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05-07-2011, 08:11
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Remember that analysis of Drogheda Ale? The same book also had one of Guinness XX Porter. I thought you might be interested in seeing that as well.


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VVueiTx6UuU/Tg2F1kT3wFI/AAAAAAAAIBA/B9i0Tum0ABI/s1600/Guinness_Porter.JPG (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VVueiTx6UuU/Tg2F1kT3wFI/AAAAAAAAIBA/B9i0Tum0ABI/s1600/Guinness_Porter.JPG)
One point before we start. Which Guinness product were they analysing? In the 19th century Guinness had three main products: Porter, Extra Stout and Foreign Extra Stout. Though the names used weren't always those. Before 1896 Porter was called Single Stout and Extra Stout was called Double Stout. Foreign Extra Stout was also known as Foreign Export Double Stout and West Indies Porter at different dates. Guinness weren't very consistent in their use of the designations Porter and Stout, using both words at different times to describe all three products.

Funnily enough, a name I haven't seen mentioned until now is Guinness XX Porter. Though when I did a bit of digging on the web, the name popped up in various 19th century adverts and texts. Luckily, I've been able to work out the OG of the beer they anaylsed and it's clear which of the Guinness products it is: Porter. I've other analyses for Guinness Porter and Extra Stout from the 1890's. The Porter was 1063º, the Extra Stout 1073º.

"On the Composition of Dublin Porter.

By George W. Jackson, B. A., and William J. Wonfor, Students in the Laboratory of the Museum of Irish Industry.

[Read on Monday Evening, December 17, I860.]

A Want has often been felt by medical men, and others, in Dublin, interested in the composition of such substances, of a reliable and complete analysis of Irish porter; for although the composition of the principal English and foreign beers has been determined by different chemists, no such investigation had hitherto been undertaken in Dublin. At the suggestion of Professor Galloway, Mr. Jackson undertook the analysis of Guinness's XX porter; but at an early stage of the proceedings being obliged by ill health to forego the completion of the research, the task devolved on me to finish it; and we have much pleasure in laying before the Royal Dublin Society the results of our joint investigation. The sample of porter which we employed was obtained from Mr. Edward Burke, of Middle Abbey-street, agent to the Messrs. Guinness; and the analysis was performed in the laboratory of the Museum of Irish Industry, under the direction of Mr. Galloway."
"The Journal of the Royal Dublin society, Volume 3", 1862, page 163.
Amazing, isn't it, that no-one had bothered to analyse beers in Ireland.

Here's the table they produced. With a few extra bits I've worked out, such as ABW, ABV, OG and apparent attenuation.



"The following are the amounts of the various constituents in 1000 parts by measure of the Porter:—



Guinness XX Porter 1861






I
II
Mean


Total amount of fixed organic matter
67.566
66.426
66.996


Total amount of fixed inorganic matter
4.166
4.27
4.218



71.732
70.696
71.214


Proof spirit*
89.6
92
90.8


ABW
4.41
4.53
4.47


ABV
5.60
5.75
5.68


Acetic acid
3.6
3.6
3.6


Grape Sugar
1.72
1.72
1.72


Albumen
8.272
7.5
7.886


Extractive matter
57.574
57.206
57.39


Silica
0.29
0.29
0.29


Phosphate of Magnesia
0.851
0.851
0.851


Lime
0.085
0.085
0.085


Phosphoric acid
0.69
0.703
0.697


Chloride of sodium
0.448
0.449
0.448


Sulphuric acid
0.277
0.274
0.276


Potash
1.5327
1.5
1.513


Soda
0.082
0.083
0.082



71.816
70.661
71.238


FG
1019.565
1019.2
1019.383


OG
1062.1
1062.8
1062.45


apparent attenuation
68.49%
69.43%
68.96%


Source:





"The Journal of the Royal Dublin society, Volume 3", 1862, page 169


* Proof spirit has a sp. gr. of 0.9198 at 60º Fahr. and contains 49.25 per cent, by weight of real alcohol.



First thing that jumps out at me is the attenuation: less than 70%. That's much lower than modern Guinness Extra Stout, where it's 85%. But, as I've pointed out before, very dry and highly-attenuated Guinness is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating from just the 1950's. With an acetic acid content of 0.36%, Guinness's XX porter must have been quite a tart beer. Analyses of Guinness Porter and Stout from 1870 also show quite high levels of acetic acid: 0.24%, 0.20% and 0.26%. In another sample from 1888 the acidity was as high as 0.52%.

How did Guinness Porter compare with the London version? Time for another table, I think. here are the details of four London-brewed Porters from the same period:



Year
Brewer
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl


1862
Barclay Perkins
TT
Porter
1055.1
1017.5
4.98
68.25%
15.29
3.79


1861
Whitbread
P
Porter
1053.5
1015.8
4.98
70.47%
10.37
2.63


1860
Truman
Runner
Porter
1057.6
1013.9
5.79
75.96%
8.2
2.36


1858
Courage
Porter
Porter
1055.12



12.00
2.86


Source:


Brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives.




The London Porters all had a lower OG, averaging around 1055º, compared to the 1062º of Guinness Porter. In terms of attenuation, there wasn't a huge amount of difference. With the exception of Truman's Runner, all were a shade under 70%.

Here's the slightly bizarre conclusion of the scientists:

"Without expressing any opinion as to the medicinal virtues of the porter we examined, we may, perhaps, be permitted to draw attention to the facts which our analysis reveals, that it contains a large quantity of heat and flesh-producing matter, as well as the necessary inorganic constituents required in the formation of bone and flesh.

As we were obliged to limit ourselves to one sample of porter, as it would have required more time than we could give to have examined samples of porter from all the different manufactories, we selected Guinness's as the type of all the rest."
"The Journal of the Royal Dublin society, Volume 3", 1862, page 170.
Anyone an idea as to what "heat and flesh-producing matter" might be? I haven't the foggiest. It's the weird sort of thing 19th century scientists had a habit of saying. I think they just made most of it up.

Lazy bastards, that's all I can say. If only they'd been able to drag themselves away from their laudanum, they might have found the time to analyse all the different types of Dublin Porter. Now that would have been interesting. But no, dilettantes that they were, they only bothered with Guinness.https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5445569787371915337-1028407428525391195?l=barclayperkins.blogspot.com


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