Something different

Six months ago I dropped down to working 90%. Which means I get every second Friday off.

Usually I spend the day writing and researching. Pretty dull stuff, chained to my computer. But it needs to be done. It was especially necessary in the rush to get my new Scottish book finished.

With the book and talk done, I had time for other stuff this time.

"I've won a bread baking workshop for two. Do you fancy coming along?" Dolores asked me on Tuesday.

"Yeah, why not? Should be interesting."

It involves yeast, baking. I can see a beer connection. I've never baked bread, either. Better than just sitting around the house drinking Abt. As much fun as that is.

The workshop is at one of Amsterdam's most famous bakers, Hartog's. A family firm that's been around since 1896. And for most of those 120 years they've milled their own flour. They don't trust industrial millers, evidently. Their main product is a compact, brick-like wholemeal loaf. It's incredibly popular, with punters cycling across time to buy it. There's always a queue in their shop.

We get to the bakery a bit early. But I've come prepared. I spotted a pub next door on the internet, Lokaal. They sell a couple of different beers, so it'll do. Not in the most attactive building in the world, but it's pleasant enough inside.

Dolores orders a Lowlander Witbier, but they give her an IPA instead. She's remarkably easy about the mistake. Especially seen how much she hates hoppy beers. I  play safe with a Zatte.

We're some of the first to arrive. Most of the others don't turn up until just before we're due to kick off. Most are obviously enthusiastic home bread makers. As is Dolores.  There's only one other novice like me. Before we get stuck into the neading, there's a bit of informal Q&A with the baker, which is dead informative. He's very enthusiastic and clearly knows his stuff.

We're making bread a very quick way. At the end of two hours we'll have a loaf of our own to take home. After a quick demonstartion from the make, we start getting our hands dirty. Very dirty, in my case.

The method we've been shown uses a very wet dough. It looks scary enough when the baker does it. I just end up with a sticky mess that gets all over the place but doesn't seem very keen on forming into a nice ball. Pretty sure it's going to be a disaster, at this point. The baker shoots me a few pitying looks.

Somehow I manage to get most of my streak of chewing gum into the baking tin. Apart from the half kilo or so stuck to my fingers. While it's baking, we get a tour aroung the bakery. I'm quite used to going around food production facilities. There a quite a few similarities with a brewery, mostly all the stainless steel.

Amazingly, my loaf has worked. It hasn't risen as much as Dolores's, but it's still proper bread. I feel ridiculously proud.



Hartog's Volkoren Bakkerij en Maalderij  
Wibautstraat 77,
1091 GK Amsterdam.
http://volkorenbrood.nl/


Lokaal
Wibautstraat 85,
1091 GK Amsterdam.
Tel: 020 - 752 74 19
http://grandcafelokaal.nl/

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1984 Maclay PA 6d

I forgot to post a recipe yesterday as usual. I’ve just been so busy with that Scottish book thingy.

No, this recipe isn’t in the book. That only goes as far as 1970. I’m trying not to post stuff from the book. Then you bastards have more incentive to buy it.

PA 6d, or 60/- as it was known in the pub, was a long-running beer of Maclay’s, being brewed from at least 1938 right up until they closed. In the 1930’s, it was their mid-strength Pale Ale at 1038º, slotting in between PA 5d and PA 7d, at 1032º and 1042º, respectively. After WW II, it was their bottom=level beer.

It’s a beer I was very fond of, when I could find it. A very pleasant Dark Mild. Oh yes, you’ll need to ass a shit load of caramel to get the right colour. It’s way, way paler as brewed, more like 4-5 SRM.

The malt percentage increased in the early 1980’s when Maclay dropped flaked maize. The recipe otherwise – No. 1 invert, a sugar called DCS and a bit of malt extract – remained exactly the same. I’ve substituted No. 3 invert for DCS.

The hops were a mix of British Columbian and English. As usual, varieties are my guess. You can swap them around, should you so be inclined.

The two mashing temperatures are for the initial infusion and after adding more hot water via the underlet after about 30 minutes. A sort of step mash, in effect.

1984 Maclay PA 6d
pale malt	6.00 lb	90.57%
malt extract	0.17 lb	2.57%
No. 1 invert	0.33 lb	4.98%
No. 3 invert	0.125 lb	1.89%
Cluster 90 min	0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 min	0.50 oz
Goldings 30 min	0.25 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1030
FG	1007
ABV	3.04
Apparent attenuation	76.67%
IBU	22
SRM	25
Mash at	148/157º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Frisch or Jungbier

I’ll be straight with you. I haven’t much time today. It took long enough to produce this clumsy and probably not that accurate translation.

“These are called "simple" beers, which have only been fermenting for a few hours and do not show any hop deposit; Apparent fermentation degree: 35-40%. One can, for example, mash in in the evening, finish the mash at 6 o'clock in the morning and ship it already at 7 o'clock in the evening (with cotton wool filters, CO2 cartridges).

It is necessary to use the best quality malt and highly attenuating yeasts, so that the yeast sits firmly in the bottle. Pitching rate: 1-3 litres of yeast per hectolitre of wort.

- The strains of yeast used for Jungbier should ferment vigorously on account of its quick delivery to prevent the development of bacteria.

It is often collected by private individuals in buckets; The customer adds the same amount of water, lets it ferment, removes the cover and then bottles it or the brewer dilutes the beer with 1/3 of water, fills the beer into bottles, leaves it to ferment for one day and then corks it.

The fresh or young beer should only have a very thin head of yeast when the yeast is being ejected, and before being dispatched further should be pitched again; the pitching rate must then also be lower. To prevent infection, low-gravity beers must be pitched with yeast immediately after cooling.

Recommended mashing procedures.
I. Mash in at 30-32° R in order to have a temperature of 20º in the tuns, in one hour, the saccharification temperature (54°-60° R. 67°-70° C.), and, after an iodine solution has shown that saccharification has occurred, rises to 60° R. (75° C.), put a (thin) part of the mash into the tun, then bring the rest quickly to boil and boil the same (the thick mash) for 0.75 hours in the copper and mash as usual.

When using raw grain, it is previously gelatinised in the cooker or pre-mashing apparatus. As soon as the second water addition takes place, the copper is fired up for boiling, which lasts 1.5-2 hours (until a strong break).

Hopping rate: 1/2 to 1 pound per zentner [50kg] of malt. It is best to place 1/3 in the kettle as soon as the bottom is covered, the second third as soon as it comes to the boil, and the last third half an hour before emptying.”
"Die Fabrikation obergäriger Biere in Praxis und Theorie" by Braumeister Grenell, 1907, pages 60 – 62.

Did you notice the three hop additions?1º R = 1.25º C, in case you were wondering. Can’t be arsed to work them all out. A little arithmetic exercise for you.

Love the idea of fetching fermenting wort in a bucket. How medieval is that?

Munich Helles in 1902

To go with yesterday’s post, here’s one about fat old Dunkles’ slim blond younger brother. Helles.

It’s going to be a compare and contrast exercise. Which is always fun.

Let’s start with OG. 13.52º for Dunkles, 12.35º for Helles. What’s interesting, is that the average ABV of Helles is an eensie weensie bit higher – 4.65% compared to 4.62%. No surprise than that the rate of attenuation is higher for Helles.

Quite a lot more dextrin in the Dunkles: 3.22% to 2.26%. No shock there either, I guess.

Neither that Helles was much paler on average, 9.1 to 30. Though both styles had a difference of about 100% between the palest and darkest examples.

That’s me done. Free day tomorrow. And Abt to drink this evening.

Munich Helles in September 1902
FG	OG	extract	ABV	maltose	dextrin	lactic acid	real atten-uation	colour
1015.6	12.63	5.64	4.60	2.16	2.16	0.18	55.34	9
1012.5	11.89	4.87	4.60	1.17	2.09	0.16	59	6.5
1015.7	12.35	5.6	4.43	1.9	2.15	0.19	54.66	10
1014.8	12.96	5.52	4.42	1.5	2.42	0.17	54.98	11.6
1012	12.14	4.82	4.80	1.01	2.47	0.14	60.29	7.5
1017.1	13.17	5.99	4.80	1.96	2.51	0.19	54.52	10
1014.8	12.48	5.35	4.69	1.95	2.12	0.19	57.13	12.6
1016.1	12.64	5.72	4.55	1.1	3.23	0.17	54.75	10.6
1010.2	12.23	4.87	5.16	0.99	2.14	0.17	64.27	7.5
1011.4	11.78	4.57	4.71	1.26	1.88	0.18	61.21	8
1015.2	12.33	5.5	4.48	1.72	2.44	0.15	55.39	10
1016.2	11.81	5.6	4.06	2.16	2.09	0.16	52.58	8
1012.4	12.96	5	5.25	1.34	2.16	0.19	61.42	9.6
1014.3	12.81	5.47	4.89	1.95	2.12	0.16	57.3	8.5
1013.2	11.74	5.05	4.43	1.96	1.91	0.14	56.99	8
highest	13.17	5.99	5.25	2.16	3.28	0.19	64.27	12.5
lowest	11.74	4.37	4.06	1.01	1.88	0.14	52.58	6.5
average	12.35	5.27	4.65	1.61	2.26	0.17	57.32	9.1
Source:
Bayerisches Brauer-Journal issue 49, December 1902, page 353.

Zoigl-Kölsch

An American brewery calling a beer Zoigl-Kölsch. Homage or affront?

It makes me feel uneasy. Zoigl is such a special thing. And Kölsch has very strong ties to a specific region.

I understand there's some sort of communal aspect to the brewery. But it still rankles.

For the record, it annoys me just as much when commercial breweries in Germany market beers called Zoigl.

Be interested in your opinions.

Munich Dunkles in 1902

Hurray! I can hear you shouting. Finally something that isn’t about Scotland or the 1950’s.

I’m returning to one my other 1,253 obsessions: Lager. Especially old Lager. And ones that aren’t pale. My life is made easier because it’s German beer. They were very into all the technical chemical stuff. Which means there are loads of analyses of beers available.

Like this one of Munich-brewed Dunkles from 1902. It’s particularly useful because it includes a colour measurement. OK, it’s one I don’t completely understand, but it’s better than nowt. In the original table, it’s described as n/100 iodine solution. With n presumably standing for the number in the table. If you understand how that relates to modern colour systems, let me know. I’d look it up on the internet, but I really can’t be arsed at the moment.

Even without knowing what it means on modern scales, we can see that there’s a big variation in colour between the different beers. Almost 100%. Also that the beers with the highest gravities, don’t necessarily have the darkest colour. While one of the darkest beers has one of the lowest OG’s.

What does that tell us? Either they were using base malts of very different colours. Or that they were using darker malt for colouring as well as base malt. I think the second is far more likely.

High OG, averaging at 13.52º Balling. That would count as Märzen in Bavaria today. But the FGs are high, too. A crap degree of attenuation is a typical feature of pre-WW I Lagers. These don’t disappoint.

I was surprised by the high levels of acetic acid. Anything over 0.10% is quite high. Especially in a Lager.

Munich Dunkles in September 1902
FG	OG	extract	ABV	maltose	dextrin	lactic acid	real attenuation	colour
1025.7	14.11	7.94	4.09	3.14	3.43	0.18	43.73	36
1016.8	13.59	6.1	4.95	1.49	3.11	0.23	55.11	28
1019.5	12.81	6.48	4.17	1.86	3.29	0.17	49.41	38
1019.7	13.85	6.6	4.80	1.84	3.26	0.19	52.35	38
1021.7	13.5	7.1	4.86	2.13	3.39	0.16	47.41	32
1020.3	13.61	6.75	4.53	1.78	3.66	0.19	50.4	30
1016.8	13.46	6.04	4.90	1.6	2.99	0.19	55.13	20
1021.6	13.03	6.92	4.03	1.14	3.34	0.15	46.89	37
1017.7	13.46	6.19	4.80	1.64	3.19	0.19	54.01	35
1018.4	13.14	6.26	4.53	1.65	3.5	0.17	52.36	29
1019	13.47	6.51	4.60	1.81	3.27	0.17	51.67	31
1020.2	13.43	6.7	4.45	2.1	3.13	0.19	50.11	25
1017.2	14.13	6.26	5.22	1.5	3.25	0.19	55.7	23
1018.5	13.58	6.46	4.70	2.1	2.98	0.16	52.43	27
1014.1	12.47	5.32	4.70	1.62	2.21	0.18	57.34	30
1019	14.11	6.6	4.98	1.81	3.27	0.19	53.22	26
1019.1	14.16	6.63	5.00	1.65	3.39	0.18	53.18	25
highest	14.16	7.94	5.22	3.14	8.5	0.28	57.84	38
lowest	12.47	5.32	4.03	1.14	2.21	0.15	43.73	20
average	13.52	6.52	4.62	1.81	3.22	0.18	51.79	30
Source:
Bayerisches Brauer-Journal issue 49, December 1902, page 353.

Buy my new book

In case you'd missed it, the best book ever written about Scottish beer is now available.

450 pages of relentless Scottish stuff. With a totally stupid number of recipes - more than 350 in all.

And just look at lovely cover image from Alexei. I thought it was so nice, I paid him €20 euros. Twice the usual rate. He spent it all on beer, so at least he didn't waste the money.

He did ask if it was a lion or a dragon. I understand his confusion. But everyone knows there are no lions in Scotland.

Been putting together my associated talk. Which will preview in Macclesfield 1st April. Trying to keep it to no more than an hour. It's a struggle. So much information.

If you're a home or professional brewer and you'd like to take part in my poorly-defined and chaotic Macbeth project to brew recipes from the book so I can get to drink them, get in touch. I'll send you a set of recipes, mostly influenced by the ones I'd like to drink myself, then come and bullshit about Scottish beer while drinking them. Assuming I can flog a few books, a win win for me.

Lets' Brew Wednesday - 1992 Maclay Scotch Ale

It’s been a bit odd since I finished writing the book. I keep thinking that I should be doing something. It’s a bit like the vague unease that remains after exam season is over.

Especially weird has been not writing any recipes. I’d been throwing them together like crazy for a couple of weeks. Now it’s just back to one or two a week.

One thing I debated with myself was the cut-off date for the recipes. The book nominally covers 1840 to 1970, but I do have some Maclay recipes that are later than that. Should I include those? Eventually, the decision was made for me. I decided that the book gad to be published by last Saturday at the very latest. When that deadline fell, I hadn’t got to the later Maclay recipes.

Not being one to waste material, I’ve assembled this 1990’s Maclay recipe anyway. Partly because it’s a bit of an oddity: a beer called Scotch Ale. Let me explain, Scottish brewers didn’t usually have beers called Scotch Ale in their home market. What was sold as Scotch Ale in England and beyond was called Strong Ale in Scotland.

Now you might expect a beer with a name like this to have a long history. It doesn’t. Maclay only introduced it sometime between 1985 and 1992. In their later years Maclay went recipe crazy. In addition to their tried and trusted Pale Ale recipe, they started brewing beers single-gyle: TPA, an Old Ale, Oat Malt Stout and Scotch Ale. It must have been scary to any old hands in the brewery.

This is a pretty strange beer for a Scotch Ale. It’s a bit weak, though I guess Younger’s No. 3 was a similar strength. But that was a bit of an oddity. It has an extremely simple grist of just pale and crystal malt. My guess is that it was also darkened with caramel after primary fermentation.

With about 4.5 lbs of hops per quarter of malt, the hopping is at the same level as their Pale Ales, though, this being a bit stronger, it contained more hops in absolute terms. The varieties are a guess. I only know for certain that the hops were English.

1992 Maclay Scotch Ale
pale malt	11.00 lb	93.62%
crystal malt 60 L	0.75 lb	6.38%
Fuggles 90 min	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 min	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 min	0.75 oz
OG	1050
FG	1016
ABV	4.50
Apparent attenuation	68.00%
IBU	28
SRM	8
Mash at	148/157º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	65º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Takeover time in Scotland

The 1950's was the startr of huge process of consolidation in the UK brewing industry. In Scotland it took even more extreme form than in England. By the end of 1960's only a handful of Scottish breweries remained. 

"Pending brewery fusion
In view of current rumours, the directors of William McEwan and Co and James Deuchar announce that preliminary discussions have taken place between them as to a possible fusion of interests, but as yet nothing has been decided.

William McEwan are Edinburgh brewers with an issued capital of £1,000,000 and total assets of £5,716,000. They have a working agreement with William Younger and Co through Scottish Brewers.

James Deuchar are Newcastle brewers, owning some 125 licensed houses. Their issued capital £550.000. while their latest assets total was £2,584,000. Both companies account to April 30.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - Saturday 16 October 1954, page 9.

The Deuchars are almost as confusing as the Youngers. Robert Deuchar, another Newcastle firm, owned a brewery in Duddingston, Edinburgh. And there was James Deuchar brewing in Montrose. They all seem to have ended up in Scottish & Newcastle.

The relationship between two of Edinburgh's largest brewers, William McEwan and William Younger was a bit strange. They'd formed a joint venture, Scottish Brewers, in 1930, but the two brewers remtained separate limited companies, with their own separate boards. It wasn't until 1955 that they finally fully merged into a single legal entitiy.

"Breweries take-over plan
The shareholders of Scottish Brewers. Ltd.. William Younger & Co, Ltd., brewers, and William McEwan & Co., Ltd., brewers, are to meet to consider a proposal by the directors of the three companies that Younger and McEwan should become wholly-owned subsidiaries Scottish brewers.

In three petitions presented the Court of Session in Edinburgh it was stated that the directors are of opinion that it would be in the interests all three companies as a group, and of each company separately, that Younger and McEwan should become wholly-owned subsidiaries of Scottish Brewers. The debenture stock and preference shares of Younger and McEwan should be eliminated, the holders receiving in exchange debenture stock or preference shares of Scottish Brewers.

Such an arrangement, the petitioners state, would enable the raising of capital to be effected as a central operation through Scottish Brewers, if and when necessary. The three companies yesterday obtained the authority of the second division of the Court Session to summon separate meetings of the shareholders at which the scheme might be considered.
Belfast News-Letter - Wednesday 25 May 1955, page 10.

This structure didn't last that long. In 1960 they merged with Newcastle Breweries to become Scottish & Newcastle.

Süssbier

I'm going to be plodding slowly through Braumeister Grenell's description of various top-fermenting styles.Most aren't very alcoholic and many have since disappeared or are only brewed in tiny quantites.

Today's style, Süssbier, I believe is still brewed in small quantites. But the market for it is rapidly disappearing.

"SÜSSBIER.
Süssbiers are all coloured dark with Couleur or coloured malt and lightly hopped, as well as not very highly attenuated (up to 45%), to get a flavour like dark beer.

Süssbiers usually have an OG of 5-7% Balling; Beers of 10 - 13% Balling OG are rare and are usually called Weizenmalzbier, Hannoversch Broyhan, Werder’sches Bier, Hamburger Beer, etc.

Mashing procedure: it's mashed in at 30° R [37.5 C], rising after 25 minutes to 54° R [67.5º], when there's a saccharification rest, then it's heated to 60-61° R [75-76º C] and mashed out.

Usually, "high-dried" malt is used, and sugar is added (directly to the mash) up to 15 to 20% of the goods.

Through the addition of "Couleur" the beer acquires a mild taste.

Tun and barrel process. - The fermentation period is 2-3 days at a (pitching) temperature of 12-16 ° R. [15-20º C] as this yeast only ferments to a low degree of attenuation at this temperature. When fermentation is performed in a barrel, pitching is often at 15-18° R. [18.75-22.5º C] to cause the yeast be expelled better.  - It is better not to go above 16° R, since all beers fermented over 16° R. (20° C) have a harsh flavour.

During the primary fermentation, the barrels are inclined at an angle and are stood up straight when expulsion of the yeast has ended.

Care must be taken to continually refill and keep the barrel completely full; and also to allow for a secondary fermentaion of 1-2 days but possibly as much as 8 to 10 days. It's important that there's a fiery break at the end of secondary fermentation, since otherwise bad malt has been used or an infection is present.

The beers are filled from the fermenting vessel into transport barrels and after a short carbonation period of 2-3 days they are served, or even into small transport barrels and subjected to a short secondary fermentation (with open bung) before they are finally sealed up. - Adding Kräusen is to be avoided, as it produces too strong a fermentation and can possibly cause the barrel to burst.

According to another method, "double beers" are transferred into storage barrels of 6, 8, 12, or even 16 hl of contents and left, with the bung open, to complete secondary fermentation and clarification.

At the end of the process, after 1-2 weeks, these beers are Kräusened and then filled into bottles or customer barrels."
"Die Fabrikation obergäriger Biere in Praxis und Theorie" by Braumeister Grenell", 1907, page 59 - 60. (My translation.)

 Couleur is a type of caramel. Even though this book was written just before the the Reinheitsgebot was extended all of Germany, these low-gravity top-fermenting beerswere allowed to uses all sorts of ingredients forbidden in bottom-fermenting beers.

I find it a bit odd that Broyhan is included in included in this class. It might have been partially-fermented and sweet, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't dark. It was a Weissbier, after all.

Let's Brew - 1970 Drybrough Continental Lager

Just realised that I forgot to post a recipe yesterday. In a way, I'm glad I did, because I only just found this intrgiuing little devil.

I'm just polishing off the last few recipes. While I was, I noticed that I'd not properly looked at some of the late Drybrough records. That's when I spotted this.

It's also a little preview of the book, this being a featured recipe. The rest in the book text. Enjoy.

This beer started as a bit of a puzzle. Mostly because I couldn’t read the name. Something ending in “–tal” was about all I could make. I had to go through just about every photograph before I found a legible one.

Looking in the ingredients, it was obviously a Lager. Which was dead pleasing, as I’m a bit short on Scottish Lager recipes. It’s the watery, bland type of Lager I avoided like the plague in my youth. But which now fascinates me.

Drybrough really changed the way they brewed in the late 1960’s. They stopped parti-gyling and they started brewing multiple recipes. Funnily enough, it’s just after the company was acquired by Watney Mann. I’m sure the two events can’t have ben unconnected.

They also started brewing some new beers: a Brown Ale, what looks like a Mild Ale and this Lager. Quite a big change for a brewery that had basically only brewed Pale Ale for three or four decades. They also simplified their recipes, doing away with most proprietary sugars.

There’s not a lot to this recipe. Just lager malt, flaked maize and English hops. Oddly, some of their other beers brewed around this time contained Hallertau. While the Lager had all English hops. I’ve guessed the varieties. You can substitute any English hop that was around then, like Northern Brewer or Bramling Cross.

As for the mashing scheme, I’ve reproduced it exactly as in the brewing record. It lists four temperatures which are presumably a complex step mash. I’m not sure they had the right equipment to decoct. If you fancy having a go at a decoction, please do.

This period of Drybrough’s records don’t give any fermentation details. My guess is that they pitched in the mid 50’s F and cooled it down. Though given that the fermentation only lasted 6 days, they might have fermented it quite warm.

1970 Drybrough Continental Lager
lager malt	6.25 lb	86.21%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	13.79%
Fuggles 90 min	0.50 oz
Goldings 30 min	0.25 oz
OG	1032.8
FG	1007
ABV	3.41
Apparent attenuation	78.66%
IBU	10
SRM	3
Mash at	120/146/165/210º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	54º F
Yeast	WLP800 Pilsner Lager

Scotland! vol. 2 has been published!

Yes, that happy day has finally arrived. My definitive history of Scottish beer is complete and available for purchase.

I hope that you're as excited as I am. 450 pages of Scottish fun. With 100 detailed recipes, 270 basic recipes and lots, lots more.Especially numbers. There are loads of those.

It's very fresh. I only finished the final recipes an hour ago. And here it is, already in the shop. Eight years to research it, eight weeks to write.

I'm glad I've finally written it. The book I wanted to create as soon as I discovered what total bollocks had been written about Scottish beer. It's easily the best book on the topic, even if I say so myself.

Order your copy now and be the first of your group of friends to learn the awful truth about Scottish beer.

The advantages and disadvantages of top-fermentaion

More from "Die Fabrikation obergäriger Biere in Praxis und Theorie". This time, a quick review of the good and bad points of toop-fermentation:

First the good:

"THE ADVANTAGES OF a top-fermenting brewery are:
1. Small amount of capital, because every brewery (even with a tun and kettle) can produce top-fermented beers. - Most top-fermenting breweries are of a modest size.
2. No Ice Machine - except in hot countries - is needed.
3. Beer can be shipped immediately after the end of primary fermentation and thus delivered earlier to the customer, meaning little space and few barrels are required.
4. A larger variety of beers can be produced and therefore every taste can be catered for.
5. Top-fermented beer is fresher and more digestible.
6. It can also be conserved for a long time and its quality will only improve through the process.

Top-fermented beers are produced not only in Germany, but also in almost all countries; For example, in England, Belgium, France almost 90-95% of all beers are top-fermented, in Holland 68%, etc."
"Die Fabrikation obergäriger Biere in Praxis und Theorie" by Braumeister Grenell", 1907, page 7. (My translation.)

I can remember reading how some of the first microbreweries in the USA initially wanted to bottom-ferment but changed their minds when they realised how expensive the equipment was. There's more of it and it's more complicated.

In Britain, breweries didn't usually ship their beer immediately after primary. Even Mild Ale would be in the brewery for 7-10 days. Stronger beers were stored for much longer, sometimes years.

The percentage of topfermenting beerr for Holland looks too high. The big Lager breweries - Heineken, Amstel, Oranjeboom - were well-established by 1900 and brewing on a far larger scale than the older top-fermenting breweries.

Here's the downside:

"DISADVANTAGES:
1. The fermentation is more difficult to control,
2. The beer is more easily infected, especially in the summer in breweries which do not have cool basements or water, do not use the best raw materials and usually only bother with superficial cleanliness.
3. Because, unlike bottom-fermenting beer, which usually clears itself by itself, clarification has to take place by artificial means.
4. As the yeast needs to be changed more frequently, especially when using adjuncts, it is difficult to maintain a consistent taste in the beers."
"Die Fabrikation obergäriger Biere in Praxis und Theorie" by Braumeister Grenell", 1907, pages 7-8. (My translation.)

It's pretty obvious that bottom-ermenting beer, which was kept relatively cool throughout the brewing process, wouldn;'t be as likely to get infected. And the long coool lagering let the yeast settle out naturally. Though English Stock Ales, which were stored a long time, though not as at cool a temperature as bottome-fermenting beer, also cleared spontaneously.

What exactly does he mean by changing yeast? Getting yeast from a completely fresh source? I can understand how that would change the charcter of a beer. Not sure why using adjuncts would require a more frequent change of yeast.

With six points in its favour and only four against, it looks like top-fermentation is tops.

Almost there

I've imposed a crazy schedule on myself this year. Mostly by not thinking things through.

My Macbeth thing started as a loose concept that turned horrifyingly solid before I realised what was going on. An excuse to troll around the US bullshitting about Scottish beer transformed into a book/tour/historic beer recreation monster.

Not that I'm really complaining. Clumsily as I may have stumbled into it, the result is dead pleasing. I've written the book I wanted to about Scottish beer. It's sitting there on my hard disk, plump and fecund. Just a few more superfluous recipes and it's done.

The truth about Scottish beer. How it was really brewed. No made up crap. Just facts and numbers. lots and lots of numbers.

It was so easy to throw together in just a couple of months. If you forget about the years of research. And the year I've spent writing recipes in the background. How the hell do you think I could have 350 recipes? They don't fall off trees.


Proud? I'm just kancked.

If I get my finger out with the remaining Drybrough keg recipes from the 1960's, the book should be avilable for purchase this weekend.

German top-fermenting beers classified

I'm lucky enough to regularly have material pointed at or sent to me. It's dead handy and can save me a lot of time.

Today I was sent an ebook by Benedikt Rausch. And I'm very grateful. Because it's a book dedicated to German top-fermenting styles. Just before most of disappeared. It includes a handy guide to the different types:

I. Einfache and Süssbiere (Einfach, Kleinbier, Scheps, Hansla, Erntebier) of 2-3.% Balling and 5-7°% B. original gravity.
II. Weizenbieze: Weisse, Broyhan, Mumme‚etc.
III. Bitter Lagerbier-like beers: Kölner, Düsseldorfer beers of 10-12 % Ball.
IV. Smoky tasting beers: Grätzer, Lichtenhainer, Köstritzer.
V. Sour tasting beers; Döllnitzer Gose und Belgische Biere.
VI. Spontaneously-fermented beers: Danziger Jopenbier, Brüsseler Lambic, etc.
VII. English beers rich in extract and foam such as: Ale, Stout, Porter and Spruce, which interest us less.
"Die Fabrikation obergäriger Biere in Praxis und Theorie" by Braumeister Grenell", 1907, page 58. (My translation.)

I find some of the categorisations a bit strange, such as Mumme as a wheat beer. Also Broyhan, now I think about it, as it was also brewed from 100% barley malt sometimes.

But most intriguing is the inclusion of  Köstritzer, which is now a bottom-fermenting beer. I had heard rumours that it was once a top-fermenting style, but this is the first credible evidence. It sounds as if the colour must have come from some kind of roasted malt if it tasted smoky. Or maybe I'm getting it totally wrong.

There's more detail on brewing various top-fermenting in the section that follows. When I can be arsed to read and translate it, I'll post more.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1958 Whitbread IPA

One of my favourite beers. For one reason: it’s a beer that was called, at various times, the full set of names. At various times and by various people it was known as IPA, Light Ale, Pale Ale and Bitter.

Whitbread introduced IPA in 1900 to complement their existing range of Pale Ales: PA (1058º), 2PA (1053º) and FA  (1052º). The pre-WW I versions of IPA had a gravity of 1050º. Why did Whitbread have four Pale Ales with just 8 gravity points between them? I’m not sure. But the beers weren’t just slightly different parti-gyles of the same thing.

The hopping was different, for a start. PA and 2PA were hopped at 9 lbs per quarter of malt, FA and IPA 11 lbs. That, at least fits in with modern thinking about IPA: it was more heavily hopped than Pale Ale.

WW I, unusually, spread the gravities out more. For while PA had fallen to 1047º, IPA had dropped all the way to 1035.5º by the early 1920’s. A bigger gap in gravities than before the war. The hopping had also grown apart. PA kept its old rate of 9 lbs. per quarter, while IPA had increased to 13 lbs.

I’m not sure about before the war, but in the 1920’s and 1930’s IPA was an exclusively bottled beer. Filling an essential slot in any brewer’s range of the time: Light Ale. Though, confusingly, the labels called it Whitbread Pale Ale. Confused? It gets worse.

The very same year this beer was brewed, the name in the brew house was changed to WPA. At least it matched the label. Even if it was ordered as Light Ale down the pub. It wasn’t the last name change. In the early 1970’s, just before Chiswell Street closed, it starts turning up as TRO – Trophy – in the brewing records. By which time it was also available in draught form.

I’d never have guessed that Whitbread Trophy started life as an IPA. How strange that it ended up as an Ordinary Bitter.



Time to pass you over to Kristen . . . . .

Kristen’s Version:
Notes: Well well well now. A delicious little watery IPA…just what a growing lad needs. Something one can drink vats of while on the job. This is something that I think everyone should have in their arsenal from big brewer to the smallest. Something that you can pull out as a ‘pub ale’ and make it suit your fancy. Something that turns super quick for a nice little profit. It comes in, blow it out, have some fun. Tailor it to suit your fancy, in as many ways as you’d like. You have coworkers that always bug you to bring all the beer to events. Here you go. Just don’t tell them the ABV or they’ll do what most beer blogger experts do…

Malt: Four. Count them. Four pale malts. All from different malters. All not very fresh (read OLD). However, this is someplace you can pick your favorite few or even ‘kitchen sink’ it if that’s the type of person/brewery you are. A touch of crystal malt for color, but make sure its pretty damn dark to get some color up in this piece. A heavy hand of invert that you can try to make yourself, and even complain that a patent for its production is wrong because you nonced it up because you’re a bellend and don’t understand the correlation between time and temperature. For me, I’d just buy it, or I make it the ‘dilution’ way…or, BLOODY OR, at that, give some nice golden syrup a try. That works wonderfully in this beer. For me, I’m going with a blend of Cocktail, Belgian pale and some nice American pale malt, a really dark English crystal malt and some honey…probably orange blossom or that avocado blossom that has been looking at me longingly from the corner for a while. Oh, have we not talked about honey being an invert sugar? It is. You haven’t been paying attention. Give it a go sometime. For all the vegans out there, feel free to use some of that super expensive apple syrup that kinda tastes like honey but stay away form the Belgian malts. I usually find seashells in mine…

Hops: Goldings. Two Kentish and a Worcester. All rather old. All low in AA%. So lets make a deal, as long as you are using some sort of low AA% hop, pick anything at all you want. Remember those hops your buddy gave you that are sitting around in the freezer for a year or two? Go and throw them away right now. Seriously. Why are you still hanging on to them? They weren’t good when they were fresh. Double seriously, find something nice you like and give it a go. Maybe do a little research on some newer lager hops? We’ve talked about the stuff coming out of Hüll lately so there’s those. Why not go to the USDA hop pedigree page and do a little snooping for parents of hops and find one with some goldings and give them a go. Frankly, there aren’t a ton in this so play around a little. Just a touch of dry hop so I really would make sure that you do use something really nice here.
 
Yeast: Really your choice. Pick something pleasant or something you have around or something you want to try. It won’t be hard to get this beer to finish, just make sure and don’t over-pitch like the vast majority of brewers out there. There is ‘done’ and then there is fermenting the ever loving piss out of the beer to ensure all of the character is mashed up by the yeast.

Cask: Standard procedure:
1) let the beer ferment until finished and then give it another day or so. For me right around 5-7 days.
2) Rack the beer to your vessel of choice (firkin, polypin, cornie, whatever).
3) Add primings at ~3.5g/L
4) Add prepared isinglass at 1ml/L
5) ONLY add dry hops at 0.25g/l – 1g/L.
6) Bung it up and roll it around to mix. Condition at 55F or so for 4-5 days and its ready to go. Spile/vent. Tap. Settle. Serve at 55F.