Grodziskie - I wish they just wouldn't bother

Over at RateBeer they've added a new style category. Or rather a combined one to include Grodziskie, Gose and Lichtenhainer.

Hang on, I hear you say, how can they lump together Grodziskie with Gose and Lichtenhainer? The latter two are extremely sour while Grodziskie is smoky and bitter.

Well, according to RateBeer Grodziskie is sour:

"Grodziskie/Gose/Lichtenhainer

Sour wheat beers were common in many parts of medieval and early Industrial Europe. Two styles – lambic and Berliner weisse – survived, but many others did not. Gose, Grodziskie and Lichtenhainer are historic styles of sour wheat beer, each a unique style of its own. Gose is seasoned with salt, Grodziskie and Lichtenhainer contain smoked malt. Historical sources are mixed about Lichtenhainer containing wheat, so modern interpretations may vary. Grätzer is an alternative name for Grodziskie. All three will be relatively low alcohol, tart, with a strong wheat character, but will be distinct from classic examples of Berliner Weisse or lambic. As all we have are historical recreations, substantial differences may exist between interpretations."

Here we go again. Didn't I have to argue against a dodgy Grodziskie/Grätzer definition just a few weeks ago? Now here's someone else defining the style incorrectly. What's that emotion I'm feeling? Frustration? Despair? Irritation? A bit of all three.

I'm not sure where they got the stuff about Grodziskie being sour from. The man I trust most when it comes to German top-fermenting styles, Schönfeld, says something very different:

"Under the influence of the supposedly excellent well water, to whose qualities until recently the excellent quality of the beer was erroneously attributed, it was possible to brew a beer of far-reaching fame from pure wheat, which has maintained its reputation through the centuries, as a highly sophisticated beverage which because of its smoke and hop bitter taste was not only earlier highly appreciated, but even now is counted among the best top-fermented beers."
"Die Obergärige Biere und ihre Herstellung" by Schönfeld, 1938, page 162.

Smoky and bitter. No mention of sourness and Schönfeld was an expert in sour beers, having studied and written extensively about Berliner Weisse.

Here's another usually reliable source, confirming an intense hop and smoke flavour as being the defining characteristics of Grodziskie:

"3. Grätzer Bier, a rough, bitter beer, brewed from 100% wheat malt with an intense smoke and hop flavour. The green malt undergoes smoking during virtually the whole drying process, is highly dried and has a strong aroma in addition to the smoked flavour. An infusion mash is employed. Hopping rate: for 1 Zentner (100 kg) of malt, 3 kg hops. Gravity just 7º [Balling]. Fermentation is carried out in tuns at a temperature of 15 to 20º C. Since the beer in the tun, as a result of the expulsion of great quantities protein and resin, doesn't break, it is mixed with isinglass and pumped into barrels. After two or three days it is completely clear and ready to be filled into delivery casks or bottles with the addition of 2 to 5% Krausen."
“Bierbrauerei" by M. Krandauer, 1914, page 301.

Here's a classification of German top-fermenting beers where Grodziskie is placed in a different group to Lichtenhainer and Gose:

"1. Low alcohol content, so easy to digest, an Ausstossbier or filled with krausen into bottles, as free as possible from bacteria, carbon dioxide-rich (Lübbener, Werder'sches, Cölner, Bremen, Hamburg, Grätzer, Munich Weissbier, etc.);

2. the same properties, with a higher lactic acid content (Berliner Weissbier, Broyhan, Calenburger Weissbier, Lichtenhainer, Gose beer);

3. more or less rich in alcohol, poorly carbonated, beers with large amounts of lactic acid (Dortmunder Altbier, called Malzweine);

4. low-alcohol, extra-rich, sweet beers (Braunschweiger Mumme, Danziger Jopenbier, Frauenburger Mumme, etc.)."
"Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte in der Lehre von den Gährungs-Organismen" by Professor Dr. Alfred Koch, 1896, pages 160-161. 

Grodziske is put in the same group as Munich Weissbier and is supposedly as free of bacteria as possible. Doesn't sound like a sour beer to me.

Another smoky and heavily hopped confirmation:

"Sour-tasting beers are Berliner Weißbier and Lichtenhainer, brewed from smoked barley malt, even more so Gose, which is also seasoned with cooking salt. Grätzer Bier, brewed from smoked wheat malt, heavily hopped but of a low gravity, also tastes smoky."
"Encyklopädisches Handbuch der technischen Chemie, Volume 4, Part 1", 1915, page 210.

I'll admit this last one is open to different interpretations. I think it says that Grätzer is another smoky beer.

I can't find any description of Grodziskie in an old text that unambiguously describes it as sour. What everyone agrees on is that it was smoky and hoppy.

In addition, there's a practical consideration. How is a heavily-hopped beer soured? Hops will kill lactic acid bacteria. That's why beers soured with it, like Berliner Weisse, usually contain minimal amounts. There were heavily-hopped German beers that were sour. Dortmunder Altbier, or Adambier is a good example. As is Münster Alt. But they were brewed a different way.

Schönfeld classified sour German styles in two groups:

1. Beers that were lightly-hopped and soured during primary fermentation. Berliner Weisse, Gose and Lichtenhainer were in this group.

2. Heavily hopped beers that only soured during a long secondary fermentation Adambier and Münster Alt were about the only beers in this category.

I don't see how a heavily-hopped beer which was sold relatively young like Grodziskie could have been soured. There were too many hops for it to sour during primary fermentation and there was no long secondary fermentation.

I find the evidence overwhelming that Grodziskie was not sour.

I'm not just doing this because I'm scared the Grodziskie and Grätzer I was involved with will be considered "not true to style". I actually find it amusing when cretins erroneously write that in beer reviews.

The real reason is I don't want history to be perverted and Grodziskie to be lost forever. Because if everyone starts thinking it has to be sour and making versions that way, the authentic style will disappear. And that's something I'd hate to see.






I did bring this up on RateBeer itself first. The admins engaged in a dialogue, but haven't changed the dodgy definition.

Drinking Keg

I spent most of last weekend drinking keg. A terrible admission, I know. I drank a couple of bottles, but mostly pints of luvverly keg.

None of this "craft" keg shit. I wouldn't go within a million miles of that filth. No, I was drinking proper, traditional Keg Bitter. The sort of stuff your grandfather might have drunk back in the 1960's. Pedigree, Old Speckled Hen and John Smiths Extra Smooth. There was Tetley's on offer, too, but I refuse to drink that since the closure of the Leeds brewery.

I was surprised how easily the stuff went down. Two or three pints an hour, no problem. From dawn till dusk, almost. And without getting that drunk, because, let's face it, the stuff isn't that strong. Not like that horrible modern keg that's stuffed with alcohol and other nastiness. No, with traditional Keg Bitter you need a double whisky with every other round if you want to have any impact on your ability to stand and speak. Either at the same time or separately.

Perhaps you're wondering why I spent a weekend on keg. Where is a better question. A place full of pubs, but with only keg beer: Gibraltar.

All this talk of Keg Bitter is making me thirsty. Thirsty for some cool, refreshing numbers. I just happen to have an apposite set. mostly courtesy of Whitbread's wonderful Gravity Book.

I suppose I should discuss the numbers a bit. All the beers are generally similar: OG 1037-1040º, attenuation averaging 80%. They're slightly above the average gravity for all beer brewed in the UK (1037º) but incredibly over-priced for their strength. The one outlier - 1972 Greene King King Keg - is the only one that's a reasonable price.

For example, the Courage Keg Bitters of 1957 and 1961 were 1041-1042º and cost 22-24d and 20-22d. In 1960, Alton IPA from the same company had an OG of  1050º and cost just 16d.

In 1960, Flower's Bitter was 19d a pint, while their Keg Bitter (of about the same strength) the year before and the year after was 22d and 24d respectively. Greene King's King Keg of 1968 cost the same as Abbot Ale which was almost 10 gravity points stronger.

Why did people drink Keg Bitter? Because it was fasionable.

Over-priced, trendy, processed beer - surely that could never become popular again?

The Keg Bitter in Gibraltar was a pretty reasonable 3 quid a pint.

Keg Bitter 1957 - 1972
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1961	Arkells	King Keg	24d	pint	draught	0.04	1007.2	1040.5	20	4.16	82.22%
1967	Bass, Burton	Bass Keg	28d	pint	draught	0.04	1007	1038	23	4.03	81.58%
1961	Birkenhead Brewery	Keg Gold	20d	pint	draught	0.11	1006.5	1043.1	23	4.57	84.92%
1966	Campbell, Hope & King	Crown Keg			bottled	0.04	1010.9	1036.2	16	3.16	69.89%
1968	Charles Wells	Nogger (Keg)	28d	pint	draught	0.06	1004	1040.4	25	4.55	90.10%
1966	Charrington	Toby Keg	27d	pint	draught	0.03	1008	1038.2	25	3.92	79.06%
1966	Courage	Tavern Keg	26d	pint	draught	0.05	1007.3	1038	22	3.99	80.79%
1966	Courage	Tavern Keg	28d	pint	draught	0.04	1009.1	1038	24	3.75	76.05%
1957	Courage & Barclay	Keg Bitter	22d to 24d	pint	draught	0.06	1006.6	1042.8	22	4.72	84.58%
1967	Courage & Barclay	Tavern Keg	28d	pint	draught	0.03	1007.8	1038.3	27	3.96	79.63%
1961	Courage, Barclay	Keg Bitter	20d to 22d	pint	draught	0.06	1003.3	1041.2	19	4.95	91.99%
1961	Dryborough	Keg	19d	pint	draught	0.08	1006.8	1037.6	10	3.85	81.91%
1959	Flowers	Keg Bitter	22d	pint	draught	0.04	1010.7	1039	23	3.54	72.56%
1961	Flowers	Keg	24d	pint	draught	0.04	1012.5	1039.3	27	3.35	68.19%
1961	Fremlin	Keg	24d	pint	draught	0.04	1005.8	1040.4	23	4.33	85.64%
1960	Gibbs Mew	Blue Keg Bitter	18d	pint	draught	0.05	1007.6	1036	25	3.55	78.89%
1961	Gibbs Mew	Anchor Keg	21d to 24d	pint	draught	0.06	1004.4	1040.6	24	4.52	89.16%
1961	Gibbs Mew	Red Keg	22d	pint	draught	0.11	1003.7	1040.4	21	4.59	90.84%
1968	Greene King	King Keg	28d	pint	draught	0.02	1006.8	1038.4	20	3.95	82.29%
1972	Greene King	King Keg	14p	pint	draught		1008.5	1037		3.20	77.03%
1968	Hall & Woodhouse	Keg Bitter	25d	pint	draught	0.04	1007	1035.1	22	3.51	80.06%
1967	Harvey's (Lewes)	Keg	26d	pint	draught	0.05	1009.2	1038	24	3.60	75.79%
1961	John Smith	Golden Keg Ale	22d to 24d	pint	draught	0.04	1009	1039.1	19	3.76	76.98%
1964	John Smith	Golden Keg	24d	pint	draught	0.05	1009.4	1039.1	23	3.71	75.96%
1961	Lacon	Keg Bitter	24d	pint	draught	0.06	1007.1	1040.1	17	4.12	82.29%
1960	Marston	Burton Keg	21d	pint	bottled	0.05	1006.8	1036	20	3.65	81.11%
1968	Mew Langton	Island Keg	27d	pint	draught	0.05	1006.6	1037.6	19	3.87	82.45%
1968	Ridley	Keg	27d	pint	draught	0.04	1005.7	1034.3	24	3.57	83.38%
1967	Scottish Brewers	Tartan Keg	29d	pint	draught	0.03	1008.8	1036.9	25	3.51	76.15%
1967	Shepherd Neame	Top Hat Keg	28d	pint	draught	0.04	1006.7	1038.4	19	3.96	82.55%
1959	Simonds	Keg Bitter	22d	pint	draught	0.04	1007.3	1037.4	19	3.76	80.48%
1961	Starkey, Knight & Ford	Star Keg	23d	pint	draught	0.07	1008	1042.3	27	4.29	81.09%
1968	Strongs	Barley Corn Keg	27d	pint	draught	0.08	1007.8	1037.4	45	3.70	79.14%
1961	Tennant Bros.	Keg Bitter	21d	pint	draught	0.05	1005	1036.8	15	3.97	86.41%
1961	Threllfalls	Keg Bitter	17d to 18d	pint	draught	0.04	1004.9	1038.5	17	4.20	87.27%
1961	Tollemache	Tolly Keg	24d to 26d	pint	draught	0.05	1006.9	1038.1	26	3.90	81.89%
1967	Tollemache	Keg	27d	pint	draught	0.04	1010.8	1034.6	33	2.97	68.79%
1959	Truman	Keg Bitter	22d	pint	draught	0.04	1008.8	1040.5	22	4.12	78.27%
1961	Truman	Keg Bitter	21d	pint	draught	0.06	1006.2	1039	16	4.27	84.10%
1966	Truman	Keg Bitter	28d	pint	draught	0.24	1006.4	1038.6	21	4.19	83.42%
1968	Truman	Keg Bitter	27d	pint	draught	0.05	1004.6	1039.9	21	4.61	88.47%
1961	Vaux	Keg Beer	20d	pint	draught	0.08	1002.2	1034.8	14	4.07	93.68%
1957	Watney	Keg Bitter	24d to 26d	pint	draught	0.06	1007.6	1039.4	23	4.14	80.71%
1961	Yates's Castle Brewery, Ardwick	Keg	20d	pint	draught	0.05	1006.8	1037.8	16	3.88	82.01%
1959	Younger, Wm. & Co	Keg Bitter	19d	pint	draught	0.04	1007.8	1043.7	55	4.68	82.15%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002
Daily Mirror July 10th 1972, page 15

She Married a Swastika and Steel Helmet

You've probably already guessed that we're still in WW II.

The title of the article below reminds of the 1950's science fiction film like "I Married a Monster from Outer Space".

"She Married a Swastika and Steel Helmet
By E. F. BALLOCH
UNDER a recent edict promulgated by Hitler, German girls can marry "invisible bridegrooms," who must be soldiers.

The first of these marriages to take place in the Fatherland is described in the "Berliner Zeitung am Mittag."

It tells how a young German madchen became Frau Ruth Dinse in the local town hall, by plighting her troth to Corporal Dinse, a soldier in the Siegfried Line, who was represented by a swastika banner and a steel helmet.

Dr Goebbels has coined a new word for these girls. They are to be known as "fernbraute," the far-away brides.

BRIDEGROOM'S CHAIR

The bride tells how, when sitting in a bar with her grandfather sipping a glass of lager, Corporal Dinse introduced himself to the girl. He returned to his post in the Siegfried Line, and sent her a letter proposing marriage under the new Hitler decree.

On the stroke of eleven of the appointed day Ruth appeared at her local town hall, and at the same moment the bridegroom was appearing before his battalion commander the Western Front.

The Registrar asked Ruth to sit in red leather armchair in his room  — the bride's chair. ("My head was in a whirl; I was tremendously excited.") On her left was another red leather chair — the bridegroom's chair. On it were a swastika banner and a steel helmet ("It was a solemn moment for me; the tears rushed to my eyes").

ALL BY HERSELF

The Registrar delivered "a beautiful address," and told Ruth she was making history as this was the first wedding to a soldier by proxy.

"Then," says Ruth, "I changed my ring on my left hand to my right finger all by myself, and I was married. It was wonderful. And when I came out into the street the bells of the church started to ring by mere coincidence, but I knew, of course, it was all for me." "
Aberdeen Journal - Wednesday 24 January 1940, page 6.

While we're on the topic of women marrying German soldiers, I'm also reminded of some of Dolores's family photos. There are some of one of her relations marrying a bloke in military uniform. I noticed something odd about the way he was sitting. It turned out he had no legs. Quite disturbing.

I'm reminded, too, of my own wedding. Which was also officated by a German registrar. Now there was a bizarre experience. I didn't understand German at the time and needed to be prompted when to say "Ja". One of Dolores's friends had advised her before the ceremony "Don't teach him the German for no."

Mitchell & Butler Strong Ale and Stout 1926 – 1954

More M & B. I forgot to mention that these are all beers that were brewed at Cape Hill which, in the 1980's, was the largest producer of cask beer in the world. Long gone now, of course, having closed in 2002. Though the name Mitchell & Butler lives on as a pub chain.

Stout. There's loads of rubbish been written about British Stouts after WW I. Mostly about them all being sweet. M & B's Stouts show how wrong that generalisation is. In the 1920's and 1930's, with attenuation over 80%, M & B's Stouts would have been drier than Guinness. The attenuation fell a bit after WW II, but was still mostly hovering close to 80%.

There's limited data, but it looks to me like we've an example of style splitting with Nourishing Stout and Extra Stout. The date where Extra Stout appears is important, 1932. That's in the chaotic period of an unwise jump in beer tax between 1931 and 1933. It was a disaster all round. Brewers dropped gravities to keep the retail price the same and the tax collected fell.

What some breweries did, when they perceived a demand for a beer at the old strength, was to introduce a "new" product, that was basically the old beer, just with a new name. Barclay Perkins did this with their Mild, introducing XX Ale at the same strength as X Ale had been before the gravity drop. Extra Stout looks like one of these beers. Look how the gravity of Nourishing Stout fell from 1048º to 1043º and Extra Stout appears at 1049º.

I'm astonished to see that M& B's two Stouts not only survived the war, but remained at pretty much the same gravities. I'm struggling to think of any other beer - export versions excepted - where that's true.

That Amba is a funny one: a pale Old Ale. Old Ale was popular in the West Midlands before WW II - still is to some extent. But it's usually a dark beer. Always, really. It would be great to know more about the beer's history.

And blow me if there isn't another beer that's the same gravity either side of WW II, Strong Ale. (I've just thought of another example. Seeing that 1106 OG has reminded me: Barclay's Russian Stout. That managed to navigate both World Wars with no drop in gravity.) It's a pretty powerful beer, with a decent attenuation for such a high gravity

You're probably thinking (hoping?) that this series is over now. It isn't, there's more M & B to come.

Mitchell & Butler Strong Ale and Stout 1926 – 1954
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1926	Nourishing Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled			1048.7
1929	Nourishing Stout	Stout	8.5d	pint	bottled	0.07	1006.3	1048.4		5.5	86.98%
1931	Nourishing Stout	Stout	9d	pint	bottled		1005	1046.1		5.4	89.15%
1932	Nourishing Stout	Stout	9d	pint	bottled	0.06	1006.7	1043		4.7	84.42%
1932	Extra Stout	Stout	8d	pint	bottled	0.06	1006.8	1049		5.5	86.12%
1951	Nourishing Stout	Stout	1/5d	pint	bottled	0.04	1007.4	1042.8	1 + 10	4.6	82.71%
1951	Extra Stout	Stout	10.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1009	1048	1 + 9	5.1	81.25%
1951	Nourishing Stout	Stout	1/6d	pint	bottled	0.07	1007.3	1042.1	1 + 12	4.5	82.66%
1953	Nourishing Stout	Stout	10d	half	bottled	0.06	1006.5	1039.2	1 + 11	4.3	83.42%
1953	Extra Stout	Stout	1/-	half	bottled	0.05	1008.2	1049	1 + 11	5.3	83.27%
1953	Extra Stout	Stout	1/-	half	bottled	0.05	1009.8	1046.2	21 B	4.7	78.79%
1954	Extra Stout	Stout	1/-	half	bottled	0.05	1011.2	1049	1 + 14	4.9	77.14%
1962	Extra Nourishing Stout	Stout	13d	half	bottled	0.05	1012.2	1037.1	275	3.1	67.12%
1960	Export Lager	Lager	16d	half	bottled	0.02	1010	1039.7	7.5	3.7	74.81%
1958	Amba Pale Old Ale	Old Ale	15d	nip	bottled	0.04	1012.4	1056.3	18	5.5	77.98%
1932	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	10d	half	bottled	0.12	1023.9	1108		11.1	77.87%
1935	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	9d	half	bottled	0.11	1022.7	1109		11.4	79.17%
1953	Strong Ale	Strong Ale	2/4d	half	bottled	0.19	1026.5	1106	6 + 40	10.5	75.00%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002

Stolen Lager

We're back with Lager in WW II. And with crime. That's what you get for reading old newspapers. They're full of crime storiwes.

I say back in WW II, but we aren't quite. This is just after the end of the war.

"Two Woundings Alleged
TORQUAY CASE
Story Of Plymouth Constable
Charged with maliciously wounding Cpl. Stanley Heisholt, R.C.A.F., in Torquay inn on October 22, Reginald Bernard Martin, 37, hotel worker, no given address, was committed for trial at Torquay yesterday. On a second charge of maliciously wounding P.C. Hammacott. Plymouth City Police, in order to resist arrest, he was also committed for trial.

Heisholt said he was in an inn on Monday, accompanied by two women friends, when he saw accused enter. Martin said something about Canadians thinking they owned place when they came into it. Witness replied " Yes. sure, chum." something like that. He attempted to ignore accused, who seemed to be a little drunk. Accused w as standing near the door when witness was leaving and when passing him Heisholt said "Good night, chum, the pub. is all yours."

"I carried on to go through the doorway." he said, "and then I felt something at the back of my neck and heard something snap. I put my fingers to the back of my neck and they were covered with blood. was able to stick my finger into a large-sized cut.

SEVEN STITCHES.

Medical officer at the R.C.A.F. hospital said Heisholt had a wound 3.5 inches in length in the back of his neck, in which seven stitches had to be inserted.

Albert George Stanley Higney said he saw accused had a razor blade held between the fingers of his right hand. He stepped back and then put his right hand in his trousers pocket.

In a statement, accused was alleged to have said that before going into the inn he was in another licensed house where a Canadian picked an argument with him over nothing at all. He told the Canadian that they were always picking quarrels. He went into the second inn and, seeing a Canadian there, said "You think you own the town." He alleged the Canadian replied "We do."

P.C. Hammacott said he saw accused carrying a case of lager on his shoulder in the early morning of October 21. When questioned, accused replied that the case had been purchased himself and some friends the previous evening. He was taking it down the road. Witness accompanied him to 11, Saltram-place, Plymouth, where accused roused the proprietress and asked if he could lea,ve the case of beer there. She replied: "You have been here once before; I don't want anything to do with you or your beer."

FIVE STITCHES.

The constable told accused he believed the lager to be stolen, and not being satisfied with Martin's replies to his questions asked him to accompany him to the police station. When they had walked about 20 yards accused put his free hand in his pocket and then suddenly struck him behind the ear. Martin ran away, and witness realized he was bleeding freely from a wound behind his ear. Later he recognized Martin at an identification parade at the Torquay Police Station.

Dr. Betty Slesser, Prince of Wales Hospital, Plymouth, said she inserted five stitches into a two-inch wound behind Hammacott's ear.

Accused said he had nothing to say at that stage."
Western Morning News - Tuesday 30 October 1945, page 2.

What does the article tell us? That not everyone in Britain was overjoyed at the presence of foreign troops in the country. And that there were vicious bastards in the past just as much as today.

Maybe Martin was pissed off that the Canadian was with two women. Jealousy can be a terrible thing.

I suppose I should say something about the beer. A case of Lager would have been pretty expensive. So worth nicking. I think it's safe to assume that it was nicked, the way Martin slashed the cop and ran off.

Mitchell & Butler Light Ale and Pale Ale 1929 - 1993

Time for the next installment in my series on the beers of Birmingham. We'll be looking at the Light Ale and Pale Ales of M & B.

A word of explanation first about Cape Ale. I've called it a Light Ale, but don't read too much into that. These were entries that I transcribed from the Whitbread Gravity Book early on. By the time I'd got further through, I'd given up trying to classify beers as Light Ale unless they had Light Ale in the name.

As you can see, there are also some examples of Family Ale, classed as Pale Ale. Basically because of the colour. So a bit arbitrary, really.

All Bright Ale is an intriguing one. It seems to have lost almost not gravity across WW II, which is unusual. 1044º in 1932, it was almost unchanged on 1042º in 1951. It was one opf many bottled Pale Ale type beers M & B brewed.

In the 1950's there was Cape Ale at about 1033º, All Bright Ale at 1042º and Export Pale Ale at 1047º. It's a surprisingly large number, especially when you throw in the confusing Family Ale at 1032º.

Moving onto beers I have personal experince of, there are the two draught Bitters from the 1970's and 1980's: Brew XI 1039º and DPA, also known as Dunkirk Pale Ale or Darby Pale Ale, at 1032º. As I said in my earlyier post, I wasn't a fan of Brew XI. At the time, it was sometimes compared to a Light Mild, due to its iunderlying sweetness.

DPA was a much better beer, but, frustratingly, much harder to find. It was discontinued sometime in the 1980's, which was a real shame. How often has that happened top me? Where a brewery drops the good beer and continues to brew a crapper alternative. To give it its due, Brew XI was a decent gravity for a Big Six Ordinary Bitter. Just not much cop.

I'm sure that you're all as excited by this series as I am. You'll be delighted to hear that there's another installment still to come. Or maybe two. Not quite decided yet.

Mitchell & Butler Light Ale and Pale Ale 1929 - 1993
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	Acidity	FG	OG	colour	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1951	All Bright Ale	Light Ale	1/4.5d	pint	bottled	0.04	1010.1	1041.9	21 B	4.1	75.89%
1951	Cape Ale	Light Ale	7.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1008.3	1034	31 B	3.3	75.59%
1951	Cape Ale	Light Ale	7.5d	half	bottled	0.06	1007.3	1034.8	19	3.6	79.02%
1953	Cape Ale	Light Ale	8.5d	half	bottled	0.06	1007.3	1033.8	33 B	3.4	78.40%
1954	Cape Ale	Light Ale	9d	half	bottled	0.05	1007.7	1033.5	28	3.3	77.01%
1956	Cape Ale	Light Ale	1/3d	half	bottled	0.04	1008.5	1032.7	31	3.1	74.01%
1929	All Bright Ale	Pale Ale	7.5d	pint	bottled	0.07	1009.1	1046.9		4.9	80.60%
1931	Family Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	bottled		1007.2	1039.4		4.2	81.73%
1932	Family Ale	Pale Ale	7d	pint	bottled	0.05	1006.5	1037		4.0	82.43%
1932	All Bright Ale	Pale Ale	8.5d	pint	bottled	0.05	1007.5	1044		4.8	82.95%
1932	Export Ale	Pale Ale	6d	half	bottled	0.06	1006.6	1049		5.5	86.53%
1935	Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	5.5d	half	bottled	0.05	1008.4	1053		5.8	84.15%
1935	All Bright Ale	Pale Ale	7.5d	pint	bottled	0.05	1008.6	1046	24	4.9	81.30%
1935	Cape Ale	Pale Ale	3.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1008.3	1040		4.1	79.25%
1949	PA	Pale Ale	1/10d	pint	draught	0.05	1006.5	1042.6	17 Brown	4.7	84.74%
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	21d	pint	draught			1045.4	30
1951	Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	10.5d	half	bottled	0.05	1010.3	1047.5	19 B	4.8	78.32%
1953	Allbright Ale	Pale Ale	1/7.5d	pint	bottled	0.05	1009.5	1040.9	21 B	4.1	76.77%
1955	Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	1/1d	half	bottled	0.04	1011.8	1045.7	20	4.4	74.18%
1955	Allbright Ale	Pale Ale	1/8.5d	pint	bottled	0.05	1011.5	1041.2	25	3.8	72.09%
1955	Cape Ale	Pale Ale	9.5d	half	bottled	0.04	1008.7	1033.1	28	3.2	73.72%
1959	Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	13d	half	bottled	0.03	1012.4	1046.6	19	4.3	73.39%
1961	Anker	Pale Ale	23d	pint	draught	0.04	1010.9	1043.4	16	4.1	74.88%
1966	Family Ale	Pale Ale	19.5d	pint	bottled	0.04	1005.8	1031.6	25	3.2	81.65%
1966	Export Pale Ale	Pale Ale	17d	half	bottled	0.04	1009.1	1044.9	19	4.5	79.73%
1977	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1038.8
1977	DPA	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1032
1979	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1038.8
1979	DPA	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1032
1981	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1038.8
1982	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1040
1983	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1040
1986	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught			1040
1989	Brew XI	Pale Ale		pint	draught		1008.45	1040		4.1	78.87%
1993	Brew XI	Pale Ale			draught		1008	1038	18	3.9	78.95%
Sources:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002
1993 Real Ale Drinker's Almanac
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252
Good Beer Guide 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987 and 1990.