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Another decade to Whitbread Porter to dissect.
This is the period immediately before one of the biggest shakeups in the British brewing world: the 1830 Beer Act. Which abolished excise duty on beer and let pretty much anyone open up a pub selling just beer.
There are a couple of things I'd like to point out.
First, the grist. The percentage of brown malt fell to just 3 or 4% and then in 1826 disappeared altogether, leaving a grist of just pale and black malt. The percentage of black malt was higher than in the previous period, but was still mostly not much more than 1%. I can't help but think that this must have had an impact on the colour. How dark could a beer that was almost 99% pale malt be?
I would usually say that the defining feature of London Porter is the use of brown malt. London brewers were remarkably faithful to Porter's original malt. But there are odd years where Whitbread stopped using it. Economy would be the obvious motive. Its re-adoption can only have been prompted by flavour. Getting the flavour London drinkers expected.
My second point concerns the gravity. It's higher than in the previous period we looked at, hovering in the 1058 to 1060 range. During the Napoleonic Wars it had dropped to around 1050. Knowing the strength of Porter in the 19th century is trickier because there aren't many remaining records. The few that do remain suggest that 18th-century Porter had been stronger.
This is about the sum total of the data that I have:
Porter gravities in the 1770's
OG
OG
FG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
1
29.51081.78.31023.07.77271.86%
261072.06.51018.07.15375.00%
25.51070.661016.67.15476.47%
24.51067.96.51018.06.60573.47%
23.31064.55.31014.76.60Source:77.25%
"Statical Estimates of the Materials of Brewing" by J. Richardson, 1784, page 150
It's dangerous to read too much into such a small amount of data, but this implies standard Porter gravity was between 1065 and 1070. It never got back to that level in the 19th century.
Here are all the details for you to peruse at your leisure:
Whitbread Porter 1821 - 1830
Date
Year
Beer
OG
FG
ABV
App. Atten-uation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
pale malt
brown malt
black malt
white malt
total
19th Jan
1821
P
1057.61017.25.3570.19%10.582.7511.52.753.7565º95.17%3.72%1.11%
19th Oct100.00%
1821
P
1057.91017.55.3569.86%9.012.3411.52.753.7565º95.02%3.83%1.15%
18th Oct100.00%
1821
P
1058.71021.34.9563.68%9.742.5511.52.753.7565º95.02%3.83%1.15%
17th Oct100.00%
1821
P
1058.21018.05.3169.05%9.722.5111.52.753.7564.5º95.02%3.83%1.15%
20th May100.00%
1822
P
1059.31016.35.6872.43%10.612.841.171.53463º95.97%2.93%1.10%
31st Aug100.00%
1822
P
1059.31018.85.3568.22%9.742.5911.52.753.7564.75º95.76%3.23%1.01%
14th Oct100.00%
1822
P
1059.01015.25.7974.18%9.522.5011.52.753.7563º95.94%2.95%1.11%
8th Mar100.00%
1823
P
1059.31014.75.9075.23%11.642.9211.52.753.7564.5º76.13%3.11%4.67%16.08%29th Sep100.00%
1823
P
1059.31016.65.6471.96%10.332.5711.53464º76.97%3.19%2.79%17.04%13th Dec100.00%
1823
P
1057.91015.85.5772.73%9.522.411.52.754.25
65º80.07%3.88%2.71%13.34%23rd Nov100.00%
1823
P
1057.31016.65.3971.01%10.132.581.52.754.25
64º80.31%3.07%0.77%15.85%6th Jul100.00%
1824
P
1060.11016.35.7972.81%13.173.471.171.53464.5º95.60%3.26%1.14%
7th Jul100.00%
1824
P
1058.21017.25.4270.48%13.213.421.171.53464.5º95.60%3.26%1.14%
7th Sep100.00%
1824
P
1057.91015.85.5772.73%10.472.741.171.53465º95.02%3.83%1.15%
6th Dec100.00%
1824
P
1059.31019.15.3167.76%10.762.911.171.53464.5º98.89%
1.11%
16th Sep100.00%
1824
P
1057.61016.95.3970.67%11.083.031.171.53464º95.02%3.83%1.15%
20th Nov100.00%
1824
P
1057.91016.65.4671.29%10.832.911.171.53464º95.68%3.20%1.12%
1st Jan100.00%
1825
P
1058.41016.15.6172.51%11.843.001.171.53464.5º93.58%4.40%2.03%
2nd May100.00%
1825
P
1059.01016.15.6872.77%12.803.281.171.53464.5º94.01%4.33%1.67%
23rd Apr100.00%
1825
P
1059.01017.25.5370.89%12.863.281.171.53464.5º93.32%3.34%3.34%
8th Oct100.00%
1825
P
1058.71018.85.2867.92%11.673.011.171.53464.5º95.27%3.64%1.09%
9th Dec100.00%
1825
P
1060.91018.85.5769.09%12.183.321.171.53464.5º98.86%
1.14%
17th Apr100.00%
1826
P
1059.01016.95.5771.36%12.953.391.171.53464.5º98.70%
1.30%
28th Sep100.00%
1826
P
1057.91018.85.1767.46%11.773.031.171.53462º98.84%
1.16%
16th Dec100.00%
1826
P
1058.71017.75.4269.81%10.772.831.171.53463º98.84%
1.16%
4th Jun100.00%
1827
P
1059.01018.65.3568.54%11.803.181.171.53463.5º98.84%
1.16%
6th Oct100.00%
1827
P
1056.81017.55.2069.27%10.492.661.171.53464º98.80%
1.20%
22nd Nov100.00%
1827
P
1058.21017.75.3569.52%11.372.891.171.53464º98.75%
1.25%
13th May100.00%
1828
P
1058.71018.85.2867.92%12.943.311.171.53464º98.80%
1.20%
6th Sep100.00%
1828
P
1059.01018.35.3969.01%12.613.311.52.54
63º98.88%
1.12%
13th Apr100.00%
1829
P
1058.71017.75.4269.81%13.303.4111.53464º98.70%
1.30%
13th Oct100.00%
1829
P
1058.71019.45.2066.98%13.103.471.252.54
63º98.57%
1.43%
17th Oct100.00%
1829
P
1059.01018.05.4269.48%13.623.6711.53464.5º98.70%
1.30%
3rd May100.00%
1830
P
1059.81019.15.3968.06%13.413.5011.53465.5º98.35%
1.65%
6th Sep100.00%
1830
P
1058.21019.45.1366.67%13.633.411.252.54
64º98.66%
1.34%
19th Oct100.00%
1830
P
1058.21017.75.3569.52%11.853.0611.53465.5º98.54%
1.46%
Source:100.00%
Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives
Documents:
LMA/4453/D/09/014, LMA/4453/D/09/015, LMA/4453/D/09/016, LMA/4453/D/09/017, LMA/4453/D/09/018, LMA/4453/D/09/019, LMA/4453/D/09/020, LMA/4453/D/09/021, LMA/4453/D/09/022, LMA/4453/D/09/023, LMA/4453/D/09/024
Only another dozen or so posts to come. And that's just about standard Porter. There's also Keeping Porter and loads of Th Stouts.ey should keep us busy most of the year.https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...s.blogspot.com
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