PDA

View Full Version : Shut up about Barclay Perkins - Kidd beers in mid-1917



Blog Tracker
05-01-2018, 08:16
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2018/01/kidd-beers-in-mid-1917.html)


https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xDPCIibZ6Bk/WkIn3ooEWsI/AAAAAAAAduU/vjY_4YBI6X03Ilq5uJrJs4q0Q5xwBmgHgCPcBGAYYCw/s320/Kidd_Nourishing_Stout.jpg (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xDPCIibZ6Bk/WkIn3ooEWsI/AAAAAAAAduU/vjY_4YBI6X03Ilq5uJrJs4q0Q5xwBmgHgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Kidd_Nourishing_Stout.jpg)
1917 must have been a stressful year to be a brewer. Because the rules and restrictions changed several times.

Between 1914 and the end of 1916, beer output had been limited and the beer tax more than trebled, but the beer itself hadn’t changed that much. Until July 1st 1917, when a new regulation came into force stipulating that half the beer a brewery produced had to have a gravity no greater than 1036º.

This new rule had an immediate effect on the gravity of beers, especially the more popular ones. At many breweries a few beers made up a large percentage of sale. For example, in 1917 Whitbread London Stout made up 42% and X Ale 28% of their total output. Though a more typical brewery would have sold mostly Mild Ale and lower-gravity Bitter.

You can see here proof of how little average OG changed before 1917.



UK beer production and average OG 1913 - 1920


Year
bulk barrels
average OG


1913
36,296,317
1052.64


1914
37,558,767
1052.80


1915
34,765,780
1052.35


1916
32,110,608
1051.88


1917
30,163,998
1048.54


1918
19,085,043
1039.81


1919
23,264,533
1030.55


1920
35,047,947
1039.41


Source:


Brewers' Journal 1921, page 246.



You can see here the effect of the gravity restriction of Kidd’s beers:



Kidd beers in mid-1917


Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp


13th Jul
1917
GA X
Mild
1033.8
1009.4
3.22
72.13%
9.95
1.43
2.25
2
58º


18th Jul
1917
GA
Mild
1033.2
1008.3
3.30
75.00%
9.95
1.42
2.25
2.25
58º


27th Aug
1917
GA
Mild
1034.9
1007.8
3.59
77.78%
9.96
1.50
2.25
2
58º


30th Aug
1917
GA
Mild
1035.5
1008.3
3.59
76.56%
10.00
1.47
2.25
2
58º


24th Aug
1917
LPA
Pale Ale
1037.1
1010.0
3.59
73.13%
9.53
1.54
2.25

58.5º


31st Aug
1917
LPA
Pale Ale
1039.3
1011.1
3.74
71.83%
10.04
1.68
2
2
59º


24th Jul
1917
Porter
Porter
1034.9
1008.9
3.44
74.60%
10.29
1.55
2.5

58º


28th Aug
1917
Porter
Porter
1037.1
1008.3
3.81
77.61%
10.29
1.80
3.25

58º


Source:


Kidd brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/305/16/013.



Sure enough, their most popular beer, X Ale, has dropped below 1036º. The its name was changed to GA (Government Ale) after the first brew. At the same time the range of beer produced has been drastically reduced to just three: Porter, Mild and Bitter.

We’ll be taking a look next at how Kidd’s beers evolved as 1917 and 1918 unfolded.

More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2018/01/kidd-beers-in-mid-1917.html)