Taylor Walker beers 1921 - 1959

Massive table time again. This time inspired by Martyn Cornell's post on the history of Taylor Walker. I thought I'd provide a few details of their beers. It's the sort of synergy thing that the web's so good at.

Taylor Walker beers 1921 - 1959
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
1921	Nourishing Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled		1013.8	1039.9		3.37	65.41%
1921	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	15d	pint	bottled		1005.9	1029.6		3.08	80.07%
1921	Stout	Stout	9d	pint	draught		1021.8	1059.3		4.85	63.24%
1921	X	Mild	7d	pint	draught		1010.3	1042.7		4.21	75.88%
1922	Porter	Porter		pint	draught			1038.5
1926	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught			1045.1
1926	Porter	Porter	5d	pint	draught			1039.9
1926	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled			1036.7
1926	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught			1045.9
1926	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught			1058.6
1926	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1055.6
1926	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught			1045.7
1927	Ale	Mild	8d	pint	bottled		1014	1042.9		3.74	67.37%
1927	Special Stout	Stout	10d	pint	bottled		1013.7	1055		5.37	75.09%
1927	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught			1048.1
1927	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1053.2
1928	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	draught			1053.9
1928	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1052.1
1928	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught		1013	1044.5		4.08	70.79%
1929	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled			1043.30
1929	KK	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught	0.08	1016	1055		5.06	70.91%
1929	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.05	1010.4	1044		4.36	76.36%
1929	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught	0.05	1014.7	1044		3.79	66.59%
1930	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1012.6	1042		3.81	70.00%
1930	KK	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught		1015.8	1051		4.56	69.02%
1930	KK	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught	0.07	1017.2	1052		4.50	66.92%
1930	Nourishing Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled		1008.6	1037		3.69	76.76%
1930	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1010.4	1035		3.18	70.29%
1930	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.05	1011	1045		4.42	75.56%
1930	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled			1038.07
1930	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	draught			1049.8
1930	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1051.3
1930	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught		1013.3	1044		3.98	69.77%
1931	Ale	Mild	4d	pint	draught		1008	1024	40 Brown 11 Red	2.07	66.67%
1931	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	6.5d	pint	bottled		1009.4	1024		1.88	60.83%
1931	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	draught	0.06	1013.3	1042.4		3.77	68.63%
1931	KK	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught		1019	1053		4.40	64.15%
1931	Nourishing Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled		1011.5	1029.5		2.32	61.02%
1931	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1007	1025		2.33	72.00%
1931	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.06	1007.9	1036		3.65	78.06%
1931	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.07	1010.5	1044.9		4.47	76.61%
1931	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught	0.11	1008.1	1037.3		3.79	78.28%
1931	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	draught		1013	1049		4.67	73.47%
1931	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught	0.14	1016	1056.9		5.31	71.88%
1931	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1046.7
1931	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught	0.06	1010.8	1033		2.87	67.27%
1931	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught	0.06	1014.7	1044.7		3.88	67.11%
1931	XXX	Mild	9d	pint	draught	0.07	1009.1	1040		4.01	77.25%
1932	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled		1007.8	1032		3.14	75.63%
1932	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.04	1007.4	1032		3.19	76.88%
1932	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	8d	pint	draught	0.05	1011.2	1044		4.26	74.55%
1932	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled		1012	1029		2.19	58.62%
1932	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught			1038.2
1932	Stout	Stout	9d	pint	draught	0.06	1019.4	1051		4.08	61.96%
1932	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1049.09
1932	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught		1013	1036		2.97	63.89%
1932	XXX	Mild	9d	pint	draught	0.07	1015.4	1048		4.22	67.92%
1933	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.06	1009.6	1033		3.03	70.91%
1933	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.5	1031		3.05	75.81%
1933	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.07	1008.8	1044		4.58	80.00%
1933	Stout	Stout	9d	pint	bottled	0.05	1008.6	1030		2.77	71.33%
1933	Stout	Stout	9d	pint	draught	0.07	1008.6	1037		3.69	76.76%
1933	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled			1040.4
1933	Strong Ale	Strong Ale		pint	draught			1044.6
1933	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught	0.06	1013.8	1053		5.09	73.96%
1933	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.06	1013.3	1033		2.54	59.70%
1934	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1011.9	1034		2.86	65.00%
1934	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	13d	quart	bottled	0.05	1007.7	1033		3.28	76.67%
1934	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught			1048.6
1934	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled	0.05	1013.1	1034		2.70	61.47%
1934	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.06	1013.6	1035.3		2.80	61.47%
1935	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1011.9	1033		2.73	63.94%
1935	Nourishing Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1015	1033		2.32	54.55%
1935	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.5	1034	18	3.44	77.94%
1935	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.11	1013.8	1043		3.78	67.91%
1935	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled			1035.3
1935	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1048.8
1935	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.05	1014	1035		2.71	60.00%
1936	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1013.7	1036.1		2.89	62.05%
1936	Nourishing Stout	Stout		pint	bottled	0.06	1014.7	1034		2.49	56.76%
1936	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.06	1008	1032		3.11	75.00%
1936	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught			1046.2
1936	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled			1035.8
1936	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled			1047.1
1936	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1051.77
1936	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.06	1014.4	1034.6		2.60	58.38%
1937	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled			1036.10
1937	Mild Ale	Mild	5d	pint	bottled	0.05	1014.6	1034.6		2.58	57.80%
1937	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.06	1011.7	1044.1		4.20	73.47%
1937	Porter	Porter	5d	pint	draught			1035.59
1937	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled			1035.79
1937	Stout	Stout	8d	pint	draught			1055.84
1937	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1052.25
1937	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught		1011.6	1035.7		3.12	67.51%
1937	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.05	1013.1	1045		4.13	70.89%
1938	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1013.2	1035.1	13 + 40	2.83	62.39%
1938	Nourishing Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1015.2	1040.9	1 + 16	3.32	62.84%
1938	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.04	1010.6	1034.6	19 Brown	3.11	69.36%
1938	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught	0.07	1015.7	1043.1		3.54	63.57%
1938	Stout	Stout	7d	pint	bottled			1035.82
1938	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1053.6
1938	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.06	1012.9	1034.2		2.75	62.28%
1939	Milk Stout	Stout	10d	pint	bottled	0.06	1031	1061.1	1 + 40	3.86	49.26%
1939	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	draught			1043.75
1939	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	8d	pint	draught			1053.68
1939	X	Mild	5d	pint	draught	0.06	1011.5	1035.5	13 + 40	3.10	67.61%
1940	Main Line	Mild	9d	pint	draught	0.08	1016.4	1042.3	16 + 40	3.34	61.23%
1940	PA	Pale Ale	8d	pint	bottled	0.06	1010.6	1034.6	19.5 Brown	3.11	69.36%
1940	PA	Pale Ale	10d	pint	draught	0.06	1015.5	1045	19	3.81	65.56%
1940	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	9d	pint	draught			1053.5
1940	X	Mild	6d	pint	draught	0.05	1011.9	1034.4	12.5 + 40	2.91	65.41%
1940	X	Mild	7d	pint	draught			1042.2
1940	XX	Mild	8d	pint	draught	0.05	1011.3	1034.3	40 + 11	2.97	67.06%
1941	PA	Pale Ale	10d	pint	draught	0.05	1011.6	1040.7	27	3.77	71.50%
1941	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10d	pint	draught			1044.2
1941	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	11d	pint	draught			1047.5
1941	X	Mild	8d	pint	draught			1033.2
1941	XX	Mild		pint	draught	0.07	1007.2	1031.9	11 + 40	3.20	77.43%
1942	PA	Pale Ale	10d	pint	draught	0.07	1008.4	1038.6	21	3.92	78.24%
1942	XX	Mild	10d	pint	draught	0.08	1005.7	1031.4	11 + 40	3.34	81.85%
1943	PA	Pale Ale	14d	pint	draught	0.07	1009.5	1039	26	3.83	75.64%
1943	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	16d	pint	draught	0.06	1017.5	1041.7	17 + 40	3.12	58.03%
1943	XX	Mild	11d	pint	draught	0.06	1008.4	1029.6	9 + 40	2.75	71.62%
1944	PA	Pale Ale		pint	bottled	0.05	1007.3	1029.4	20 Brown	2.86	75.17%
1944	PA	Pale Ale	12d	pint	draught	0.07	1013.8	1039.5	26.5	3.32	65.06%
1945	PA	Pale Ale	14d	pint	draught	0.11	1011.2	1037	29	3.34	69.73%
1945	X	Mild	11d	pint	draught	0.07	1009.9	1029.1		2.48	65.98%
1946	Mainline	Mild	12d	pint	draught	0.04	1010.9	1032	12 + 40	2.73	65.94%
1946	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	17d	pint	bottled	0.07	1007.6	1030.1	11 + 40	2.92	74.75%
1946	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	bottled	0.05	1010.4	1029.8	22	2.51	65.10%
1946	X	Mild	11d	pint	draught	0.05	1009.9	1028.4	15 + 40	2.39	65.14%
1947	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	13d	pint	bottled	0.07	1007.3	1030.3	12 + 40	2.98	75.91%
1947	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	13d	pint	bottled	0.06	1006.7	1029.8	20	3.00	77.52%
1947	Stout	Stout	15d	pint	bottled	0.06	1011.6	1032.3	1 + 17.5	2.67	64.09%
1948	Brown Ale	Brown Ale	16d	pint	bottled	0.06	1010.6	1030.8	12 + 40	2.61	65.58%
1948	Mainline	Mild	15d	pint	draught	0.05	1012.1	1033.7	14 + 40	2.79	64.09%
1948	Nourishing Stout	Stout	16d	pint	bottled	0.12	1008.4	1031.6	1 + 17.5	3.01	73.42%
1948	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	0.08	1009.5	1037.6	24.5	3.64	74.73%
1948	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	16d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.1	1030.5	20.5	3.03	76.72%
1948	XX	Mild	13d	pint	draught	0.05	1007.1	1029.8	12 + 40	2.94	76.17%
1949	MA	Mild	12d	pint	draught	0.05	1009.5	1029.7	10 + 40	2.61	68.01%
1949	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught			1038.11	20
1949	Reserve Pale Ale	Pale Ale	14.5d	half pint	bottled	0.06	1009.9	1051.2	25 B	5.38	80.66%
1949	X	Mild	12d	pint	draught			1030.12	98
1949	X	Mild	14d	pint	draught			1034.44	108
1950	Bitter	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught	0.05	1010.6	1038.1	22 B	3.56	72.18%
1950	MA	Mild	12.5d	pint	draught	0.07	1006.1	1028.9	10 + 40	2.96	78.89%
1950	Nourishing Stout	Stout	8.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1014.9	1033.9	1 + 18	2.45	56.05%
1950	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1011.7	1032.6	13 + 40	2.70	64.11%
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	8.5d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1008	1033.3	22 B	3.28	75.98%
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught			1037.67	26
1950	Reserve Pale Ale	Pale Ale	14.5d	half pint	bottled	0.06	1011.5	1052.6	21 B	5.35	78.14%
1950	X	Mild	13d	pint	draught			1031.34	96
1951	Ale	Mild	12d	pint	draught	0.07	1006.9	1031.7	15 + 40	3.22	78.23%
1951	Bitter	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught	0.06	1008.3	1029.4		2.73	71.77%
1951	Bitter	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	0.08	1008.7	1038.5	24 Brown	3.87	77.40%
1951	Burton	Strong Ale	21d	pint	draught	0.08	1014.3	1050	19 + 40	4.63	71.40%
1951	Mainline	Mild	15d	pint	draught	0.08	1007.6	1035.2	15 + 80	3.58	78.41%
1951	Nourishing Stout	Stout	8.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1014.1	1033.9	1 + 18	2.55	58.41%
1951	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	8.5d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1010.8	1032.1	40 + 11	2.75	66.36%
1951	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	7.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1007.6	1031.3	21	3.07	75.72%
1951	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	8.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1007	1031.8	25	3.22	77.99%
1951	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught			1040	26
1951	Reserve Pale Ale	Pale Ale	14.5d	half pint	bottled	0.06	1010.4	1050.8	20.5	5.26	79.53%
1951	X	Mild	12d	pint	draught			1032.49	96
1952	Cannon Stout	Stout	15d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1019.4	1046.7	1R + 20B	3.52	58.46%
1952	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1011.7	1032.6	11 + 40	2.70	64.11%
1952	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught			1037.65	24
1952	X	Mild	13d	pint	draught			1030.86	98
1953	Coronation Ale	Strong Ale	24d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1029.5	1075.1	4 + 40	5.89	60.72%
1953	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	18d	pint	draught			1036.32	27
1953	Reserve Pale Ale	Pale Ale	12d	nip	bottled	0.06	1011.1	1046.5	22	4.60	76.13%
1953	X	Mild	13d	pint	draught			1032.74	96
1954	Cannon Stout	Stout	15d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1018.6	1043.3	1 + 21	3.18	57.04%
1954	EPA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	0.06	1008.6	1034	23B	3.29	74.71%
1954	KKK	Strong Ale	21d	pint	draught	0.05	1017	1049.1	17R + 40B	4.15	65.38%
1954	Main Line Special	Mild	13.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1017.5	1044.5	125	3.48	60.67%
1954	Mainline	Mild	15d	pint	draught	0.04	1014.5	1036.5	14 + 40	2.84	60.27%
1954	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	9.5d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1011.5	1032.9	16 + 40	2.77	65.05%
1954	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	0.04	1009.9	1038	23	3.64	73.95%
1954	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	9.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1007.3	1031.2	21	3.10	76.60%
1954	T.W.X.	Mild	13d	pint	draught	0.06	1010.3	1031.7	15R + 40B	2.77	67.51%
1955	Main Line	Mild	13.5d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1014.5	1044	115	3.82	67.05%
1956	Nut Brown Ale	Brown Ale	10d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1009.9	1032.4	95	2.91	69.44%
1956	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1007.3	1032.1	23	3.22	77.26%
1957	Cannon Stout	Stout	16d	half pint	bottled	0.04	1018.8	1043.5	350	3.18	56.78%
1957	Mainline	Mild	16d	pint	draught	0.05	1010.4	1037.4	100	3.50	72.19%
1957	Nourishing Stout	Stout	11d	half pint	bottled	0.05	1012.9	1033.3	300	2.63	61.26%
1957	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	0.06	1009.3	1038.8	19	3.83	76.03%
1957	Pale Ale (bottled in Belgium)	Pale Ale			bottled	0.06	1011.2	1048.7	27	4.88	77.00%
1959	Cannon Stout	Stout	14.5	half pint	bottled	0.04	1018.1	1045.8	425	3.57	60.48%
1959	Mild Ale	Mild			bottled	0.05	1009.4
1959	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10d	half pint	bottled	0.02	1007.9	1032.3	19	3.16	75.54%
1959	Reserve Special Pale Ale	Pale Ale	15.5	half pint	bottled	0.05	1014	1053.5	23	5.13	73.83%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity Book
Truman Gravity Book

I don't really have anything to add. To be honest, I'm too knacked to write much. You'll have to make do with just dry numbers.

Back home

I've just got back home from Boston. It may have been short, but it was certainly sweet.

Let's start with the beer: Pretty Things KK. Beautiful dark colour and citrusy aroma which, because the hops are English, also has earthy tones, too. Very complex and unlike anything I've had before. And scarily drinkable for a beer of almost 8% ABV. At the launch, it was available in four forms: handpulled, handpulled with a sparkler, gravity from a wooden cask and on CO2 pressure. They were all pretty good, but I had a slight preference for the sparkler version. Must be all those years I lived in Yorkshire.

I met loads of very nice people, who treated me very kindly. Dann, Martha and Jim from Pretty Things were great hosts.Will at Cambridge Brewing, Max and the crew at Deep Ellum, the gang at Lord Hobo. All were great fun. It was perfect for me. I could talk about beer non-stop without anyone falling asleep or blowing their brains out. Almost forgot the Trappist monks. Funny, funny guys.

Coloured malts (part three)

Isn't this fun? I should be able to stretch out coloured malts for a good few more days. Hopefully long enough for you have to forgotten about the other articles I mentioned.

"The tintorial value of a black malt will, as a rule, lie between 1000 and 1500° expressed on a 10-per-cent. solution of the malt, read in a 1-inch cell, using 52° series of glasses in a Lovibond tintometer. Any result under 1000° must be regarded as low, and in purchasing black malt it would be quite reasonable to name this figure as a minimum. I have occasionally met with black malts giving so low a tintorial value as 600°. With such malt it is quite obvious that for colouring purposes double the usual quantity of malt would have to be employed, a matter which would involve considerable expense."
"Journal of the Institute of Brewers vol. 13, 1907", page 488.

Some handy numbers for reference there. I wonder how that compares with modern black malt?

"As the price of black beer grains is less than of those from pale malt,—the difference being 6d. a quarter in London, but considerably greater in some districts,—many brewers mash their black malts by themselves or mixed with about an equal weight of pale malt, a special small mash-tun being devoted to this purpose. This practice has the advantage of enabling the bulk of the grains to be sold as pale, realising therefore the maximum price, the black grains themselves then selling at about two-thirds of the ordinary price. There is a good deal of difference of opinion on the advantage of this practice. Some brewers, whose views are to be respected, insist that there is a loss of flavour unless the black malt is actually mashed with the bulk of the grist. Others maintain that there is no such advantage, and that only a depreciation in the selling price of the grains results. The practice of adding a portion of the black malt to the copper (in that case generally specially finely ground) is quite common. Indeed, there are breweries where the whole is added at that stage, though this, I think, only occurs where caramel is also used. There is certainly a considerable roughness of flavour, amounting almost to bitterness, resulting from the use of any large quantity of black malt in the copper. Though this may in some cases be no objection,—indeed, I know of one or two where it is actually an advantage,—it is in others quite the reverse. The fact is that in this matter much depends upon the particular character of the stout required for a district. In some districts a dry flavour is desired, in others the maximum of softness, and it is in the production of this beer almost more than any other that the brewer has to study the idiosyncrasies of his local trade."
"Journal of the Institute of Brewers vol. 13, 1907", pages 488-489.

The price being talked about in the first couple of sentences could easily cause confusion. They're talking about the price brewers get for their spent grains. In general, London brewers mashed all their grains together. Barclay Perkins often threw a bushel or two of black malt into the copper.

Most interesting in this paragraph is the mention of differing regional tastes in Stout. And that these were greater than for other types of beer.

"There is some difference in the extract which is yielded by black malt when mashed by itself or when mashed with malt. This is naturally the case, since black malt is almost invariably non-diastasic, yet there may remain a proportion of practically unaltered starch which would not enter into solution when extracted by itself. A series of samples gave an average extract of 72.5 lb. per 336 lb. when extracted with water alone, as against 77 lb. when extracted in conjunction with malt.

The extracts above given are those yielded by 336 lb. of black malt, but this material is generally sold by bulk, rarely by weight. The actual weight per quarter of black malt varies more than probably most brewers suspect, unless they have taken the trouble to weigh their deliveries. I have seen weights recorded as low as 215 lb., and as high as 290 lb. There may thus be very wide discrepancies in the actual weight of material which the brewer purchases, yet the proportion of black malt, being as a rule so small, brewers have hitherto paid little attention to the matter. On the basis of an average weight of 270 lb., black malt gives a laboratory extract of about 60 lb., but in the brewery this figure could hardly be expected to be realised ; an extract value of 50 lb. a quarter is probably a more correct allowance."
"Journal of the Institute of Brewers vol. 13, 1907", pages 489-490.

I'd already noticed that the weight of a quarter of black malt could vary considerably. The weights I've seen have generally been a bit lower than the 270 lbs the author gives as an average. Annoyingly, this doesn't answer an important question: were brewers using volume quarters in their records? The extract of 77 brewers pounds (for a 336 pound quarter) seems quite high to me. I'm sure most brewers weren't that fussed about the extract from the black malt as it made up such a small percentage of the grist.

There's still loads more of this to come.

Medway Brewery beers

Here, as promised, the first results from the Medway Brewery log.

Medway Brewery beers
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	barrels	lbs hops	qtrs malt	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	pale malt	brown malt	black malt	crystal malt	no. 2 sugar	total
2nd Jun	1869	XX	Mild	1066.8	9.00	2.63	48	126	14	1.5	1.5	60º	100.00%					100.00%
7th Jun	1869	X	Mild	1049.9	7.88	1.70	74	126	16	1.5	1.5	60º	96.88%			3.13%		100.00%
11th Jun	1869	Porter	Porter	1054.3	10.42	2.66	60	224	21.5	1.5	1.5	60º	79.37%	15.00%	5.63%			100.00%
11th Jun	1869	Stout	Stout	1073.4	10.42	3.59	18	224	21.5	1.5	1.5	60º	79.37%	15.00%	5.63%			100.00%
12th Jun	1869	X	Mild	1050.7	8.00	1.78	72	128	16	1.5	1.5	60º	96.88%			3.13%		100.00%
14th Jun	1869	X	Mild	1050.7	8.00	1.85	78	144	18	1.5	1.5	61º	97.22%			2.78%		100.00%
15th Jun	1869	Porter	Porter	1051.5	10.29	2.61	69	180	17.5	1.5	1.5	60º	79.26%	13.83%	6.91%	0.00%		100.00%
17th Jun	1869	X	Mild	1050.1	8.00	1.80	71	128	16	1.5	1.5	60º	96.88%			3.13%		100.00%
18th Jun	1869	X	Mild	1051.5	8.00	1.75	73	128	16	1.5	1.5	60º	96.88%			3.13%		100.00%
29th Jul	1869	B Beer	Pale Ale	1049.6	18.94	3.83	72	276	14.57	1.5	1.5	60º	82.21%				17.79%	100.00%
28th Aug	1869	BA	Pale Ale	1065.8	16.47	4.62	52	240	14.57	1.5	1.5	60º	82.21%				17.79%	100.00%
20th Oct	1870	TA	Table Beer	1034.3	13.00	1.77	21.5	195	15	1.5	1.5	62º	100.00%					100.00%
20th Oct	1870	TB	Table Beer	1045.4	13.00	2.34	67	195	15	1.5	1.5	62º	100.00%					100.00%
28th Oct	1870	IPA	IPA	1066.5	16.00	4.71	68	320	20	1.5	1.5	º	100.00%					100.00%
Source:
Medway Brewery Brewing Journal

There's nothing particularly odd there. The gravities are about what I would have expected. Though it did strike me that only a couple of the Pale Ales included sugar. This isn't so unusual for the period. Initially, sugar seems to have been mostly used to lighten the body (and colour, too, I suppose) of Pale Ales. It's not until a couple of decades later that it started turning up in Porter and Mild Ale.

Feel free to add some analysis of your own. Me, I've got other things to be getting on with.

Coloured malts (part two)

Here's the first part of the article on coloured malts. The introduction. It makes a few intriguing points.

"Every brewer who produces black beer uses some form of coloured malt. It is true that of late years caramel has in some districts partially superseded these, but even the most enthusiastic advocate of caramel will hardly claim to produce a satisfactory black beer without, at least, some proportion of coloured malt. And whilst much has been written and said of pale malts, comparatively little attention appears to have been paid to the small yet quite important matter of the character of coloured malt. Ever since black beers have been produced, coloured malts have been made and used. Indeed the name " Patent Malt," which is still often applied to black malt, is derived from the fact that consequent upon the passing of an Act of Parliament* over 60 years ago, a licence or patent was required for its manufacture. The coloured malts employed are respectively black, brown, amber, and crystal.

Brown and amber malts have of late years fallen somewhat into disfavour, black being relied upon for colour, crystal for flavour. There is. however, latterly a tendency to employ an increased proportion of brown and amber malt, and without doubt such malt if really well made gives a characteristic flavour not possessed by either black or crystal. It is, indeed, by a skillful blending of the several types of coloured malt that some of the most successful black beers are produced. It is true that in such grists the total proportion of the coloured malts will often be large and the cost price of the beer as a consequence high, but the result of the adoption of such grists generally fully justifies the expenditure."
"Journal of the Institute of Brewers vol. 13, 1907", pages 486-487.

I think the author is wrong about the origin of the term patent malt. I'm sure it was used long before 1842 and refers to the patent Wheeler obtained for his malt roasting process in 1817.

He's right about a decline in the use of brown and amber malt and an increase in the use of crystal. Though London brewers did stick with brown malt for their Porters and Stouts. They also used it in K Ales sometimes. Amber malt became rarer and rarer in the 20th century and by WW II had just about disappeared from London beers.

I'm an idiot

Remember that brewing journal I picked up a couple of weeks ago? The one from the Medway. I've just realised which brewery it is.

At the time the journal was used (1869 and 1870), the name of the company was the Medway Brewery. Later it was known as Style & Co. In 1899, after merging with Winch & Sons of Chatham, it became Style & Winch.

The same Style & Winch that Barclay Perkins bought in 1929. It operated as their subsidiary for more than 40 years.

If I'd known that, I'd have been even keener to buy it. Just for the Barclay Perkins connection. I feel an idiot for not having noticed until now.

I've been harvesting the first details from the journal. Details will follow soon.

Boston

Been here two an a half hours. And I've almost finished my first bottle of Pretty Things KK. It's like a deam.

USA here I come (again)

I fly to Boston today for the release of the new beer in the Pretty Things Once Upon a Time series. The beer's a KK from 1901. I'm dead excited at the prospect of getting to taste it in cask form.

It only seems like a few weeks since I was last in the US. Probably because it is only a few weeks. I've never been to Boston. Not that I'll get that much chance to see anything this trip. I'll only be in town a couple of days. I expect I'll spend most of my time in pubs.

The beer itself is a KK, brewed on Chiswell Street in November 1901. In the Golden Age of British brewing. If you've paying attention to these pages you'll realise that we're talking about a Burton. An elusive style that's somehow managed to slip through the fingers of history. Dark, hoppy and 7.8% ABV, it should be a cracker.

The release event is on Sunday (3rd October) at Deep Ellum and kicks off at 3 PM. I'll be the fat drunk in a top hat, if you want to buy me beer or give me money.


Deep Ellum Bar
477 Cambridge Street,
Allston, MA 02134.
max@deepelluminc.com
Tel: 617-787-BEER (2337)
http://www.deepellum-boston.com/