Let's Brew Wednesday - 1897 Fremlin X

Since I've been boring you stupid with details of Fremlin's beers, I may as well round it off with a recipe.

Very unusually for the 19th century, Fremlin brewed bugger all Mild Ale. They really were, as they advertised, a Pale Ale brewer.

This looks pretty much like bog-standard Mild Ale of the period. Though quite pale.

It’s a reasonably simple recipe. All base malt, but of three types: one of Californian high-dried and two of English pale malt. Plus a sugar described as “cane”. I’ve assumed that means raw cane sugar rather than pure sucrose.

All English hops, three from the 1896 harvest and one from 1897. 

No ageing, of course. 

1897 Fremlin X
pale malt	4.00 lb	39.02%
Munich malt 20L	4.00 lb	39.02%
raw cane sugar	2.25 lb	21.95%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1050
FG	1015
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	70.00%
IBU	37
SRM	9
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

 

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

Let's Brew - 1899 Barclay Perkins X Ale

At the end of the 1880s, there was quite a big cut in the gravity of X Ale. Followed by another, smaller one, in the second half of the 1890s. Presumably in reaction to increases in duty.

The recipe was also quite unstable in that period. In addition to base malt, sometimes there was brown malt, sometimes crystal malt and others both. After 1891, They settled on just pale and crystal malt. Along with a bit of flaked maize and a shitload of sugar. As often in the 19th century, it’s just described as “saccharum”. I’ve opted for No. 3. Partly because it feels right. But also because it gets the colour to about the right spot.

In the copper, were some American hops, from the most recent harvest, 1898. There were also some Mid-Kent hops from the same year. The other type of Mid-Kent hops were a year older, but are specifically described as Goldings.

The finished beer would have been semi-dark, fairly hoppy and with a decent alcoholic kick. My type of Mild. 

1899 Barclay Perkins X Ale
pale malt	6.75 lb	63.26%
crystal malt 60L	0.25 lb	2.34%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	9.37%
No. 3 invert sugar	2.67 lb	25.02%
Cluster 120 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 120 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.25 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.25 oz
OG	1055
FG	1009
ABV	6.09
Apparent attenuation	83.64%
IBU	55
SRM	16
Mash at	148º F
After underlet	153º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

Let's Brew - 1909 Truman X

A final Mild recipe for Mild Month. I've published a couple of things on the topic. I've done my bit.

When WW I was lurking the corner, the recipe of Truman X was starting to look rather familiar. Rather like that of a modern Dark Mild. Except in terms of gravity, that is.

Which is an impressive 1057º.  Though that is 6º down on 1881. It would be all downhill, gravity-wise, from here on.

Mild and crystal malt formed the bulk of the grist. Along with some flaked maize. The sugar was No. 2 invert and not No. 3 as you might have expected. Which is why the colour is fairly pale. Semi-dark, I’d call it.

Considerably fewer hops were chucked in the copper than back in 1881. As you’d expect the (calculated) bitterness is much lower, 37 IBU compared to 65 IBU. The hops themselves were English, Oregon and Hallertau, all from the 1908 harvest. 

1909 Truman X
mild malt	8.75 lb	74.47%
crystal malt	0.50 lb	4.26%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	8.51%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.50 lb	12.77%
Cluster 90 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.00 oz
Hallertau 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1057
FG	1014
ABV	5.69
Apparent attenuation	75.44%
IBU	37
SRM	10
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Let's Brew - 1914 Hancock X

Seeing this beer was a bit of a shock. A pre-WW I X Ale with a gravity more like one from after WW II.

1035º is pretty feeble compared to London X Ales of the time, which were still over 1050º. I’ve based the FG on the 1897 version, where for once the brewing log actually recorded it. The degree of attenuation is pretty high, though that does reflect the few FGs that appear in the logs.

The base malt was split 50-50 between English and Indian. Unfortunately, this particular log doesn’t list the costs so I can’t compare the price of the two malts. I’d expect the Indian to be cheaper. The small quantity of malt extract I assume was for extra diastatic power, as it came in the form of EDME.

New to the party are the three sugars. Interesting that they’ve moved away from invert sugar to simple glucose. Though, as we’ll see, some of their other beers did still include numbered inverts.

The hops were a combination of Oregon, Poperinge and English, sadly with no mention of the harvest year.
 

1914 Hancock X
pale malt	6.25 lb	84.40%
glucose	1.00 lb	13.50%
malt extract	0.125 lb	1.69%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.03 lb	0.41%
Cluster 90 mins	0.50 oz
Strisselspalt 60 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.50 oz
OG	1035
FG	1004
ABV	4.10
Apparent attenuation	88.57%
IBU	23
SRM	6
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity

 

Fitch & Wilson

I was looking for something completely different. Well, same thing, a price list, but for a completely different brewery. I hate to let any discovery go to waste

I set about extracting the details to my price list spreadsheet. Which is when I noticed something odd. The Strong Ales could be "Mild or bitter, as preferred". Does that mean either young or aged? Or just that one was more heavily hopped?

The X's are used inconsistently, too. XX Very Strong is more expensive, and hence stronger, than both XXX and XXXX. And what the hell does Osborne mean?

A - a designation usually reserved for the weakest of Mild Ales - here is used for something super strong. 2 shillings and sixpence per gallon is incredibly expensive. It implies something well north of 1100º. Queens Cordial I'm guessing was their brand name for it. Unless it was some generic name for a very strong beer.

 

Alcester Chronicle - Saturday 25 June 1881 , page 1.

 The warning and the end is very revealing, too.

"All the Strong and Pale Ales are season brewed, and well matured in cask, the finest qualities of Malt and Hops alone being used in their manufacture; the Dinner Ales are intended for ordinary use, and should not be kept too long in draught if perfection is desired."

It sounds like the Strong and Pale Ales were all Stock Ales and would keep well. While the Dinner Ales you'd best drink pretty quickly.

The Dinner Ales must surely be Mild Ales. Maybe they only called them Dinner ales for their home trade. Which is whom the advert is aimed at.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1880 Whitbread XX xpt

In the 20th-century, I’m pretty sure what style all the beers that I find in brewing records are. While some from the end of the preceding century can be a mystery. Here’s another one of those.

When I see a London beer called XX, my immediate thought is: Mild Ale. On closer examination, XX xpt doesn’t really fit the profile for that style. Yes, Mild Ales of this period could be pretty hoppy. The rate in this case, however – 15 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) – is at the level of Stock Pale Ale or Stock Ale.

The “xpt” – presumably standing for “export” is a clue to the heavy hopping. This weas a beer intended for export. The only question is: what was it sold as in export markets? I’ve no real idea. I very much doubt it was Mild Ale. That sometimes leaked outside the UK, but not often. I’ve no clue, to be honest. Perhaps it was an Australian Ale or some other enigmatic export.

There’s no great secret to the recipe. Base malt, sugar and loads of hops. The latter from the 1879 and 1880 seasons. And all English, which was usually a sign of a classy, expensive beer.

1880 Whitbread XX xpt
mild malt	13.25 lb	84.13%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.50 lb	15.87%
Fuggles 90 mins	3.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	3.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	3.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1078
FG	1025
ABV	7.01
Apparent attenuation	67.95%
IBU	103
SRM	12
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	56º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

 

Let's Brew - 1881 Whitbread XL

I'm off to Brazil soon. Which is why I've been writing recipes like crazy, to get some posts banked before I leave town. Also, because I really need to crack on with the recipes for my next book. based on my experience with "Blitzkrieg!", I can never start writing recipes too soon.

If you thought Whitbread’s base Mild Ale was way over the top for the style, XL will blow your mind. It weighs in at over 7% ABV and 50 IBU. How mild is that?

A little explanation of the name. No, it doesn’t mean “extra-large”. Having stared endlessly at beer names trying to make sense of them – and having seen lots of brewing records from the capital – I know exactly what the “L” stands for: London. The Cockneys liked their beer to have a bit of whallop meaning that London versions of a beer were always stronger than those intended for the “country”.

Simply put, XL is a souped-up version of X Ale. Though the hopping is rather classier, with Hallertau standing in for those nasty American hops. They were all pretty fresh, too, being from either the 1880 of 1881 crop.

1881 Whitbread XL
mild malt	15.25 lb	92.42%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.25 lb	7.58%
Hallertau 90 mins	2.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	2.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1077
FG	1022
ABV	7.28
Apparent attenuation	71.43%
IBU	51
SRM	10
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1881 Whitbread X

Mild Ale was very much on the up in the second half of the 19th century. At Whitbread, X Ale had overtaken Porter as their most popular beer just a couple of years before, in 1875 . In 1881, it accounted for more than half the beer they brewed.

To modern eyes, a Mild Ale like this looks ridiculously strong and heavily hopped. But the 19th century was a different country when it comes to beer styles. A Mild of 6% ABV was nothing out of the ordinary. Especially in London, where beers tended to be stronger than in the sticks.

There’s nothing much to the grist: base malt and sugar. No adjuncts, despite them being legal since the year before. Unlike most English brewers, Whitbread eschewed the use of unmalted grains.

The brewing record doesn’t specifically mention either mild or No. 2 invert. It’s rather vague about the ingredients. They’re just my best guess.

It reveals a few more details about the hops. At least in terms of their age. American from the 1880 season and English from 1880 and 1881, to be precise.

1881 Whitbread X
mild malt	12.00 lb	92.31%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.00 lb	7.69%
Cluster 90 mins	2.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	2.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1060
FG	1016
ABV	5.82
Apparent attenuation	73.33%
IBU	57
SRM	8
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1887 Fullers X

As you can see, I continue to chip away at the recipes for my late Victorian/Edwardian book. My experiences with "Blitzkrieg!" have taught me you can never start too soon writing the buggers.

Mild was hugely popular in the second half of the 19th century and X Ale was doubtless one of Fuller’s biggest sellers.

If 1051º looks high for a base-level Mild, you should have seen what London versions were like a couple of decades earlier. Then gravities were in excess of 1060º.

The grist is more complicated than usual in a Mild of the period. This looks like a transitional beer. Where the colour is darkening, though not as dark as a modern Dark Mild. Based on the percentages, it looks as if the amber malt might well have been diastatic. The sugar type is just a guess. The brewing record simply says “Sacc.”.

I’ve knocked back the hopping rate considerably on account of the age of the hops. Which were Kent from the 1884 harvest and East Kent form as far back as 1883.

1887 Fullers X
pale malt	5.00 lb	46.51%
amber malt	2.50 lb	23.26%
crystal malt	1.00 lb	9.30%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.25 lb	20.93%
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1051
FG	1014
ABV	4.89
Apparent attenuation	72.55%
IBU	28
SRM	15
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

 

Barclay Perkins Ale hops before WW II

Finally, we get to the hops. Always fascinating. With the odd exception, they were all English.

That Saaz were used to dry hop PA Export, a really top-class beer, demonstrates the regard in which they were held by British brewers. The same goes for Styrian Goldings.

But the overwhelming majority if the hops were from Kent and the classic English varieties of Fuggles and Goldings. You can discern a class divide in the hopping. The Mild Ales are all Fuggles, the Pale Ales a mix of Fuggles and Goldings and the expensive beers all Goldings, at least in the copper.

The vast majority of the hops were from the two most recent harvests and the older ones had all been cold stored. That’s what the CS in the table signifies. Cold storing greatly reduced the decline in alpha acid, especially during the first 18 months.

Barclay Perkins Ale hops before WW II
Year	Beer	Style	hops
1936	DB	Brown Ale	Worcester (1935 CS), MK (1935 CS), MK Goldings (1934 CS)
1939	A	Mild	MK Fuggles (1938 CS), Kent  Fuggles (1938), MK  Fuggles (1937 CS)
1939	X	Mild	MK Fuggles (1938 CS), Kent Fuggles (1938), MK  Fuggles (1937 CS)
1939	XX	Mild	MK Fuggles (1938 CS), Kent  Fuggles (1938), MK  Fuggles (1937 CS)
1939	IPA (bottling)	IPA	MK Fuggles (1938 CS), Kent W (1938), MK Goldings (1937 CS); Styrian dry hops
1939	XLK (bottling)	Pale Ale	MK Fuggles (1938), Kent W (1938), MK Goldings (1937 CS); no dry hops
1939	XLK (trade)	Pale Ale	MK Fuggles (1938), Kent W (1938), MK Goldings (1937 CS); EK Goldings (1938) dry hops
1939	PA	Pale Ale	MK Fuggles (1938), Kent W (1938), MK Goldings (1937 CS); Styrian Goldings (1938) dry hops
1936	PA Export	Pale Ale	EK Goldings (1935 CS), MK Goldings (1934 CS); Saaz (1935 CS) dry hops
1936	KK	Strong Ale	Kent (1935 CS), MK Goldings (1934 CS); EK (1935 CS) dry hops
1937	KK (bottling)	Strong Ale	MK Fuggles (1936 CS), EK Goldings (1935 CS); Saaz (1936 CS) dry hops
1936	KKKK	Strong Ale	EK Goldings (1935 CS), MK Goldings (1934 CS); EK Goldings (1935) dry hops
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/621 and ACC/2305/01/623.

Barclay Perkins Ale adjuncts and sugars before WW II

Barclay Perkins also employed a wide range of non-malt fermentables, six in all.

Every beer except the two poshest – PA Export and KKKK – had some flaked maize in the grist. With the Mild Ales containing rather more than the other styles. Flaked maize was a pretty standard ingredient, occurring in the overwhelming majority of brewers’ beers. 10% - 15% is a pretty typical proportion.

At around 10%, the total quantity of sugar in the Mild Ales is towards the low end of typical. The principal type, however, is, however, totally typical: No. 3 invert. Used for both colour and flavour, it was important in achieving the expected character of a Mild. After colour correction, the dark versions would have contained a slightly greater proportion of caramel.

The other sugar which pops up in the Mild Ales and DB is something called “BS”. It could simply be brown sugar.

I was so surprised by the percentage of No. 3 invert sugar in the Pale Ales that I went back to the brewing records to check. I would have expected No. 1 or No.2, especially in those quantities. Checking back through the brewing records, it appears that they switched from No. 2 invert to No. 3 in 1937.

KK once again shadows the Mild Ales, though without any BS. While its stronger siblings are out on their own with No. 2 invert.

Brewed from just pale malt and No. 1 invert, PA Export must have been relatively pale, especially for its gravity. Its simple grist is reminiscent of Pale Ales from the 19th century.

Barclay Perkins Ale adjuncts and sugars before WW II
Year	Beer	Style	flaked maize	no. 1 sugar	no. 2 sugar	no. 3 sugar	BS	caramel
1936	DB	Brown Ale	12.38%			6.60%	3.30%	0.96%
1939	A	Mild	15.15%			8.98%	1.12%	0.66%
1939	X	Mild	15.15%			8.98%	1.12%	0.66%
1939	XX	Mild	15.15%			8.98%	1.12%	0.66%
1939	IPA (bottling)	IPA	11.30%			17.33%		0.14%
1939	XLK (bottling)	Pale Ale	11.02%			17.52%		0.24%
1939	XLK (trade)	Pale Ale	11.10%			16.65%		0.12%
1939	PA	Pale Ale	11.10%			16.65%		0.12%
1936	PA Export	Pale Ale		7.69%
1936	KK	Strong Ale	9.25%			12.34%		1.30%
1937	KK (bottling)	Strong Ale	8.15%		14.49%			1.29%
1936	KKKK	Strong Ale			10.43%			0.87%
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/621 and ACC/2305/01/623.

 

Barclay Perkins Ale grists before WW II

It’s now time to turn our attention of the ingredients Barclay Perkins were using. Rather a lot of them, as it turns out.

Many breweries used a very limited range of ingredients in their beers. In Scotland, for example, many brewers only had base malt in their beers, along with adjuncts and sugar. While Barclay’s seven different malts just in their Ales.

They were big fans of employing different base malts for different types of beer. As well as employing multiple base malts in one beer.

For example, their Milds had no fewer than three base malt: pale malt, mild malt and SA malt. The latter being a malt which produced a less fermentable wort and which was originally developed for use in Stock Ales where it would provide fermentables for the secondary conditioning with Brettanomyces.

In addition, the Milds also contain amber malt and crystal malt. The former had been a feature of their Mild grists since before WW I, though it was a slightly unusual ingredient for the style. Crystal malt, which was developed for use in beer like Mild Ale, only appeared later. Intermittently in the latter war years, then consistently from 1919 onwards.

The Pale Ales contain only base malt, though there are two types: pale malt and PA malt. The latter was the very palest and best-quality pale malt, intended, as the name betrays, for use in Pale Ales.

Not the absence of crystal malt in the Pale Ales. While it may have been a standard ingredient in this type of beer after WW I, before then it was rarely used. In the case of Barclay Perkins, its introduction was in 1941. I assume its use was intended to increase the body in compensation for cuts in gravity.

Amongst the Burton Ales, there’s less consistency in the malts employed. Including crystal, mild and SA malt, the grist of the draught version of KK resembles that of the Milds, except for the lack of amber malt. Not sure why that tiny amount of lager malt was included, unless they had too much of it lying around and they wanted to use it up.

The two stronger Burton Ales have simpler grists, combining pale, amber and PA malts. Few brewers were as fiddly as this with their malts. Each type of beer has its own distinctive grists.

Interestingly, the Brown Ale has a very similar recipe to the strong Burton Ales. This was also the case at Whitbread, where 33 (their Burton) and Double Brown shared an identical grist.

Barclay Perkins Ale malts before WW II
Year	Beer	Style	pale malt	amber malt	crystal malt	mold malt	SA malt	PA malt	lager malt
1936	DB	Brown Ale	19.19%		11.14%			46.43%
1939	A	Mild	18.52%	3.37%	5.05%	31.15%	15.99%
1939	X	Mild	18.52%	3.37%	5.05%	31.15%	15.99%
1939	XX	Mild	18.52%	3.37%	5.05%	31.15%	15.99%
1939	IPA (bottling)	IPA	21.48%					49.74%
1939	XLK (bottling)	Pale Ale	21.20%					50.02%
1939	XLK (trade)	Pale Ale	21.50%					50.63%
1939	PA	Pale Ale	21.50%					50.63%
1936	PA Export	Pale Ale	31.73%					60.58%
1936	KK	Strong Ale	19.28%		4.63%	41.64%	8.48%		3.08%
1937	KK (bottling)	Strong Ale	19.02%		6.11%			50.94%
1936	KKKK	Strong Ale	29.35%		7.17%			52.17%
Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/621 and ACC/2305/01/623.