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15-05-2020, 07:51
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WW I did no favours to Barley Wine. No-one could brew one in the years 1918-1919 because of government restrictions on gravity. But when the dust had settled its production did start up again. Albeit in pretty small quantities.
The war had affected gravities, but not quite as drastically as some other styles. Bass No. 1, for example, had an OG of 1115º before WW I. After the war it was weaker, but just by a few degrees.
Barley Wines remained powerful beers, as the average of the samples in the table shows. Average OG in the interwar period was in the low-1040ºs – less than half that of the Barley Wines.
As a pretty niche product, Barley Wine wasn’t produced by anything like every brewery. Two of the two biggest brands – Bass and Truman – were both brewed in Burton, where there was a long tradition of brewing very strong Ales. As far as I’ve been able to discover, Mann and Watney were the only breweries in London producing one.
At first sight, some examples have a surprisingly high degree of attenuation. The highest, Mann’s Barley Wine, is over 90%. Which is a lot for a beer of its strength. But remember some beers in this style still underwent a long secondary fermentation. Which might well have included Brettanomyces. Taking that into consideration, the attenuation doesn’t seem that unreasonable.
Barley Wine before WW II
Year
Brewer
Beer
Price per pint (d)
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
colour
1921
Bass
No. 1
1094
1032
8.06
65.96%
1923
Younger, Geo
Malt Wine
1078
1016
8.12
79.49%
1923
Younger, Geo.
Malt Wine
1083.4
1023.9
7.76
71.34%
69
1927
Bass
No. 1 Barley Wine
1105
1035
9.13
66.67%
70
1929
Younger, Geo
Sparkling Malt Wine
1076
1013
8.27
82.89%
1932
Mann
Barley Wine
22
1096
1011.9
11.15
87.60%
1932
Truman
No.1 Burton Barley Wine
24
1097.3
1017.8
10.49
81.71%
1933
Mann
Barley Wine
22
1094.8
1006.9
11.71
92.72%
1934
Bass
Prince's Ale (brewed 23/7/1929)
1112.8
1029.2
11.00
74.11%
1935
Bass
Barley Wine
1109
1023.3
11.32
78.62%
1938
Mann
Barley Wine
21
1092.9
1026
8.74
72.01%
100
Average
1094.5
1021.4
9.61
77.56%
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.
Younger, Wm. & Co Gravity Book document WY/6/1/1/19 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2020/05/barley-wine-before-ww-ii.html)
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WW I did no favours to Barley Wine. No-one could brew one in the years 1918-1919 because of government restrictions on gravity. But when the dust had settled its production did start up again. Albeit in pretty small quantities.
The war had affected gravities, but not quite as drastically as some other styles. Bass No. 1, for example, had an OG of 1115º before WW I. After the war it was weaker, but just by a few degrees.
Barley Wines remained powerful beers, as the average of the samples in the table shows. Average OG in the interwar period was in the low-1040ºs – less than half that of the Barley Wines.
As a pretty niche product, Barley Wine wasn’t produced by anything like every brewery. Two of the two biggest brands – Bass and Truman – were both brewed in Burton, where there was a long tradition of brewing very strong Ales. As far as I’ve been able to discover, Mann and Watney were the only breweries in London producing one.
At first sight, some examples have a surprisingly high degree of attenuation. The highest, Mann’s Barley Wine, is over 90%. Which is a lot for a beer of its strength. But remember some beers in this style still underwent a long secondary fermentation. Which might well have included Brettanomyces. Taking that into consideration, the attenuation doesn’t seem that unreasonable.
Barley Wine before WW II
Year
Brewer
Beer
Price per pint (d)
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
colour
1921
Bass
No. 1
1094
1032
8.06
65.96%
1923
Younger, Geo
Malt Wine
1078
1016
8.12
79.49%
1923
Younger, Geo.
Malt Wine
1083.4
1023.9
7.76
71.34%
69
1927
Bass
No. 1 Barley Wine
1105
1035
9.13
66.67%
70
1929
Younger, Geo
Sparkling Malt Wine
1076
1013
8.27
82.89%
1932
Mann
Barley Wine
22
1096
1011.9
11.15
87.60%
1932
Truman
No.1 Burton Barley Wine
24
1097.3
1017.8
10.49
81.71%
1933
Mann
Barley Wine
22
1094.8
1006.9
11.71
92.72%
1934
Bass
Prince's Ale (brewed 23/7/1929)
1112.8
1029.2
11.00
74.11%
1935
Bass
Barley Wine
1109
1023.3
11.32
78.62%
1938
Mann
Barley Wine
21
1092.9
1026
8.74
72.01%
100
Average
1094.5
1021.4
9.61
77.56%
Sources:
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.
Younger, Wm. & Co Gravity Book document WY/6/1/1/19 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2020/05/barley-wine-before-ww-ii.html)