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20-04-2021, 07:14
Visit the Shut up about Barclay Perkins site (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2021/04/fullers-ak-in-ww-i.html)
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Wringing the final drops of joy out of a topic is the way I operate. No escaping from AK just yet.I have multiple breweries' AKs from WW I and could turn out a nice big table. Except that it would be confusing, as gravities might change two or three times in a year. To show the changes to AK over the course of the war it makes more sense to concentrate on a single example. Having a shitload of their records, I've plumped for Fullers.
Surprisingly few changes occurred in the first half of the war, with the gravity on;y falling a couple of degrees. The fun started in the spring of 1917 when the German unrestricted U-boat campaign started to seriously threaten the UK's good supply. By spring the following year, the gravity had been reduced to a pathetic 1026ยบ and a mere 2.73 ABV.
I got quite a shock when I assembled the table.Contrary to what you'd expect, the hopping rate per quarter (336 lbs) of malt increased during the war. This is the figure that takes the beer's gravity out of the equation. The rate per barrel was barely lower in 1920 than it had been in 1914, despite the OG being almost a third lower.
Speaking of that reduction in OG, let's see how it compares to the average for all beer brewed in the UK:
UK average OG 1914 - 1920
Year
OG
1914
1052.80
1915
1052.35
1916
1051.88
1917
1048.54
1918
1039.81
1919
1030.55
1920
1039.41
fall
25.36%
Source:
Brewers' Journal 1921, page 246.
Fullers AK fared worse than the average. In general, beers that started with a modest gravity seem to have been worst hit by the reduction in gravities. Porter, Mild Ale and Light Bitter were all hit hard.
Fullers AK in WW I
Date
Year
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
20th Nov
1914
1044.3
1009.1
4.65
79.38%
7.33
1.34
2nd Jul
1915
1044.5
1009.7
4.61
78.22%
7.84
1.42
1st Jun
1916
1043.9
1009.7
4.53
77.93%
8.20
1.54
3rd Nov
1916
1041.7
1005.8
4.74
86.04%
8.18
1.46
20th Jun
1917
1038.6
1006.4
4.27
83.51%
8.53
1.45
2nd Jan
1918
1035.5
1007.5
3.70
78.92%
9.72
2.24
11th Apr
1918
1026.1
1005.5
2.73
78.81%
9.99
1.10
7th Nov
1918
1025.7
1005.0
2.74
80.60%
9.45
1.09
19th Jun
1919
1028.2
1004.7
3.10
83.28%
9.72
1.14
11th Feb
1920
1030.6
1007.5
3.06
75.59%
9.80
1.21
fall
30.88%
18.18%
34.17%
4.77%
-33.70%
9.51%
Source:
Fullers brewing records held at the brewery
Next time we'll be looking at the grists.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2021/04/fullers-ak-in-ww-i.html)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6uG2zCWVNfI/YH15SwXSGTI/AAAAAAAAi9U/tcNgQ1MIaZo6P4RiGHUELyDJpnS4fvr9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Fullers_Chiswick_Pride_2.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6uG2zCWVNfI/YH15SwXSGTI/AAAAAAAAi9U/tcNgQ1MIaZo6P4RiGHUELyDJpnS4fvr9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s954/Fullers_Chiswick_Pride_2.jpg)
Wringing the final drops of joy out of a topic is the way I operate. No escaping from AK just yet.I have multiple breweries' AKs from WW I and could turn out a nice big table. Except that it would be confusing, as gravities might change two or three times in a year. To show the changes to AK over the course of the war it makes more sense to concentrate on a single example. Having a shitload of their records, I've plumped for Fullers.
Surprisingly few changes occurred in the first half of the war, with the gravity on;y falling a couple of degrees. The fun started in the spring of 1917 when the German unrestricted U-boat campaign started to seriously threaten the UK's good supply. By spring the following year, the gravity had been reduced to a pathetic 1026ยบ and a mere 2.73 ABV.
I got quite a shock when I assembled the table.Contrary to what you'd expect, the hopping rate per quarter (336 lbs) of malt increased during the war. This is the figure that takes the beer's gravity out of the equation. The rate per barrel was barely lower in 1920 than it had been in 1914, despite the OG being almost a third lower.
Speaking of that reduction in OG, let's see how it compares to the average for all beer brewed in the UK:
UK average OG 1914 - 1920
Year
OG
1914
1052.80
1915
1052.35
1916
1051.88
1917
1048.54
1918
1039.81
1919
1030.55
1920
1039.41
fall
25.36%
Source:
Brewers' Journal 1921, page 246.
Fullers AK fared worse than the average. In general, beers that started with a modest gravity seem to have been worst hit by the reduction in gravities. Porter, Mild Ale and Light Bitter were all hit hard.
Fullers AK in WW I
Date
Year
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
20th Nov
1914
1044.3
1009.1
4.65
79.38%
7.33
1.34
2nd Jul
1915
1044.5
1009.7
4.61
78.22%
7.84
1.42
1st Jun
1916
1043.9
1009.7
4.53
77.93%
8.20
1.54
3rd Nov
1916
1041.7
1005.8
4.74
86.04%
8.18
1.46
20th Jun
1917
1038.6
1006.4
4.27
83.51%
8.53
1.45
2nd Jan
1918
1035.5
1007.5
3.70
78.92%
9.72
2.24
11th Apr
1918
1026.1
1005.5
2.73
78.81%
9.99
1.10
7th Nov
1918
1025.7
1005.0
2.74
80.60%
9.45
1.09
19th Jun
1919
1028.2
1004.7
3.10
83.28%
9.72
1.14
11th Feb
1920
1030.6
1007.5
3.06
75.59%
9.80
1.21
fall
30.88%
18.18%
34.17%
4.77%
-33.70%
9.51%
Source:
Fullers brewing records held at the brewery
Next time we'll be looking at the grists.
More... (http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2021/04/fullers-ak-in-ww-i.html)