Beer colour in Munich

Beer colour is a fascinating subject. You'd be surprised how often drinkers change their mind about which colour beer they like best. Fickle bunch.

I bought a dead good book the other day. About the Löwenbräu brewery in Munich. It's called "Löwenbräu. Von den Anfängen des Münchner Brauwesen" and was written by Wolfgang Behringer. (He alsio wrote an excellent history of Spaten.) It's justr the sort of book I love. Full of statistics and facts. Researched facts rather than the imaginary kind.

It has some fascinating titbits abour beer colour in Munich. Now, I'd always assumed (a dangerous thing to do, I know) that, before the 1890's, Munich lagers had always been dark. Turns out things are a bit more complicated than that.

In the 1840's someone made a survey of the Munich breweries and their beers. And took the trouble to note the colour. About half the beers were described as "wine yellow". Doesn't sound like dark to me. But a few years later, all the beers were dark. At least up until the 1890's when Helles was introduced. Though, as you'll see from the table below, it took a while for Helles to win over the throats of the locals.


I maintain my prediction of an imminent move in public taste from pale to dark beer. You may be surprised just how quickly it occurs.

Offline in Folkestone

You may have noticed a lack of comment moderation over the weekend. There was a simple reason. I was offline in England. 48 hours without internet access. Not as scary as I'd feared.

I'd tell you about the weird and exotic beers I drank. I really would. If I'd drunk any. But it wasn't that type of trip. London Pride, Courage Best and Guinness. That was it. And I had no less a good time because of that.

Folkestone is my guilty pleasure. A place where, on Friday and Saturday night, the hems are high and the décolletés deep. Mikey loves that. I quite like it, too, though not for quite the same reasons. I'm far too old and married to be on the pull. It's nice that people make the effort. The folks in Folkestone make Amsterdammers look a very dowdy bunch.

Folkestone's pubs aren't the most historic, stylish or exclusive. No gastropubs or trendy bars. Just normal pubs for normal people. Places where I can lock up my inner beer geek and be just a punter like everyone else. Because there's a lot more to a Saturday night out than the beer or even the surroundings. It's all about having a laugh and yes, having a few more drinks than you really should. An escape from the endless drudgery of the working week. Why should we feel guilty about that?



No photos with the post. I left my camera at home. With my notebook. In any case, Lexie needed the camera for his latest stop-frame animation project.

Competitions, competitions

Sorry, sorry, sorry. My last competition question was rubbish. Rubbish. And I think I've used it before. That's what happens when you do things in a rush.

The salmon is already in the pan, so I have to be quick. Ideas, ideas. Isn't that supposed to be my forty? Obviously not.

What's Lexie's middle name?

A. Kempton
B. Haydock
C. Josef
D. Tetley
E. Mild
F. Porter
G. Barclay
H. Perkins
I. Burton
J. Pale
K. Ale
L. Pilsen
M. Tarquin
N. Michael
O. Stout
P. Affrikka
Q. Kai
R. Elmo
S. Rimmer
T. Brian
U. Artwodeetwo
V. Vodka
W. Saltandvinegarcrisps
X. Candelent
Y. Crumpet
Z. Emergencypint

One guess each. Unless not many of you have a go.

Let's be realistic. You can have two goes.

The prize is that copy of "War!". In case you'd forgotten.


Misspelling fortay was a deliberate mistake.

Whitbread beers in the 1950's

Ever wonder what Whitbread were brewing in Chiswell Street during the 1950's? No? I didn't really expect you would have. Now me, there's another story. I have. Often.

Wonder no longer. Here are (pretty much) all the details you need to know about Whitbread's Ales. (Not the Stouts, because they're in different brewing books. I've not got around to those yet.) It wasn't a particularly exciting range. Mild, Best Mild, Bitter, IPA and a couple of Brown Ales. With the exception of Double Brown (which was discontinued towards the end of the 1950's), all had gravities below 1040º.

Here's one of my lovely tables:


You'll be seeing more of these later. When I produce a 1959 Beer Style Guide.

Truman's Burton Ales in 1877

Continuing my erratic series of random beer tables, today we've details of Truman's Ales. From their Burton brewery. Just a couple of years after it opened.

A small note on the beer names. I say names, but they're really just combinations of letters and numbers. The Ales ran from 1 to 9, the Pale Ales from P1 to Pale Ale. This is what the other bits mean:

K = Keeping,
B = Bottling,
R = Runner.

Unfortunately, I didn't photograph logs for the strongest 3 Ales, No.1 , No.2 and No.3. Sorry about that. But they only brewed them a few times a year. You try finding one when there are several hundred pages to look through. And you've allotted just 4 minutes per book.

I'd love to know where Truman sold all these beers. With the Pale Ales it's simple enough. They were sold in their pubs in London. But what about all the Milds. Where the hell did they go? The brewery in Brick Lane produced Mild Ales. What would be the point of shipping them down from Burton?


Maybe more of this tomorrow. Or perhaps that's enough tables for this week. I'll think about it overnight.

Beer fest vs geek fest

It's probably just me feeling pissed off about having to miss the De Molen Festival. But a trend is starting to worry me: the geek festival.

One of the things I like about festivals such as the GBBF and ZBF is their inclusivity. They don't just try to appeal to the beer nut (or even The Beer Nut). Their aim is to pull in normal punters, too, and expose them to a wider range of beer than they might come across in their dull, meaningless existence. Which means they don't just concentrate on the loony juice end of the beer spectrum, but have plenty of fairly mainstream choices as well.

Those who will never knowingly drink the same beer twice are dismissive of this type of festival. Nott enough new, weird or plain ludicrous beers for them to tick. Which is why a new breed of festival has appeared. I call them geek fests. They offer nothing but the rare and unusual, preferably exclusive, beers. Should any member of the public accidentally be lured in by the bright lights, they aren't likely to feel very included, nor find anything they could drink more than a mouthful of.

What I love about beer is that it's democratic and inclusive. Unlike wine or whisky, which have their heads firmly stuck up their own arses. Let's not throw this away, eh? I don't want to do my drinking in a geek bubble. I want to share my love of beer with everyone, not just a few similarly-minded obsessives. Beer should stay mainstream.

I don't want to see good beer be an exclusive club, only open to those willing to fork out most of their cash and time in its pursuit. Let's keep it for everyone.

Table - the new Imperial?

In these days of continual upsizing, what about some thinking around the corner? Pushing the box. Opening the envelope.

Imperial barrel tooth-dissolver this. Grand Reserva infected that ("It's supposed to be sour, sir."). Tastebud-scourer the other. Sextuple Bock, Belgian Dodecahedron, Infinity IPA, Tharg Grand Master of the Universe (and any of other Universes not yet discovered or theoretically possible) Stout, Alcoholic's Breakfast Brown ("We throw the Bourbon in for you!").

Table IPA. What about that? I've some great Whitbread, low-gravity IPA recipes. Table Porter. Barclay Perkins made one in the 19th century. You're welcome to its details. Family Ale - no problem.

Beer isn't just a sledgehammer. It can be a toy hammer. Aaah. Tetley's Mild.

Low-alcohol beers that aren't just stunts. Stuff from - let's think - 1.5% to 3.5% ABV. Proper beers, to be drunk appropriately.

Here's some possibilities:

• LIPA - the light, bottled IPA brewed in the South of England, specifically designed to annoy future generations of style nazis
• GA - Government Ale - what could taste nicer that that?
• MA - when WW I drinkers looked back on watery GA with fondness
• 1850's Table Porter - stronger than 1930's standard Porter
• 1950's Mild and Best Mild - could either get you pissed?

Things that, I believe, are a challenge to brew. If you want to get people to drink them. As harvesters, glass-blowers, furnace men and coal heavers once did. OK, the poor probably weren't always that fussy. You get my drift.

Yet another book

The books just keep on coming. A parcel of freshly-minted copies of "War!" fell on my doormat yesterday. It's Volume VI of my Mini Book Series.

It may seem odd that "War!" is appearing after Volumes VIII and IX. There's a good reason for that. But It's also a pretty tedious one. I won't bother you with it. As usual, I'll be sending out 9 signed copies to the lucky few.

You must be able to guess what's coming. A competition. With as prize a copy of "War!".

What can I ask you this time? I've used up all the good questions. Well, maybe not good. Not terrible. I've asked you all the not too crap questions I could think of. Ah, I know. This is a good one.

You probably can't remember my Mini Book Series concept. Eleven volumes published throughout 2009. Volumes I - IX have been published. XI minus IX . . . I make that II. Two volumes to go. One of those is just about done. Just one book left to write. I think I know what it will be. But I haven't decided 100%. Which is where the competition comes in.

Suggest a title or theme for volume XI. I don't promise to use it. But I might. More likely, I'll just fiddle with the title. Much less work.

Go on then. Make a suggestion.

Porter brewing in the 1850's

In general, the process of brewing Porter was the same as that for Ale. The main difference was in mashing. Because of the presence of dark malt in the grist, the mashing temperatures were lower than for Ale. Loftus suggested mashes at 158º, 176º and 188º F when three mashes were employed and 158º, 164º, 180º and 190º F when there were four. More stirring of the mash was needed owing to the pasty consistency of the darker grains. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, pages 66-67.)

Truman's Bottling Keeping Porter, brewed in 1850, used four mashes, at the following temperatures:

Mashing schema Truman's 1850 Bottling Keeping Porter
	strike heat	water (brls)	mash temp.	wort (brls)	OG wort
mash 1	174	520	164	280	1098.335
mash 2	180	280	170	320	1066.48
mash 3	170	360	169	380	1038.78
mash 4	175	320	169	320	1016.62
total		1480		1300
Source:
Brewing logs from the Truman archive in the London Metropolitan Archive.

The wort was boiled for between 60 and 90 minutes. To extract the bitterness more completely from the hops, they could be steeped in water at between 142º and 172º F for several hours before brewing started. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 67.)

Yeast was pitched when the wort was between 60 and 68º F in winter and as cold as possible in summer. Primary fermentation was quicker than for Ale, lasting just 48 hours. Care was taken not to let the wort get above 74 to 78º F, presumably through the use of attemperators. The wort was transferred into cleansing casks when the gravity had dropped to 1027-1030º and was vatted at 1017-1019º. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 68.)

Porter was matured in as large a vat as possible. The larger the vessel, the better and more evenly, the beer matured. Wastage due to evaporation was also less from a large vat. A supply of Old Porter was maintained for mixing with Mild Porter. About one third aged Porter was mixed with two-thirds Mild Porter, though the proportions varied from brewery to brewery and at different times of year. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, pages 68-69.)

Sending out unblended young beer wasn't a great idea: "Never send out Mild Porter entire, as the admixture, if done by others, may spoil the article, and the fault be charged upon your management." (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 69.)

Porter intended for export was vatted for 10 to 12 months but in the last 3 or 4 weeks was left open to allow it to flatten before being racked in to shipment casks. The rocking of the ship set the beer fermenting again and there was too much risks of casks bursting during the voyage if the Porter weren't flattened first. Soft spiles, which would allow some of the pressure to escape, were fitted to the casks. (Source: "The Brewer" by William Loftus, 1856, page 70.)

Free Mash Tun Act

A highly significant piece of legislation was adopted in 1880: the so-called Free Mash Tun Act. It introduced a new method of taxing beer and removed restrictions on ingredients.

The 1830 Beer Act had repealed all excise duty on beer. Instead, the raw materials needed to brew beer were taxed instead. In 1880 the malt and hop tax were replaced with excise duty on beer, based on the original gravity of the wort. This duty was payable at the end of the month.

As soon as the wort had run into the fermenting tun, it was checked by an Excise Officer to determine its volume and gravity. This was the basis on which beer duty was calculated. An allowance of 6% was made by the Excise for losses during fermentation. At the end of each month a calculation was made to convert the total amount of beer brewed into its equivalent in standard barrels. Should the yield have been fewer than 4 standard barrels per quarter, then the duty was levied on the materials used, rather than the number of standard barrels produced. (Source: "Principles & Practice of Brewing" by Walter J. Sykes & Arthur R. Ling, 1907, pages 528-529.)

For Excise purposes, a quarter of malt was deemed to be 336 pounds. The following amounts of other fermentables were considered by the Excise to be the equivalent of a quarter of malt:

cane sugar 224 lbs
glucose or invert sugar 256 lbs
flaked maize or rice 256 lbs
No. 1 syrup 272 lbs
No. 2 syrup 328 lbs
(Source: "Principles & Practice of Brewing" by Walter J. Sykes & Arthur R. Ling, 1907, page 529.)

Breweries were now able to use a whole range of adjuncts, such as maize, rice and unmalted barley. This was the final nail in the coffin for private brewers, whose last advantage over commercial brewers had been the ability to use whatever ingredients they chose. As duty was paid on the wort, there was a big financial; disincentive to age beer for long periods. The tax already having been paid, it meant huge amounts of capital were tied up in maturing beer. Fashion had already been moving away from the "aged" taste in beer (derived from the action of brettanomyces). The decline in production of vatted Stock Ales and Stouts was further accelerated by this change in the law.

Not all drinkers were so keen on brewers being given a free rein to use what they liked in their beer. In 1886 an organisation called The Pure Movement was Formed in Kent to campaign for restrictions on the ingredients used in brewing. Originally based in in the Southeast, the group expanded its activities to cover the whole of the country at the end of the year. "As a general principle, the average Briton believes in malt and hops as a sheet anchor of the Constitution, and a million scientific statements to the contrary would not convince him that good beer can be brewed in any but an orthodox way." (Source: DNW June 10th 1886.)

A Pure Beer Bill was introduced to parliament in 1886. It would have compelled wholesalers and retailers of beer that contained anything other than malted barley and hops to display a prominent sign saying what else was in it. Sounds fair enough to me, and way ahead of its time. Of course, it didn't pass and never became law. (Source: News of the World, May 23rd 1886.)

Beer production fell between 1900 and 1910, partly in response to a tax increase in 1901 to help fund the Boer War. It began to rise again from 1911 until the outbreak of WW I. Average gravity fell by about 2º between 1900 and 1914. That would turn out to be insignificant compared to the massive changes in beer strengths wrought by the two world wars.

2009 Bokbierfestival - the day after

I thought I'd report back on this year's festival. Without photos*, though, as I forgot my camera.

First thing that became apparent is that every single person I met had been to the Molen festival the night before. The one I hadn't been able to go to. And kept telling how great it had been. Bastards. Though it does look like it will become an annual event. Next year. I'll go next year.

I can't really comment on general beer quality as I was very conservative in my approach. What I mean is, I stuck with beers I could trust. For the most part. Old favourites like SNAB Ijsbock. And reliable things like Jopen Dubbelbok. Both were, as I expected, excellent. As was Keesmann Bock. Then again, you can't go wrong with Franconian beer. Christoffel's Bock wasn't bad, either.

My only duff choice was my very first beer. From Phoenix. It poured a pale amber colour. "Is this a Bock beer?" I asked. "All the beers at the festival are Boks." That wasn't quite an answer to my question. It had a funny sour taste. "Lactic acid infection" the brewer from Marble brewery said after just a sniff. I wasn't going to argue with a professional.

Three. That's how many books I bought. One a brand new history of Van Vollenhoven. Another about gruit and medieval Dutch beer.

I went twice. To the festival. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. (Obviously no-one with even a half a brain would go to an evening session.) I must have enjoyed it then, musn't I?

*Of this year's event. I've included a snap from last year.

Coalheavers don't want to get drunk

It wasn't just WW I and taxation that drove down British beers gravities. Public taste and changing fashion payed a part, too. As did being able to drink considerable quantities without getting plastered.

"People generally drink much more beer now than ever they did but the proportion of alcohol consumed is not any greater. Statistics of all countries show this, even in spirit drinking countries, ie that the amount of alcohol consumed per head is a steady quantity. The beer brewed now is much lighter than the beer of former days. Men will have beer. Coalheavers and all who want a quantity of drink don’t care for water but on the other hand they don’t want to get drunk. they are insisting more and more on a light beer. Brewers are now recognizing this demand. The great bulk of beer drunk is "four ale". Those higher in the social scale who have no extraordinary thirst to quench prefer something heavier. They drink less in quantity but as far as alcohol is concerned there is not much to choose between the two."
Interview with Mr Reeve, manager of Truman, Hanbury and Buxton's Brewery, Brick Lane, 22 October [1897] (Booth B348, pp62-69) http://booth.lse.ac.uk/notebooks/b348/jpg/62.html

Scottish Shilling Ales in 1909

In the early decades of the 19th century, most of the beer produced in Scotland consisted of Ales. The relative strength was indicated by a shilling value, which originally indicated the wholesale price of a 54 gallon hogshead.

Often referred to as Scotch Ale or Edinburgh Ale, these beers came in a variety of strengths though the most renowned were the strongest. By the early 20th century Shilling Ales were going out of fashion, being displaced by English-style Mild Ales and Burton-style Strong Ales.

Before 1880, Shilling Ales were 100% pale malt, but after the Free Mash Tun Act of 1880, also included sugar and sometimes maize. They were hopped with a combination of American and Kent hops.

Boiling times varied greatly over time. Up until 1850, they were pretty short, usually just over an hour. By the 1890’s, three hours or more was common. This is an overview of Younger’s boiling times:

Youngers 140/- boil times
year	boil time (hours)
1831	1
1847	0.83
1851	1.17
1858	1.25
1868	1.5
1879	1.33
1885	2.5
1898	3
1913	2.25

Throughout the course of the 19th century Scottish brewers gradually raised fermentation temperatures. By 1900 they were much the same as in England. Pitching temperatures varied depending on gravity. The strongest were pitched at 58º F, the weakest at 61º F. Raised fermentation temperatures had reduced fermentation times considerably. In “Scottish Ale Brewer” (by WH Roberts, published in 1847) a pitching temperature of 51-52º F and a fermentation time of two weeks is given as typical. As you can see from the table below, by 1898 it was less than a week:

Younger 1898 160/- fermentation schedule
		temp	gravity
Pitch		56	1111
day 1	Morning	63	1095
	Evening	65.5	1086
day 1	Morning	69.5	1065
	Evening	72.5	1060
day 3	Morning	73	1045
	Evening	64.5	1042
day 4	Morning	62	1042

With brewers like Younger increasingly concentrating on their numbered Scotch Ales (No.1 and No. 2), Shilling Ales gradually faded away in the interwar period.

100/-
OG: 1070 - 1080º
FG: 1030 - 1035º
ABV: 4.5 - 5%
Apparent attenuation: 50 - 60%
EBC:
lbs hops per barrel 1.5 - 2
IBU:
Grist: Scottish pale malt, middle-eastern pale malt, Danish pale malt, Indian pale malt, maize, sugar.
Hops: Kent, Worcester, California, Oregon.


120/-
OG: 1080 - 1090º
FG: 1035 - 1040º
ABV: 6 - 7%
Apparent attenuation: 50 - 60%
EBC:
lbs hops per barrel 3 – 3.5
IBU:
Grist: Scottish pale malt, middle-eastern pale malt, Danish pale malt, Indian pale malt, maize, sugar.
Hops: Kent, Worcester, California, Oregon.


140/-
OG: 1090 - 1100º
FG: 1035 - 1040º
ABV: 8 – 8.5%
Apparent attenuation: 60 - 65%
EBC:
lbs hops per barrel 3.5 – 4.5
IBU:
Grist: Scottish pale malt, middle-eastern pale malt, Danish pale malt, Indian pale malt, maize, sugar.
Hops: Kent, Worcester, California, Oregon.


160/-
OG: 1100 - 1110º
FG: 1040 - 1045º
ABV: 9 - 10%
Apparent attenuation: 60 - 65%
EBC:
lbs hops per barrel 4.5 - 5
IBU:
Grist: Scottish pale malt, middle-eastern pale malt, Danish pale malt, Indian pale malt, maize, sugar.
Hops: Kent, Worcester, California, Oregon.




Example beers

Thomas Usher 1912 100/-
OG	1064
FG	1027
ABV	4.90%
Apparent attenuation	57.81%
Malt
Gaza pale malt	18%
Danish pale malt	29%
Calcutta pale malt	18%
maize	7%
DL sugar	8%
cane sugar	20%
Hops*	100%
Kent yearling hops	33%
American yearling hops	33%
Kent hops	33%
* my guess

Younger 1898 140/-
OG	1101
FG	1039
ABV	8.20%
Apparent attenuation	61.39%
Malt
Foreign pale malt	32%
Scottish 2-row pale malt	60%
dextrose	5%
glucose	3%
Hops	100%
Kent yearling hops	18%
Californian yearling hops	26%
American yearling hops	43%
Kent hops	13%

Younger 1898 160/-
OG	1111
FG	1042
ABV	9.13
Apparent attenuation	62.16%
Malt
Foreign pale malt	32%
Scottish 2-row pale malt	60%
dextrose	5%
glucose	3%
Hops	100%
Kent yearling hops	18%
Californian yearling hops	26%
American yearling hops	43%
Kent hops	13%

1909 Beer Style Guide - X Ale

Time for a sneak preview of mine and Kristen's 1909 Beer Style Guide.

This is part of a sample chapter. In addition to the text here, the book version will include a recipe or two. Your comments are welcome.



X Ale

X Ale, or standard Mild Ale, was the most popular type of beer. It formed over 50% of output, even of some of the large London Porter breweries like Whitbread and Truman.

Amongst the London brewers there was a trend to brew a much reduced range of X and K Ales. XX and XXX were dropped. Mostly just the weakest remained, X. The stronger slots were left to Stock Ales, KK and KKK. Increasingly, the Stock Ales were referred to as Strong Ales and X Ales as Mild Ales. This relationship would last little changed until the 1950's.

For example, in 1881, Whitbread brewed X, XL and XX. By 1910, only X remained. The gravity of X was starting to move downwards, too. Whitbread's was 1061º in 1881, but was down to 1057º in 1910. Much worse was to happen after 1914, when Mild Ales bore the brunt of gravity cuts.

X Ales had pretty simple recipes: pale malt and sugar. Though some brewers had taken advantage of the 1880 Free Mash Tun Act to use adjuncts like maize or rice. No modern Mild bears much resemblance to such Ales. Colour mostly came from dark No.3 invert sugar or caramel. Sometimes small amounts of amber or black malt were used, but this was more the exception than the rule.

What differentiated Mild from Pale Ale wasn't colour or gravity, but a lower hopping rate and higher FG which made them maltier, sweeter and fuller-bodied.

X Ales were hopped at a rate of 7 to 8 pounds per quarter in the 1880's, falling to 5 to 6 pounds per barrel by 1910. PA and IPA were hopped at about double that rate.

Surprisingly, Bitters like PA and IPA generally had a lower percentage of malt in the grist than X Ales. Whitbread's X had 10% sugar in the grist, their PA and IPA 20%. This, too, must have helped Mild Ales to taste more full-bodied than the Bitters.

X
OG:	1050 – 1057º
FG:	1009 - 1018 º
ABV:	5 – 6%
Apparent attenuation:	70 – 85%
EBC:	40 - 90
lbs hops per barrel	1 – 1.5
IBU:
Grist:	English 2-row pale malt, foreign 6-row pale malt, English mild malt, crystal malt, amber malt, black malt, No.3 invert sugar, caramel, maize
Hops:	Mid Kent, East Kent, Worcester, Oregon, California.

Noakes 1915 X
Malt
Californian pale malt	11%
English 2-row pale malt	57%
black malt	0.5%
crystal malt	5%
No.3 invert sugar	25%
CDM sugar	1%
Hops	100%
Californian hops	50%
Oregon hops	50%

Fuller's 1910 X
Malt
Californian 6-row pale malt	18%
Australian pale malt	17%
English 2-row pale malt	36%
No.1 invert sugar	9%
No.3 invert sugar	10%
luscious priming sugar	4%
caramel	0.64%
flaked maize	6%
Hops
East Kent hops	45%
Mid Kent hops	45%
Oregon yearling hops	10%

Barclay Perkins 1906 X
Malt
Californian 6-row pale malt	25%
English 2-row pale malt	54%
No.3 invert sugar	10%
maize	11%
caramel	0.10%
Hops
Worcester hops	33%
American hops	33%
Mid Kent yearling hops	33%

Barclay Perkins 1914 X
Malt
Indiian 6-row pale malt	10%
English 2-row mild malt	14%
English 2-row pale malt	39%
amber malt	7%
No.3 invert sugar	20%
maize	10%
caramel	0.12%
Hops
Mid Kent hops	33%
East Kent hops	33%
Mid Kent yearling hops	33%

Whitbread 1914 X
foreign 6- row pale malt	32%
English 2-row pale malt	61%
No.3 invert sugar	7%
Pacific hops	22%
Mid Kent hops	78%

Fuller's 1910 X
Malt
Californian 6-row pale malt	18%
Australian pale malt	17%
English 2-row pale malt	36%
No.1 invert sugar	9%
No.3 invert sugar	10%
luscious priming sugar	4%
caramel	0.64%
flaked maize	6%
Hops
East Kent hops	45%
Mid Kent hops	45%
Oregon yearling hops	10%

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1916 Truman No.1 and No. 5

Kristen and I have finally overcome our fear of Truman's Burton logs. And here's the proof. Two lovely Burton Ales from mid-WW I.

Numbers. As you know, I love numbers. Handy when dealing with Burton brewers, who tended to number rather than name their beers. Truman followed very closely the pattern set by Bass. They started at No.1, their Barley Wine, and worked down through other Strong Ales to 6, 7 and 8 which were Milds. There was also a range of three Pale Ales called P1, P2 and P3. (You'll be hearing more about them later. They'll be playing an important part in our 1909 Beer Style Guide.)

No.1 is Barley Wine, so what modern style is No. 5 most like? No idea. Really no idea at all. There may well be no modern equivalent.

There were very few brews of No. 1, usually only one or two a year. No.5, on the other hand, was brewed frequently, party-gyled with a variety of other beers. No. 4, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8.

The lack of sugar in this brew is a WW I thing. You see it quite a bit, beers being brewed all-malt during the war, presumably because they couldn't get hold of sugar.

Not much of my bullshit today. I'm busy with the 1909 Beer Style Guide. You'll love it.



Now over to Kristen . . . . .


Grist and such
Wow, what a huge number of ingredients or such a simple beer. Count them, five different English pale malts, one American 6-row and about 12% Flaked maize. Absolutely no sugar. The gravity on the No1 is 1.095 which is quite massive for no sugar and the No5 is no slouch at 1.060. If you want to make this, make any combination of 5 pale malts you like. I've only listed 3 in the recipe as most people can easily get 3 types.

Hopping
The hopping on this one is very high. The No1 clocks in right around 50 and the No5 right around 65 or so. Exactly the same hopping rate for both but the gravity reduces the number of bu's for the No1. The No1 would have definitely gotten more dry hops which is what you see here. As for most cases in Burton that I've seen the strong American hops would go in at the beginning leaving the more 'pleasant' English varieties for the end.

Notes
As in standard Truman fashion they gyled his beer with three different worts. Truman is different in that the blended each of the the worts into 4 different strength parts and used those to blend the two different beers. It gets massively complicated for anyone wanting to follow these to a tee. Frankly, I don't think these two particularly benefit from doing a gyle with them. If you do them straight, as I have written, it will make your life much easier.

Water salts
So for the first time, or one of the first time, I've included water salts that weren't in the log. Us it or don't. The big difference between the Burton-type beers was the magnesium and sulfates in the water that really accentuates the bitterness and increases the perception of bitterness on the palate.






Tasting notes
No1 - Massive resins, marmalade and citrus. Big chewy bread down. Sweet alcohols and lots of ripe pears and apples. Drying finish for strength with the water salts really accentuating the length and breadth of the bitterness.

No5 - Same as the first except with a more robust hop profile. The bitterness is even great making the finish even more dry.

2009 Bokbier Festival

Is it that time of year already? How the years fly by. Here's was me thinking it was still Tuesday and it's actually almost November. Bokbierfestival time.

These are the details:

32e PINT Bokbierfestival
Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam
Friday 17:00-23:00,
Saturday 12:00-23:00,
Sunday 12:00-19:00
Entrance: €8
Beer price: €2

I'll be there on Saturday, as usual. Saturday afternoon, when it's nice and quiet. I hate crowds. (Really, I hate people.) My routine will be the same. Buy armfuls of stuff at the book stall, try to dodge the infected beers and finish off with an Ijsbok.

I may be wearing a Barclay Perkins T-shirt. If you want to press money or beer into my hands. Should you have another reason to find me, I'll be wearing a Hell's Angels jacket.

Trips! (South) for sale

No. I haven't abandoned my Mini Book Series. The latest, volume IX, is now available for purchase. "Trips! (South)" is the title.

What's it about? Well, nothing, really. It's a collection of pub guides to Southern Germany. Munich, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Forchheim, Regensburg, Augsburg, Stuttgart, Bayreuth and Ulm. And if that wasn't enough, there are details of the breweries in the areas covered. All in all, a dead handy book for anyone heading South for beer. I'd buy a copy myself, if I didn't already have one.

Click here and "Trips! (South)" can be on your doormat within a couple of days.

Style guidelines 1909

Style guidelines, dontcha just love 'em? You can never have too many. Then I realised. Everyone's been so occupied writing ones for the present, they've forgotten about the past. Time to put that right.

Here are some style guidelines* for 1909. Handy for time-travelling home brewers who don't want to stand out.

AK
OG: 1040 - 1048
FG: 1008 - 1010
ABV: 4.5 - 5%
Hopping: 1.25 oz Cluster, 2.25 oz Goldings (for 5 gallons)
Grist: 55-80% pale malt, 0-15% maize or rice, 15-35% sugar
Colour: 20 - 25 EBC


X
OG: 1050 – 1057º
FG: 1009 - 1018º
ABV: 5 – 6%
Apparent attenuation: 70 – 85%
EBC: 40 - 90
lbs hops per barrel 1 – 1.5
Grist: English 2-row pale malt, foreign 6-row pale malt, English mild malt, crystal malt, No.3 invert sugar
Hops: Mid Kent, East Kent, Oregon, California.


PA
OG: 1055 - 1060º
FG: 1012 – 1020º
ABV: 5.5 – 6.6%
Apparent attenuation: 70 – 80%
EBC: 25 - 30
lbs hops per barrel 2.5 – 3.25
Grist: English 2-row pale malt, foreign 6-row pale malt, crystal malt, No.1 invert sugar
Hops: East Kent, Mid Kent.


IPA
OG: 1040 - 1050º
FG: 1010 - 1015º
ABV: 3.5 - 5%
Apparent attenuation: 65 - 75%
EBC: 20 - 25
lbs hops per barrel 2 – 2.75
Grist: English 2-row pale malt, foreign 6-row pale malt, crystal malt, No.1 invert sugar
Hops: East Kent, Mid Kent.



* These guidelines apply only to London.

Style guides

Say what you like about them, style guides have their place. Not, in the dustbin of history, as you might have expected. No, in its inbox.

There aren't too many style guides. There are too few. Think about it. The ones knocking around are incredibly unambitious. They only try to cover the present day. What about the rest of human (brewing) history? Where are the style guides to the 1930's or the 1850's? Or 1909, for that matter.

How am I ever going to set tests for the BHCP if there's no study text? It's a problem I need to address. And soon.

The first beer analyses

1784 was a momentous year. It's when the first analyses of beer gravity and attenuation were published. You could see it as the beginning of modern, scientific brewing.

It's hard now to imagine that brewers once had little idea of the strength of their beers. They knew how much malt they'd put in, which gave them a very general idea. But they had no idea what sort of yield their malt gave them nor how far the wort had attenuated. The hydrometer changed all of that.

In the 1770's, Richardson carried out a series of experiments using the hydrometer to measure worts before and after fermentation. Funny thing is, hydrometers had been knocking around for ages. Distillers had been using them since the 17th century. funny how no-one thought to take one into a brewery.

Here are the results of Richardson's investigations:




A couple of things stand out. First, the erratic attenuation of Strong and Common Ales. Second, the poor attenuation of the Strong Ales. The Porters, averaging around 75% attenuation, look positively modern. You'll note that the Porters are much stronger than their 19th century descendants.

What effect did the hydrometer have on brewing? It made brewers aware of the yield they obtained from their malt. Which in turn led to changes in the selection of materials and brewing techniques. Seeing the better yield from pale malt, brewers soon changed to using it as a base for all beers, including Porter and Stout.

Soon after the publication of Richardson's work hydrometers were in widespread use in larger English breweries. Not really a surprise. Would you want to brew commercially without one?