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Another set of records which I haven't exploited much are those from Truman's brewery in Burton.

There are a couple of random brewing books from the 19th century in the London Metropolitan Archives. And I think I might know why I've not done much with: I found them confusing when I first looked at them. And the fact that there are so many different beers.

The table below has fourteen different beers. But I know it isn't the full set, because 1, 2 and 3 are missing. It's annoying I missed No. 1 in particular. That's an early Barley Wine. Trying to pick a style for the numbered Ales had me a bit stumped, too. Nos. 6 to 9 are a doddle. I know those were all Mild Ales. But what about Nos. 4 and 5?

They're Ales, I know that. But what type of Ales? K4 is a Stock Ale. But what about straight No. 4? I guess I could just call it a Strong Ale. Yes, I suppose that will do.

The Pale Ales you could also call IPA, especially as they were brewed in Burton. P1 B (the B standing for bottling) has two claims to fame. In the 1950's it was marketed as a posh bottled beer called Ben Truman, which later also became a keg product. And this 1877 recipe was the base for Goose Island Brewery Yard.

K = Keeper, R = Runner. Though strangely the keeping and running versions of P1 and P2 seem to have the same hopping rate. Which isn't what you'd expect.

One thing all the beers have in common is very heavy hopping. Even the weaker Milds have well over 1 lb per barrel. And those Pale Ales are hopped heavily enough to put the IBUs well over 100.

The boil times are very long. Three hours for the first wort is very unusual. Not so odd in a third wort, but definitely not usual for the first.

Truman (Burton) beers in 1877
Beer Style OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation lbs hops/ qtr hops lb/brl boil time (hours) boil time (hours) boil time (hours) Pitch temp
4 Ale 1081.2 1028.5 6.96 64.85% 12.00 4.92 3 54º
K4 Ale 1083.4 1027.7 7.37 66.78% 12.00 4.16 3 3 3 54º
5 Ale 1076.7 1024.9 6.85 67.51% 12.00 4.17 3 3 3.5 55º
6 Mild 1068.1 1020.5 6.30 69.92% 9.00 2.65 3 2.5 58º
7 Mild 1060.9 1018.0 5.68 70.45% 8.00 2.12 3 3.5 3.5 60º
8 Mild 1055.1 1015.8 5.20 71.36% 8.00 1.67 3 2.5 59º
9 Mild 1050.1 9.14 1.95 2.5 2.5 62º
P1 Pale Ale 1066.5 1016.6 6.60 75.00% 19.00 5.39 3 3.25 3 57º
P1 B Pale Ale 1069.5 1024.9 5.90 64.14% 20.00 5.86 3.75 3.75 3.75 57º
P1 K Pale Ale 1068.7 1022.2 6.16 67.74% 19.00 5.37 3 3.5 3.5 57º
P1 R Pale Ale 1066.5 1019.4 6.23 70.83% 19.00 5.21 3.25 3.25 3.25 58º
P2 Pale Ale 1063.7 1018.6 5.97 70.87% 19.00 5.01 3.5 3.25 58º
P2 K Pale Ale 1063.2 1020.5 5.64 67.54% 19.00 4.79 3 3 3 58º
Pale Ale Pale Ale 1055.7 1016.6 5.17 70.15% 17.00 3.85 3 3 62º
Source:
Truman brewing log held at the London Metroploitan Archives, document number B/THB/BUR/35.



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