Exhibit of Foreign and Colonial Beers (part four)

I'm still desperately milking this article for content. As I have to, when I'll be gallivanting off to South America for almost two weeks.

We'll start with some general remarks about the beers entered. Beginning with those fancily-labelled beers.

One of the first points to be noted at the exhibition was the pains expended abroad in making bottled beers attractive to the eye by choosing the most tasteful bottles and labels. It will not be invidious to state that the beers of the United States of America stood out prominently in this connection, whilst the Russian and Japanese samples deserve the highest praise for their artistic get-up.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

Most UK labels were pretty functional back then. With little more in terms of graphic design than the company's logo. Like Bass and their red triangle. Mostly, iy was just text.

There had been a revolution in brewing outside Europe with the development of artificial refrigeration. Which made brewing possible anywhere in the world, no matter what the climate. My experiences in brew houses in Brazil, where I felt like I was about to collapse from heatstroke, demonstrate how difficult brewing there would be without refrigeration.

The adoption of scientific methods of brewing has rendered possible the production of beers in countries where the climate is by no means propitious, so that those who have taken up their abode in tropical countries need no longer be deprived of the luxury of malt liquors except at prohibitive prices. Indeed, the establishment of breweries would seem to proceed hand in hand with the spread of civilisation, and to-day some type of beer is produced practically all over the world.

Bearing in mind the conditions obtaining in some of the countries from whence the beers emanated, and taking into account the distance they had to be sent, it would not have been surprising had many of the samples arrived in an undrinkable condition; yet such was not the case, and among the whole collection tasted not one of the beers could be described as actually unsound.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

There were drawbacks to these new cold-fermented beers. Without cooling, they quickly spoiled.

Bottom-fermentation beers must of necessity be brewed under what may be described as artificial conditions (low temperature), so that the difficulties of local environment are in a sense minimised. On the other hand, it must be remembered that these bottom-fermentation beers are less able to withstand disease when exposed to ordinary temperatures for lengthened periods than are top-fermentation beers. It is, therefore, the more to the credit of those who produced them, even bearing in mind that they were all bottled samples, that they stood the transport so well. But most of the samples from India, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were top-fermentation beers, and although these differed from the English product, being more of the Lager type in character, the majority were of very excellent quality, and none of them could be described as undrinkable.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

It's interesting the colonial top-fermenting beers were Lager-like in character. What is exactly meant by that? A lack of fruity esters? A high dextrine content?

Finally, a note on the system of marking.

In making the awards, beers of similar types and from the same countries were placed in competition. This was the only practical course since the products of different countries differ so markedly. The beers have been awarded three, two, and one marks respectively in their order of merit; but these marks have a purely relative value, and it must not be concluded that two samples from different countries to which equal marks have been given are of equal excellence, even sui generis. In some cases the type of beer differed so greatly from anything we were previously acquainted with, that comparison was a difficult matter.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, November 15th 1902, page 672 - 674.

No style guidelines, then. Just comparing like with like, as for style and origin. Seems fair enough to me. 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1911 Eldridge Pope Double Stout

Just 3º lower than in 1896 is Eldridge Pope’s other Black Beer, Double Stout. Even though that leaves it under 1060º and not much stronger than a London Porter. Far short of what you’d expect for a Double Stout.

As this was parti-gyled with the Light Tonic Stout, I don’t really have anything to say about the recipe. This was the junior party in the parti-gyle, amounting to 52 barrels compared to LTS’s 94.

Unlike LTS, Double Stout was sold in draught form. Costing the same as Pale Ale: 54 shillings for a 36-gallon barrel.

This does not look like a candidate for extended ageing. I can’t see there being more than a couple of months between racking and consumption. 

1911 Eldridge Pope Double Stout
pale malt	7.50 lb	59.41%
crystal malt 60 L	1.125 lb	8.91%
black malt	0.750 lb	5.94%
oats	1.50 lb	11.88%
No. 2 invert	1.500 lb	11.88%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.25 lb	1.98%
Cluster 120 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.50 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	1.50 oz
OG	1059
FG	1018
ABV	5.42
Apparent attenuation	69.49%
IBU	51
SRM	38
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59.5º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity

Brewing in Argentina (part three)

As you read this, I should be on my way back from Buenos Aires. Hopefully, uninjured.

Today, we're looking at some more Argentinian breweries. Starting with one which brew to be the nation's favourite: Quilmes.

The Quilmes brewery, located in the pretty village of Quilmes, thirteen miles from Buenos Aires, is worked much on the same lines as the Bieckert brewery. The capacity of the Quilmes brewery is 14,000,000 litres annually, and its product has not alone a large local sale, but is exported in considerable quantities to Uruguay, Bolivia, Chili, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Quilmes beer is stored for at least two months before being sent out. The equipment and organisation of this plant are excellent. Its machinery is all of French manufacture. The capacity of the bottling machinery, which includes the latest devices, is 5,000 dozen per day. The water is drawn from three spring wells by five pumps, and there is one ice-making machine, having a daily capacity of seventy-five tons. Power for the machinery throughout the establishment is supplied by two 100-horse power engines, supplied by four boilers, which consume from nine to twelve tons of coal per day. the brewery imports malt from Europe. It also makes some malt, using both imported and domestic barley. It always has a quantity ot ice on hand, some of which is used to cool the beer in transport through the country, and the rest of it is sold to the public.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

I don't think anyone would describe Quilmes as a pretty little village. It's beem engulfed by the spreawl of Buenos Aires. A capacity of 140,000 hl is pretty hefty. That's the ewuivalent of a large regional brewery in the UK. Though, from what we've read earlier, they probably weren't producing anything like that.

Two months is a pretty decent lagering time for a standard pale Lager. Intereting that the macjhinery all came from France again.

The next two breweries were operating on a much smaller scale. The first is another example of British influence in Argentina.

Another well-known establishment is the Anglo-Argentine brewery (Cerveceria Anglo-Argentina), at Cordoba. This plant occupies 2,500 square yards. Its machinery includes three 25-horse power boilers, and an ice plant with a daily capacity of fifteen tons. The brewery employs sixty men. In a plant adjoining whisky is also made.

An establishment of about the same capacity, making about 5,000 litres weekly, in the same province, is the St. Vincent brewery (Cerveceria San Vincente) of William Ahrens, located at San Vincente.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

Both of these two were producing quite small quantities of beer, around 2,500 hl annually. Which is about the same as a large brewpub might produce today.
 

English Lager (part four)

Here we are with English Lager again as I squeeze the last few drops of interest out of the article.

The author seems to have a very different view to me of where Allsopp was intending to sell their Lager. I'm convinced they were mainly looking at export markets.

The new beer will most likely be consumed at home, for an export trade can only be done with such beer in bottle after it has been pasturized, the beer in bulk not lending itself for removal to distant countries. Moreover the ice-machine has enabled fairly good beer to be brewed in the tropics and in other trying climates, and this locally manufactured beer has largely interfered with our exports. In hot countries there is a necessity for cooling drinks and especially where the air is dry as in the United States. These drinks need not be non-alcoholic, and in general are not so, consequently lager beer in good condition nicely cooled is a tempting beverage, and has come into general use where it can be brewed or imported. No doubt during the summer months such beer would command a ready sale in this country. It has not done so already because unless quickly consumed it gets out of condition, and cannot therefore be used in sparse neighbourhoods or even in small towns. A firm like Messrs. Allsopp, whose possibilities are great through having ample means at their disposal to bring the beer before the consuming public in excellent condition, will do their utmost to make the distribution perfect through their numerous agencies, and we anticipate that as soon as this beer, when properly matured, is put on the market the sale of lager beer will be increased.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 5 - 6.

Presumably, Allsopp was planning on pasteuring their Lager, anyway. At least for exports. And if they did the same for the Lager they sold in the UK, then the problem of it going off quickly wouldn't be a problem. I've never heard the argument that a short shelf-life was the reason Lager didn't take off in the UK. And it doesn't ever seem to have been a problem in Europe. Lager being supplied yo even the tiniest Bavarian village without problems.

This last bit is interesting. About untaxed alcoholic drinks.

If so, it will be some gratification in these days of excessive competition to know that it is home made and not imported beer which has come into favour. From the figures we have given it is apparent that the absorption of all the lager beer trade of this country by the British brewer would not materially increase our trade, but there is a field for the consumption of such an article amongst many of those who now satisfy their thirst with herb and ginger beer, but who would gladly turn to a cool, clear, slightly alcoholic beverage like the weaker descriptions of bottom-fermentation beer if they could conveniently obtain it at a moderate price. In the North the sale of beer substitutes is enormous, and as for the protection of the revenue and the brewer, the Excise authorities have to wage war against the sale of beer containing excessive quantities of alcohol, but which has escaped duty, the lovers of a beverage richer in alcohol than legal herb beer will most likely transfer their consumption to this new product.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 5 - 6.

The implication is that many supposedly alcohol-free drinks, such as ginger beer, in reality contained appreciable amounts of alcohol. Would ginger beer drinkers swap over to Lager? Not until it was sold at a reasonable price compared to competing drinks. Something which we're still waiting to happen.
 

Brewing in Argentina (part two)

This time we're going to look at the largest brewery in Argentina in more detail. Which was also the oldest.

The Bieckert brewery ranks among the first hundred breweries of the world. The area of the plant equals 22,000 square yards. Two extensive four-story buildings, provided with elevators and communicating bridges, comprise the main portion of the brewery. There are thirty-eight cellars, six for fermentation and the others for reserve. The beer is stored in 180 wooden and sixty slate vats. The establishment has two 100-horse power boilers, six 70-horse power boilers, and one 40-horse power engine. The machinery is all of French manufacture. The refrigerating plant comprises five machines. The water used in the Brewery is obtained from three spring wells. There are four bottle-washing machines, each having a capacity of fifty dozen bottles. From these machines the bottles pass to other apparatus where they are finished by means of sand and water. After an inspection they pass to the filling department, where they are filled and corked by machinery. The same care is bestowed on the cleansing of the barrels. Some of the retail customers of this brewery have fixed tanks in their cellars which are filled by means of pipes from casks from the brewery. These tanks are kept in order and periodically cleaned out by the brewery free of charge. The brewery employes number 500, and the establishment has twenty-four wagons in its delivery service. It ships extensively to the interior of the country.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

I wonder what they mean by that first sentence? That Bieckert was one of the hundred largest breweries in the world? That would surprise me a bit. Though it does sound like it was quite large. Some numbers regarding how much beer they brewed would have been nice.

Slightly surprising that all the machinery was French. I would have guessed German or British. I don't remember the French being particularly well-known for manufacturing brewing equipment.

Most surprising was learning that some pubs in Buenos Aires had cellar tanks. It seems a very early date for tank beer. And rather odd to fill them from barrels.

Here's some more about the beers they were brewing.

The principal beers made by the Bieckert Company are: Pilsen beer, which they advertise as the “Queen of White Beers”; bock beer and La Africana, which is advertised as "the superior of all the black beers.” The brewery makes a special note in its advertisements that no corn or other injurious substance is used in the manufacture of its beers.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

I seem to remember La Africana featuring in Martyn Cornell's talk of Stout brewing in South America. Though Stout isn't mentioned on the label at all. Interesting that they also brewed a Bock.

We'll be looking at Quilmes next.

Let's Brew - 1911 Eldridge Pope Light Tonic Stout

There’s nothing more typical of the late Victorian and Edwardian period than the new type of low-gravity Stouts. Mostly sold in bottled form. And this is a great example.

Low-gravity is certainly what this beer is. It’s even 5º lower than in 1896. Quite a few changes to the recipe, too. The brown malt has been dropped and in its place is quite a bit of crystal malt. Another addition was a rather considerable quantity of oats. Much more than the usual token amount to allow a beer to be sold as Oatmeal Stout.

There’s also been a change in the sugar. The No. 3 invert has been replaced by DM, or dextro-maltose. I’ve substituted No. 3 invert.

Three types of hops, Kent from the 1908 harvest, along with English and Oregon from 1909. 

1911 Eldridge Pope Light Tonic Stout
pale malt	6.00 lb	58.82%
crystal malt 60 L	1.00 lb	9.80%
black malt	0.625 lb	6.13%
oats	1.25 lb	12.25%
No. 2 invert	1.125 lb	11.03%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.20 lb	1.96%
Cluster 120 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.25 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	1.25 oz
OG	1047
FG	1015
ABV	4.23
Apparent attenuation	68.09%
IBU	44
SRM	33
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity

Brewing in Argentina

How fitting that I should stub my toe on an article about brewing in Argentina just before I visit the country for the first time. In fact, as you read this I'll hopefully be shovelling down cocktails in Buenos Aires.

BREWING IN ARGENTINA.
The brewing industry in the Argentine Republic has been on a progressive scale during the last ten years, until it has reached a point whore it more than fills the requirements of the market. This is fairly well shown by the decrease in the importations of beer which, valued in 1888 at £134,361 fell to £13,518 in 1897. In all respects the beer brewed in the Argentine is reported to compare favourably with that manufactured elsewhere. There are five breweries operating on an extensive scale and well equipped with modern appliances.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

It sounds like the Argentinian brewing industry was on the up. And, looking at the slump in the value of imports, it does look like local production was sufficient to meet local demand.

If there were only five large, modern breweries, then there were obviously quite a few which weren't. As there were 28 breweries just in Buenos Aires.

Naturally the province of Buenos Aires is the seat of the industry, the number of breweries in the province being twenty-eight. The capacity of these breweries was returned as 51,229,200 litres during 1895, but the total production of beer was only 8,767,338 litres. This was 500,000 more litres than during the preceding year, but still only about one-sixth of the capacity.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

Based on those figures, the domestic brewing industry was actually way too large for demand. The capacity was over half a million hectolitres, but fewer than 90,000 hl were brewed. That's an enormous mismatch. Output was at just 17% of capacity. How had that come about? Had breweries been built speculatively in anticipation of future demand? I'd love to know if production increased to come somewhere in the vague region of capacity.

Lat's see who the biggest players were.

The pioneer in the brewing business of the Argentine Republic was Herr Bieckert. He was the founder of the present Bieckert Brewing Company (Compania Cerveceria Biockert, Limited), whose plant is situated in the city of Buenos Aires. This brewery and the Argentine Quilmes brewery, which is situated a short distance outside of Buenos Aires, are the largest establishments in the country. The Bieckert Company was established in 1860, and in 1889 passed into the hands of an English syndicate for the consideration of £1,000,000. The Quilmes brewery, which has been established for ten years, has a capital of £260,000. The product of each of these breweries is said to be fully equal to the average light lager beer of other countries. The main product of all the Argentine breweries is a beer that is light both in colour and gravity, and contains a low percentage of alcohol; much the same kind of beer as the pale American products. The Quilmes Company makes a darker beer that is not so heavy.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 46 - 47.

It doesn't surprise me that British investors had got involved in the Argentinian brewing industry. The British were heavily involved in Argentinian business generally. And, at the end of the 19th century, UK investors had been buying up brewing companies all over the world.

Surprise, surprise - pale Lager was the main product. Who would have guessed that? I wouldn't assume that these beers were low-gravity by modern standards. They mean low-gravity compared to UK beer at the time, so were probably 4.5-5% ABV.

We'll be learning more about Argentinian dark beers in the next instalment.

William Younger beer for Hong Kong

I often come across special versions of beers. Ones made for specific export markets. Things like Company Porter, brewed for the East India Company. Or the Crimea Porter, brewed for British troops fighting in Crimea.

I'm currently ferreting away in William Younger's brewing records. Ones I photographed in 2009. I know, it's taken me a stupidly long time to get around to them. I've got good reasons for that. I tend to concentrate on transcribing records that fit in with the books I'm working on. Which makes sense, given the limited number of hours in a day.

And the William Younger records are a specific case. Being in what I call Scottish format, there are multiple brews over a two-page spread. Also, because Younger brewed lots of different beers and I didn't understand the records too well, I took loads of pictures. As a result, for the log I'm currently transcribing, WY/6/1/2/45, I have around 200 beers. Which take a long time to go through.

Being a bit OCD, rather than skipping through the photos, picking out examples of each beer, I'm transcribing every single one. In the past, I did skip, simply to save time. And I'm glad that I did go through this particular brewing record more exhaustively. Because I've found a couple of beers I missed. One of which is particularly interesting: A beer brewed for export to Hong Kong.

My, that was a long-winded introduction. That's almost my whole day's supply of words used up. Let's get on with the supposed topic.

Scrolling through my spreadsheet, I noticed that there was another beer brewed for export to Hong Kong. A rather odd one.

SE (Special Export?) is exactly the sort of beer I would expect to be exported to the Far East. A fill-strength, heavily-hopped Pale Ale. While Special S1 is a lightly-hopped Sweet Stout. Not a type of beer that was usually exported. Younger's DBS, a more London-type of Stout, was more suitable for export.

Initially, Younger brewed quite normal-looking Stouts, MBS and DBS, reasonably attenuated and quite heavily hopped. In the 1870s, they introduced a new set of Stouts, S11, S2, S3, which were far more lightly hopped and very poorly attenuated, only around 50%. By the 1890s, these traits had become even more exaggerated. With many examples having no fresh hops at all, only spent ones from previous brews.

Special S1 at least doesn't have any pre-loved hops. It just doesn't have many hops. And it's dry-hopped, which domestic versions weren't.

Both of these beers were racked into 54-gallon hogsheads. Which is the type of cask beer was usually exported in. 

William Younger beer for Hong Kong
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	dry hops (oz / barrel)
14th Nov	1888	Special S1 HK	Stout	1077	1032	5.95	58.44%	3.38	1.23	5.30
10th Jan	1899	SE HK	Pale Ale	1064	1017	6.22	73.44%	14.48	3.93	11.21
Source:
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/2/34.
William Younger brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number WY/6/1/2/45.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1911 Eldridge Pope X

Part of the unusual parti-gyle with the Pale Ale above was this Mild Ale. Now, you may be asking why the ingredients aren’t the same. The answer is simple: The Pale Ale was pretty much all first wort and a couple of the sugars were only added to the second and third coppers.

All of which means that, despite being weaker, this beer is significantly darker than the Pale Ale. Being what I would class as semi-dark. Which is quite typical for Mild Ales of the period. Few were fully dark before WW I.

The hops are also different as the first and second coppers were hopped quite differently. While the first copper had five different types of English hops, the second had two types of English hops and one of Oregon.

With a gravity of just 1036º, this isn’t that far away from a modern Mild. And is much weaker than a London Mild Ale, which would have had a gravity over 1050º. 

1911 Eldridge Pope X
pale malt	6.25 lb	81.22%
flaked maize	0.375 lb	4.87%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.75 lb	9.75%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.25 lb	3.25%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.07 lb	0.91%
Cluster 120 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1036
FG	1009
ABV	3.57
Apparent attenuation	75.00%
IBU	37
SRM	11
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity

The cost of various malts in 1907

Back trying hard to leach information from research from my new book without self-plagiarising. Or posting the whole of the book before I publish it.

Where am I? Trying to use a random table from the book. With a totally different text. At least, I hope a totally different text. Luckily, I assembled and discussed this table so long ago, I've not the slightest fucking idea what I wrote about it.

This is fun, isn't it? Well, for me at least.

The table, rather than comparing the price per weight of the different malts, looks at the price per pound of extract. Which is a better way of looking at the relative cost.

It's clear why Chilean barley was so popular. It was cheaper than English barley. Big surprise their. Who would have guessed that brewers would go for cheaper options?

Note also that Chevalier barley was being grown in Chile. Chevalier wasn't just the main barley variety grown in the UK, but was also common all over the world.

The cost of various malts in 1907
Oriigin	Malt type	Cost per lb. of extract. d.
English	pale ale malt	4.8
Smyrna	pale ale malt	4.4
Ouchak	pale ale malt	4.6
Californian	pale ale malt	4.3
English	stock ale malt	4.7
English	mild ale malt	4.5
Smyrna	mild ale malt	4.3
Californian	mild ale malt	4.2
Chilian (brewing)	mild ale malt	3.9
Chilian (Chevalier)	mild ale malt	4.5
Benghazi	mild ale malt	4.4
	Amber malt	4.7
	Brown malt	5.5
	Black malt	6.1
	Roasted barley	4.8
Source:
Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 13, page 342.

 

Farewell old friend

I was incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Martyn Cornell yesterday. Not only was he a giant of the beer writing world, but also a dear friend.

Getting to know him well was a great honour. His work, which was often critical of the bad history which had preceded him, has influenced a whole generation.

His last blog post is typical of his writing. exploding, once more, the myth that Porter was named after market Porters. But, rather than leaving it there, he expounded at some length on the Wood Yard brewery and the Combe family. 

I last saw Martyn just a few weeks ago in Santiago. He seemed in really good form As fun and as cheerful as ever, even when things were going wrong.

I'll miss our chats. Not just the ones about beer history.Because, all the beer stuff aside, he was just a really good bloke. Who will be sorely missed by many.

Martyn Cornell with a gaggle of beer judges in Santiago.

 

 

 

A comparison of brewing adjuncts

As I'm sure I've already bored you lots of times with this. I'm not publishing excerpts of "Free!" on the blog. Other than recipes, that is. To read the the main text, you're going to have to buy the book.

What I am doing, is sharing some of the source material. The interesting stuff I unearth while researching the book. Often, a couple of thousand words I've found I'll condense down into just a sentence or two.

This probably doesn't come as any surprise: I quite enjoy the process of research. Given how deeply and fundamentally lazy I am, I wouldn't bother doing it if it wasn't fun. Even the really long-winded and tedious stuff. Like transcribing brewing records. I'm currently getting stuck into some William Younger records that I photographed in August 2009.

Getting to today's topic, it's a table of information about grains other than barley. The table appears in the adjuncts section of the brewing materials chapter. With some text that I won't be repeating here. Don't want to get into self-plagiarism. (Something my son Andrew keeps warning me about.) Luckily, I wrote the text a few weeks ago. Which, given my shit memory, means that I can't remember fuck all about it.

Looking at the analyses, the motivation behind using flaked rice - which was, in the early 1880s, in the immediate aftermath of the Free Mash Tun Act, the adjunct of choice - becomes clear. Rice had more starch, and hence higher potential extract, than maize. So why had brewers almost universally switched to maize by 1900? It's very simple. Maize was cheaper than rice. 

A comparison of brewing adjuncts
	rice	maize	oats
Starch	79	55.1	56.1
Water	10.6	12.0	13.6
Oil	0.1	5.5	4.0
Cellulose..	0.2	13.2	1.0
Albuminoids	7.5	8.0	16.5
Carbohydrates ..	1.4	3.0	6.0
Ash	1.0	1.8	2.4
Loss	0.2	1.4	0.4
total	100	100	100
Source:
Thatcher, Frank, A Treatise of Practical Brewing and Malting (The Country Brewers' Gazette, London, 1907), pages 256 - 259.

English Lager (part three)

We're back with the story of the world's favourite type of beer in the UK. This time looking at Allsopps fancy new Lager brewery, bought at great expense from the USA.

The author clearly believed that Allsopps was a wonderful company.

It is always difficult in the initial stages of a new industry to make it sufficiently popular to command success, and this may have been the cause of the general failures of the lager beer breweries of this country, but Messrs-Allsopp and Sons will start their project under the most favourable conditions for success. Their capital is ample, they can command the best of talent to be found amongst technical brewers, they now have not only a speciality in bitter and other beers commanding a ready sale throughout the United Kingdom, but they are also interested in tied houses in which they can control the sale of their new product in good condition. We shall, therefore, at no distant date be able to see the effect of this competition between top and bottom fermentation beer, and if the attempt is successful other brewers similarly circumstanced will be entering the field in competition with Messrs. Allsopp, and thereby give a stimulus to this industry which it was never before able to command.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 5 - 6.

It's quite funny, really, reading about how great Allsopps were. Just a few years before it all came tumbling down. They didn't have much capital left, as they'd spent it on overpriced tied houses. I doubt that the company ever expected to sell much of its Lager in its own tied estate. They wanted Lager for their export trade to the Far East.

The brewery was only active in Burton for a decade or so. Before falling into disuse. It was moved to Arrol's brewery in Alloa in 1921.

Here's the thing brewers seemed to hate about Lager: lagering. The Pfaudler vaccum system was intended to greatly speed up the process.

One great drawback to lager beer brewing is the length of time required to get it into condition for consumption, and many attempts have been made to hasten the process. The Pfaudler system of fermentation now in use in some American breweries is held out by the inventor as being able to produce a perfect beer, fit for consumption, in eleven days. After making every allowance for the optimism of inventors, the saving of time will be enormous if the invention is found in actual practice to do half as much as is claimed for it, and we are informed that this invention is to be tried at Burton in the production of the new beer, so that many problems are to be solved by Messrs. Allsopp's venture.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 5 - 6.

Could the system really brew a perfect Lager in eleven days? I doubt it. I'm sure some sort of beer could be produced. Eleven days is about how long a primary fermentation at low Lager temperatures would take. Doesn't leave much room for lagering.

Given that the Pfaudler system didn't take over the world, I'm guessing it wasn't quite as brilliant as claimed. 

Here's more about the Lager brewery:

A Lager Brewery for Burton.
Messrs. Allsopp and Sons are about to enter upon an important enterprise in the establishment of a lager brewery in High Street. The site chosen is that which is occupied by the company’s old brewery, which was closed for several years after the formation of the company, but has lately been reopened. Here it was that Messrs. Allsopp originally commenced business, and where the family laid the foundation of their fortunes. The initial outlay on the new venture is estimated at £80,030, and it has been decided upon after careful consideration by the directors, and after the most stringent enquiries and investigation on the part of the chairman (the Hon. Percy Allsopp) and the head brewer (Mr. Hutton) among the lager breweries in Germany. The system decided on is that of the Pfaudler Vacuum Fermentation Company, and known as the “F. F.” vacuum system, whose chief works and offices are in New York. By this method, it is claimed, the main fermentation and the so-called after or small fermentation are combined, and the beer is completely fermented, aged, and made ready for the market — a matured and perfect beer in every detail. The plant which it is proposed to lay down will be capable of turning out from 50,000 to 60,000 barrels a year, and it is to include machines for making ten tons of ice per day for cooling purposes. This is the first time the system has been adopted in England, and it is expected to be in working order early in May, and the first lot of lager placed on the market in June. The directors are confident that the scheme will prove very advantageous to the shareholders.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, page 10. 

80,000 quid was a shitload of money back then. Though it was a decent size. 60,000 barrels was enough to supply all the Lager consumed in the UK.

It does sound like the Pfaudler system just skipped secondary fermentation  I'm sure there's no way that could affect the flavour.

Let's Brew - 1911 Eldridge Pope Pale Ale

Strongest of Eldridge Pope’s Pale Ales was, er, Pale Ale. There were another couple of versions of AK, but they were so similar to the base AK that I haven’t bothered including them.

This beer was parti-gyled. Not with AK, but with X and XXX. Which you might think is a bit weird. And you’d be right. It was possible because PA was made with almost exclusively first wort. Which didn’t include any No. 3 invert.

All the same elements are here that are in AK. Except in different proportions. There’s half the amount of sugar. Which was three-quarters No. 2 invert and a quarter something called “DL”. No idea what that might be so I’ve just bumped up the amount of No. 2.

Five types of English hops were employed. With no indication of their vintage.

My guess is that this was a semi-stock Pale Ale, aged for a few months before consumption. 

1911 Eldridge Pope Pale Ale
pale malt	10.00 lb	87.57%
flaked maize	0.67 lb	5.87%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.75 lb	6.57%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1051
FG	1015.5
ABV	4.70
Apparent attenuation	69.61%
IBU	46
SRM	6
Mash at	152.5º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity

Eldridge Pope mashing scheme 1896

The fermenting room at Eldridge Pope in the 1890s.

I thought some of you might be interested in a typical Eldridge Pope mashing scheme to go along with all the recipes of theirs I've been publishing.

For the 19th century, it's not that complicated a procedure. It's a typical example of what I would call an underlet mash. A mashing system that was incredibly popular in England. Not so much in Scotland, where most brewers seem to have gone for a single infusion, followed by a couple of sparges.

In an underlet mash, there's an initial infusion, followed 15 to 20 minutes later by the addition of a relatively small amount of hotter water from the bottom of the tun. Using an entrance called an underlet. The internal rakes would then be spun a couple of times to mix the hotter water evenly through the mash. Raising the temperature of the mash by a few degrees. The mash was then left to stand for a couple of hours.

In essence it was a simple type of step mash. The only slight downside was that you needed to have internal rakes in your mash tun. Which most breweries, where Steel's mashers were installed, didn't really need otherwise.

Admittedly, the table below would be more useful for anyone trying to recreate it if the initial heats were given. Let me know if you give it a try.

Eldridge Pope XX and PA mashing scheme 15th April 1896
operation	barrels water	strike heat	tap heat	time stood (minutes)
mash	72	161º F		17
underlet	5	190º F	152º F	147
sparge 1	62	170º F	156º F
sparge 2	61	160º F
Source:
Eldridge Pope brewing record held at the Dorset History Centre.

 

 

English Lager (part two)

It may seem difficult for some youngsters to grasp, but at one time fuck all Lager was consumed in Britain. A century after it had been introduced into the country, it still only accounted for 2% of consumption. Not a very impressive rate of growth.

Still, that 2% is enormous compared to the amount of Lager consumed in 1899.

Persons not conversant with brewing statistics inform the public through the daily press that in this country lager beer is becoming a popular drink, but this statement is not borne out by facts, and we can only surmise that the writers have mixed up their continental experience and what they have seen at some of the German cafes in London and of the populous towns with ordinary beer consumption, making this experience to become in their minds the national habit. To show the pertinence of our conclusion we give statistics from the forty-first report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for the financial year ended the 31st March last. The gross barrels of beer brewed amounted to 35,632,131, and the quantity upon which duty was actually paid within the year was 35,590,095. The quantity of British beer exported from the United Kingdom within the same period was 462,953 barrels, but the quantity of foreign beer imported was only 45,194 barrels. These figures of home production and import are startling enough when given in barrels but probably the expression of them in terms of percentage consumption will make the comparison more striking still and it will be found that of the beer consumed in this country 99.88 per cent, was home brewed, and 0.12 per cent only of foreign origin. We do not overlook the fact that attempts have been made during the last ten years of establishing lager beer breweries in the United Kingdom. The number started has been very small, and in the majority of cases the attempt has met with failure. At the present time there are only about four such breweries in the United Kingdom. The plant in each case is of limited capacity, and the output not such as to make any appreciable difference in the percentages before given, especially when in the calculation it has been assumed that all the beer imported was lager beer, which, strictly speaking, is not the case.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 35 1899, January 15th 1899, pages 5 - 6.

German brewers did have pubs in London. The most prominent being Spaten's on Piccadilly Circus, opened in the 1890s. But they also had one Market Street in Manchester. So Lager-drinking wasn't purely a metropolitan phenomenon. Lager had been available in Manchester since 1869:

"THE STOCK EXCHANGE LUNCHEON-ROOMS.
ENTRANCES:
NEWMARKET-ST. and BACK POOL FOLD, CROSS-STREET,
with the WINES Bodega Company, Bass's PALE ALE, Reid's Imperial STOUT, and Dreher's VIENNA BEER."
Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser - Monday 02 August 1869, page 1.

There were, indeed several failed attempts at establishing a Lager brewery. Here are a few:

The Bayerische Lager Beer Brewery in Eltham, Kent, which opened in 1881 and closed in 1888.
The Austro-Bavarian Lager Beer and Crystal Ice Company in Tottenham, London, brewed from 1882 to 1895.
The Kaiser Lager Beer Co. which lasted from 1884 to 1890.
The English Lager Beer Brewery which started brewing at Batheaston in 1890 and went bankrupt in 1893.

There were also established brewers who tinkered with Lager and they abadonned it. For example, William Younger in Edinburgh and the St. Anne’s Well Brewery in Exeter

I'm trying to work out who the four Lager brewers were. Wrexham and Tenent. Who were the other two? Jeffrey of Edinburgh, maybe?

Lots more of this to come.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1911 Eldridge Pope AK

How has a decade and a half affected Eldridge Pope AK? I some ways not all, in others quite a bit.

Let’s start with the quite a bit. The gravity is down more than 5º and the ABV more than half a percent. Boo.

Exactly what I’d expect, mind. In the early years of the 20th century brewers were under pressure. The excise duty on beer was increased to pay for the Boer War and the cost of brewing licences was greatly increased. The price of beer being totally inelastic, brewers reacted to these increases by reducing gravities. Which had been their response for more than a century.

The grist is as near as dammit identical. Same ingredients, same proportions. Nothing to see there.

While the hopping rate per barrel remained identical, the 1911 iteration included a large quantity of old hops. Mid-Kent and Kent from 1908, Worcester from 1909, East Kent from 1909 and Mid-Kent from 1910.

1911 Eldridge Pope AK
pale malt	7.00 lb	79.28%
flaked maize	0.33 lb	3.74%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.50 lb	16.99%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1043
FG	1011
ABV	4.23
Apparent attenuation	74.42%
IBU	32
SRM	7.5
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity