Barley Wine

It's funny what you stumble across when looking for something else. This is something I found with a search for Whitbread's Porter.

19th century chemistry reference books are wonderful sources. If you're after analyses of beers. See if you can see what's noteworthy in these:

Various British beers
Year	Brewer	Country	Beer	Style	Acidity	FG	OG	ABV	attenuation
1870	Allsopp	UK	Burton Ale	Strong Ale	0.32	1040.38	1121.6	10.64	66.80%
1870	Bass	UK	Barley Wine	Barley Wine	0.23	1032.31	1114.8	10.84	71.85%
1870	Unknown, Edinburgh	UK	Edinburgh Ale	Scotch Ale	0.19	1006.63	1048.4	5.45	86.30%
1870	Guinness	Ireland	Extra Stout	Stout	0.24	1015.51	1078.1	8.20	80.13%
1870	Truman	UK	Porter	Porter	0.24	1013.16	1051.3	4.96	74.36%
1870	Whitbread	UK	Porter	Porter	0.18	1014.04	1054.1	5.21	74.05%
1870	Hoare	UK	Porter	Porter	0.18	1012.99	1052.4	5.13	75.22%
1870	Perry	Ireland	Ale	Ale	0.14	1006.48	1045.8	5.13	85.86%
Source: "A dictionary of chemistry and the allied branches of other sciences, Volume 6" by Henry Watts, 1872, page 256

You must have spotted it. Barley Wine. The normal story is Bass first used the term around 1900 to describe its No. 1 Ale. Well, "A dictionary of chemistry and the allied branches of other sciences" was published in 1872. Significantly earlier.

Take a look yourself if you don't believe me. It clearly states "Bass's barley wine"

Do I win a prize?

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1890 Truman Export Stout

Now here's a novelty. A Let's Brew Wednesday that I post on a Wednesday. I would blame the holidays, but I was just as bad at the start of December.

It's a while since we did a Truman's beer. To be truthful, I've not quite got around to looking at the 1890 Truman logs properly. Just having quickly glanced at one, I can remember why. There's some confusing stuff in there. In particular, some weird party-gyling come blending. If I'd been able to understand it, you'd have had a nice Imperial Stout recipe here.

Export Stout was the only Truman Porter that contained no sugar. The various Runners and Stouts had 20-25% sugar in their grist.

Oh yes, almost forgot. The original had a very long boil. 2.75 hours for the first wort, 4 hours for the second. Must have had a Scottish brewer.

That's about it from me. Best had you over to Kristen . . . . . . .

Truman - 1890 - Export Stout
General info: Tropical breeze. Palm trees. Keelhauling. Kokostitte. I turn you back to the good old days of boat wenches, swashbuckling and ass kicking. Not necessarily in that order. In my mind, this beer is the epitome of a dry Caribbean stout. Lots of dark malt, hops and delicious alcohol. Have enough of these and your life will be a movie rated, 'Arrrrrhhhhhhh!' Eye patches not required but suggested.
Beer Specifics			Recipe by percentages
Gravity (OG)	1.075		77% English pale
Gravity (FG)	1.015		13.8% Brown malt
ABV	8.00%		9.2% Black malt
Apparent attenuation	80.00%
Real attenuation	65.54%
IBU	100.0		Mash	90min@156°F		0.98qt/lb
SRM	103.0			90min@68.9°C		2.05L/kg
EBC	274.2
			Boil	180 minutes
	Homebrew @ 70%				Craft @ 80%
Grist	5gal		19L		10bbl		10hl
English pale	11.37	lb	5.176	kg	616.78	lb	238.30	kg
Brown malt	2.04	lb	0.929	kg	110.77	lb	42.80	kg
Black malt	1.36	lb	0.619	kg	73.64	lb	28.45	kg
					801.19
Hops
Fuggles 4.5% 120min	4.64	oz	131.5	g	287.6	oz	6.949	kg
Fuggles 4.5% 30min	1.38	oz	39.1	g	85.4	oz	2.063	kg
Fuggles 4.5% dry hop	1.16	oz	32.9	g	72.0	oz	1.740	kg
Fermentation	68°F /20°C
Yeast	Nottingham ale
	WLP002 English Ale Yeast
	Wyeast 1968 London ESB
Tasting Notes: Tons of dark fruit. Rich cocoa and rummed raisins. Treacle, dates and sultanas. Dark roasted espresso. Assertive herbal bitter with a near quinine tonic-like character. A massive drying accentuates the hop flavours and resins. The finish is like a very strong espresso with a hand full of winey fruits and a good dose of alcohol completely reminiscent of caffè correctto.

Those who shall not be named

Talking of dividing breweries reminded me of a very special group of breweries: those I won't name.

"Why?" you might reasonably ask. But who said I was reasonable? I have my reasons.

Mostly it's to avoid pointless, distracting arguments. Drinkers form emotional relationships with breweries. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just as guilty myself. But it doesn't make for reasoned debate if I continually slag off another's favourite. And, realistically, what do you care if I think some idolised breweries are rubbish?

I like to entertain and inform. I've nimbly sidestepped both in this post. Blame the first Abt of the day.

Children in pubs

I like to portray myself as a grumpy old bastard. Even though I say so myself, I think I've done a pretty good job. Possibly because that's my true character. But there's one point on which I deviate from my crusty manifesto: children in pubs.

I took Lexie with me to Wildeman on Saturday. Here in Holland taking your kids down the pub is perfectly normal. Everyone does it and no-one minds. Just as well, because even if it had been socially unacceptable, I'd still have done it.

My kids were pub regulars before they could walk. Mostly in Bedier, a pub next to the sixth most dangerous road junction in Holland. But I'd take them into town to Belgique and Wildeman, too. I won't pretend that there weren't some hairy moments. Andrew had a habit of running off down Nieuwedijk if I didn't keep a close eye on him. And Lexie, well, was Lexie. He's inherited my psychopathic streak.

Now I'm reaping the benefit of getting the kids accustomed to pubs early. They sit there nicely and, if they get fed up, fiddle with one of their many electronic devices. Or say "Dad, I'm bored. Can we go home now?" Which is fair enough. But I can usually get 1.5 to 2 hours boozing time. More than enough, even for a pisshead like me.

Of course, the British way is much better. Confine kids in the beer garden with a bottle of pop and a bag of crisps until they're 18 (or 16, to be more realistic). Drop adolescents right into adult life - and alcohol consumption - cold. Just like they used to throw kids into the river to teach them to swim. Yes, Europe has much to learn from Britain.

Visiting Whitbread

Let's see if you can guess what the topic of my next project is. I think it's getting to be pretty obvious.

This is a demonstration of the Whitbread family's position in London society: the king and his family came visiting:

"On the 26th of May this year [1787], the King and Queen, accompanied by the Princess Royal, the Princess Augusta and Princess Elizabeth, preceded by the Dukes of Montague and Ancaster, went to see Mr. Whitbread's porter brewery in Chiswell-street. They were received at the door by Mr. Whitbread and Miss Whitbread, when, after politely declining the breakfast that was provided, their Majesties and the Royal Family went over the works. The steam-engine then lately erected, and first applied by Mr. Whitbread to the purposes of the brewery, took up their attention above half an hour, during which time his Majesty explained to the Queen and the Princesses the leading movements to the machinery, in a manner that fully proved his knowledge of mechanical arts. In the great store were three thousand and seven barrels of beer. The stone cistern raised such wonder, that the Queen and Princesses would go into it, though through a small hole, with some difficulty, and the sight rewarded them for the trouble, on account of its vast magnitude, capable of holding four thousand barrels of beer. Though the machinery now used had saved much animal labour, still there was work for eighty horses. This particularly impressed his Majesty, who also saw two hundred men at their various occupations. The horse-keeper, yielding to the harmless vanity of office, said he would show his Majesty " the highest horse among his subjects." The King graciously gave him something more than audience, and accurately guessed the height of the horse, which was really remarkable, being seventeen hands three inches. The King however observed, that his muscle was not proportioned to his bones. Such parts of the brewery as were unavoidably dirty were covered with matting, and lamps lighted in those which were dark. After having inspected every part of the premises in a minute manner, the Royal Visitants retired into the dwelling-house, and partook of a cold collation, as magnificent as affluence and arrangement could render it. The whole service was plate, and there was an assortment of every wine; and that the board might not be incomplete, some of Whitbread's intire was poured from a large bottle, that had more excellent singularities than mere size to recommend it. After partaking of this plentiful regale, it was two o'clock; and their Majesties and Royal Family took leave of Mr. Whitbread and his daughter, highly satisfied with the various species of their entertainment."

"The public and domestic life of His late Most Gracious Majesty, George the Third, Volume 1" by Edward Holt, pages 299-300.

That's exactly what I'd do if I were a prince. Get dad to take me around a brewery. Those lucky royals.

Whitbread Porter 1805 - 1920

Time to focus on Whitbread Porter in even more detail. I'll always be able to find more detail. That's why I'm never going to run out of material.

Today we're taking a look at Whitbread Porter for a little more than a century, from Trafalgar to Versailles. here's the table:

What struck me was the fact that the pale malt content peaked very early on, in 1822. Black malt is the simplest to trace. It started at less tan 2% of the grist  and rose slowly but inexorably to just under 8%. Brown malt show the most variation, between none and 25%.

Up until WW I, there wasn't much variation in gravity. It remained somewhere betweeen 1052 and 1060 for pretty much the whole of the 19th century.

Pasteur visits Whitbread

It's uncanny how much of beer's development has been driven by war. Directly and indirectly. Here's a good example: Pasteur wanting to get back at the Germans for the Franco-Prussian war. I suppose brewing better beer is better than building bigger bombs.

"The Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 and the subsequent defeat and occupation of parts of France actually provided the stimulus for Pasteur's temporary obsession with beer. Being highly patriotic, he thought that by improving the quality of French  he could 'get back at the Germans' by producing superior prioducts which would gradually replace the hitherto more consistent and popular German beers from their European markets. French beer production at that time was wholly unscientific and it was pure chance that a wholesome batch would be produced. In 1871, Pasteur visited the laboratory of Prof. Emile Duclaux at Clermont-Ferrand and soon became associated with a small brewery at nearby Chamalieres. There he devised a new method of brewing (which he patented on 28 June 1871). The whole ethos of the new method was to avoid contact between beer and the atmosphere as far as possible, and hence reduce the likelihood of contamination. According to Pasteur, beers brewed bt this new method should be called 'Bières de la Revanche Nationale', or 'Revenge Beers'. The brewery at Chamalieres was very small and Pasteur felt the need to work at a far larger consern. Having no desire to visit a German brewery, he turned to England where he arrived in September 1871 with a small entourage. From his base at the Grosvenor Hotel in Victoria he visited a number of London breweries during his fortnight stay. The only surviving record of his visit is of 9 September 1871 when he toured the Whitbread Brewery in Chiswell Street. Although some major British breweries employed microscopes at this time, Whitbread & Co. did not, and during his investigations (he carried his own microscope) Pasteur found serious contaminations in the porter an ale yeast. The beer-finings were also found to be contaminated. As a result of a management meeting, fresh yeast was obtained from a nearby brewery and it was agreed that many of Pasteur's brewing tenetsshould be instigated. On revisiting the Chiswell Street brewery about one week later he found that a microscope had been purchased and new yeast management procedures adopted. Thus, the huge Whitbread tradition of scientific laboratory control of the brewing process emanates from Pasteur's visit."
"Brewing" by Ian Spencer Hornsey, 1999, pages 7-8.

I'm not surprised the finings weren't clean. It was common to use sour, returned beer as a solvent for the finings. Sounds like a good way of spreading an infection to every single barrel you brew.

I found a brewing log from just a couple of weeks after Pasteur's visit. You can see it above. Sadly, it has no mention of the yeast's origin, at least not as far as I can see.

Dividing brewers

Craft. Regional. Traditional. Mega. Multinational. Local.

What does it all mean.?

I want beer I enjoy drinking. Nothing weird in that. As long as a brewery provides beer I want to drink, I'll support them. In the most basic way: by buying their beer.

Looking forward

Now that pesky Old Year is out of the way, on with the New.

My Mini Book Series is now complete. 2010 will see my exciting new project: the Mega Book Series. More details will follow, once I've thought them up. Andrew suggested the name. And waht better place to start than with a name?

More trips, more archive visits. (If I'm allowed.) I need to see more records from breweries outside London. This would mean a good excuse for a trip to Dublin. Except Guinness have already told me I can't look at their brewing logs. Bastards. The Brewing Museum in Burton is on my list. As long as I can get into the archives. As soon as the Scottish Brewing Archive is open again, I'll be back to Glasgow.

Should be a busy year.