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13-02-2012, 08:39
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Special Mild, as it's now officially called, is how far we've got in this tediously detailed comparison of beers from the 1850's. I would speed up, but it's hard to change pace once you've got into a rhythm.

Mild Ales 1080º to 1089º. That's the technical description of this set. Special Mild is the shorthand for that. You've probably noticed how strong Milds Ales were back in the day. Recreations of these beers puzzle the pants off the more dogmatic contemporary drinkers. How can a beer of 9% ABV be a Mild? I've heard that question asked several times in relation to Pretty Things XXXX Mild. Maybe I shouldn't bang on too much about Mild's intoxicating past. Or the style nazis will start insisting Mild has to be at least 8% ABV to be authentic,

Blethering. I've been doing a fair bit of it today. Not that you can see it. Not published yet. I've already rattled off two posts today. I must be in a chatty mood.

Back to Milds. Strong Milds. There's one differnce between England and Scotland that doesn't come across in the direct comparisons of beers. While a range Milds were brewed North and South of the border, the most strength of Mild was quite different. In London the vast majority of Mild produced was X Ale, with a gravity of around 1070º. The stronger Milds, especially XXXX, were only brewed occasionally. William Younger's most popular Mild was 100/- Ale - a beer with a gravity of 1100º. Just thought I'd share that with you.

Let's get on with the numbers:



England vs Scotland early 1850's Mild 1080º - 1089º


Date
Year
Brewer
Beer
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
max. fer-ment-ation temp
length of fer-ment-ation (days)


21st Mar
1851
Truman
40/- Ale
1084.2



6
2.40








28th Sep
1850
Truman
40/- Ale
1087.3



9
3.98



61




30th Sep
1850
Whitbread
XX
1088.1



7.85
3.09
1.5
2
2
60
76
6


3rd Jul
1850
Truman
40/- Ale
1088.9



9
3.59



62




7th Oct
1850
Whitbread
XX
1089.5
1031.9
7.62
64.40%
9.95
3.80
1.5
2
2
60
75.5
5


Average



1087.6
1031.9
7.62
64.40%
8.36
3.37
1.50
2.00
2.00
60.8
75.8
5.5


28th Oct
1851
Younger, Wm.
XX
1081
1037
5.82
54.32%
6.64
2.37
1.5


55
69
8


25th Nov
1851
Younger, Wm.
XX
1081
1032
6.48
60.49%
9.00
3.60
1.33


56
68
9


14th Oct
1851
Younger, Wm.
XX
1082
1029
7.01
64.63%
6.67
4.76
1.5


56
67
8


14th Dec
1851
Younger, Wm.
XX
1082
1035
6.22
57.32%
9.16
2.42
1.5


56
67
9


4th Oct
1851
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1086
1034
6.88
60.47%
7.00
2.93
1.5
1.5

56
68
9


22nd Oct
1851
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1086
1034
6.88
60.47%
6.81
2.74
1.25
1.5

57
68
10


29th Apr
1853
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1086
1038
6.35
55.81%
8.00
3.46
1.5


57
69
8


30th Oct
1851
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1087
1037
6.61
57.47%
6.50
2.60
1.25
1.25

56
67
8


18th Nov
1851
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1087
1035
6.88
59.77%
5.00
2.00
1.33


56
68
9


21st Jun
1854
Younger, Wm.
110/-
1087
1040
6.22
54.02%
7.85
3.00
1.67


57
69
6


22nd Jun
1854
Younger, Wm.
110/-
1087
1040
6.22
54.02%
8.81
3.50
1.5


59
69
5


9th Oct
1851
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1088
1036
6.88
59.09%
7.00
2.97
1.25
1.5

56
69
8


26th Jul
1852
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1088
1038
6.61
56.82%
7.00
3.06
1
1.33

59
70
7


18th Nov
1853
Younger, Wm.
XXX
1088
1040
6.35
54.55%
8.94
4.00
1.33


56
68
8


1st Dec
1853
Younger, Wm.
XXX
1088
1038
6.61
56.82%
8.00
3.69
1.5


57
68
7


7th Nov
1851
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1089
1036
7.01
59.55%
5.00
2.18
1.5
1.75

56
66
7


27th Mar
1852
Younger, Wm.
80/- K
1089
1034
7.28
61.80%
8.00
3.33
1.08
1.25

54
67
8


22nd Apr
1853
Younger, Wm.
80/-
1089
1036
7.01
59.55%
8.22
3.79
1.33
1.5

55
66
7


23rd Jun
1854
Younger, Wm.
110/-
1089



9.94
3.75
1.5


58
63



Average



1086.3
1036.1
6.63
58.16%
7.55
3.17
1.39
1.45
0.00
56.4
67.7
7.8


difference



-1.3
4.2
-0.99
-6.23%
-0.81
-0.20
-0.11
-0.55
-2.00
-4.3
-8.1
2.3


Sources:


William Younger brewing record document number WY/6/1/2/5 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive


Whitbread brewing record document number LMA/4453/D/01/014 held at the London Metropolitan Archives


Truman brewing record document number B/THB/C/132 held at the London Metropolitan Archives



http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDCBZy2-Kw/TzOuJXp9ZYI/AAAAAAAAIsQ/nkJptdgYxG4/s320/England_vs_Scotland_part_3_c.JPG (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDCBZy2-Kw/TzOuJXp9ZYI/AAAAAAAAIsQ/nkJptdgYxG4/s1600/England_vs_Scotland_part_3_c.JPG)



. . . followed by more blether.

Hopping rates to kick off. The average OG of both sets is very similar, making this a sensible comparison. And what do we see? On average, the London beers have about 6% more hops. Though the two most heavily hopped were both from Younger. There's a difference, but it isn't huge. My wishy-washy conclusion: in the early 1850's Younger's Special Mild Ales were on average a little less heavily hopped than equivalent London beers.

I'll run through you boil times at a canter. (Or at least what passes as one for me. A short sprint, followed by bending double and gasping for breath. I won't be trying that again in a hurry.) Not many English numbers to work with, but the Younger's beers are still consistently displaying shorter boil times. The lid of the first-running syrup story is now will and truly nailed down. And, as I took the precaution of driving a stake through its heart, it won't be coming back to life any time soon. I'll say unequivocally: in the early 1850's Younger's Special Mild Ales had shorter boils than equivalent London beers.

The same pattern of fermentation temperatures presents itself again: Younger's beers were pitched cooler and the temperature increase during fermentation was smaller. The figures here are about bang on the average: Younger's pitching temperatures were 4º F lower and the maximum temperature 8º F lower. Split the difference and the result is: in the early 1850's Younger's Special Mild Ales were fermented on average 6º F cooler than equivalent London beers.

The length of fermentation also show a clear pattern. Younger's beers took longer to ferment. On average, more than two days less. Simple: in the early 1850's Younger's Special Mild Ales took about two days longer to ferment than equivalent London beers.

With a figure for just one London beer, it's hard to say much about attenuation. Except that, at an average of 58%, the attenuation of Younger's beers is low. Based on other data, I know that sole Whitbread beer is about typical in terms of attenuation. Which means I can make a tentative claim: in the early 1850's Younger's Special Mild Ales were less attenuated than equivalent London beers.

That's one small step . . . closer to the finish line. I just try to get on with it without thinking. Else I'd despair at the enormity of the task.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5445569787371915337-6480205983218904123?l=barclayperkins.blogspot.com


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