William Younger beers in 1933

Scottish week. Or month. Or whatever indefinite period until I get bored or run out of material. Here's instalment 1.5.

William Younger. I drank some of their beers back in the 1970's and 1980's. Their IPA wasn't bad, when you could find it. No. 3 I liked even more. The brewery couldn't have shared my enthusiasm as it was only available sporadically. Just doing the personal anecdote bit. There are still beers knocking around with the Younger name slapped on them, though who knows where they might be brewed. It's a sad end to a former giant of British brewing.

But don't fear, I'm here to bring their beers back to life. Those from the 1930's, at least. And what an exciting bunch of beers they are. I'm using the word "exciting" in a very special sense here. I could have said "dull", but I was worried it would put you off. They're so dull, these beers, that they come out the other side and become fascinating. Believe me. You'll know what I mean when you give the table below your full attention.

Younger brewed a crazy number of different beers in the 19th century. They'd calmed down a bit by the 1930's. All the shilling Ales were gone. And there used to be plenty of those. From 50/- all the way to 160/-. I've never quite worked out what these beers were or what they were marketed as. Don't say "Scotch Ales". The numbered Ales - 1 to 4 - were sold as Scotch (at least South of the border). In the 1930's only No. 1 and No. 3 remained. Along with a load of Pale Ales, a couple of Milds, a very, very occasional Stout and something called LAE. No idea what that is. Could be some sort of Pale Ale. I'm by no means sure.

Recipes. Well they're pretty simple. Pale malt and grits. And hops, of course. They're either from Kent or the US Pacific coast. I'm trying to think of how I can work in a quick jab at the they-didn't-use-many-hops-in-Scotland-because-they-don't-grow-there bollocks. Britain had been importing huge quantites of hops since the 1850's because it was impossible to meet the demand with locally-grown ones. London brewers - handily placed right next to the major hop growing reason - were still forced to use imported hops. The position of Younger in Scotland wasn't that much different. When you're bringing hops half way around the world from the West Coast of the USA, Kent doesn't seem far away at all.

While we're on the subject of hops, I'll add a little contextualisation info. Whitbread's beers in 1933 were, in general, more heavily hopped. As were Lees. In fact, those Younger's beers look pretty lightly hopped. Bugger. They're not supposed to be. I need to get some more English beers to compare them with. I'm sure I'll find some with lower hopping levels. I'll keep looking for the facts I want to find until I find them. That's the sort of dedicated researcher I am. In case you think I was being serious there, Younger's beers are significantly more lightly hopped than similar English beers. Based on this small sample, at least.

I've thrown in the boiling times and pitching temperatures, too. Because those feature prominently in the tales of Scottish Ales. Younger didn't pitch at a cooler temperature than the three English brewers. There are only two English brewers with boil times, making it difficult to draw much in the way of conclusions. But Younger weren't boiling for crazily long times. And it was the second, not the first wort that was boiled for longer.

Date	Year	Brewer	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp
13th Jun	1933	Whitbread	PA	Pale Ale	1048.8	1012.5	4.80	74.39%	8.00	1.62	1.33	1.42	63º
18th May	1933	Younger	XXPS	Pale Ale	1049.0	1014.0	4.63	71.43%	5.22	0.97	1.75	2.25	60º
11th May	1933	Lees	B	Pale Ale	1047.0	1009.0	5.03	80.85%	4.69	1.24			60º
1st Aug	1930	Russell	PA	Pale Ale	1052.6				7.11	1.38	2	2	59º
9th Jun	1933	Whitbread	X	Mild	1036.1	1009.5	3.52	73.68%	7.14	1.10	1.25	1.5	63º
23rd May	1933	Younger	XX	Mild	1037.0	1012.0	3.31	67.57%	4.71	0.63	1.75	2.25	62º
12th May	1933	Lees	K	Mild	1035.0	1006.0	3.84	82.86%	4.76	0.85			59º
5th Aug	1930	Russell	C	Mild	1039.7				6.00	0.87	2	2	59º
Sources:
Whitbread brewing records document LMA/4453/D/01/098 held at the London Metropolitan Archives.
Younger brewing records document WY/6/1/2/70 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.
Russell brewing records document DB-10/5 held at the Wolverhampton Archives.
Lees brewing records held at the brewery.

Getting back to the recipes, the most noteworthy point is the almost lack of any type of malt other than pale. They did use a blend of three pale malts: Tunisian, Californian and Scottish. Approximately a third each. The only beer to use anything else is DBS Stout, which has a little patent and crystal malt. Not the complete absence of roast barley. Unusually, Younger used little sugar. Lactose in No. 1 Ale, lactose and caramel in DBS. That's completely unlike what I've seen amongst English brewers. They used invert sugar of various types in all their beers.

Colours. Now there's a tricky one. Scottish brewers had a habit of colouring their beers differently for different markets. Presumably by the addition of caramel at racking time. I know from other sources that the No. 1 and No. 3 Ale sold in England were dark in colour. Yet there is nothing in the recipe to give them that colour. They must have been coloured later. Oddly, the logs include No. 3 and No. 3 Pale. Odd, because the recipes are identical.

I'll bow out with the main table. Enjoy.

 

William Younger beers in 1933
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	dry hops (oz / barrel)	liquorice (lbs)	pale malt	black malt	crystal malt	caramel	lactose	grits
16th May	1933	XXP	Pale Ale	1043.0	1012.0	4.10	72.09%	5.24	0.86	1.25	2.25	61º	2.00		57.14%					42.86%
17th May	1933	LAE	??	1046.0	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	8.26	1.44	2.5	3	60.5º	4.85		56.52%					43.48%
17th May	1933	Expt	Pale Ale	1054.0	1016.0	5.03	70.37%	4.76	1.85	2.75	2	60º	6.52		57.14%					42.86%
17th May	1933	XX	Mild	1037.0	1011.0	3.44	70.27%	1.90	0.66	2.75	2	61º	3.93		57.14%					42.86%
17th May	1933	1	Strong Ale	1085.0	1033.0	6.88	61.18%	5.26	1.79	2.5	3	57º	2.01		58.93%				3.57%	37.50%
17th May	1933	3	Strong Ale	1055.0	1015.5	5.23	71.82%	5.20	1.11	1.75	2.25	59º	2.05		58.00%					42.00%
18th May	1933	XXPS	Pale Ale	1049.0	1014.0	4.63	71.43%	5.22	0.97	1.75	2.25	60º	2.02		58.70%					41.30%
18th May	1933	XXPSm	Pale Ale	1048.0	1013.0	4.63	72.92%	5.22	0.95	1.75	2.25	60º	2.06		58.70%					41.30%
18th May	1933	XP Btlg	IPA	1039.0	1012.0	3.57	69.23%	6.11	0.87	1.75	2.25	61º	1.89		55.56%					44.44%
18th May	1933	3 pale	Strong Ale	1055.0	1016.0	5.16	70.91%	6.25	1.28	1.75	2.25	59.5º	2.06		56.25%					43.75%
18th May	1933	XXPS	Pale Ale	1049.0	1014.0	4.63	71.43%	6.25	1.14	1.75	2.25	59.5º	1.81		56.25%					43.75%
19th May	1933	XXPS	Pale Ale	1049.0	1013.0	4.76	73.47%	5.22	0.96	1.75	2.25	60º	2.05		58.70%					41.30%
19th May	1933	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1043.0	1013.0	3.97	69.77%	6.11	0.95	1.75	2.25	61º	1.82		55.56%					44.44%
19th May	1933	P Btlg	Pale Ale	1032.0	1011.0	2.78	65.63%	6.11	0.71	1.75	2.25	62º	1.79		55.56%					44.44%
23rd May	1933	3	Strong Ale	1055.0	1017.0	5.03	69.09%	5.20	1.09	1.75	2.25	59.5º	2.02		58.00%					42.00%
23rd May	1933	XX	Mild	1037.0	1012.0	3.31	67.57%	4.71	0.63	1.75	2.25	62º	1.90		58.82%					41.18%
23rd May	1933	1	Strong Ale	1085.0	1031.0	7.14	63.53%	5.26	1.83	2.5	3	57.5º	2.05		58.93%				3.57%	37.50%
24th May	1933	LAE	??	1046.0	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	8.26	1.41	2.5	3	59.5º	4.74		56.52%					43.48%
25th May	1933	3 pale	Strong Ale	1055.0	1015.0	5.29	72.73%	6.00	1.24	1.75	2.25	59º	1.99		58.00%					42.00%
25th May	1933	XXX	Mild	1042.0	1014.0	3.70	66.67%	4.74	0.71	1.75	2.25	61º	1.90		57.89%					42.11%
26th May	1933	MXP E	Pale Ale	1046.0	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	6.09	1.05	1.75	2.25	60.5º	1.92		58.70%					41.30%
5th Jun	1933	XXX	Mild	1042.0	1014.0	3.70	66.67%	4.74	0.74	1.75	2.25	60º	1.98		57.89%					42.11%
7th Jun	1933	MXP E	Pale Ale	1046.0	1012.5	4.43	72.83%	6.09	1.06	1.75	2.25	61º	1.93		56.52%					43.48%
8th Jun	1933	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066.0	1025.0	5.42	62.12%	9.31	2.14	2.5	3	60.5º	6.10	14	50.53%	3.16%	3.16%	4.21%	4.21%	34.74%
9th Jun	1933	XX	Mild	1037.0	1013.5	3.11	63.51%	2.25	0.76	2	2	61º	2.15	7	58.47%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	3.39%	38.14%
9th Jun	1933	XX Sc	Mild	1050.0	1025.0	3.31	50.00%	2.75	0.86	2	2	60º	3.75	7	58.47%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	3.39%	38.14%
Source:
Document WY/6/1/2/70 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.

Scotland month

Scotland. It's my new theme. You have to theme things up every now and again. And September and Scotland both begin with the letter S.

First there will be a series of Scottish Let's Brews. Some of those much misunderstood Scottish styles, like Heavy Wee and Smoked Scotch. Maybe even a Scottish Stout, if you're lucky. Shillings or numbers - which do you prefer? There are numbers 1 to 4. Then 50/-, 60/-, 80/-, 100/-, 120/-, 140/- and 160/-. Don't ask me what the difference is between the two sets. There's a big overlap in terms of gravity. And no obvious consistent difference in the hopping. But they must exist for some reason, mustn't they? I wonder how many other brewers had five different beers over 1100º?

Then I'll be applying my mighty intellect to the Scottish beer analyses I've collected. Am still collecting, almost even as we speak. Seeing if I can finally identify what makes a beer Scottish. Other than a ridiculously high gravity. Wish me luck.

To kick things off, here's a table of Scotch Ales from between the wars:

Scotch Ales 1920 - 1939
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1920	Usher	Old Scotch Ale		pint	bottled		1026	1080.7		7.11	67.78%
1920	Usher	Old Scotch Ale		pint	bottled		1008	1078		9.24	89.74%
1920	Usher	Old Scotch Ale		pint	bottled		1022	1078		7.30	71.79%
1921	McEwan	Old Scotch Ale		pint	bottled		1028	1086		7.54	67.44%
1922	McEwan	Old Scotch Ale (ex Brussels)		pint	bottled		1025	1090		8.49	72.22%
1922	Usher	Old Scotch Ale (ex Brussels)		pint	bottled		1000	1071		9.42	100.00%
1922	Usher	Old Scotch Ale (ex Brussels)		pint	bottled		1000	1072.8		9.67	100.00%
1923	Usher	Old Scotch Ale (ex Brussels)		pint	bottled		1016	1082		8.66	80.49%
1923	Usher	Old Scotch Ale (ex Brussels)		pint	bottled		1017	1083		8.66	79.52%
1923	Usher	Old Scotch Ale (ex Brussels)		pint	bottled		1016	1082		8.66	80.49%
1925	Younger, Wm. & Co	No.1 Strong Scotch Ale	9d	half pint	bottled		1013.8	1084.7		9.34	83.71%
1925	Younger, Wm. & Co	No.3 Scotch Ale	7.5d	half pint	bottled		1009.3	1053.8		5.81	82.71%
1928	McEwan	Scotch Ale		pint	bottled		1017.2	1069.6		6.83	75.29%
1932	Younger, Wm. & Co	Scotch Ale	9d	pint	draught	0.05	1011.8	1051		5.10	76.86%
1932	Younger, Wm. & Co	Scotch Ale	9d	pint	draught		1010.2	1048		4.92	78.75%
1932	Younger, Wm. & Co	Scotch Ale	9d	pint	draught	0.07	1012.6	1050		4.86	74.80%
1933	Usher	Old Scotch Ale		pint	bottled		1022	1096		9.72	77.08%
1939	McEwan	Scotch Ale			bottled	0.13	1019.6	1086.2	4 + 40	8.73	77.26%
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11
Whitbread Gravity Book

You should notice something immediately. Two quite different beers being sold as Scotch Ale: one of 8 or 9% ABV and another of 5% ABV. Younger's ones explain it the best. The Stronger is their No. 1 Ale, the weaker No. 3 Ale. The latter being a beer which had been available, off and on, since I've been drinking. It may even still exist.

Then there are the Scotch Ales brewed for the Belgian market. There must have been money it, judging by the number of brewers involved.Including some, like John Smith, that were in, er, England.

That reminds me. I must go through more Younger's logs. In particular the ones from the 1930's and 1940's. Only had them for two years. A backlog of logs is building. Even though I've not harvested many new ones this year. So much information, so little time.

The lost pint

Regrets. I've had a few. (Loads, really. But that doesn't scan so well.) One came back when I was back in blighty. Sorting mum's photos with my siblings.

I've two brothers. I rarely see the elder, Eddie. He's much older, born in 1939. He drifted in and out of Sunday visity days of cake, pop and sixpence in your hand if you didn't cheek or puke.

I've always envied him.

Dave, a year and nine months* my senior, I know much better. My first time down the pub was with Dave. The Wing for Barnsley Bitter, I'd hope. More likely The Castle and Falcon or another of Newark's 30-odd Courage pubs. Where the beer was bright, but electric. Watch that diaphragm go. Go. go. Four pints and I was puking. Not cheeking. I'm polite, me.

Andrew, my eldest son has just turned fifteen. One more year and we can share a beer in the pub.

It was a tradition. 18th birthday, dad took you down the pub for your first pint. A working-class rite of passage. Entry to the adult world.

My father died when I was fourteen. I never had that first pint with dad.

The gallons I may have drunk before wouldn't have mattered. That first symbolic pint. I wish I'd had it. Eddie did. That's why I envy him.

For Andrew it may not mean much. But when, in August 2012, I drag him to a pub and make him drink a beer, I'll be thinking of my dad. The first Andrew Kempton.




* Younger brothers have this precision.

Black Country (part three)

I'll try not to get sidetracked this time. I know what I want to write about and by golly I'm going to.

Stop three (or was it stop four?) on the crawl was the Beacon Hotel in Sedgley. Another place I've longed to visit for yonks. Why? Because it's where Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild is brewed. A Mild second in strength only to Pretty Things XXXX. An old-fashioned Mild, at pre-WW I strength. Just my cup of tea. Or pint of Mild.

I know. I've just sung the praises of watery Mild and here I am going on about a strong one. Consistency isn't my strongest suit. (I think it's either clubs or diamonds.) Here's another crazy idea: a pub that only sells Mild. But, to make it more thrilling, there would be the fall gamut of Mild, from 2-and-a-bit % ABV to over 10%, from pale yellow to deepest coal black. And everywhere inbetween. I reckon I could come up with a set of Milds that covered a wider range of flavours,colours and strengths than you'll find in most pubs' offerings.

Wandering again. My initial pledge has been quickly broken. Back to the Beacon Hotel.

What makes it special (apart from the lovely unspoilt interior) is the thing stuck on the back of the pub. A miniature tower brewery. A couple of decades ago it was brought back into use, having lain idle for half a century. Not only did they refire the brewery, but they tried to brew the type of beer that had been brewed in it during its glory days. Mild. Full-strength Mild. It's exactly what I would have done.

They now brew other beers, too. A bittery type thing, amongst others. I can't remember that well because all my attention was concentrated on Ruby Mild (I now know what I'd call a daughter - Ruby Mild Pattinson. Probably just as well my procreating days are over.) I've had it bottled before, but never draught. Another non disappointment, more easy-drinking than its strength would expect. And full of Mildy goodness. (My beer description have slumped to a new nadir. Oh well.)

My chauffeurs and guides, Mark and Sarah, know all the right people. They got me a peak inside the brewery itself. Not a tour. The barman just unlocked it and left us to ourselves.

Small, but perfectly formed is the best way to describe it. I'd show you photos, but the light was pretty bad. It's very much like many of the older breweries I've been around - Lees, for example. Just much, much smaller. Some of my homebrewing chums in the US have kit almost as big. When I get around to building my mansion, I'll include something similar. Just to keep me occupied during those long winter nights.

That's me done with Birmingham and the Black Country. Hope you enjoyed the short trip. Next up is London (yet again).






Beacon Hotel
129 Bilston Street
Sedgley
Dudley
DY3 1JE
http://www.sarahhughesbrewery.co.uk/

Thomas Russell beers in 1930

I'm sure I mentioned my visit to Wolverhampton Archives. I went there to look at the brewing records they have for Thomas Russell. Here's my first report on the beers they brewed.

It may also be my last report on their beers. Because, frustratingly, two of the three logs lack much basic information. Little things like the gravity and the quantity brewed. The 1930's log isn't much better, but I can at least work out the gravity from the gyle information.

Then there are the beers themselves. Not the most inspiring. Basically five different strengths of the same one. They're even worse than Whitbread in the 1840's. Russell had a single recipe: pale malt, two types of sugar, couple of types of hops. The recipe could easily date from 50 years previously, it's so simple. There's only one even vaguely interesting thing about them: the use of Saaz hops.

It's odd that. I keep coming across Saaz hops. William Younger seem to have been keen on them, too. But no doubt you'll be hearing more about that soon, when Kristen has worked his magic with their logs.

Styles. I've just guessed that the imaginatively-named, A, AB and C were sold as Milds. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. The Black Country was Mild country  (it still is to some extent). They might not have brewed a Bitter, but they had to be brewing Mild.

Here they are then.

Thomas Russell, Great Western Brewery, Wolverhampton
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	barrels	lbs hops	qtrs malt	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp
1st Aug	1930	No. 4	Strong Ale	1063.7	7.11	1.67	4	64	9	2	2	59º
1st Aug	1930	PA	Pale Ale	1052.6	7.11	1.38	20	64	9	2	2	59º
1st Aug	1930	A	Mild	1045.4	7.11	1.19	25	64	9	2	2	59º
5th Aug	1930	C	Mild	1039.7	6.00	0.87	12	48	8	2	2	59º
8th Aug	1930	AB	Mild	1034.4	6.00	0.88	3.5	48	8	2	2	59º
Source:
Document number DB-10/5 held at the Wolverhampton Archives

One other point. There were two worts. The Strong Ale was 100% the strong wort. As the gravity of this varied a bit between different brews, the strength wasn't constant.

I've used a William Butler's label for a couple of reasons. I can't find any Thomas Russell labels. And it was Butler who bought Russell in 1932.

Black Country (part two)

I'm going to jump backwards in time (something I've always wanted to do). To the start of my little Black Country expedition. To the first pub of the crawl, The Swan in Chaddesley Corbett.

It's a pub with personal memories. And if you look on a map, you'll see that it isn't in the Black Country but in the countryside beyond. A part of the rural Midlands surprisingly close to the sprawl of Birmingham. The husband of my cousin used to drive me and my brother out to the Swan when we visited my Mum's family. I always really liked it. And not just because it's a Bathams pub.

The Swan hasn't changed much. It still has two distinct rooms, Lounge and Public Bar. And Bathams Bitter and Mild still flow from its handpulls. I was especially pleased to see the Mild. To wrap my gob and around the glass and breathe in deep draughts of brown gold. It's lovely stuff.

Recent trips to Britain have taught me something: I miss Mild. I miss the unconscious ease with which it slips from glass to stomach. The joy of taking big gulps, like a drowning man coming up for air. The fun that a gallon or a gallon and a half of Tetley's Mild on a Friday night could be. Freshly escaped from the working week, in town with my mates. Stuffing every last inch of stomach with Mild. The slow, gentle intoxication a few hours of Mild brings along. Waxing inexorably but almost imperceptibly like the tide. Not the slap in the face of a double whisky downed in one, but the loving caress of a lover's hand. I really miss Mild. It's left a hole in my life that not even Abt can fill.

When did I last have a whole session on Mild? It's been so long, I can't recall. I did last Tuesday. Four different ones. All hitting that same spot. The soft spot in my heart. Mild's not about glamour. Not about fast living or excitement. It's about fun and friendship, simple, honest pleasure.

I'm rambling. This was supposed to be about the Swan. It's ended as an ode to Mild. My first beery love. I'm just born to be Mild.







The Swan,
The Village,
Chaddesley Corbett.
Tel: 01562 777 302