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31-05-2012, 07:07
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/05/fullers-x-ale-1914-1920.html)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFlox5PWpLA/T8NC_YtjFKI/AAAAAAAAJF4/K_-sifXiOZs/s320/Fullers_Brown_Ale_1957.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFlox5PWpLA/T8NC_YtjFKI/AAAAAAAAJF4/K_-sifXiOZs/s1600/Fullers_Brown_Ale_1957.jpg)
It seems ages since I last had a ridiculously long series of ridiculously complex tables. Seeing as I've been transcribing Fullers records for the last two weeks, they seem an obvious place to start.
WW I. In addition to piling up corpses in Flanders, it also played havoc with British brewing. The strength and variety of British beer would never be as great again. Looking at an individual beer conveys a good impression of these changes. Today we'll be holding Fuller's X in the searchlight, hoping we can track it long enough until one of our ack-ack guns can pin it.
As with the vast majority of other British brewers at the time, X Ale, or standard Mild Ale, was Fuller's bread and butter beer. They brewed more of it than anything else. But being the biggest seller also meant that it had to bear the brunt of any changes forced either through shortages or government decree.
Looking at the table below, it's pretty easy to spot the key dates: April 1917 and April 1918. Because the decline in OG isn't lineal. There are a couple of sharp drops, followed by a period of relative stability. Up until April 1917 the gravity had dropped a little, around 4 or 5 points. Then it suddenly loses 11 points. It remains steady at 1035-ish for another year, then plummets another 8 points. Down into the regions of intoxication-free drinking.
As you can see, the end of the war didn't bring immediate relief to drinkers. X Ale remained at 1027 for almost a year after the Armistice, before creeping up to 1030. Though the situation is complicated by the introduction of a stronger Mild, XX Ale, at the arse end of 1919. Fullers continued to brew X Ale and XX Ale right through the interwar period. X Ale becoming an example of a new style. A low-gravity Mild sold at a cheap price.
Most London brewers did something similar, effectively continuing to brew the hated wartime "Government Ale". Barclay Perkins' version was called Ale 4d. Whitbread's LA. These beers hung around until WW II, only disappearing when a new round of shortages and restrictions knocked standard Mild down to a similar gravity.
Fuller's X Ale 1914 - 1920
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
pale malt
black malt
no. 3 sugar
glucose
intense sugar
caramel
oat husks
flaked maize
primings
13th Nov
1914
X
Mild
1049.6
1011.1
5.09
77.65%
5.15431
1.15
2
60º
71.05%
11.99%
6.00%
0.79%
6.30%
3.87%
17th Nov
1914
X
Mild
1050.7
1011.6
5.17
77.05%
5.43933
2.38
2
60º
74.92%
12.49%
5.55%
6.24%
0.81%
8th Dec
1914
X
Mild
1048.4
1011.4
4.91
76.56%
5.43935
1.11
2
60.5º
82.25%
6.96%
3.48%
6.53%
0.78%
7th Jan
1915
X
Mild
1047.7
1013.6
4.51
71.54%
5.22874
1.07
1.5
1.75
60º
78.56%
7.35%
3.68%
6.89%
3.53%
2nd Jun
1915
X
Mild
1049.4
1011.1
5.07
77.57%
5.43461
1.13
2
60º
74.79%
11.59%
5.80%
6.96%
0.86%
2nd Jun
1915
X
Mild
1044.9
1009.1
4.73
79.63%
5.43461
1.02
2
60º
74.79%
11.59%
5.80%
6.96%
0.86%
29th May
1916
X
Mild
1049.9
1011.4
5.09
77.22%
6.4071
1.35
2
60º
70.58%
8.30%
9.69%
10.38%
1.04%
4th Jul
1916
X
Mild
1047.1
1011.4
4.73
75.88%
5.91424
1.17
2
60º
77.25%
5.35%
5.35%
11.04%
1.01%
3rd Aug
1916
X
Mild
1047.0
1008.6
5.08
81.71%
5.91424
1.16
2
60º
77.25%
5.35%
5.35%
11.04%
1.01%
16th Aug
1916
X
Mild
1044.5
1011.1
4.42
75.11%
5.82614
1.12
2
60º
76.18%
5.44%
5.44%
10.88%
2.06%
26th Oct
1916
X
Mild
1046.0
1007.5
5.09
83.73%
6.4071
1.27
2
60º
77.25%
5.35%
5.35%
11.04%
1.01%
12th Jan
1917
X
Mild
1045.2
1008.3
4.88
81.62%
6.0941
1.28
2
59.5º
74.30%
5.31%
5.31%
10.61%
4.48%
5th Apr
1917
X
Mild
1045.9
1009.7
4.79
78.89%
4.29841
0.83
2
60º
77.56%
4.43%
5.91%
11.08%
1.02%
10th Aug
1917
X
Mild
1034.8
1006.6
3.72
80.88%
7.62423
1.10
2
62º
96.49%
2.88%
0.63%
22nd Aug
1917
X
Mild
1034.5
1006.6
3.69
80.75%
7.30689
1.09
2
62º
93.73%
2.87%
3.40%
26th Aug
1917
X
Mild
1036.0
1008.0
3.69
77.66%
6.83869
1.19
2
61.5º
76.70%
1.12%
5.71%
11.42%
5.05%
29th Oct
1917
X
Mild
1035.9
1007.8
3.72
78.40%
7.21925
1.17
2
61.5º
81.18%
1.18%
12.09%
5.54%
4th Jan
1918
X
Mild
1035.3
1008.3
3.57
76.47%
6.27451
1.17
2
61º
77.32%
5.15%
1.10%
5.80%
10.62%
15th Apr
1918
X
Mild
1027.3
1005.5
2.88
79.74%
6.37858
0.90
1.5
1.75
61º
65.23%
6.21%
15.53%
1.39%
4.66%
6.98%
21st Jun
1918
X
Mild
1027.4
1007.2
2.67
73.71%
6.68653
0.86
2
60º
74.61%
12.43%
4.97%
1.45%
6.53%
4th Nov
1918
X
Mild
1028.0
1006.6
2.83
76.26%
7.06311
0.88
1.5
61.5º
77.80%
5.93%
11.86%
1.71%
2.71%
20th Jan
1919
X
Mild
1026.7
1004.7
2.91
82.38%
6.89572
0.89
1.5
60º
76.08%
17.90%
1.68%
4.33%
12th Apr
1919
X
Mild
1027.4
1005.3
2.93
80.81%
6.94391
0.86
1.5
63º
76.22%
14.12%
1.74%
4.23%
3.69%
20th Jun
1919
X
Mild
1027.2
1006.4
2.76
76.58%
6.77188
0.82
1.5
61.5º
69.56%
14.05%
1.88%
10.54%
3.96%
22nd Aug
1919
X
Mild
1030.5
1007.8
3.01
74.59%
7.25981
0.99
1.5
60.5º
68.60%
17.67%
1.73%
9.35%
2.65%
15th Sep
1919
X
Mild
1030.6
1006.1
3.24
80.05%
6.63937
0.91
1.5
1.5
60.5º
64.09%
16.62%
1.63%
10.68%
6.98%
9th Feb
1920
X
Mild
1030.5
1006.4
3.19
79.09%
6.88446
0.91
1.5
1.5
62º
74.69%
6.04%
1.74%
13.58%
3.95%
11th Jun
1920
X
Mild
1030.5
1005.3
3.34
82.76%
6.98231
0.89
1.5
1.5
62º
77.90%
3.46%
1.93%
13.85%
2.86%
26th Apr
1920
X
Mild
1030.5
1005.5
3.30
81.83%
6.93193
0.89
1.5
62º
78.32%
3.48%
1.94%
13.05%
3.21%
6th Dec
1920
X
Mild
1030.1
1005.0
3.32
83.44%
6.91815
0.89
1.5
1.5
62º
77.29%
3.38%
1.43%
13.94%
3.97%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PSr-WKJ18k/T8NDwT_c7JI/AAAAAAAAJGA/DvktjEku3K0/s320/Fullers_X_Ale_1914_1920.JPG (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PSr-WKJ18k/T8NDwT_c7JI/AAAAAAAAJGA/DvktjEku3K0/s1600/Fullers_X_Ale_1914_1920.JPG)
Fuller's XX Ale 1919 - 1920
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
pale malt
glucose
other sugar
flaked maize
primings
22nd Aug
1919
XX
Mild
1041.0
1011.9
3.84
70.93%
7.25981
1.33
1.5
61º
68.60%
17.67%
1.73%
9.35%
2.65%
15th Sep
1919
XX
Mild
1041.2
1008.9
4.28
78.48%
6.63937
1.22
1.5
1.5
61º
64.09%
16.62%
1.63%
10.68%
6.98%
9th Feb
1920
XX
Mild
1041.0
1009.7
4.14
76.37%
6.88446
1.22
1.5
1.5
62º
74.69%
6.04%
1.74%
13.58%
3.95%
16th Feb
1920
XX
Mild
1041.2
1008.9
4.27
78.47%
6.73643
1.21
1.5
63º
73.78%
5.47%
1.71%
13.66%
5.38%
11th Jun
1920
XX
Mild
1041.2
1009.4
4.20
77.12%
6.98231
1.20
1.5
1.5
62º
77.90%
3.46%
1.93%
13.85%
2.86%
26th Apr
1920
XX
Mild
1041.0
1007.2
4.47
82.44%
6.93193
1.19
1.5
62º
78.32%
3.48%
1.94%
13.05%
3.21%
6th Dec
1920
XX
Mild
1041.0
1009.1
4.21
77.69%
6.91815
1.21
1.5
1.5
60º
77.29%
3.38%
1.43%
13.94%
3.97%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sX4yLMUzFSc/T8ND23gIyPI/AAAAAAAAJGI/qZm7JYxsGzg/s320/Fullers_XX_Ale_1919_1920.JPG (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sX4yLMUzFSc/T8ND23gIyPI/AAAAAAAAJGI/qZm7JYxsGzg/s1600/Fullers_XX_Ale_1919_1920.JPG)
Unlike other London brewers, Fuller's didn't introduce a beer called Government Ale. Instead, they knocked down the strength of their X Ale to fit the Government Ale specifications. Both Whitbread and Barclay Perkins discontinued their X Ale and introduced a new beer called GA.
You can see the changes made to the recipe as the war progressed. All from necessity. The pre-war recipe was pretty simple: pale malt, No. 3 invert sugar, glucose and flaked maize. The sudden disappearance of the latter three in 1917 was surely because of their unavailability. With the odd result of the beer becoming all malt, with the exception of primings. The colour coming from black malt rather than No. 3 invert. The next phase, later in 1917, was to use a small amount of a brewing sugar called intense for the colour, a fair amount of maize, but no other sugar.
No. 3 invert makes a comeback in 1918 for a while before the recipe settles into its postwar form of pale malt, glucose, intense and flaked maize. Where's the crystal malt? Fuller's didn't use it. Before WW I you don't see it used much anywhere. Sometimes in Mild Ales, but almost never in Pale Ales. That's a comparatively recent phenomenon. Fuller's were pretty typical in using only pale malt in all their beers except for Porter and Stout.
Next it'll be the turn of Fuller's Pale Ales. Or their Porter and Stout. Haven't quite made my mind up yet.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5445569787371915337-5130860943186471196?l=barclayperkins.blogspot.com
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/05/fullers-x-ale-1914-1920.html)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFlox5PWpLA/T8NC_YtjFKI/AAAAAAAAJF4/K_-sifXiOZs/s320/Fullers_Brown_Ale_1957.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFlox5PWpLA/T8NC_YtjFKI/AAAAAAAAJF4/K_-sifXiOZs/s1600/Fullers_Brown_Ale_1957.jpg)
It seems ages since I last had a ridiculously long series of ridiculously complex tables. Seeing as I've been transcribing Fullers records for the last two weeks, they seem an obvious place to start.
WW I. In addition to piling up corpses in Flanders, it also played havoc with British brewing. The strength and variety of British beer would never be as great again. Looking at an individual beer conveys a good impression of these changes. Today we'll be holding Fuller's X in the searchlight, hoping we can track it long enough until one of our ack-ack guns can pin it.
As with the vast majority of other British brewers at the time, X Ale, or standard Mild Ale, was Fuller's bread and butter beer. They brewed more of it than anything else. But being the biggest seller also meant that it had to bear the brunt of any changes forced either through shortages or government decree.
Looking at the table below, it's pretty easy to spot the key dates: April 1917 and April 1918. Because the decline in OG isn't lineal. There are a couple of sharp drops, followed by a period of relative stability. Up until April 1917 the gravity had dropped a little, around 4 or 5 points. Then it suddenly loses 11 points. It remains steady at 1035-ish for another year, then plummets another 8 points. Down into the regions of intoxication-free drinking.
As you can see, the end of the war didn't bring immediate relief to drinkers. X Ale remained at 1027 for almost a year after the Armistice, before creeping up to 1030. Though the situation is complicated by the introduction of a stronger Mild, XX Ale, at the arse end of 1919. Fullers continued to brew X Ale and XX Ale right through the interwar period. X Ale becoming an example of a new style. A low-gravity Mild sold at a cheap price.
Most London brewers did something similar, effectively continuing to brew the hated wartime "Government Ale". Barclay Perkins' version was called Ale 4d. Whitbread's LA. These beers hung around until WW II, only disappearing when a new round of shortages and restrictions knocked standard Mild down to a similar gravity.
Fuller's X Ale 1914 - 1920
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
pale malt
black malt
no. 3 sugar
glucose
intense sugar
caramel
oat husks
flaked maize
primings
13th Nov
1914
X
Mild
1049.6
1011.1
5.09
77.65%
5.15431
1.15
2
60º
71.05%
11.99%
6.00%
0.79%
6.30%
3.87%
17th Nov
1914
X
Mild
1050.7
1011.6
5.17
77.05%
5.43933
2.38
2
60º
74.92%
12.49%
5.55%
6.24%
0.81%
8th Dec
1914
X
Mild
1048.4
1011.4
4.91
76.56%
5.43935
1.11
2
60.5º
82.25%
6.96%
3.48%
6.53%
0.78%
7th Jan
1915
X
Mild
1047.7
1013.6
4.51
71.54%
5.22874
1.07
1.5
1.75
60º
78.56%
7.35%
3.68%
6.89%
3.53%
2nd Jun
1915
X
Mild
1049.4
1011.1
5.07
77.57%
5.43461
1.13
2
60º
74.79%
11.59%
5.80%
6.96%
0.86%
2nd Jun
1915
X
Mild
1044.9
1009.1
4.73
79.63%
5.43461
1.02
2
60º
74.79%
11.59%
5.80%
6.96%
0.86%
29th May
1916
X
Mild
1049.9
1011.4
5.09
77.22%
6.4071
1.35
2
60º
70.58%
8.30%
9.69%
10.38%
1.04%
4th Jul
1916
X
Mild
1047.1
1011.4
4.73
75.88%
5.91424
1.17
2
60º
77.25%
5.35%
5.35%
11.04%
1.01%
3rd Aug
1916
X
Mild
1047.0
1008.6
5.08
81.71%
5.91424
1.16
2
60º
77.25%
5.35%
5.35%
11.04%
1.01%
16th Aug
1916
X
Mild
1044.5
1011.1
4.42
75.11%
5.82614
1.12
2
60º
76.18%
5.44%
5.44%
10.88%
2.06%
26th Oct
1916
X
Mild
1046.0
1007.5
5.09
83.73%
6.4071
1.27
2
60º
77.25%
5.35%
5.35%
11.04%
1.01%
12th Jan
1917
X
Mild
1045.2
1008.3
4.88
81.62%
6.0941
1.28
2
59.5º
74.30%
5.31%
5.31%
10.61%
4.48%
5th Apr
1917
X
Mild
1045.9
1009.7
4.79
78.89%
4.29841
0.83
2
60º
77.56%
4.43%
5.91%
11.08%
1.02%
10th Aug
1917
X
Mild
1034.8
1006.6
3.72
80.88%
7.62423
1.10
2
62º
96.49%
2.88%
0.63%
22nd Aug
1917
X
Mild
1034.5
1006.6
3.69
80.75%
7.30689
1.09
2
62º
93.73%
2.87%
3.40%
26th Aug
1917
X
Mild
1036.0
1008.0
3.69
77.66%
6.83869
1.19
2
61.5º
76.70%
1.12%
5.71%
11.42%
5.05%
29th Oct
1917
X
Mild
1035.9
1007.8
3.72
78.40%
7.21925
1.17
2
61.5º
81.18%
1.18%
12.09%
5.54%
4th Jan
1918
X
Mild
1035.3
1008.3
3.57
76.47%
6.27451
1.17
2
61º
77.32%
5.15%
1.10%
5.80%
10.62%
15th Apr
1918
X
Mild
1027.3
1005.5
2.88
79.74%
6.37858
0.90
1.5
1.75
61º
65.23%
6.21%
15.53%
1.39%
4.66%
6.98%
21st Jun
1918
X
Mild
1027.4
1007.2
2.67
73.71%
6.68653
0.86
2
60º
74.61%
12.43%
4.97%
1.45%
6.53%
4th Nov
1918
X
Mild
1028.0
1006.6
2.83
76.26%
7.06311
0.88
1.5
61.5º
77.80%
5.93%
11.86%
1.71%
2.71%
20th Jan
1919
X
Mild
1026.7
1004.7
2.91
82.38%
6.89572
0.89
1.5
60º
76.08%
17.90%
1.68%
4.33%
12th Apr
1919
X
Mild
1027.4
1005.3
2.93
80.81%
6.94391
0.86
1.5
63º
76.22%
14.12%
1.74%
4.23%
3.69%
20th Jun
1919
X
Mild
1027.2
1006.4
2.76
76.58%
6.77188
0.82
1.5
61.5º
69.56%
14.05%
1.88%
10.54%
3.96%
22nd Aug
1919
X
Mild
1030.5
1007.8
3.01
74.59%
7.25981
0.99
1.5
60.5º
68.60%
17.67%
1.73%
9.35%
2.65%
15th Sep
1919
X
Mild
1030.6
1006.1
3.24
80.05%
6.63937
0.91
1.5
1.5
60.5º
64.09%
16.62%
1.63%
10.68%
6.98%
9th Feb
1920
X
Mild
1030.5
1006.4
3.19
79.09%
6.88446
0.91
1.5
1.5
62º
74.69%
6.04%
1.74%
13.58%
3.95%
11th Jun
1920
X
Mild
1030.5
1005.3
3.34
82.76%
6.98231
0.89
1.5
1.5
62º
77.90%
3.46%
1.93%
13.85%
2.86%
26th Apr
1920
X
Mild
1030.5
1005.5
3.30
81.83%
6.93193
0.89
1.5
62º
78.32%
3.48%
1.94%
13.05%
3.21%
6th Dec
1920
X
Mild
1030.1
1005.0
3.32
83.44%
6.91815
0.89
1.5
1.5
62º
77.29%
3.38%
1.43%
13.94%
3.97%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PSr-WKJ18k/T8NDwT_c7JI/AAAAAAAAJGA/DvktjEku3K0/s320/Fullers_X_Ale_1914_1920.JPG (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5PSr-WKJ18k/T8NDwT_c7JI/AAAAAAAAJGA/DvktjEku3K0/s1600/Fullers_X_Ale_1914_1920.JPG)
Fuller's XX Ale 1919 - 1920
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
pale malt
glucose
other sugar
flaked maize
primings
22nd Aug
1919
XX
Mild
1041.0
1011.9
3.84
70.93%
7.25981
1.33
1.5
61º
68.60%
17.67%
1.73%
9.35%
2.65%
15th Sep
1919
XX
Mild
1041.2
1008.9
4.28
78.48%
6.63937
1.22
1.5
1.5
61º
64.09%
16.62%
1.63%
10.68%
6.98%
9th Feb
1920
XX
Mild
1041.0
1009.7
4.14
76.37%
6.88446
1.22
1.5
1.5
62º
74.69%
6.04%
1.74%
13.58%
3.95%
16th Feb
1920
XX
Mild
1041.2
1008.9
4.27
78.47%
6.73643
1.21
1.5
63º
73.78%
5.47%
1.71%
13.66%
5.38%
11th Jun
1920
XX
Mild
1041.2
1009.4
4.20
77.12%
6.98231
1.20
1.5
1.5
62º
77.90%
3.46%
1.93%
13.85%
2.86%
26th Apr
1920
XX
Mild
1041.0
1007.2
4.47
82.44%
6.93193
1.19
1.5
62º
78.32%
3.48%
1.94%
13.05%
3.21%
6th Dec
1920
XX
Mild
1041.0
1009.1
4.21
77.69%
6.91815
1.21
1.5
1.5
60º
77.29%
3.38%
1.43%
13.94%
3.97%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sX4yLMUzFSc/T8ND23gIyPI/AAAAAAAAJGI/qZm7JYxsGzg/s320/Fullers_XX_Ale_1919_1920.JPG (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sX4yLMUzFSc/T8ND23gIyPI/AAAAAAAAJGI/qZm7JYxsGzg/s1600/Fullers_XX_Ale_1919_1920.JPG)
Unlike other London brewers, Fuller's didn't introduce a beer called Government Ale. Instead, they knocked down the strength of their X Ale to fit the Government Ale specifications. Both Whitbread and Barclay Perkins discontinued their X Ale and introduced a new beer called GA.
You can see the changes made to the recipe as the war progressed. All from necessity. The pre-war recipe was pretty simple: pale malt, No. 3 invert sugar, glucose and flaked maize. The sudden disappearance of the latter three in 1917 was surely because of their unavailability. With the odd result of the beer becoming all malt, with the exception of primings. The colour coming from black malt rather than No. 3 invert. The next phase, later in 1917, was to use a small amount of a brewing sugar called intense for the colour, a fair amount of maize, but no other sugar.
No. 3 invert makes a comeback in 1918 for a while before the recipe settles into its postwar form of pale malt, glucose, intense and flaked maize. Where's the crystal malt? Fuller's didn't use it. Before WW I you don't see it used much anywhere. Sometimes in Mild Ales, but almost never in Pale Ales. That's a comparatively recent phenomenon. Fuller's were pretty typical in using only pale malt in all their beers except for Porter and Stout.
Next it'll be the turn of Fuller's Pale Ales. Or their Porter and Stout. Haven't quite made my mind up yet.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5445569787371915337-5130860943186471196?l=barclayperkins.blogspot.com
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/05/fullers-x-ale-1914-1920.html)