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Shut up about Barclay Perkins - London vs provincial beer in the 1930's: Bitter
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In the second part of this series we'll be taking a look at Bitter brewed inside and outside London.
Despite several London brewers (Truman and Mann, among other) owning breweries in Burton, there was a considerable amount of Pale Ale brewed in London. It made up a big chunk of the beer brewed at Whitbread's Chiswell Street brewery. While Courage brewed none in London, bringing it in from a plant they owned in Alton, Hampshire.
First it's the turn of London Bitters. I'd say that there were two types 8d and 7d Pale Ales. Nos. 12 and 14 are the former, the others the latter. Which leaves a rather muddied picture, especially as the number of samples is small.
Composition of London Beers |
|
|
|
|
|
Calories per pint. |
|
Total Solids per cent. |
Absolute Alcohol (by weight) per cent. |
Ratio of Total Solids to Alcohol (T.S.=1). |
ABV |
Solid Matter. |
Alcohol. |
Total. |
Bitters and Pale Ales. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No. 10 |
4.37 |
3.88 |
1:0.88 |
4.93 |
102 |
154 |
250 |
No. 11 |
3.44 |
3.79 |
1:1.10 |
4.81 |
80 |
151 |
231 |
No. 12 |
4.64 |
4.36 |
1:0.93 |
5.54 |
108 |
173 |
281 |
No. 13 |
2.81 |
3.38 |
1:1.20 |
4.29 |
65 |
134 |
199 |
No. 14 |
3.63 |
4.21 |
1:1.15 |
5.35 |
85 |
167 |
252 |
Average |
3.78 |
3.92 |
1:1.03 |
4.98 |
88 |
156 |
245 |
Source: |
Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 38, Issue 1, January-February 1932, pages 84 - 88. |
Note the very low figure for residual solids. These beers are all pretty well attenuated.
Now for country Bitters, which are even more diverse:
Composition of Country Beers |
|
|
|
|
|
Calories per pint. |
|
Total Solids per cent. |
Absolute Alcohol (by weight) per cent. |
Ratio of Total Solids to Alcohol (T.S.=1). |
ABV |
Solid Matter. |
Alcohol. |
Total. |
Bitters and Pale Ales. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No. 50 |
5.23 |
4.54 |
1:0.86 |
5.77 |
122 |
180 |
302 |
No. 51 |
4.63 |
4.66 |
1:1.00 |
5.92 |
108 |
185 |
293 |
No. 52 |
2.45 |
2.97 |
1:1.21 |
3.77 |
57 |
118 |
175 |
No. 53 |
3.98 |
3.76 |
1:0.94 |
4.78 |
93 |
149 |
242 |
No. 54 |
4.02 |
4.40 |
1:1.09 |
5.59 |
94 |
175 |
269 |
No. 55 |
4.45 |
4.08 |
1:0.91 |
5.18 |
104 |
162 |
266 |
No. 50 |
3.04 |
4.05 |
1:1.33 |
5.14 |
71 |
121 |
192 |
No. 57 |
5.63 |
3.16 |
1:0.58 |
4.01 |
131 |
125 |
256 |
No. 58 |
0.87 |
3.27 |
1:0.47 |
4.15 |
160 |
130 |
290 |
No. 59 |
4.37 |
3.13 |
1:0.71 |
3.98 |
102 |
124 |
226 |
No. 60 |
4.15 |
3.56 |
1:0.85 |
4.52 |
97 |
141 |
238 |
No. 61 |
6.19 |
3.70 |
1:0.59 |
4.70 |
144 |
147 |
291 |
No. 62 |
4.34 |
3.08 |
1:0.70 |
3.91 |
101 |
122 |
223 |
No. 63 |
4.88 |
3.46 |
1:0.70 |
4.39 |
114 |
137 |
251 |
No. 64 |
5.23 |
4.24 |
1:0.81 |
5.38 |
122 |
168 |
290 |
No. 65 |
4.05 |
3.83 |
1:0.94 |
4.86 |
94 |
152 |
246 |
No. 66 |
2.23 |
2.40 |
1:1.07 |
3.05 |
52 |
95 |
147 |
No. 67 |
2.58 |
2.78 |
1:1.07 |
3.53 |
60 |
110 |
170 |
No. 68 |
3.11 |
3.18 |
1:1.00 |
4.04 |
72 |
120 |
198 |
No. 69 |
4.00 |
3.65 |
1:0.91 |
4.64 |
93 |
145 |
238 |
No. 70 |
4.69 |
4.23 |
1:0.90 |
5.37 |
109 |
168 |
277 |
Average |
4.29 |
3.62 |
1:0.84 |
4.60 |
100 |
142 |
242 |
Source: |
Journal of the Institute of Brewing, Volume 38, Issue 1, January-February 1932, pages 84 - 88. |
That's quite a spread of ABV's, from 3.05% to 5.92%. Anything under 4% ABV was pretty weak for a Bitter in the early 1930's.
Once again, the London beers are stronger, but in this case it's the country beers which have more residual sugars. The two balance out, leaving the calorific value of London and Country Pale Ales nearly identical.
Now a direct comparison of the averages:
|
|
|
|
|
Calories per pint. |
|
Total Solids per cent. |
Absolute Alcohol (by weight) per cent. |
Ratio of Total Solids to Alcohol (T.S.=1). |
ABV |
Solid Matter. |
Alcohol. |
Total. |
London |
3.78 |
3.92 |
1:1.03 |
4.98 |
88 |
156 |
245 |
Country |
4.29 |
3.62 |
1:0.84 |
4.60 |
100 |
142 |
242 |
% difference |
11.89% |
-8.29% |
-0.31% |
-8.29% |
12.00% |
-9.86% |
-1.24% |
I'm not really seeing a pattern yet. Other than London beers containing more alcohol.
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