Shut up about Barclay Perkins - Hopping rates in the 1880's

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I seem to hgave got into a hopping groove. Don't worry, like all my fascinations, it's likely to be fleeting.

Let's start with the theory. This table is taken from a contemporary brewing manual:


Hopping Rates in the 1880's
type of beer
lbs hops per quarter
Finest class of Burton export pale ales

17

Ordinary first-class Burton pale ales

15

Burton strong ales

10-12

Burton mild ales

7-10

London and country bitter ales

7-10

London four ale

4-6

Export stout

14-15

Double and single stout

8-10

Porter

4-5

Source:
"A systematic handbook of practical brewing", by E.R. Southby, 1885, pages 312-313.

Now let's see what was really going on in breweries:


Barclay Perkins hopping rates in the 1880's
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
31st May
1887
Hhd
Porter

1053.0

1013.0

5.29

75.44%

11.67

2.95

10th May
1887
BS
Stout

1071.0

1019.4

6.83

72.69%

7.75

2.50

24th Feb
1880
X
Mild

1060.1

1009.6

6.68

84.03%

6.90

1.90

21st May
1886
XX
Mild

1076.0

1022.7

7.05

70.11%

12.00

3.86

29th Jun
1886
XLK
Pale Ale

1054.0

1014.1

5.27

73.84%

12.00

2.68

15th Jul
1886
PA
Pale Ale

1059.0

1016.1

5.68

72.77%

16.00

3.88

21st Jan
1880
KKK
Stock Ale

1090.6

1012.5

10.33

86.20%

18.80

8.10

Source:
Barclay Perkins brewing records

Mmm. All the Barclay Perkins beers are more heavily hopped than what Southby suggests, except for the BS, which is ever so slightly less than the bottom of the range of values for Double Stout.


Whitbread hopping rates in the 1880's
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
5th Jun
1881
P
Porter

1054.6

1010.8

5.79

80.20%

8.77

2.08

8th Dec
1880
Exp S
Stout

1078.7

1018.8

7.92

76.06%

13.35

5.41

1st Dec
1880
SS
Stout

1079.2

1024.9

7.18

68.53%

10.63

4.73

1st Dec
1880
SSS
Stout

1091.4

1029.9

8.14

67.27%

10.63

5.45

12th Jul
1880
X
Mild

1060.9

1015.5

6.01

74.55%

7.53

2.09

15th Jul
1880
XL
Mild

1068.4

1019.7

6.45

71.26%

7.45

2.36

26th Dec
1880
XX xpt
Mild

1078.4

1024.9

7.07

68.19%

9.36

3.42

12th Jul
1880
FA
Pale Ale

1052.6

1008.6

5.83

83.68%

13.52

3.58

9th Aug
1880
PA
Pale Ale

1065.4

1014.4

6.74

77.97%

17.12

4.30

15th Sep
1880
KK
Stock Ale

1076.2

1025.5

6.71

66.55%

12.44

4.36

11th Oct
1880
KKK
Stock Ale

1084.2

1028.0

7.44

66.78%

13.13

4.97

Source:
Whitbread brewing records

The pattern is the same with Whitbread. All but one Stout, Exp S, is more heavily hopped than Southby's recommendation.


Truman (Burton) hopping rates in the 1880's
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
16th Jan
1883
6
Mild

1067.0

1018.6

6.41

72.31%

5.56

1.51

16th Feb
1883
7
Mild

1062.3

1013.9

6.41

77.78%

5.77

1.50

16th Feb
1883
8
Mild

1054.0

1015.0

5.17

72.31%

5.77

1.30

17th Jan
1883
A
Ale

1056.2

1015.5

5.39

72.41%

2.50

0.49

22nd Jan
1883
C5 R
Ale

1075.6

1024.4

6.78

67.77%

5.74

1.78

23rd Jan
1883
C5 S
Ale

1076.7

1027.7

6.49

63.90%

9.15

2.87

16th Jan
1883
L 5 S
Ale

1075.3

1023.8

6.82

68.38%

8.57

2.75

23rd Jan
1883
L4
Ale

1080.9

1023.8

7.55

70.55%

5.00

1.93

19th Jan
1883
L4 S
Ale

1078.9

1028.3

6.71

64.21%

9.83

3.47

8th Feb
1883
P1
Pale Ale

1066.5

1018.3

6.38

72.50%

16.95

4.62

19th Jan
1883
P1 B
Pale Ale

1067.9

1022.2

6.05

67.35%

16.56

4.75

9th Apr
1883
P1 export
Pale Ale

1068.7

1022.2

6.16

67.74%

17.44

5.17

15th Jan
1883
P1 S
Pale Ale

1067.3

1018.3

6.49

72.84%

16.95

4.62

22nd Jan
1883
P2
Pale Ale

1061.5

1017.7

5.79

71.17%

11.89

3.02

18th Jan
1883
P2 B
Pale Ale

1063.2

1020.8

5.61

67.11%

16.11

4.37

6th Mar
1883
P2 S
Pale Ale

1062.6

1017.7

5.94

71.68%

18.00

4.65

22nd Jan
1883
PA
Pale Ale

1057.6

1016.6

5.42

71.15%

11.89

2.83

6th Mar
1883
S4
Ale

1075.9

1026.6

6.52

64.96%

9.60

3.15

14th Feb
1883
S4 x
Ale

1077.6

1027.7

6.60

64.29%

10.04

3.45

Source:
Truman brewing records

For Truman's beers, the reverse is the case. Except for the Pale Ales, all are hopped below Southby's suggestions. Interesting that. I wonder what the situation was at Bass?

I keep finding more and more stuff on hopping. This theme may continue a while.https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...s.blogspot.com


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