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Our short e-book about the rise of lager beer in Victorian and Edwardian London, Gambrinus Waltz, has been reviewed in the latest edition of the journal of the Brewery History Society.

The editor, Tim Holt, very kindly describes it as ‘well written and superbly researched’ and suggests that we ought to continue the story at book-length. Perhaps it’s time to dust off that draft proposal for a history of lager in Britain and have another go at touting it round?
In the same issue (Winter 2014, No. 160) there is a complementary article about the lager brewery in Tottenham, North London, in which Mr Holt has compiled various pieces from 1880s editions of the*Brewers’ Guardian. They confirm what we found to be suggested in census records — that the entire staff of the brewery was of German origin — and add much more detail besides, such as the fact that the brewery was kitted out by Noback Bros. & Fritze of Prague.
And here’s a comment on the beer from 1882 which goes some way to explaining the appeal of lager in Britain:
A bottle of lager beer has been confidentially shown to us, and we must admit that its brightness and clearness really surpasses everything we have hitherto seen about beers.
Any brewers wanting to produce an authentic historic 19th century London lager could do worse than start by mining these pieces*for details of, e.g., mashing procedures.
You can get Gambrinus Waltz from the Amazon Kindle store.
Gambrinus Waltz: First Review from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Over-thinking beer, pubs and the meaning of craft since 2007


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