Let's Brew - 1897 Fremlin Porter

It’s interesting to see that Fremlin were still brewing a Porter at this date. Probably because of the brewery’s proximity to London. In most of the country, brewers had dropped Porter, though continued to brew Stout.

The grist itself shows a London influence, with more than 11% brown malt. However, there’s no black malt, its place being taken by chocolate malt. Which is a substitution Whitbread also made, except a couple of decades later.

The presence of oat malt betrays that some must have been marketed as Oat Stout. Even though this beer was brewed single-gyle and not parti-gyled with a Stout.

There’s an awful lot of sugar in the recipe. Over 25% of the total. In the brewing record it’s simply described as “cane”. I’ve assumed unrefined brown sugar. In addition, there’s quite a bit of caramel. Which leaves the finished beer pretty dark.

Three types of English hops, two from the 1896 harvest and one from 1897. Pretty fresh, then, considering this was brewed in October. 

1897 Fremlin Porter
pale malt	4.25 lb	41.98%
brown malt	1.25 lb	12.35%
chocolate malt	0.875 lb	8.64%
oat malt	0.75 lb	7.41%
brown sugar	2.75 lb	27.16%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.25 lb	2.47%
Fuggles 145 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1052
FG	1015
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	71.15%
IBU	41
SRM	41
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	180º F
Boil time	145 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

 

Robust Porter

Sorry. I was a bit tired of transcribing Young's WW II brewing records. (I'm only up to 19 fucking 42. So much more to go. Just as well I'm no longer working. Sorry, employed. I work at this shit for big chunks of the day.)

A deep dive into one of my favourite styles.

 

Let's Brew - 1939 Youngs Porter

The biggest surprise about this beer is that it exists at all. These were the very final days of London Porter. In a couple of years, it would have totally disappeared from London pubs.

With a gravity in the mid-1030ºs, it’s a typical 5d per pint beer. Which is the price class that was usual for London Porter in its final days.

Moving onto the grist, it’s much the same as in 1932. With four malts: mild, amber, black and crystal. A slightly odd combination for a London brewer. Where mild/pale, brown and black malts were more usual. The lack of brown malt is notable, as that was the signature flavour of London Black Beers.

The sugars are a bit of a problem, as there’s a proprietary sugar described as “OM”. I’m guessing that this is a sugar specifically designed for Oatmeal Stout. As a substitute, I’ve upped the No. 3 invert and flaked oats.

There were two types of Kent hops, one from the 1938 and one from the 1939 harvest. 

1939 Youngs Porter
mild malt	4.75 lb	61.29%
black malt	0.50 lb	6.45%
amber malt	0.75 lb	9.68%
crystal malt 120 L	0.50 lb	6.45%
flaked oats	0.75 lb	9.68%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.50 lb	6.45%
Fuggles 120 min	1.125 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.125 oz
OG	1035
FG	1011
ABV	3.18
Apparent attenuation	68.57%
IBU	29
SRM	23
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

 

What is the difference between Porter and Stout?

I provide the definitive answer on what separates Porter from Stout.

 

Let's Brew - 1990 Youngs Porter

Now here’s a real oddity: a London Porter. I can remember when Youngs introduced this beer and being dead excited. Not sure how long they brewed it for. I don’t think it was for very long. I recall drinking it once, but it being in terrible condition.

When Fullers introduced a Porter of their own somewhat later, they went for a pre-WW I gravity of 1050º. While Youngs seem to have opted for a lower gravity. I was going to say interwar strength, but in the 1930s, Youngs Porter was only 1035º. They seem to have pulled the 1041º gravity out of the air.

The recipe is quite similar to Oatmeal Stout. Except there’s crystal malt instead of flaked oats. It’s quite a simple recipe, really. Just pale and crystal malt, roast barley and Young’s Special Mix sugar.

There was only one type of hop: English, from the 1988 harvest. And, as far as I can tell, only one hop addition at the beginning of the boil. 

1990 Youngs Porter
pale malt	6.75 lb	70.90%
roast barley	0.50 lb	5.25%
crystal malt 150 L	1.50 lb	15.76%
glucose	0.50 lb	5.25%
molasses	0.25 lb	2.63%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.02 lb	0.21%
Fuggles 60 min	2.25 oz
OG	1041
FG	1012
ABV	3.84
Apparent attenuation	70.73%
IBU	29
SRM	29
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	60 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

 

Listen to brewer John Hatch explain how they brewed at Youngs in the 1990s.  

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1932 Youngs Porter

Time now for the Black Beers. Of which there are two. We’ll kick off with the weaker one, Porter.

It’s as watery as you would expect of an interwar Porter. Not quite 3% ABV. Quite a change from the 5% ABV version brewed before WW I. No wonder its popularity plunged into a death spiral.

With four malts, one adjunct and two sugars, it’s a pretty complicated grist. Well, it could be five malts, as it’s not totally clear what form the oats were. I’ve just guessed flaked rather than malted. Feel free to use malted oats if you prefer.

Interesting that brown malt isn’t amongst all those malts. It had been a standard ingredient in Porter since, well, the beginning of the style two centuries earlier.  Though there is some amber malt. Presumably for flavour, mostly. With most of the colour coming from the black malt and the sugar.

Speaking of sugar, there were equal quantities of No.3 invert and DM (dextro-maltose). For the latter I’ve substituted No. 2 invert. As well as a small amount of caramel as primings.

The two types of hops were both from Kent and the 1930 harvest. One had been cold stored.

Obviously, no ageing for a beer this piss-weak. 

1932 Youngs Porter
mild malt	4.00 lb	58.82%
black malt	0.50 lb	7.35%
amber malt	0.75 lb	11.03%
crystal malt 60 L	0.25 lb	3.68%
flaked oats	0.50 lb	7.35%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.375 lb	5.51%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.375 lb	5.51%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.05 lb	0.74%
Fuggles 120 min	1.25 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.25 oz
OG	1032
FG	1010
ABV	2.91
Apparent attenuation	68.75%
IBU	34
SRM	25
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

 

Learn more about brewing at Youngs from former brewer John Hatch. 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1884 W.E. & J. Rigden Porter

Brewers in the immediate of London – such as those in Kent – stuck with Porter longer than those further afield in England. Presumably this was due to the ready availability of beer from the capital.

That would explain Rigden’s Porter recipe. Which is very similar to a London one. Almost identical to 1890 Truman Porter. So much so, that when I cloned it in BeerSmith from the Truman recipe, I barely needed to change it.

It means a grist of pale, brown and black malt. The holy trinity of London Porter. Along with some sugar. Of an unspecified type.

The gravity is also very close to those in London. Where it differs from beers from the capital, is in the level of hopping. Which is a bit lower. But, at over 8 lbs per quarter (336 lbs), isn’t exactly low. Two types of hops were used. Both illegible squiggles with no indication of vintage.

I doubt very much this was aged more than a couple of weeks. 

1884 W.E. & J. Rigden Porter
pale malt	8.00 lb	68.09%
brown malt	1.00 lb	8.51%
black malt	0.75 lb	6.38%
raw cane sugar	2.00 lb	17.02%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
OG	1055
FG	1008
ABV	6.22
Apparent attenuation	85.45%
IBU	53
SRM	27
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

 

 

Let's Brew - 1903 Binnie XXX Porter

Showing wonderful inconsistency, in most of the brewing records this beer was named DBS – presumably Double Brown Stout. But I’m pretty sure that they are the same beer.

The gravity certainly looks like a Stout rather than a Porter. A Double Stout is particular. Nothing unusual there.

What about the recipe? Well, it’s a bit interesting. In that, additionally to pale and black malt, there’s also some amber malt. Which pops up sometimes in London Stouts, but not much elsewhere. Notably, there’s no sugar and no adjuncts.

Three types of hops: Bavarian, Kent and “Betd.”, all from the 1903 crop. No idea what that last one was. So I’ve just gone with the first two.

Here’s the big question: was this aged? Hard to say, as the hopping rate isn’t that high. My guess would be no more than a couple of months.

1903 Binnie XXX Porter
pale malt	14.25 lb	78.62%
amber malt	2.125 lb	11.72%
black malt	1.75 lb	9.66%
Hallertau 90 min	1.50 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1075
FG	1029
ABV	6.09
Apparent attenuation	61.33%
IBU	28
SRM	44
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1893 Tomson & Wotton Porter

The range of beers brewed by Tomson & Wotton is a little odd. At a time when Porter was disappearing from most of England, they continued to brew one. Yet didn't brew a Stout of any description. A style pretty well every other brewery in the UK produced.

Perhaps it was the influence of nearby London that had an impact. But the grist is quite unusual. in that it has a large percentage of brown malt. Making up a quarter of the grist. That about double what you'd find in a London Porter. And the capital was where brown malt retained its popularity. My guess is that this would have tasted quite similar to the Porters brewed in London.

There were two types of hops: East from the 1888 harvest and Californian from 1891. Both types reasonably old, then.

Pretty sure that this was a Runner. So no ageing. 

1893 Tomson & Wotton Porter
pale malt	8.25 lb	67.35%
brown malt	3.00 lb	24.49%
black malt	1.00 lb	8.16%
Cluster 90 mins	1.25 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.25 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.25 oz
OG	1050
FG	1016
ABV	4.50
Apparent attenuation	68.00%
IBU	35
SRM	36
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	180º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

 

 

Let's Brew - 1912 Crowley Porter

It’s odd to find a brewery as far away from London as Hampshire that was still producing a Porter as late as 1912. It’s probably explained by Crowley also owning a brewery in Croydon

I must say that it’s quite an interesting recipe. First off, there’s no black malt as you might expect. Instead, the roasted element consists of chocolate malt. Which wasn’t that common at the time. There’s also rather a lot of wheat malt. Which I assume is there for head retention purposes. The small amount of oats is presumably there so that some could be sold as Oatmeal Stout.

There are two types of sugar, cane sugar and a type of caramel. Rather a lot of caramel, hence the dark colour.

Just a single type of English hops, from the 1911 harvest, was employed. The hopping rate was fairly modest at 6.25 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt.

1912 Crowley Porter
pale malt	7.50 lb	70.89%
chocolate malt	0.75 lb	7.09%
wheat malt	0.75 lb	7.09%
flaked oats	0.25 lb	2.36%
brown sugar	1.00 lb	9.45%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.33 lb	3.12%
Fuggles 135 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1050
FG	1015.5
ABV	4.56
Apparent attenuation	69.00%
IBU	27
SRM	37
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	176º F
Boil time	135 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley ale

 

Dublin Porter Shipments 1894 - 1908

From various years of the Brewers' Journal I've managed to assemble quite a neat little table of Porter exports from Dublin. Pretty sure that they are all shipments from Dublin, both to the Britain and abroad. Though the vast majority of, at least, the Guinness shipments were being sent to Britain. Oh, and only a tiny amount was in the form of Porter. It was almost all Stout.

The proportion accounted for by Guinness was on the increase throughout the period covered, rising from 75% in 1894 to 89% in 1908. Which shows how dominant Guinness was in the Dublin trade. Of course, two of the biggest Irish Porter brewers don't appear in the figures. Because Murphy and Beamish & Crawford were based in Cork.

When you see how much bigger Guinness was than the other Dublin breweries it's no surprise that they were the only ones left a couple of decades after the period covered in the tables.

To put the figures into context, total exports of beer from the UK were only around half a million barrels. And beer imports around 50,000 barrels. When Ireland gained independence in 1922, imports suddenly rocketed to around a million barrels. Almost all of it Guinness. 

Dublin Porter Shipments 1894 - 1899
	1894	1895	1896	1897	1896	1897	1898	1899
Guinness and Son	443,629.5	425,833.5	413,344.5	418,921.5	413,344.5	418,921.5	415,225.5	479,535
Mountjoy Brewery	24,522	24,322.5	28,588.5	31,176	31,095	33,907.5	33,561	33,205.5
Jameson, Pim	24,747	28,378.5	31,098	33,907.5	28,588.5	31,176	34,554	33,033
Watkins	39,465	33,004.5	32,302.5	30,501	32,304	30,501	25,242	18,630
D'Arcy and Son	24,402	22,033.5	25,204.5	25,914	25,204.5	25,914	25,740	22,935
Phoenix Brewery	20,133	18,049.5	17,554.5	13,447.5	17,554.5	13,447.5	12,732	11,586
E. & J. Burke	14,014.5	13,741.5	11,316	8,302.5
All others	1,234.5	3,333	4,890	3,700.5	16,206	12,003	5,881.5	15,198
Total	592,147.5	568,696.5	564,298.5	565,870.5	564,298.5	565,870.5	552,942	614,122.5
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 36 1900, January 15th 1900, page 9.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 34 1898, January 15th 1898, page 36.

Dublin Porter Shipments 1900 - 1908
	1900	1901	1902	1905	1906	1907	1908
Guinness and Son	544,792.5	557,806.5	557,236.5	600,318	650,980.5	670,503	687,486
Mountjoy Brewery	33,105	34,278	33,915	30,498	29,562	27,513	25,522.5
Jameson, Pim	32,050.5	32,128.5	28,668
Watkins	17,782.5	16,656	21,552	38,544	39,481.5	36,541.5	36,175.5
D'Arcy and Son	23,326.5	23,056.5	15,201	23,493	27,789	23,472	21,946.5
Phoenix Brewery	10,033.5	8,133	7,423.5
All others	12,511.5	17,737.5	21,696	228	-	-	22,834.5
Total	673,602.0	689,796	685,692	692,991	747,813	758,029.5	768,457.5
Source:
The Brewers' Journal vol. 38 1902, January 15th 1902, page 9.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 39 1903, January 15th 1903, page 8.
The Brewers' Journal vol. 45 1909, January 15th 1909, page 8.

Let's Brew - 1882 Strangman H Porter

Another Strangman beer today. And another mystery. So many questions and so few answers. As so often when bathing in the pool of history.

Here we have a beer which actually is called Porter. Though what does the prefix “H” stand for? Could it be “heading”.

Heading being the high gravity, fermenting wort added at racking time as a sort of Kräusen. Two problems with that theory: the gravity isn’t high enough and there’s far too much of it. The 132 barrels would have been enough for 7 or 8 batches of their Beer. So about two weeks’ worth. But it wouldn’t last that long. And it was pitched in tuns the normal way.

My guess is that it’s one of the other elements of Irish Porter and Stout” aged beer. At least, that’s what the high hopping rate implies to me.

The grist is similar to Single Stout, having around 5% black malt. Of which around 20% was added to the copper rather than the mash tun. Which probably resulted in a beer darker than the 27 SRM in the recipe below.

Just a single type of hops, which I assume, based on the grower’s name of Noakes, were English. 

1882 Strangman H Porter
pale malt	15.25 lb	94.57%
black malt	0.875 lb	5.43%
Fuggles 90 mins	2.25 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	2.25 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	2.25 oz
Fuggles dry hops	0.75 oz
OG	1068.5
FG	1016
ABV	6.95
Apparent attenuation	76.64%
IBU	69
SRM	27
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58.5º F
Yeast	WLP004 Irish Stout

Let's Brew - 1906 Murphy Porter

Someone asked for more Irish recipes. Here you go.

Almost thirty years on and there have been a few changes to Murphy Porter. Most notably, the gravity is 6.5º lower.

There have also been changes to the grist. Where sugar has been dropped and the simplest grist imaginable adopted: just pale and black malt. Though there were five different types of the former. Some of which were definitely Irish.

The hopping rate has been halved, from 10 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt to 5 lbs. Which is a pretty massive change. One reflected in the much lower (calculated) bitterness level of just 25 IBU.

Four types of copper hops were used. English from the 1904 and 1905 harvests; and Oregon, also from 1904 and 1905. Several types of English hops were used as dry hops.

1906 Murphy Porter
pale malt	10.00 lb	91.95%
black malt	0.875 lb	8.05%
Fuggles 100 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles dry hops	0.75 oz
OG	1046
FG	1010.5
ABV	4.70
Apparent attenuation	77.17%
IBU	25
SRM	27
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	176º F
Boil time	100 minutes
pitching temp	59º F
Yeast	WLP004 Irish Stout