to chat. Stan always has interesting stuff to tell me. This time it's all about hop chemistry. How little I understand about hops. Quite humbling, really. How little I know about modern advances, too. Makes me glad that I stick to history, where nothing changes.

Stan needs to go to a different terminal for his flight to Denver. We say our goodbyes and I trundle along to the Delta check in. It's all very painless. There aren't even queues at security. It's odd that, other than having to wear a mask, there are no Covid restrictions. No proof of vaccination or negative Covid test needed to board.

I've still more than an hour before my flight departs. Time for a calming drink. A Gordon Biersch bar will do. I park my flabby old arse at the bar.

"A double Jack Daniels, no ice, please."

“Can I see some ID?”

Bloody hell. I look old enough to be Edward the Confessor’s dad. I guess it’s just the rules. Still feels weird.

A chance to catch my breath. It's pretty busy here. So unlike Schiphol. Very much like usual in a large airport.

"Would you like another drink, sir?" the barman asks.

Not at these fucking prices. I've already looked at the bill for the first $27.50. I'm not a millionaire.

I get to the gate just a priority boarding is about to end and waltz right through.

The onboard entertainment is free. So I pull out my headphones and look for something to watch. There seem to be loads of old films. I eventually settle on Reds. How old is this? Must be from sometime in the 1970s. Jack Nicholson looks so young. It's a bit slow. And long. By the time we land I'm not even halfway through. Maybe I'll finish it on the return flight to Atlanta.

I’m a lucky boy. My bag flops onto the carousel just as I arrive there.

My taxi driver is on a video call to his brother. What the fuck? I'd prefer a little more attention to the road.

I'm not in the fanciest accommodation. It's a cheapish motel. Close to the beach, mind.

Once in my room, I email Matt Manthe. I'll be giving a talk at his brewery tomorrow. Does he fancy a beer this evening? He does, and arranges to pick me up at 17:30.

I power up the TV to pass a little time. It starts on Fox News. I guess that tells me something about the people who stay here.

Matt arrives in his truck on the dot. Sam, who helps at the brewery and is looking to start his own place, is with him.

Our first port of call is Briny Irish Pub. It's pretty crowded, but we find a table. Pretty noisy, too, due to the live music. It is Friday night, I suppose. I order an IPA1A from 26 degrees Brewing. It's not bad, in an old-school West Coast sort of way.

Matt tells me all about his brewery and his mixed fermentation culture. Which has multiple stains of Brettanomyces and pediococcus, as well as boring old Saccharomyces. He uses it for all of his beers. He's a very patient man. All of his beers have years in oak before he considers them ready for sale.

What to eat? What about fish and chips. I haven't had that for ages. Well, since yesterday. Very nice it is, too. Especially as there's malt vinegar to drown it in.

We move on to 26º Brewing, which isn't far. It's a cavern of a place and pretty busy. We all get their Scotch Ale, which Matt has been telling me about. A little peaty, but nothing too stupid.

There's a burlesque show, which is pretty weird. Evidently, it's a thing in breweries in South Florida. Very strange.

We only stay for the one. Then go over the road to Checkers, a German restaurant. It’s got a black and white half-timbered thing going on. Which seems rather out of place in Florida. We sit at the bar.

I get myself a half litre of Salvator. Matt has a boot-shaped litre glass of something a little weaker. It's so he can join the boot club. Once he's drunk a certain number of these things he'll get his own stein.

They kick us out at 22:00 and Matt drives me back to my fancy hotel.

Where a whisky wheels me down the hill to sleepy town.




Briny Irish Pub
3440 E Atlantic Blvd,
Pompano Beach, FL 33062.
https://thebrinyirishpub.com/


26° Brewing Co.
2600 E Atlantic Blvd,
Pompano Beach, FL 33062.
http://www.26brewing.com/



Checkers Old Munchen
2209 E Atlantic Blvd,
Pompano Beach, FL 33062.
https://stammtischcheckersoldmunchen.com/

Canadian Lagers in 1909

I couldn’t leave these analyses unused. If only for my own peace of mind.

Plus there haven’t been that many tables here of late. Or much about Lager. Seems like several birds are being taken out by a single missile.

I was most intrigued by two beers called Salvador. Especially as both have very modest gravities, far away from Doppelbock levels. Evidently one of the brewers at Reinhardt had worked at Zacherl, which does imply that there was some connection between Salvador and Salvator. I’d love to know what colour Salvador was.

Because if it wasn’t dark, then it would have bugger all in common with the Salvator brewed in Munich. Some of those have an OG double that of the weaker Salvador. And while the average attenuation for the Munich beers is under 60%, both the Canadian beers are over 70%.

Which leaves me wondering: was Salvador originally similar to Salvator but changed over the years? Or was it always very different, basically using the name and little else from the original? We may never know.

Having said that, many of the OG’s look low compared to European Lagers. Pilsners were usually in the range 1048-1050º, Lagerbier over 1050º and Export over 1055º. About the only exception were the Schenkbiers sold in Austria-Hungary which were in the low 1040º’s. Virtually none of the Canadian Lagers is over 1050º. A couple that are on the stronger side – the two called Budweiser – I suspect were really imported Ameriucan beers.

I saw a similar pattern with Canadian Ales, which, while stronger than the Lagers, were also mostly weaker than their British equivalents. Was this generally the rule, I wonder, that Canadian beers were slightly weaker than elsewhere? Let me know if you have the answer.

Canadian Lagers in 1909
Brewer	Town	Beer	Style	Price	size	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Reinhardt & Co.	Toronto	Bavarian	Dunkles	15c	bottle	1048.1	1011	5.39	77.13%
Beauport Brewing Co.	Quebec	Lager Beer	Lager	10c	bottle	1036.2	1003.3	4.63	90.88%
The Korman Brewery, Ltd.	Toronto	Perfecto	Lager	15c	bottle	1037	1005.1	4.56	86.22%
Bajus Brewery		Lager Beer	Lager	15c	bottle	1037.3	1010	3.90	73.19%
O. Archambault	Iberville	Salvador	Lager	13.3c	bottle	1038.4	1011.4	3.83	70.31%
Holliday		East Kent Lager	Lager	8.33c	bottle	1039.3	1009.4	4.27	76.08%
Carling Brewing & Malting	London, Ont.	Lager Beer	Lager	15c	bottle	1040	1011.4	4.05	71.50%
Victoria Phoenix Brewing Co.	Victoria, BC	Lager Beer	Lager	15c	quart	1040.7	1012.7	4.05	68.80%
O'Keefe's Ltd.	Toronto	Lager Beer	Lager	15c	bottle	1041.6	1009.8	4.49	76.44%
Cosgrove Brewing Co.	Toronto	Lager Beer	Lager	10c	bottle	1041.8	1015.7	3.76	62.44%
The Capital Brewing & Malting Co.	Ottawa	Capital Ale	Lager	5.83c	pint	1042	1009.6	4.71	77.14%
C.H. Harther	Hamilton	Lager Beer	Lager	11c	bottle	1042.7	1013.1	4.20	69.32%
Carling Brewing & Malting	London, Ont.	Lager Beer	Lager	11.67c	bottle	1042.7	1014.6	4.05	65.81%
L. Chapot Fils & Cie.	Montreal	Blue Ribbon	Lager	20c	bottle	1043.1	1017.5	3.69	59.40%
Carling Brewing & Malting	Ottawa	Canada Club	Lager	10c	pint	1043.1	1014.7	4.05	65.89%
Strathcona Brewing & Malting Co.	Strathcona	Lager Beer	Lager	16.67c	quart	1043.4	1011	4.56	74.65%
Union Brewing Ltd.	Montreal	Lager Beer	Lager	11.33c	bottle	1043.9	1012.6	4.42	71.30%
Kuntz & Co.	Waterloo	Lager Beer	Lager	11.67c	bottle	1043.9	1016.4	3.90	62.64%
Victoria Phoenix Brewing Co.	Victoria, BC	Lager Beer	Lager	16.67c	quart	1044.5	1011.5	4.63	74.16%
Reinhardt & Co.	Toronto	Salvador	Lager	10c	bottle	1044.9	1009	5.00	79.96%
Blackwood Ltd.	Winnipeg	Lager Beer	Lager		pint	1044.9	1015	4.27	66.59%
Lethbridge Brewing & Malting Co.	Lethbridge	Lager Beer	Lager	16.67c	quart	1044.9	1016.1	4.12	64.14%
The Moosejaw Brewing & Malting Co., Ltd.	Winnipeg	Lager Beer	Lager		pint	1045.1	1018	3.90	60.09%
James Ready, Ltd	Fairville, St. John N.B.	Lager Beer	Lager	13.3c	bottle	1045.2	1010.1	4.93	77.65%
Golden West Brewing Co.	Calgary	Lager Beer	Lager	16.67c	quart	1045.4	1013.7	4.49	69.82%
McDonagh & Shea	Winnipeg	Lager Beer	Lager		pint	1045.5	1014.4	4.42	68.35%
Reinhardt & Co.	Toronto	Lager Beer	Lager	15c	bottle	1046.3	1007.8	5.39	83.15%
Calgary Brewing & Malting Co.	Calgary	Lager Beer	Lager	16.67c	quart	1046.6	1015.7	4.34	66.31%
Canadian Breweries Ltd	Montreal	Ekerts	Lager	8.33c	bottle	1046.8	1010.1	4.63	78.42%
Kuntz & Co.	Waterloo	Lager Beer	Lager	10c	bottle	1046.8	1016.1	4.27	65.60%
George Patry	Quebec	Lager Beer	Lager	15c	bottle	1047.4	1019.2	4.12	59.49%
H. Kuntz	Hamilton	Lager Beer	Lager	10.67c	bottle	1047.6	1017.2	4.34	63.87%
The Union Brewery Ltd.	Montreal	Kuntz	Lager	20c	bottle	1047.9	1015.8	4.49	67.01%
G.E. Amyot	Quebec	B.B.	Lager	13.3c	bottle	1048	1012.4	5.00	74.17%
The Hamilton Brewing Association, Ltd.	Hamilton	Regal	Lager	20c	bottle	1048.4	1015.4	4.63	68.18%
Edmonton Brewing & Malting Co.	Edmonton	Lager Beer	Lager	16.67c	quart	1048.4	1015.1	4.71	68.80%
G.E. Amyot	Quebec	Lager Beer	Lager	10c	bottle	1050	1011.5	5.39	77.00%
George Patry	Quebec	Lager Beer	Lager	15c	bottle	1051.2	1013.3	5.32	74.02%
G.E. Amyot	Quebec	Lager Beer	Lager	11.67c	bottle	1051.7	1012	5.55	76.79%
Vancouver Breweries. Ltd.	Vancouver	Cascade	Lager	13.33c	quart	1052.2	1016.2	5.00	68.97%
Vancouver Breweries. Ltd.	Vancouver	Cascade	Lager	16.67c	quart	1055	1015.3	5.55	72.18%
Average						1044.8	1013.0	4.49	71.17%
O'Keefe's Ltd.	Toronto	Pilsener	Pilsner	10c	pint	1039.6	1008.6	4.42	78.28%
O'Keefe's Ltd.	Toronto	Pilsener	Pilsner	15c	bottle	1041	1007.5	4.85	81.71%
The National Breweries, Ltd.	Montreal	Ekers Bohemian	Pilsner	8.33c	bottle	1043.4	1012.5	4.42	71.20%
L. Chapot Fils & Cie.	Montreal	Budweiser	Pilsner	25c	bottle	1049.8	1015.3	4.85	69.28%
Copeland Brewing Co., Ltd.	Toronto	Budweiser	Pilsner	15c	bottle	1050.4	1012.4	5.24	75.40%
Average						1044.8	1011.3	4.76	75.17%
Reinhardt & Sons	Montreal	Vienna	Vienna Lager	10c	bottle	1037.1	1006.5	4.71	82.48%
Source:
"Ale and lager beer" by McGill, A. (Anthony), 1910, pages 4 - 19.

Munich Salvator 1869 - 1914
Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1869	Zacherl	Salvator	Bock	1065.7	1022	5.63	66.51%
1890	Hackerbräu	Salvator	Bock	1071.6	1030.3	5.32	57.68%
1890	Münchener Salvator	Bock	Bock	1073.2	1028	5.80	61.72%
1890	Zacherlbräu	Salvator	Bock	1074.7	1033.9	5.25	54.63%
1890	Salvatorbräu	Salvator	Bock	1075.9	1034.2	5.37	54.94%
1890	Spatenbräu	Salvator	Bock	1076.7	1040.6	4.62	47.05%
1898	Zacherl	Salvator	Bock	1077.1	1029.9	6.10	61.22%
1914	Paulaner	Salvator	Doppelbock	1071.2	1033.5	4.7	51.27%
Average				1073.3	1031.6	5.35	56.88%
Sources:
"British Medical Journal" March 6th 1869, page 218
"Handbuch der chemischen technologie" by Otto Dammer, Rudolf Kaiser, 1896, pages 696-697
"Brockhaus' konversations-lexikon, Band 2" by F.A. Brockhaus, 1898
"Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint" by Arnold Spencer Wahl and Robert Wahl, 1937, page 168.

Dutch Lager Styles 1870 - 1960 (part two)

Early Lager styles
It’s easy to assume, looking back from the present, that Pilsener was an immediate success. It wasn’t, because, initially at least, it wasn’t the type of Lager brewed.  In the 1860’s, few Pale Lagers were brewed outside Bohemia.

The styles of Lager first brewed outside Germany were inspired by the two pioneers who revolutionised central European brewing: Dreher of Schwechat just outside Vienna and Sedlmayr of Spaten in Munich. The two undertook a long study trip in the 1830’s, mostly to Britain, at the time at the forefront of brewing technology. What they learned allowed them to modernise their breweries and, in the case of Dreher, become the largest brewery on the continent.

Their friendship also brought bottom-fermentation to Vienna. Sedlmayr provided Dreher with yeast after his attempts to brew an English-style Pale Ale in Schewchat had failed. His amber Lager was a huge hit all across Europe, even in the UK. In the 1860’s Dreher’s Lagerbier was being shipped all over the continent and rivalled Bass and Allsopp for international fame.

Which is how Heineken noticed it.  In 1869 there was an international exhibition held in the Paleis for Volksvlijt, not far from Heineken’s new brewery on the Stadhouders kade. Heineken sold beer at the exhibition, but the public were far more interested in what Dreher was selling*. Heineken took note.


Central European Lager styles
Now for a little context. Central Europe was home to many styles if Lager in the second half of the 19th century, some of which no longer exist.

In Bavaria, the styles were, in ascending order of strength:

Winterbier or Schenkbier
Sommerbier or Lagerbier
Export
Märzen
Bock
Doppelbock or Salvator

All of these beers were dark in colour.

Munich beers in 1866
Here are a few analyses of Munich beers in 1866:

Munich Beers in 1866
Brewer	Beer	Style	FG	OG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Hofbräuhaus	Bock	Bock	1024.7	1073.7	6.36	66.49%
Salvatorbräu	Salvator	Bock	1033.3	1076.9	5.61	56.67%
Spatenbräu	Bock	Bock	1026.8	1077.2	6.54	65.28%
Hofbräuhaus	Sommerbier	Sommerbier	1014.1	1051.5	4.85	72.62%
Löwenbräu	Winterbier	Winterbier	1017	1046.1	3.75	63.08%
Source:
"Handbuch der chemischen technologie" by Otto Dammer, Rudolf Kaiser, 1896, pages 696-697

Note the generally poor level of attenuation.

Austrian Lager styles
Austrian Lagers came in similar strength bands to those in Bavaria: Winterbier, Sommerbier ,
Export, Märzen and Bock. Though the colours were quite different to in Bavaria. In Bohemia the majority of Lager were pale in colour, while in Vienna amber was the preferred colour. Though increasingly in Vienna and Austria paler types of Lager became popular towards the end of the century.

Dreher beers in the 1870's
Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	Acidity	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1870	Schwechat	Pilsener	Pilsener	0.17	1016.7	1051.3	6	4.48	66.33%
1870	Schwechat	??	Lager		1017.4	1055	10.5	4.87	68.36%
1870	Schwechat	Lagerbier	Lagerbier	0.13	1017.6	1053.5	6.3	4.65	65.96%
1870	Schwechat	Märzen	Märzen	0.14	1016.9	1054.7	7.1	4.9	67.95%
1870	Schwechat	Export	Export	0.13	1017.4	1052.6	6	4.56	65.80%
1870	Schwechat	Lagerbier	Lager		1017.6	1052.6		4.53	66.54%
1876	Schwechat	Export	Export	0.13	1018.7	1052.7		4.4	63.22%
1876	Schwechat	Bock	Bock		1016.6	1068.7		7.23	74.70%
Sources:
"Theory and Practice of the Preparation of Malt and the Fabrication of Beer" Julius E. Thausing, Anton Schwartz and A.H. Bauer, Philadelphia 1882, pages 748-751
Wahl & Henius, pages 823-830

* "Korte Geschiedenis der Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij N.V. 1873 - 1948", by H. A. Korthals, 1948, page 29.

American beer styles of the 1930’s – colour

As promised, I’m wringing the final drops of moisture out of the wet tea towel that is the Wahls’ "Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint". This time we’re looking at beer colour.

“Color, Clarity and Effervescence
The American public is disposed to judge beer according to visible properties like color, clarity and effervescence. Pale or extra pale beers may seem too dark to some. While dark beers are not generally flavored excepting probably in Bock beer season, that conforms with what we term the Lenten season, they are preferred by some connoisseurs who favor the Bavarian type of lager beer which differs from the light Pilsener generally served, in being of a less bitter type besides differences in color, clarity and effervescence. The color may not only be one of degrees of darkness but may suggest something faulty. It may appeal to the eye as reddish instead of purely dark. The latter characteristic comes naturally from the character of the malt in the process of kiln drying. Exceptionally high kiln dried malt is used in the manufacture of the celebrated Irish Stouts, like Guinness of Dublin. These beers are never reddish although they are very dark and sometimes almost black. This applies also to very dark lager beers, like the Kulmbacher.”
"Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint" by Arnold Spencer Wahl and Robert Wahl, 1937, pages 182 - 183.

I think there’s a misprint in there. Pretty sure that should read “dark beers are not generally favored .  . . “.

It’s pretty naïve believing colour in dark beer comes from highly-kilned malt. That’s not even totally true for Germany, where caramel or sinamar were/are used for colour.

Working out the colour of beer in the past is a really tricky. That’s why I’m always glad to see some numbers. Descriptions like “dark” or “brown” really don’t tell you much. So I’m delighted to see some hard figures here.

“Color by Tintometer Scale
Scientifically the color is determined by reference to a color scale established somewhat on the method adopted for the degree of color introduced in laboratory examination tests by the Lovibond Tintometer Method.

To indicate the niceties required by scientific methods and at the same time giving an idea of the differences in color of beer we give the following scale of variation in color from Pilsener to Kulmbacher.

Pilsener......... 0.5— 0.7 cc n/10 iodine solution*
Dortmunder...... 0.7— 1.5 cc "
Wiener.......... 2.0— 3.5 cc   " '
Muenchener...... 3-5— 5.0 cc "
Bock and Salvator. 5.0— 8.0 cc "
Kulmbacher...... 8.0—14.0 cc "
Irish Stout......12.00—18.0 cc "
"Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint" by Arnold Spencer Wahl and Robert Wahl, 1937, page 183.

I’m surprised at how relatively pale Muenchener is. Only barely dark, by the look of it. While the bottom of the Vienna range looks yellow rather than amber or pale brown which you would expect. Whereas Kulmbacher, as billed, is near black.

It’s a shame that no American top-fermenting styles are listed. I’d love to know how dark Ales were back then. I suspect paler than British-brewed Ales.

“The color of the wort should be as near as possible that of the beer to be produced. It is described more minutely as light or dark Vienna and light or dark Bavarian. For Vienna beer it is not desirable to use color malt for deepening the color, which cannot be avoided, however, for Bavarian beers. The paler the color of the wort, the shorter should be the time of complete saccharification and the more sugar may and should the wort contain. The Lovibond tintometer is preferred for measuring color but when not available it is customary to determine the color of the wort by comparison with dilution of a tenth normal iodine solution.

* Amount in 100 cc of water.”
"Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint" by Arnold Spencer Wahl and Robert Wahl, 1937, pages 183 - 184.

So if you don’t use coloured malt in Vienna Lager how do you get the colour? Pretty sure the stuff about paler wort containing more sugar is total crap.

Pretty sure that’s it for this source. But not to worry. I’ll be starting on a Journal of the Institute of Brewing article next.

Nationally-distributed pre-Prohibition bottled beers

Yet more stuff from the Wahls’ book. This time I’m lifting no text, just a table.

But it’s a very important table. One that offers a glimpse into the world of American pre-Prohibition beers. It’s not just telling us about the physical nature of specific beers, it’s also saying what type of beers were popular and where they were brewed.

Now I knew that Milwaukee was a major brewing town. But I hadn’t quite realised how important it was nationally. 22 of the 35 beers in the table were brewed there. What’s even more interesting is that just one beer wasn’t brewed in the Mid-West – Salvator from Munich.

There’s not a single beer from the East Coast. Which is odd, as I know that as late as the 1930’s New York produced more beer than any other state, 17.5% of total production. Followed by another eastern state, Pennsylvania*. I infer from this that the beer brewed in the East was mostly consumed fairly locally. Not so odd as those were also the most populous states.

A disadvantage Eastern brewers had was that they brewed a large percentage of Ales, for which the demand decreased the further West you went. While the Mid-Western brewers were Lager all the way. I’m pretty sure than not a single beer in the table is an Ale.

A word about the styles in the table. I’ve added them, as the original table only had the beer name. They’re mostly my guess, though most I’ve simply classified as Lager.

Here’s the table. You may recognise a few names.

Nationally-distributed pre-Prohibition bottled beers
Brewer	Town	Beer	Style	Acidity	FG	OG	OG Plato	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Pabst	Milwaukee	Bock	Bock	0.22	1023.2	1058.0	14.31	4.25	58.70%
Paulaner	Munich	Salvator	Doppelbock	0.39	1033.5	1071.2	17.36	4.7	51.27%
Average				0.31	1028.3	1064.6	15.84	4.48	54.98%
Blatz	Milwaukee	Muenchener	Dunkles Export	0.19	1021.1	1055.9	13.81	4.39	60.97%
Miller	Milwaukee	Muenchener	Dunkles Export	0.19	1018.3	1053.1	13.16	4.41	64.36%
Pabst	Milwaukee	Bavarian	Dunkles Export	0.23	1027.7	1059.7	14.7	3.71	52.24%
Average				0.20	1022.4	1056.2	13.89	4.17	59.19%
Blatz	Milwaukee	Export	Export	0.189	1014.5	1050.0	12.42	4.52	69.89%
Schlitz	Milwaukee	Export	Export	0.18	1016.1	1049.4	12.29	4.35	66.31%
Hammond	Hammond, Indiana	Mühlhauser	Export	0.17	1015.1	1060.5	14.9	5.73	74.03%
Average				0.18	1015.2	1053.3	13.20	4.87	70.08%
Blatz	Milwaukee	Private Stock	Lager	0.19	1013.9	1050.8	12.62	4.71	71.71%
Cream City	Milwaukee	A. I. Cream	Lager	0.18	1014.0	1048.3	12.02	4.21	69.97%
Cream City	Milwaukee	Edelbräu	Lager	0.216	1016.3	1056.2	13.88	5.05	69.81%
Cream City	Milwaukee	Extra Stock	Lager	0.19	1013.9	1048.0	11.94	4.25	69.93%
Gettelman	Milwaukee	Pride	Lager	0.15	1011.0	1043.1	10.77	4.13	73.72%
Gettelman	Milwaukee	Best	Lager	0.2	1013.2	1046.7	11.65	4.3	70.90%
Gettelman	Milwaukee	Natural	Lager	0.18	1012.4	1047.7	11.87	4.52	73.13%
Miller	Milwaukee	Buffet	Lager	0.18	1015.1	1053.3	13.21	4.83	70.55%
Pabst	Milwaukee	Red, white & blue	Lager	0.16	1015.1	1047.0	11.72	3.43	66.81%
Pabst	Milwaukee	Doppelbräu	Lager	0.27	1025.0	1056.2	13.89	3.71	54.21%
Schlitz	Milwaukee	Pale	Lager	0.18	1016.0	1046.9	11.69	3.93	64.76%
Grand Rapids	Grand Rapids	Silver Foam	Lager	0.15	1013.2	1049.9	12.4	4.5	72.66%
Hammond	Hammond, Indiana	Malt Extract	Lager	0.18	1018.9	1054.6	13.51	4.41	64.17%
Heilemann	La Crosse	Old Style Lager	Lager	0.16	1010.8	1044.9	11.2	4.32	75.09%
McAvoy	Chicago	Club	Lager	0.16	1015.1	1049.6	12.33	4.36	68.45%
McAvoy	Chicago	Alma Mater	Lager	0.16	1015.0	1051.6	12.81	4.43	69.87%
Schoenhofen	Chicago	Edelweis	Lager	0.22	1014.9	1048.1	11.97	4.25	68.09%
Schoenhofen	Chicago	Select	Lager	0.21	1014.1	1046.7	11.63	4.16	68.70%
Tosetti	Chicago	Majestic	Lager	0.18	1018.7	1056.3	13.91	4.75	65.49%
Average				0.19	1015.1	1049.8	12.37	4.33	68.84%
Cream City	Milwaukee	Pilsner	Pilsner	0.17	1014.5	1048.0	11.94	4.16	68.84%
Independ. Milw.	Milwaukee	Pilsner	Pilsner	0.18	1013.9	1047.1	11.74	4.12	69.59%
Miller	Milwaukee	High Life	Pilsner	0.19	1018.3	1057.0	14.08	4.72	66.69%
Pabst	Milwaukee	Blue Ribbon	Pilsner	0.17	1016.5	1047.5	11.82	3.66	64.13%
Anheuser Busch	St. Louis	Budweiser	Pilsner	0.2	1014.1	1051.8	12.86	4.8	71.70%
Tosetti	Chicago	Bohemian	Pilsner	0.17	1012.8	1038.5	9.66	3.19	65.84%
Average				0.18	1015.0	1048.3	12.02	4.11	67.80%
Blatz	Milwaukee	Wiener	Vienna Lager	0.19	1013.9	1050.8	12.62	4.71	71.71%
Source:
"Beer from the Expert's Viewpoint" by Arnold Spencer Wahl and Robert Wahl, 1937, page 168.

Interesting, eh? A general point first. It looks to me as if some of the beers are the same, just with a different name. For example, there are three Cream City beers with almost identical gravities: A. I. Cream, Extra Stock and Pilsner.

The three Muenchener beers look very much like the Wahls’ description of the style: around 14º Balling and a low degree of attenuation.

At just over 13º Balling, the average for the Exports looks about right, but that doesn’t really match any of the three examples. Two are just over 12º Balling and the third almost 15º Balling. I don’t think that’s really telling us anything.

Most of the beers I’ve classified as Lager have gravities around 12º Balling, though there are some over 13º Balling. The average degree of attenuation, at just under 70%, is about what you’d expect. Though it looks quite poor by modern standards.

The Pilsners average out to almost exactly 12º Balling, though there are two real outliers, Miller High Life  and Tosetti Bohemian. The latter looks like a Czech vycepni pivo, with a gravity of just under 10º Balling.

I’m not sure that the single Vienna Lager tells us much, other than to confirm a pretty standard gravity.

I’m not totally finished mining the Wahls’ book. Still something on beer colour to go.




* Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 42, Issue 5, September-October 1936, pages 416.