Shut up about Barclay Perkins - Whitbread Pale Ales 1890

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http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CHrKKDU929...d_Pale_Ale.jpgHow long is it since my last big table? Just a few days? Far too long.

Today's topic: Whitbread Pale Ales in the decades either side of 1900. It's a time when Whitbread was expanding their range of Pale Ales.

Their PA had been around for a while. Since the 1860's. A decade later the enigmatic FA was added. I assume the initials stand for "Family Ale". I could, as so often before, be wrong. But that's my theory and until someone throws a better one at me or, god forbid, some real evidence turn up, I'm sticking to it. Hang on. Why don't I search the internet?

Now isn't that interesting. I'll take the article below as proof positive that FA means Family Ale:

"REPORTS AND ANALYSES
AND
DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW INVENTIONS
IN MEDICINE, SURGERY, DIETETICS, AND THE
ALLIED SCIENCES.
WHITBREAD & Co.'s BOTTLED ALES AND STOUT.
IN no respect probably do the public suffer from more mischievous imposition than in the tricks of bottlers, who put up inferior ales and beer under well known hands, employing for this purpose second-hand labels, and adopting all sorts of devices to "clear" the ale chemically, and to give to it a fictitious character. Messrs. Whitbread & Co., the great and well-known brewers, have placed the bottling of their ales and beer in the hands of Mr. Baker, of Gray's Inn Road; and, besides inspecting his Stores, which are replete with excellent arrangements on a very large scale, we have analysed samples of all the various kinds of ale and beer, and we take pleasure in stating that the results are in all respects worthy of the high reputation of Messrs. Whitbread, and testify to the skill, care, and honesty of their bottling agent. The following is the result of the analyses made by Dr. Paul, the principal English authority on this subject.

I have examined the six samples of bottled beer received from Mr. Baker, of Gray's Inn Road, and now beg to hand you the results of my analyses.

Specific gravity Original gravity of wort Amount of alcohol Amount of extract Acetic acid Strong Ale 1013.45 1081.3 7.19 6.1 0.15 Pale Ale 1009.93 1059.86 5.32 4.9 - Family Ale 1011.44 1057.04 4.82 5 0.14 Extra Stout 1026.8 1076.66 5.26 8.9 0.13 London Stout 1020.83 1067.03 4.88 7.2 0.15 London Cooper 1016.03 1058.8 4.52 5.9 0.18
All these samples were of excellent quality; and the original gravities of the worts from which they were brewed showed that the full proportions of malt had been used in each. The pale ale was remarkable, from being almost wholly destitute of acid ; and on this account would probably be specially adapted for invalids."
"The British Medical Journal, March 9th, 1872", page 27.
Where was I? Whitbread's Pale Ales. That's it. By the 1890's, a third had appeared, 2PA. Nothing very exciting, just a slightly weaker version (OG 1053º) of the standard PA (1060º). They were often party-gyled together. In 1899 there was another newcomer: IPA. This was about the same gravity as FA, 1050º.

Whitbread Pale Ales 1890 - 1910
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
pale malt
SA malt
PA malt
other sugar
total
16th Jul
1890
2PA
Pale Ale

1055.4

1010.0

6.01

81.95%

11.69

2.99

1.75

1.75

57º

78.57%

21.43%

100.00%
20th Oct
1890
FA
Pale Ale

1054.8

1012.0

5.67

78.12%

11.01

2.73

1.67

1.67

57º

23.81%

55.56%

20.63%

100.00%
16th Jul
1890
PA
Pale Ale

1060.1

1013.0

6.23

78.37%

11.69

3.25

1.75

1.75

57º

78.57%

21.43%

100.00%
17th Nov
1890
PA
Pale Ale

1059.6

1015.0

5.89

74.81%

11.53

3.00

1.33

1.67

57º

58.14%

18.60%

23.26%

100.00%
1st Apr
1891
2PA
Pale Ale

1053.2

1011.0

5.58

79.32%

10.12

2.43

1.33

1.67

57º

21.74%

57.97%

20.29%

100.00%
27th Jul
1899
2PA
Pale Ale

1053.2

1015.0

5.05

71.80%

11.01

2.56

1.5

1.75

58º

36.49%

41.89%

21.62%

100.00%
8th Aug
1899
PA
Pale Ale

1057.6

1015.0

5.64

73.97%

12.02

3.12

1.5

2

58º

78.95%

21.05%

100.00%
28th Feb
1900
FA
Pale Ale

1050.2

1015.0

4.66

70.15%

11.97

2.66

2

1.75

58.5º

14.15%

65.09%

20.75%

100.00%
10th Jan
1900
IPA
IPA

1056.6

1016.0

5.37

71.73%

12.99

3.20

1.5

1.75

58º

13.16%

65.79%

21.05%

100.00%
19th Feb
1900
IPA
IPA

1051.3

1014.0

4.94

72.72%

12.96

2.91

1.5

1.75

58º

13.57%

66.52%

19.91%

100.00%
25th Jun
1901
2PA
Pale Ale

1053.7

1014.0

5.26

73.95%

9.85

2.39

1.5

1.42

57.5º

13.89%

63.89%

22.22%

100.00%
15th Nov
1901
FA
Pale Ale

1052.1

1014.0

5.04

73.12%

12.01

2.77

1.5

1.75

57.5º

14.15%

65.09%

20.75%

100.00%
13th Jun
1901
FA casks
Pale Ale

1050.4

1013.0

4.95

74.21%

11.71

2.66

1.5

1.75

57.5º

13.89%

63.89%

22.22%

100.00%
16th Nov
1901
IPA
IPA

1050.1

1012.0

5.05

76.07%

12.04

2.69

1.5

1.75

58º

27.91%

51.63%

20.47%

100.00%
18th Nov
1901
PA
Pale Ale

1060.9

1017.0

5.81

72.10%

11.09

3.05

1.5

1.75

58º

12.35%

67.90%

19.75%

100.00%
21st Feb
1902
FA
Pale Ale

1050.4

1014.0

4.82

72.23%

12.00

2.68

1.5

1.75

58.5º

14.15%

65.09%

20.75%

100.00%
20th Feb
1902
IPA
IPA

1049.9

1013.0

4.88

73.93%

11.97

2.65

1.5

1.75

57.5º

14.15%

65.09%

20.75%

100.00%
17th Apr
1906
2PA
Pale Ale

1056.8

1018.0

5.13

68.30%

9.46

2.38

1.5

1.75

58.5º

15.29%

64.33%

20.38%

100.00%
30th Apr
1906
FA
Pale Ale

1049.6

1013.0

4.84

73.78%

11.99

2.61

1.5

1.75

58.5º

17.39%

62.32%

20.29%

100.00%
11th May
1906
FA (Butts)
Pale Ale

1050.1

1015.0

4.65

70.08%

12.03

2.67

1.5

1.75

58.5º

17.39%

62.32%

20.29%

100.00%
14th May
1906
IPA
IPA

1050.6

1014.0

4.84

72.34%

12.09

2.68

1.5

1.75

58.5º

17.39%

62.32%

20.29%

100.00%
12th May
1906
PA
Pale Ale

1063.4

1022.0

5.47

65.29%

12.01

3.40

1.33

1.83

58.5º

17.65%

58.82%

23.53%

100.00%
19th Aug
1910
2PA
Pale Ale

1054.0

1017.0

4.90

68.53%

8.96

2.12

1.5

1.75

59º

20.09%

60.27%

19.64%

100.00%
13th Aug
1910
FA
Pale Ale

1047.6

1013.5

4.52

71.66%

10.79

2.28

1.5

1.75

59º

23.44%

57.81%

18.75%

100.00%
15th Aug
1910
IPA
IPA

1049.9

1014.5

4.68

70.92%

10.92

2.36

1.5

1.75

59º

22.39%

59.70%

17.91%

100.00%
27th Sep
1910
PA
Pale Ale

1061.0

1021.0

5.29

65.57%

8.99

2.43

1.75

1.75

57º

19.11%

60.51%

20.38%

100.00%
Sources:
Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives documents: LMA/4453/D/01/056, LMA/4453/D/01/065, LMA/4453/D/01/066, LMA/4453/D/01/071, LMA/4453/D/01/076

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CHrKKDU929..._1890_1910.JPG

To be honest, I can't see why they bothered with so many very similar brews. The FA and IPA were slightly more heavily hopped for their strength than PA, but not by much. Between the two of them, the differences were negligible. So why bother?

In case you were wondering, only IPA and PA made it past WW I. 2PA was discontinued in 1916, FA in 1918. But you were longing to know that, weren't you.

Almost forgot. One thing I did want to point out was the place of IPA in the strength hierarchy of Whitbread's beers. The bottom. That's where it was, along with FA. They were the weakest beers produced by Whitbread. So don't start that IPA was a strong beer crap. I've overwhelming eviddence that demonstrates the exact opposite.https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...s.blogspot.com

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Shut up about Barclay Perkins - Whitbread Pale Ales 1890 - 1910