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04-02-2020, 07:09
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This is a sort of companion post to my recent series about Belgian beers in the 19th century.
Turns out I have rather more Lambic analyses than I thought. Though, sadly, only three give the level of acidity. Unsurprisingly, it's pretty damn high in all three examples.
What is a shock is the strength of some of the examples of Lambic. Only two of the seven are below 6% ABV. Even all the Faro is above 5% ABV. The strongest Lambics are almost 10% ABV - way, way stronger than any modern version.
Knowing how it was produced, the extremely high level attenuation is to be expected. All the bugs would have eaten through just about anything fermentable. The attenuation is particularly impressive if you know that before 1900 most continental beers were below 70% apparent attenuation.
Gerstenbier, in case you're wondering, is the same as Bière d'Orge. It's just the Dutch-language version of the name.
Belgian beers 1839 - 1898
Year
Brewer
Beer
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
Acidity (%)
pH
1839
Unknown
Lambic
1085.1
1011.5
9.72
86.49%
1850
Unknown, Brussels
Lambik
1058.4
1013.2
5.89
76.39%
1850
Unknown, Brussels
Faro
1051.2
1011.2
5.20
77.17%
1850
Unknown, Louvain
Petermann
1069.6
1015.6
7.06
76.47%
1870
Unknown
Faro
1055.1
1013.5
5.41
75.50%
1871
Unknown
Lambic
1070.7
1008.7
5.60
86.95%
1.06
3.37
1872
Unknown
Lambic
1059.7
1003.3
7.42
94.47%
1889
Unknown
Lambic
1088.2
1011.1
9.71
86.46%
1.11
3.36
1889
Unknown
Faro
1055.9
1012.6
5.41
76.47%
0.9
3.4
1890
Unknown
Lambic
1061.4
1003.3
7.43
94.63%
1890
Unknown
Faro
1055.4
1013
5.41
76.54%
1898
Unknown
Lambic
1059.4
1003
7.43
94.95%
1898
Unknown
Faro
1054.5
1012.9
5.41
76.32%
1898
Unknown
Gerstenbier
1048
1002.5
5.96
94.79%
Sources:
"Bericht über die Entwickelung der chemischen Industrie während des letzten Jahrzehends" by August Wilhelm von Hofmann, 1877, page 382
Handwörterbuch der reinen und angewandten Chemie by Justus Liebig, Johann Christian Poggendorff, Friedrich Wöhler, 1858, page 1038
"Bericht über die Entwickelung der chemischen Industrie während des letzten Jahrzehends" by August Wilhelm von Hofmann, 1877, page 382
American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting, and Auxiliary Trades by Robert Wahl and Max Henius, Chicago, pages 823-830
"Handbuch der chemischen technologie" by Otto Dammer, Rudolf Kaiser, 1896, pages 696-697
Brockhaus' konversations-lexikon, Band 2 by F.A. Brockhaus, 1898 http://books.google.de/books?id=oZ5PAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA999&dq=bierdruckapparat+konversationslexikon#PPA1000,M 1
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This is a sort of companion post to my recent series about Belgian beers in the 19th century.
Turns out I have rather more Lambic analyses than I thought. Though, sadly, only three give the level of acidity. Unsurprisingly, it's pretty damn high in all three examples.
What is a shock is the strength of some of the examples of Lambic. Only two of the seven are below 6% ABV. Even all the Faro is above 5% ABV. The strongest Lambics are almost 10% ABV - way, way stronger than any modern version.
Knowing how it was produced, the extremely high level attenuation is to be expected. All the bugs would have eaten through just about anything fermentable. The attenuation is particularly impressive if you know that before 1900 most continental beers were below 70% apparent attenuation.
Gerstenbier, in case you're wondering, is the same as Bière d'Orge. It's just the Dutch-language version of the name.
Belgian beers 1839 - 1898
Year
Brewer
Beer
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
Acidity (%)
pH
1839
Unknown
Lambic
1085.1
1011.5
9.72
86.49%
1850
Unknown, Brussels
Lambik
1058.4
1013.2
5.89
76.39%
1850
Unknown, Brussels
Faro
1051.2
1011.2
5.20
77.17%
1850
Unknown, Louvain
Petermann
1069.6
1015.6
7.06
76.47%
1870
Unknown
Faro
1055.1
1013.5
5.41
75.50%
1871
Unknown
Lambic
1070.7
1008.7
5.60
86.95%
1.06
3.37
1872
Unknown
Lambic
1059.7
1003.3
7.42
94.47%
1889
Unknown
Lambic
1088.2
1011.1
9.71
86.46%
1.11
3.36
1889
Unknown
Faro
1055.9
1012.6
5.41
76.47%
0.9
3.4
1890
Unknown
Lambic
1061.4
1003.3
7.43
94.63%
1890
Unknown
Faro
1055.4
1013
5.41
76.54%
1898
Unknown
Lambic
1059.4
1003
7.43
94.95%
1898
Unknown
Faro
1054.5
1012.9
5.41
76.32%
1898
Unknown
Gerstenbier
1048
1002.5
5.96
94.79%
Sources:
"Bericht über die Entwickelung der chemischen Industrie während des letzten Jahrzehends" by August Wilhelm von Hofmann, 1877, page 382
Handwörterbuch der reinen und angewandten Chemie by Justus Liebig, Johann Christian Poggendorff, Friedrich Wöhler, 1858, page 1038
"Bericht über die Entwickelung der chemischen Industrie während des letzten Jahrzehends" by August Wilhelm von Hofmann, 1877, page 382
American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting, and Auxiliary Trades by Robert Wahl and Max Henius, Chicago, pages 823-830
"Handbuch der chemischen technologie" by Otto Dammer, Rudolf Kaiser, 1896, pages 696-697
Brockhaus' konversations-lexikon, Band 2 by F.A. Brockhaus, 1898 http://books.google.de/books?id=oZ5PAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA999&dq=bierdruckapparat+konversationslexikon#PPA1000,M 1
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2020/02/belgian-beers-1839-1898.html)