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04-07-2013, 08:50
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There's something else I finally got around to in my last visit to the archives in London. Looking at the last in a set of documents called the Sanctum Sanctorum. They detail how much of each Ale was made in a year and the materials used to brew it. Dead handy figures to have.

For a random reason I can no longer remember, I hadn't photographed the one covering 1861 to 1870. A real shame, and not just for reasons of completeness. The 1860's was a crucial decade in the rise of Mild Ale and in particular X Ale.

You can see the Barclay Perkins output of X Ale more than doubled in the 1860's, from 47,000 to 97,000 barrels. Not only did the output of X Ale increase in real terms, the proportion of X Ale compared to other Ales also rose. It went from around 70% of the total to 88%. Gradually, all the stronger X Ales faded away. The same was true of London brewers, too. by 1900 XX, XXX and XXXX had disappeared from all the big London brewers' portfolios. The only stronger Ales brewed were in the form of Stock Ales: KK and KKK.




Barclay Perkins Ale production 1861 - 1870 (barrels)


Year
malt (qtrs)
hops (lbs)
X
XL
XX
XXX
KK
KKK
KKKK
Table
total
% X


1861
21,930
288,028
47,285
604
5,474
1,102
6,723
4,676
100

65,964
71.68%


1862
21,045
286,027
46,781
1,177
4,097
1,675
8,909
4,399
111
1,172
68,321
68.47%


1863
23,500
335,936
48,604
1,209
4,496
1,329
13,064
4,401
225
1,174
74,502
65.24%


1864
22,200
249,717
50,168

3,887
1,292
7,385
4,741
492

67,965
73.81%


1865
23,846
267,602
58,391

5,016
1,032
5,935
4,310
134

74,818
78.04%


1866
23,242
247,040
63,427

4,897
791
3,569
2,318
229

75,231
84.31%


1867
24,446
237,896
68,333

4,966
908
4,173
2,605
112

81,097
84.26%


1868
24,416
226,664
73,601

5,368
1,029
3,129
1,309


84,436
87.17%


1869
30,140
311,128
87,421

5,892
871
2,937
6,199
1,062

104,382
83.75%


1870
31,266
321,375
96,999

4,709
599
5,172
2,055
102

109,636
88.47%


Source:


Barclay Perkins document held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/01/672



http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b7JoggXHVLM/UdKeVmDqPyI/AAAAAAAARVY/nr_00MMK6JQ/s320/Barclay_Perkins_Ale_production_1861_1870.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b7JoggXHVLM/UdKeVmDqPyI/AAAAAAAARVY/nr_00MMK6JQ/s668/Barclay_Perkins_Ale_production_1861_1870.jpg)

Here's a little more historical context for those 1860's numbers:




Barclay Perkins Ale production 1834 - 1855 (barrels)


Year
malt (qtrs)
hops (lbs)
X
XX
XXX
XXXX
KK
KKK
KKKK
Table
total
% X


1834
5,695
51,270
3,434
8,014
812

622
507

985
14,374
23.89%


1840
22,111
239,324
16,936
9,514
2,804
302
4,589
6,575
466

41,186
41.12%


1845
24,810
402,083
22,497
8,502
3,274
98
4,366
5,313
176
1,164
45,390
49.56%


1850
23,625
327,556
32,604
7,765
1,975

2,686
7,351
204
1,097
53,682
60.74%


1855
20,018
294,198
35,153
4,870
1,018

5,445
2,722
102
960
50,270
69.93%


Sources:


Barclay Perkins documents held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/669, ACC/2305/01/670 and ACC/2305/01/671



http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tdYtQZOm9hU/UdKecGHJX7I/AAAAAAAARVg/5-SiUGsCM7U/s320/Barclay_Perkins_Ale_production_1834_1855.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tdYtQZOm9hU/UdKecGHJX7I/AAAAAAAARVg/5-SiUGsCM7U/s669/Barclay_Perkins_Ale_production_1834_1855.jpg)

It's odd what happened with X Ale in London. As it became the dominant style, the range of different X Ales contracted. Usually the opposite is true. When a style becomes more popular more different-strength versions appear. That's certainly what happened with Pale Ale. Not quite sure why it was the other way around with Mild.

The stronger Ales all had their peak output early on: XX in 1836, XXX in 1838 and XXXX in 1837.Clearly the working man had decided that X Ale was his favourite. When you look at the strength of these beers it's easy to see why:




BP Ales in 1839


Beer
OG


X
1071.7


XX
1087.5


XXX
1104.4


Source:


Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/1/550.



Even a bottom of the range X Ale was a pretty powerful beer. Gravities fell a little over the century, but in 1869 the X Ales were still pretty formidable. Not something I'd want to drink a gallon of. Not something I could drink a gallon of.




BP Ales in 1862


Beer
OG


X
1066.2


XX
1081.2


XXX
1098.6


Source:


Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/1/569.



Before 1834, Barclay Perkins had been a Porter-only brewery. Wisely, they had moved into Ale in the 1830's when the swing from Porter to Mild started. You can see that move accelerating in the 1860's and by the end of the decade more than 25% of Barclays output was Ale. Porter and Stout remained more important for London brewers than those in the provinces, but by the end of the 19th century they were brewing more Ale than Porter. At Whitbread Ale first outstripped Porter in 1876*. At Barclay Perkins it took a little longer.




Barclay Perkins output 1834 - 1870


Year
Ale output
total output
% Ale


1834
14,374
343,569
4.18%


1840
41,186
400,838
10.27%


1845
45,390
396,784
11.44%


1850
53,682
397,360
13.51%


1855
50,270
357,836
14.05%


1861
65,964
373,043
17.68%


1862
68,321
383,436
17.82%


1863
74,502
418,461
17.80%


1864
67,965
415,721
16.35%


1865
74,818
415,142
18.02%


1866
75,231
428,000
17.58%


1867
81,097
423,444
19.15%


1868
84,436
405,622
20.82%


1869
104,382
409,327
25.50%


1870
109,636
410,710
26.69%


Sources:


Barclay Perkins documents held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers ACC/2305/01/669, ACC/2305/01/670, ACC/2305/01/671and ACC/2305/01/672


"The British Brewing Industry, 1830-1980" T. R. Gourvish & R.G. Wilson, pages 610-611






* Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers LMA/4453/D/01/041 and LMA/4453/D/09/070.

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