What I did on my day off

Stripped all these numbers from a William Younger brewing record.

It was hugely satisfying. Hard to explain why I felt that, other than by labelling myself with some obsessive condition. Though I'm sure I have one. I wouldn't be so arsed with this type of number collection, otherwise.

This isn't even the full table, just the left-hand half.

I sometimes wonder whether assembling these spreadsheets is really my goal, rather than a means to achieve another. That is, writing books so number-laden, only professionals and fellow obsessives can endure them.

Having wondered whether I was wasting my time extracting every single brew, despite many being identical, I now feel vindicated. having at lest used the information somewhere.

William Younger beers 1939-1940
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	hops
15th Nov	1939	1	Strong Ale	1084	1033.5	6.68	60.12%	4.74	1.58	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	1	Strong Ale	1084	1035.0	6.48	58.33%	4.74	1.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
29th Nov	1939	1	Strong Ale	1084	1028.0	7.41	66.67%	4.74	1.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Jan	1940	1	Strong Ale	1082	1033.0	6.48	59.76%	4.74	1.54	Kent (1937, 1938)
14th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.61	Kent (1937, 1938)
16th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
17th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
18th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1015.0	5.03	71.70%	3.00	0.59	Kent (1937, 1938)
21st Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.59	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1015.0	5.03	71.70%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1015.0	5.03	71.70%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1015.0	5.03	71.70%	3.40	0.59	Kent (1937, 1938)
27th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1018.0	4.63	66.04%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
27th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1017.0	4.76	67.92%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
28th Nov	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1014.0	5.16	73.58%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
6th Dec	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1015.5	4.96	70.75%	3.00	0.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
7th Dec	1939	3	Strong Ale	1053	1016.0	4.89	69.81%	3.00	0.61	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Jan	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1016.0	4.76	69.23%	3.60	0.69	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Jan	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1015.0	4.89	71.15%	3.60	0.69	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Jan	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1016.0	4.76	69.23%	3.60	0.70	Kent (1937, 1938)
29th Jan	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1016.0	4.76	69.23%	3.60	0.69	Kent (1937, 1938)
29th Jan	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1016.0	4.76	69.23%	3.60	0.69	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1017.0	4.63	67.31%	3.60	0.65	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1017.0	4.63	67.31%	3.60	0.67	Kent (1937, 1938)
1st Apr	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1017.0	4.63	67.31%	3.60	0.68	Kent (1938)
2nd Apr	1940	3	Strong Ale	1052	1016.5	4.70	68.27%	3.60	0.70	Kent (1938)
14th Nov	1939	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066	1023.0	5.69	65.15%	6.06	1.59	Kent (1937, 1938)
15th Nov	1939	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066	1025.0	5.42	62.12%	7.14	1.41	Kent (1937, 1938)
17th Nov	1939	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066	1024.0	5.56	63.64%	6.06	1.59	Kent (1937, 1938)
21st Nov	1939	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066	1023.0	5.69	65.15%	6.06	1.60	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Nov	1939	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066	1023.0	5.69	65.15%	6.06	1.58	Kent (1937, 1938)
28th Nov	1939	DBS Btlg	Stout	1066	1023.5	5.62	64.39%	6.06	1.64	Kent (1937, 1938)
15th Nov	1939	Ext	Pale Ale	1054	1015.0	5.16	72.22%	5.40	1.10	Kent (1937, 1938)
15th Nov	1939	Ext	Pale Ale	1054	1015.0	5.16	72.22%	5.40	1.10	Kent (1937, 1938)
15th Nov	1939	Ext	Pale Ale	1054	1016.0	5.03	70.37%	5.63	1.11	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Nov	1939	Ext	Pale Ale	1053	1014.0	5.16	73.58%	5.40	1.10	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Nov	1939	Ext	Pale Ale	1054	1014.5	5.23	73.15%	5.40	1.09	Kent (1937, 1938)
15th Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	4.78	0.89	Kent (1938)
16th Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	4.78	0.82	Kent (1938)
18th Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	4.78	0.83	Kent (1938)
18th Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1938)
23rd Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	4.78	0.82	Kent (1938)
23rd Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1938)
27th Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1938)
27th Nov	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	4.78	0.82	Kent (1938)
4th Dec	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	4.78	0.82	Kent (1938)
4th Dec	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1938)
4th Dec	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1938)
4th Dec	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	4.78	0.82	Kent (1938)
5th Dec	1939	LAE	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	4.78	0.80	Kent (1938)
22nd Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1011.5	3.90	71.95%	4.75	0.70	Kent (1938)
22nd Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1011.5	3.90	71.95%	4.75	0.71	Kent (1938)
22nd Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.0	3.84	70.73%	4.75	0.71	Kent (1938)
26th Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.0	3.84	70.73%	4.75	0.71	Kent (1938)
26th Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1011.0	3.97	73.17%	4.75	0.72	Kent (1938)
29th Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1011.0	3.97	73.17%	4.75	0.72	Kent (1938)
29th Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1010.5	4.03	74.39%	4.75	0.72	Kent (1938)
29th Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.5	3.77	69.51%	4.75	0.71	Kent (1938)
29th Jan	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.0	3.84	70.73%	4.75	0.71	Kent (1938)
25th Mar	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.0	3.84	70.73%	4.75	0.70	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.0	3.84	70.73%	4.75	0.70	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	LAE	Pale Ale	1041	1012.0	3.84	70.73%	4.75	0.71	Kent (1937, 1938)
15th Nov	1939	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	4.13	0.72	Kent (1937, 1938)
16th Nov	1939	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	4.13	0.70	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	4.13	0.73	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	4.13	0.72	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Jan	1940	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1012.0	4.37	73.33%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1937, 1938)
1st Apr	1940	Pale XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1013.0	4.23	71.11%	4.78	0.80	Kent (1938)
17th Nov	1939	X	Mild	1029	1012.0	2.25	58.62%	2.50	0.28	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	X	Mild	1029	1011.0	2.38	62.07%	2.67	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
1st Apr	1940	XP Btlg	Pale Ale	1033	1011.0	2.91	66.67%	4.67	0.57	Kent (1938)
1st Apr	1940	XP Btlg	Pale Ale	1033	1010.0	3.04	69.70%	4.71	1.22	Kent (1938)
16th Nov	1939	XX	Mild	1032	1011.5	2.71	64.06%	2.50	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
18th Nov	1939	XX	Mild	1032	1012.0	2.65	62.50%	2.50	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	XX	Mild	1032	1012.0	2.65	62.50%	2.50	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	XX	Mild	1032	1012.0	2.65	62.50%	2.67	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
27th Nov	1939	XX	Mild	1032	1011.0	2.78	65.63%	2.50	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
4th Dec	1939	XX	Mild	1032	1013.0	2.51	59.38%	2.50	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
26th Jan	1940	XX	Mild	1031	1011.0	2.65	64.52%	2.65	0.31	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	XX	Mild	1031	1013.0	2.38	58.06%	2.86	0.30	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1013.0	3.57	67.50%	4.21	0.63	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1013.0	3.57	67.50%	4.21	0.63	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1014.0	3.44	65.00%	4.44	0.59	Kent (1937, 1938)
28th Nov	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1011.0	3.84	72.50%	4.21	0.62	Kent (1937, 1938)
28th Nov	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1014.0	3.44	65.00%	4.21	0.63	Kent (1937, 1938)
6th Dec	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1011.0	3.84	72.50%	4.21	0.62	Kent (1937, 1938)
6th Dec	1939	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1011.0	3.84	72.50%	4.21	0.64	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Jan	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1013.0	3.44	66.67%	4.74	0.68	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Jan	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1012.0	3.57	69.23%	5.00	0.68	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Jan	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1013.0	3.44	66.67%	4.74	0.68	Kent (1937, 1938)
29th Jan	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1011.0	3.70	71.79%	4.74	0.68	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1012.0	3.57	69.23%	4.44	0.63	Kent (1937, 1938)
1st Apr	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1011.0	3.70	71.79%	4.71	1.26	Kent (1938)
1st Apr	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1013.0	3.44	66.67%	4.72	0.63	Kent (1938)
2nd Apr	1940	XXP Btlg	Pale Ale	1039	1011.0	3.70	71.79%	4.72	0.69	Kent (1938)
13th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	3.04	0.51	Kent (1937, 1938)
16th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
16th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
17th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	3.04	0.52	Kent (1937, 1938)
20th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
20th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1015.0	4.10	67.39%	3.04	0.52	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
24th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
27th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.5	4.17	68.48%	3.04	0.54	Kent (1937, 1938)
27th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.5	4.17	68.48%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
28th Nov	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1012.0	4.50	73.91%	3.04	0.52	Kent (1937, 1938)
4th Dec	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1016.0	3.97	65.22%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
6th Dec	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1013.0	4.37	71.74%	3.04	0.53	Kent (1937, 1938)
7th Dec	1939	XXPS	Pale Ale	1046	1014.0	4.23	69.57%	3.04	0.54	Kent (1937, 1938)
22nd Jan	1940	XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1014.5	4.03	67.78%	3.70	0.62	Kent (1937, 1938)
26th Jan	1940	XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1013.5	4.17	70.00%	3.70	0.62	Kent (1937, 1938)
29th Jan	1940	XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1015.0	3.97	66.67%	3.70	0.67	Kent (1937, 1938)
25th Mar	1940	XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1014.0	4.10	68.89%	4.78	0.81	Kent (1937, 1938)
1st Apr	1940	XXPS	Pale Ale	1045	1015.0	3.97	66.67%	3.70	0.62	Kent (1938)
6th Dec	1939	XXPS Btlg	Pale Ale	1040	1011.0	3.84	72.50%	4.21	0.57	Kent (1937, 1938)
17th Nov	1939	XXX	Mild	1037	1014.0	3.04	62.16%	2.50	0.36	Kent (1937, 1938)
20th Nov	1939	XXX	Mild	1037	1012.0	3.31	67.57%	2.50	0.35	Kent (1937, 1938)
23rd Nov	1939	XXX	Mild	1037	1013.0	3.18	64.86%	2.50	0.36	Kent (1937, 1938)
27th Nov	1939	XXX	Mild	1037	1013.0	3.18	64.86%	2.50	0.35	Kent (1937, 1938)
4th Dec	1939	XXX	Mild	1037	1012.0	3.31	67.57%	2.50	0.36	Kent (1937, 1938)
7th Dec	1939	XXX	Mild	1037	1014.5	2.98	60.81%	2.50	0.37	Kent (1937, 1938)
26th Jan	1940	XXX	Mild	1036	1012.0	3.18	66.67%	2.65	0.36	Kent (1937, 1938)
Source:
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/2/76.

Moving on from my own mental frailties, what's significant about the Younger's beers? The feeble level of hopping.

To take a beer's gravity out of the equation when looking at hopping, you have to look at the rate per quarter. In 1939, Whitbread hopped their beers way, way more heavily:

Whitbread Ales in 1939
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
PA	Pale Ale	1048.2	1012.0	4.79	75.10%	7.33	1.41
IPA	IPA	1037.1	1008.0	3.85	78.44%	10.00	1.51
X	Mild	1033.9	1010.5	3.10	69.03%	8.27	1.11
33	Strong Ale	1061.0	1020.0	5.42	67.21%	8.49	2.15
Source:
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/01/107.

Whitbread's Mild Ale was hopped more than twice as heavily as Younger's Pale Ales. That tells you all you need to know.

Also, see how much No. 3 they were brewing. There were only more brews of one beer - LAE - in this set.

Let's Brew - 1944 William Younger Majority Ale

You can’t get much more special than this: a genuine Majority Ale. That is, a beer brewed on the birth of a member of the family, which would be drunk when said child reached 21, the age of majority.

What’s even more unusual, is that such an exceedingly strong beer was brewed during WW II, at a time when beer was generally pretty watery. Though Younger continued the tradition even beyond WW II, brewing Majority Ale until at least 1960. 

It was parti-gyled with No. 1, Younger’s strong Scotch Ale, but was a good bit stronger. Only 35 barrels were brewed, but for such a specific family brew, that’s actually quite a lot.

This was brew 1909

The only difference in ingredients between this and Younger’s Pale Ales is a type of malt simply described as “M”. Usually, I’d assume that meant mild malt. But the quantities Younger used of it were far too small for that to make any sense. Based on the beers it was used in, it must be some sort of coloured malt. I’ve randomly plumped for a dark crystal malt. I could be way wrong.

The hops were all Kent, from the 1942 and 1943 harvests.

It was brewed for someone whose initials were WSL. 16 dozen half pint bottles were filled from it on 21st January 1965, “Remainder used for filling up, + 1 firkin for reprocessing.”

1944 William Younger Majority Ale
pale malt	21.00 lb	71.79%
crystal malt 120 L	2.25 lb	7.69%
flaked barley	6.00 lb	20.51%
Fuggles 150 mins	4.00 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	4.00 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	4.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1122
FG	1022
ABV	13.23
Apparent attenuation	81.97%
IBU	95
SRM	22
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	56.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Free Friday

Spent my day off - when not answering Alexei's weird questions - transcribing William Younger brewing records from the 1940s. Lots of them.

It got be wondering: is this all a bit obsessive compulsive?

I had plucked out examples of each beer before. Today I went through my photos of WY/6/1/2/81 and extracted the basic details of all the beers. Around 160 examples. Maybe a dozen different beers. But FG apart, there's no variation at all from brew to brew.

So why was I arsed to do this? To see the bigger picture. Which beers were they brewing most of? How often were the stronger beers brewed?

Took me most of the day, but worth it. Got me a good set of data.

Now I have to work out what to do with it.

Also thinking: I may need to visit Glasgow.  There are a few gaps in my photos of Younger's records from the war years. I'd really like to fill them.

It would be really great to have an excuse to visit the city. Like giving a talk or brewing a collaborative beer.

Just a thought.

Scottish Mild Ale before WW II

More WW II-related stuff today. And more Mild-related stuff, too. Call that a double win. For me, if not for you.

After WW I, genuine Mild Ales were pretty much dead in Scotland. Most breweries produced nothing but different-strength Pale Ales. The weakest of these filled the slot usually occupied by Mild in England.

The situation was made more complicated by some of the peculiarities of Scottish brewing. Pale Ales brewed north of the border tended to be more lightly hopped, with rates often lower than those for London Mild Ales. Then there was the practice of colouring up beers with caramel at racking time. In combination, these two factors meant that lower-gravity Scottish Pale Ales, could be very similar in colour and character to English Dark Mild.

One exception was William Younger, which continued to brew genuine Mild Ales through WW II and beyond. I’m not sure that they ever sold their Mild in Scotland, though. As Younger had many outlets in England, a Mild would have been an essential part of their range in the 1930s.

All three of the examples in the table were sold at 6d per pint, but are considerably weaker than, for example London Milds which cost the same. A 6d London Mild would weigh in at over 1040º. The Younger’s beer, at just over 1030º, would probably have retailed for 4d, had it been brewed in London.

The explanation: beer was generally more expensive in Scotland. The same phenomenon can be observed with draught Scottish Pale Ales, which were usually 1d per pint more expensive than beers of a similar strength sold in London.

Scottish Mild Ale before WW II
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (d)	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1939	Murray	Light Ale	6	1035.8	1008.7	3.52	75.70%	42
1939	Younger, Geo.	Light Ale	6	1033.6	1005.8	3.61	82.74%	44
1939	Younger, Wm.	Light Ale	6	1030.6	1004.5	3.39	85.29%	155
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.

Anyone living in Glasgow?

Who fancies doing me a favour?

There are a couple of brewing records in the Scottish Brewing Archive that I could really do with getting photos of. But I can't really justify the expense of going to Glasgow myaelf.

So, anyone fancy a little light photography? There are a couple of my self-published books in it for you.

Back in the groove

My trip to Japan with the kids really knocked a hole in my work on my current book. What with queuing up posts beforhand, the two weeks-odd of the trip itself and a couple of weeks writing the trip up, I didn't work on the book for over six weeks.

I finally got back into the swing this week. I've written at least 500 words every day and I've done some bits of basic research.

You wouldn't believe how many brewing records I still haven't processed. My guess is between a quarter and a third. This week I've been transcribing William Younger and Boddington records. A lot of work, but very satisfying.

Both the Yonger and Boddington records are in what I call the Scottish format. While English records usually have one brew per page or double page, Scottish records have multiple brews over a two page spread.

In the case of Boddington, there are 20 brews per double page. I have 150 photos of the log I'm currently processing. Which adds up to around 1,500 brews. Even if I only take 5 or 10 minutes per brew, it takes a considerable time to get through the lot.

The dangers of Russian Stout

This is quite a rarity: a newspaper article that mentions a specific brand of beer. Russian Stout, to be specific. A beer unique to Barclay Perkins.

The article tells a sad tale of intoxication due to an unexpectedly strong drink.

"A PARTY ESCAPADE: FINES OF £40
After celebrating a birthday party with Russian stout, Joseph Dennis Whorten of St. James', New Cross, London. took a car that he found in Queen-st. and crashed it into a wall outside Supt. Cotts house In Herne-rd. He was charged at the Magistrates' Court last Wednesday of driving away a motor vehicle without a licence; using an uninsured motor vehicle; and driving while under the influence of drink. The charge of theft was withdrawn on defendant pleading guilty to the remaining charges. Supt. Cott said that when Wharton got out of the car he was staggering and had cuts on the forehead. He was given first aid. He was examined by Dr. Rosenberg at the Police station and found to be under the influence of drink. Wharton admitted that this was so. The Supt. added that Wharton was a man of good character with a good war record In the R.N.V.R. Mr. R. J. Dromgoole, for Wharton, said that since his discharge from the Royal Navy he had applied to the Merchant Navy pool and had been posted to the Dutch Admiralty. Except for an occasional light beer, Wharton had practically given op intoxicating liquor, but on this Saturday at a birthday party he had had Russian stout, a particularly potent form of beer. He bad been asked to leave and saw the car open when he left the premises. He was fined in all £40 and ordered to pay £1 1s. costs. and was disqualified from driving for twelve months."
West Sussex Gazette - Thursday 21 April 1949, page 8.

I was surprised by a couple of things. The first that sprang to mind was this: was Russian Stout really that strong in 1949? During the war its gravity had been greatly reduced, as you can see in the table below.  I don't have any details for 1949, but by 1950 it was back up to full strength.

So it is possible that Mr. Whartom was drinking an exceptionally strong beer. And, at a time when almost no beer was stronger than 4% ABV, something over 10% ABV really was unusually strong.

On the other hand, Wharton had been in the Royal Navy. An organisation whose members aren't exactly renowned for temperance. And when he served sailors still received a daily ration of overproof rum.

Considering he nicked a car whilst pissed, didn't have a driving licence and crashed into a poliecman's house, I think Wharton got off pretty lightly.

Barclay Perkins Russian Stout 1941 - 1950
Year	Beer	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1941	IBS	1055.6	1022.0	4.45	60.45%
1946	IBS (Scot.)	1043.7	1019.0	3.27	56.52%
1947	IBS (Scot.)	1043.5	1021.0	2.98	51.72%
1950	Russian Imperial Stout	1100.1	1021.1	10.41	78.92%
Sources:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/624 and ACC/2305/01/627.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1944 Whitbread XX

Two tie-ins with this recipe. For starters, it's an example of the Whitbread wartime Milds I discussed recently. Secondly, it was brewed just about exactly 75 years ago, in September 1944.


Whitbread’s X Ale started the war on the weak side for a standard London Mild. Obviously after a few years of war, it wasn’t going to have got any stronger.

Though the gravity of, what by then, was called XX Ale stabilised from 1942 onwards at just a shade under 1030º. I wish I had more analyses of the finished beer as I suspect that it was primed at racking time. One stray analysis I have from 1945 has an OG that is about 1.5º higher than the gravity shown in a brewing record from the same month.

Whitbread didn’t go in much for complicated recipes and this iteration of XX Ale is no exception. The grist consists of just three elements: mild malt, crystal malt and flaked barley. The latter being a government imposition on all breweries.

In addition there are two types of sugar: No. 3 invert and something simply described as “Hay”. From what I’ve seen in other Whitbread records, I’m guessing that this means Hay’s M, which was a type of proprietary caramel.

There were four types of hops used. Whitbread from the 1944 harvest, Kent from 1943, Worcester from 1943 and Oregon from 1942. Though the quantities of Whitbread and Oregon hops were pretty small: 57 and 86 lbs, respectively, out of a total of 570 lbs.

1944 Whitbread XX
mild malt	4.50 lb	70.64%
crystal malt 60 L	0.50 lb	7.85%
flaked barley	1.00 lb	15.70%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.25 lb	3.92%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.12 lb	1.88%
Fuggles 60 mins	0.50 oz
Cluster 60 mins	0.125 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1028.5
FG	1007
ABV	2.84
Apparent attenuation	75.44%
IBU	18
SRM	14
Mash at	148º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	60 minutes
pitching temp	65º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale