Let's Brew Wednesday - 1849 Barclay Perkins F St

I'm hard at work of my book "Stout". So expect lots of Stout recipes in the coming weeks.  Unless I get bored with it, of course. Or distracted. Both of which happen quite often.

The weakest of Barclay’s Stouts was an odd devil. Barely stronger than standard Porter, what exactly made it a Stout? And, while we’re asking questions, what did the F stand for? Sadly, I have no answers.

The grist is closer to a Porter, as there’s no amber malt, which usually featured in their Stouts. There’s also slightly less brown malt and slightly more pale malt.  The result is a beer quite a bit paler than the other Stouts in Barclay’s portfolio.

Three mashes, of course. The first two pretty similar to the other Stouts. But the third is considerably cooler. No idea why that should be. Other than that’s the way their Porters were mashed.

Mash number	barrels	strike heat	tap heat
1	289	159º F	146.5º F
2	181	178º F	160.5º F
3	223	162º F	159.5º F

One aspect which is Stout-like is the level of hopping. At 17 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt it’s higher than standard Porter (12.25 lbs) and Mild Brown Stout (13.45 lbs) and around the same rate as Keeping Brown Stout (17.24 lbs).

Just the one type of were used, Mid-Kent from the 1848 harvest. 

1849 Barclay Perkins F St
pale malt	11.50 lb	77.97%
brown malt	2.75 lb	18.64%
black malt	0.50 lb	3.39%
Goldings 90 min	3.00 oz
Goldings 60 min	3.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	3.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1062
FG	1016
ABV	6.09
Apparent attenuation	74.19%
IBU	107
SRM	27
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	66º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Generic year end post

Yay! It's been another wonderful year in Beerland. Innovation continues unabated, even if it is mostly in the form of pricing and can design.

I've been doing my best to keep up with the times. Several sludge IPAs have passed my lips. If only because I'm not going to waste a beer ordered accidentally. Some fruity sour things, too. But in the acceptable form of Catharina Sours. Usually I wouldn't spit in a kettle sour.

My beer style of the year is Sludge IPA with Fruit and Shit. Which just edged out Kettle Sour with Fruit and Shit. A really close one this year. Not that I drink either on purpose. (See above.)

Best new beer. St. Bernardus Abt. Well they changed the label this year. That makes it new, doesn't it?

Best cask beer. Not having been to the UK much, I've not drunk much of the one true beer. Did have a nice pint of London Pride a couple of weeks back.

Best US beer. Dovetail Helles is hard to beat. But Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on cask did. Why don't they always serve it this way?

Best continental beer. Perhaps a beer you haven't heard of: St. Bernardus Abt. I predict it's going to be big.

Best beer brewed to one of my recipes. Quite a few to choose from here. Goose Island's Black Eagle was pretty tasty. And I've drunk quite a bit of Butcher's Tears Monster Soup SSS. But, just for being very different, I'll have to go with Good Word's Donker Lagerbier, based on a 1930s Heineken recipe. A beer I'd wanted to try for a while. And they gave me free beer all day.

Best beer in an unexpected place. Club Colombia Negra in Cartagena was a very pleasant surprise. Almost like a Dark Mild.

Best beer overall. Bit of a surprise this year. It's St. Bernardus Abt. Who would have guessed that?

Best selection of cask Milds. Can only go to Machine House who had five on when I dropped by in August. 

Best beer festival. After years of running all over Europe chasing festivals, I'm now using these three criteria to determine if one's worth going to.
- Plenty of seats.
- Half litre measures.
- Within walking distance of my home.

I attended both eligible festivals: Pivo and Bayerischer Anstich Fest at Butcher's Tears. Both full of lovely Lager served in a proper measure.

Best pub crawl. An afternoon trawling around Atlanta with Stan was good fun. But best can only go to the fortnight-long pub crawl masquerading as a holiday with the kids. Especially our day in Mexico.

Best Wetherspoons. Not visited that many this year. Of those, the one in Folkestone just edges the others out, as it was the cheapest. Which is how I judge my Spoons.

Best brewpub. Has to be Good Word as they plied me with free beer all day.

Best book has to be Statistical Handbbook 2022. Unhindered by too many words and stuffed full of juicy numbers. Yum!

Best junket is a difficult one. I've been on so many. The year has just been all oysters, caviar and champagne. My Brazil trips were fun, but I had to pay for my own airfare. While Ale Through the Ages at Colonial Williamsburg not only paid all my expenses, I also got a fee! And I did get to geek out for several days with some of my best beer chums.

That's it for another year. Thankfully. Be interesting to see if I've got the energy for this next year.

It's that time of year again

So start sharpening your string, sanding your eggs and detoxing your livers. Because it's almost time for my Christmas Drinkalongathon.

What with inflation and the general cost of living crisis, I've tried to make this year's requirements less expensive. Who can afford to buy Islay whisky? I know I can't. And I saw Dolores eyeing up the discount whisky section in the offie. I doubt I'll be getting anything fancy as a present this year.

So here is the austerity Drinkalongathon list:

- two half pieces of string

- 1 bottle of cheap whisky

- 2 bottles of really cheap whisky

- 4 bottles of really, really cheap whisky

- 2 hard boiled eggs

- 4 really hard boiled eggs

- 1 hard boiled detective

- 1 bottle of cooking sherry

- 2 bottles of the pretend port they sell dead cheap in the supermarket

- 1 crate of St. Bernardus Abt (I'm not going to economise on that)

- 2 packets of instant bacon

- 1 protractor (for the annual maths exam)

- no calculator (for the annual maths exam)

- 1 litre of Lidl gin

- 3 quarter pieces of string

- 1 bottle supermarket own brand tonic water*

- 8 cans of Ace Lager 

- half a bottle of rum nicked from Andrew

Stock up and drink along! Maybe we can beat last year's total of 1 participant! (Me.)

 Remember, it's never too early to start drinking for Christmas.

* The way I pour myself a gin & tonic, most of it isn't the mixer, so why waste money on posh tonic?

Late 19th century London Stout mashing

London brewers were certainly keen on their complicated mashing schemes. They may have finally discovered sparging, but there were still multiple mashes.

This example from Barclay Perkins has two full mashes, but also an underlet mash. It was a type of step mash much beloved of English brewers. About 30 minutes after the initial infusion a small quantity of hotter water was added via the underlet, i.e., from the bottom of the tun. The rakes were spun a couple of times to mix the new water well with the grains and left to sit for a couple of hours.

It’s not that dissimilar from the 1849 version. The biggest difference being that the second mash was cooler. And a sparge replace the third mash.

Whitbread were doing something very similar. Two mashes, an underlet mash and a couple of sparges. The tap temperatures for the first and second mashes were very similar at the two breweries.

Barclay Perkins 1899 BSt Ex mashing scheme
action	barrels	strike heat	tap heat
mash 1	64	151º F
underlet	9	166º F	146º F
mash 2	32	170º F	155º F
sparge	32	160º F	152º F
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/1/594.

Whitbread 1900 S, SS and SSS mashing scheme
action	barrels	strike heat	time mashed	time stood	tap heat
mash 1	540	156º F	30
underlet	50	170º F		75	144º F
sparge 1	300	180º F
mash 2	280	180º F	15	30	155º F
sparge 2		170º F
Source:
Whitbread brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/09/094.

 

 

Between the wars bottled London Stout

More shit about London Stout, I'm afraid. This just happens to be what I'm working on at the moment.

Outside London, draught Stout was becoming somewhat of rarity. Even within the capital it was coming under threat. Bottled Stout, on the other hand, remained popular. As is evidenced by the broad range of Stouts of different strengths which were brewed.

Many London brewers were still producing multiple Stouts. Forest Hill, for example, had Stouts at 6d, 7d and 8d per pint. While Hoare and Charrington both had 7d and 8d Stouts.

In order to compare prices between draught and bottled beer, a simple rule of thumb is that the latter cost 1d more. So, an 8d per pint bottled Stout is the equivalent of a 7d draught Stout.

As with the draught Stouts, most of the beers fall nicely into the last price control bands with regards to gravity. The 8d bottled Stouts average 1048.7º and the 9d ones 1055.6º. Quite close to the 1046.6º and 1055.2º of draught 7d and 8d Stouts.

You’ll note that there were bottled versions which were much weaker than any draught Stouts. The weakest make a mockery of the term Stout, being under 4% ABV.

There are quite a few Oatmeal Stouts in the table. It’s a type of beer which was very popular at the time. I’ve deliberately included the standard Stout from the same brewery. Just to show that they were likely the same beer, simply labelled differently.

Between the wars bottled London Stout
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
1926	Forest Hill Brewery	Stout	6	1033.3
1928	Hammerton	V.C.Stout	6	1035.9	1006.7	3.80	81.34%
1929	Lovibond	Pioneer Stout		1032.6	1007.3	3.28	77.61%
	Average			1033.9	1007.0	3.54	79.47%
1929	Charrington	Stout	7	1038	1009.4	3.71	75.26%
1927	Forest Hill Brewery	Stout	7	1046.4
1929	Hoare	Stout	7	1038	1012.4	3.31	67.37%
1928	Isleworth	Stout	7	1040.7	1008.3	4.21	79.61%
1930	Taylor Walker	Nourishing Stout	7	1037	1008.6	3.69	76.76%
	Average			1040.0	1009.7	3.73	74.75%
1930	Cannon Brewery	Cannon Stout	8	1047	1013.2	4.38	71.91%
1929	Charrington	Oatmeal Stout	8	1046	1010.1	4.67	78.04%
1930	Charrington	Stout	8	1049
1930	Courage	Stout	8	1050.2
1926	Forest Hill Brewery	Stout	8	1055
1928	Friary Holroyd	Stout	8	1042.6
1926	Hammerton	Oatmeal Stout	8	1050.1	1015.9	4.43	68.26%
1929	Hammerton	Stout	8	1049	1014.6	4.46	70.20%
1930	Hoare	Toby Stout	8	1042	1013.6	3.67	67.62%
1928	Hoare & Co	Stout	8	1047.3
1928	Mann Crossman	London Stout	8	1050.5	1012.2	4.98	75.84%
1930	Meux	Stout	8	1049.2
1930	Meux	Oatmeal Stout	8	1050	1009.4	5.29	81.20%
1928	Noakes & Co	Stout	8	1055.9
1926	Reid	Stout	8	1050.3
1928	Truman	Eagle Stout	8	1048.9	1009.5	5.13	80.57%
1928	Watney	Reids Oatmeal Stout	8	1050	1015.6	4.46	68.80%
1928	Watney	Reids Family Stout	8	1050.2	1012.7	4.87	74.70%
1930	Young & Co	Stout	8	1042.01
	Average			1048.7	1012.7	4.63	73.72%
1928	Barclay Perkins	Stout	9	1053.9	1014.5	5.12	73.10%
1929	Barclay Perkins	Stout	9	1053	1015.6	4.85	70.57%
1929	Barclay Perkins	Stout	9	1054	1014.8	5.09	72.59%
1926	Whitbread	Stout	9	1057.7
1928	Watney	Reids Special Stout		1056	1014.7	5.37	73.75%
1928	Mann Crossman	Extra Stout	9	1059.9	1016.2	5.68	72.95%
1927	Taylor Walker	Special Stout	10	1055	1013.7	5.37	75.09%
	Average			1055.6	1014.9	5.25	73.01%
Sources:
Truman Gravity Book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number B/THB/C/252.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.

 

 

 

Let's Brew - 1805 Barclay Perkins Pale Stout

Here’s proof that Stout didn’t always imply a dark beer. An example of the pale malt analogue of Brown Stout.

It’s a type of beer which must have died out early in the 19th century as this is the only example I have. I’ve no idea why it disappeared but it may be connected with Porter brewers moving to brewing only dark beers.

The grist couldn’t be simpler: 100% Hertfordshire pale malt. There’s really nothing more to say.

As with the brown malt version, there were three separate mashes at quite different temperatures. The second mash was particularly cool, followed by a third really hot mash.

Mash number	barrels	strike heat	tap heat
1	188	181º F	152º F
2	110	126º F	136º F
3	141	206º F	165º F

Only one type of hops was used, East Kent from the 1803 harvest. Making this a SMASH beer. I’ve reduced the quantities to take account of the age of the hops.

My guess is that some ageing took place, probably 6 to 12 months. 

1805 Barclay Perkins Pale Stout
pale malt 2 row	18.25	100.00%
Goldings 90 min	3.75 oz
Goldings 30 min	3.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1079
FG	1024
ABV	7.28
Apparent attenuation	69.62%
IBU	80
SRM	6
Mash at	155º F
Sparge at	180º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

The price of Porter and Stout 1860 - 1880

The final few years before the Free Mash Tun Act were notable for the decline in popularity of aged beers. That had the most effect on standard Porter, where aged versions completely disappeared. It also affected the weaker Stouts, which tended to be sold young.

I’m sticking with the categorisation into Single, Double and Treble Stout. Though the waters are starting to be muddied by vaguer terms such as Nourishing Stout.

Beer prices had fallen since the 1850s. There was a simple reason for this: in the mid-1850s the malt tax increased from 2s 7d (31d) + 5% per bushel to 4s (48d).  What followed was a period of incredible price stability which lasted right up until WW I. Which must have made the rapid price increases during the Great War quite a shock.

Once again, for reference purposes, here are the prices for standard Porter:

London Porter prices 1860 - 1880
year	Brewery	beer	price per barrel (s)	price per gallon (d)
1861	Overton	Porter	36	12
1863	John Murton	Porter	36	12
1874	Eltham Brewery	Porter	36	12
1873	L. Davis & Son	Porter	36	12
1879	Collier Brothers	Porter	36	12
1878	Crystal Palace Steam Brewery	Porter	38	12.67
1876	Santer and Collingwood	Porter	38	12.67
1877	Waltham Brothers	Porter	38	12.67
1871	Overton & Gibbon	Porter	40	13.33
1871	Barclay Perkins	Porter	40	13.33
1874	Whitbread & Co.	Porter	40	13.33
	Average		37.6	12.55
Sources:
Gray & Warren’s 1861–2 Directory of Croydon
Croydon Chronicle and East Surrey Advertiser - Saturday 31 October 1863, page 4.
Post Office Directory of Middlesex, 1874
Woolwich Gazette - Saturday 12 July 1873, page 1.
Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald - Saturday 24 May 1879, page 8.
Norwood News - Saturday 09 November 1878, page 8.
Islington Gazette - Friday 04 February 1876, page 1.
Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette - Saturday 08 December 1877, page 3.
Surrey Comet - Saturday 07 October 1871, page 8.
Edmund Oxborrow price list
"The Medical Times and Gazette", 1874, page 652

The average price is almost 2.5 shillings per barrel cheaper than in the 1840s and 1850s.

A similar pattern is repeated by the Stouts:

London Stout prices 1860 - 1880
year	Brewery	beer	price per barrel (s)	price per gallon (d)
1876	Santer and Collingwood	Single Stout	44	14.67
1871	Overton & Gibbon	Single Stout	44	14.67
1861	Overton	Stout	48	16
1863	John Murton	Single Stout	48	16
1874	Eltham Brewery	Single Stout	48	16
1878	Crystal Palace Steam Brewery	Nourishing Stout	50	16.67
1871	Barclay Perkins	Brown Stout	50	16.67
1874	Whitbread & Co.	Stout	50	16.67
1877	Waltham Brothers	Single Stout	50	16.67
	Average		48	16.00
1876	Santer and Collingwood	Double Stout	50	16.67
1861	Overton	Double Stout	54	18
1871	Overton & Gibbon	Double Stout	54	18
1874	Eltham Brewery	Double Stout	54	18
1863	John Murton	Double Stout	60	20
1871	Barclay Perkins	Double Brown Stout	60	20
1874	Whitbread & Co.	Double Stout	60	20.00
1873	L. Davis & Son	Double Stout	60	20
1879	Collier Brothers	Double Stout	60	20
1878	Crystal Palace Steam Brewery	Nourishing Stout	62	20.67
1877	Waltham Brothers	Double Stout	62	20.67
	Average		57.8	19.27
1874	Eltham Brewery	Treble Stout	60	20
Sources:
Islington Gazette - Friday 04 February 1876, page 1.
Gray & Warren’s 1861–2 Directory of Croydon
Surrey Comet - Saturday 07 October 1871, page 8.
Post Office Directory of Middlesex, 1874
Croydon Chronicle and East Surrey Advertiser - Saturday 31 October 1863, page 4.
Edmund Oxborrow price list
"The Medical Times and Gazette", 1874, page 652
Woolwich Gazette - Saturday 12 July 1873, page 1.
Tottenham and Edmonton Weekly Herald - Saturday 24 May 1879, page 8.
Norwood News - Saturday 09 November 1878, page 8.
Croydon Guardian and Surrey County Gazette - Saturday 08 December 1877, page 3.

               
Single Stout is more than 5 shillings per barrel cheaper on average. While Double Stout is 4 shillings cheaper. Happy days for Stout drinkers.

Though you can see that there’s considerable variation in prices between breweries. For Single Stout from 44 shillings to 50 shillings per barrel. And Double Stout from 50 shillings to 62 shillings.