"REPORT ON THE MALT LIQUORS SOLD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:
WITH ANALYSES AND COMMENTS.
V.—Porter And Stout.
The kinds of malt liquor represented by the following analyses have hitherto been the chief beverage of the working class in London, but they are now being in great measure superseded by ale. Both in porter and stout, the deep brown colour is due to the use of a certain proportion of roasted malt in the brewing; but in other respects there is no special difference between them and other kinds of malt liquor.
The amount of alcohol in these examples of porter varies from 3.22 to 5 per cent, by weight, or from .82 to 1.27 fluid-ounces per pint; and the amount of extract, from 3.92 to 6.91 per cent, by weight, corresponding to .79 and 1.20 ounces per pint.
In the stout, the amount of alcohol varies from 5.09 to 6.81 per cent. by weight, or 1.30 to 1.74 fluid-ounces per pint; and the amount of extract is from 6.17 to 11.37 per cent., corresponding to 1.25 and 2.35 ounces per pint.
The quantity of malt used in brewing porter and stout, as indicated by the computed original gravities of these samples, varies from 1.68 to 2.22 bushels per barrel in the case of porter, while in stout it varies from 2.38 to 3.40 bushels per barrel.
Perhaps the most striking feature of these results is that brought out by comparing them with the price at which the beer is sold in particular instances. Thus, in the case of porter, several of the samples sold at 2d. per pint appear to be decidedly inferior to some of those sold at 1.5d. per pint.
Again, the stout Nos. 22 and 27, though sold at 4d. per pint in both instances, is far from being equal to the samples Nos. 21 and 28, which were sold at 3.5d. and 3d. per pint respectively.
If, in addition to such a disproportion between the quality of beer and the price charged for it by retailers, it be further taken into account that, in the sale of beer by the glass, there is a further large addition to the price per pint, in consequence of the glasses being frequently very much smaller than they should be, it will be evident that the public suffer considerably from the absence of a due relation between the value of beer and the price paid for it. Probably this is of more importance than any actual adulteration of malt liquor; and it is certain that in many cases the price charged for beer at places of public resort is such as to be almost prohibitory of its consumption. For example, Allsopp's best pale ale costs less than 3d. per pint when purchased by the barrel, while the price charged for it at the Crystal Palace and several other places of the kind is actually 6d. per pint."
contents per pint Kind of Ale Obtained from price per imperial pint Specific gravity % of alcohol % of extract acetic acid original gravity of wort malt per barrel alcohol fl. ozs extract ozs. acid grs. PORTER 1. Reid's Taphouse, Liquorpond Street 2d 1014.08 3.69 5.13 0.2 1048.76 1.8 0.94 1.04 17.74 2. Ditto 20 Orange Street 2d 1014.44 3.59 5.2 0.2 1048.22 1.78 0.91 1.05 17.75 3. Ditto The Redan, 34 Farringdon Street 2d 1018.01 3.22 5.93 0.21 1048.3 1.78 0.82 1.2 18.7 4. Combe, Delafield and Co. Yorkshire Tavern, 29 Gray's Inn Road 2d 1014.63 4.2 5.31 0.16 1053.51 1.98 1.7 1.07 14.2 5. Ditto The Old Bell, New Tothill Street, Westminster 1.5d 1020.25 3.82 6.91 0.2 1057.16 2.11 0.99 1.41 17.85 6. Field and Co. The Ship Tavern, Gray's Inn Road 2d 1010.27 3.93 4.04 0.16 1045.46 1.68 0.98 0.82 14.14 7. Elliott, Watney and Co. Bricklayers' Arms, Eagle Street 1.5d 1015.91 4.73 5.75 0.2 1054.09 2 1.18 1.17 17.78 8. Ditto Monster, Pimlico 1.5d 1010.08 4.16 3.92 0.21 1048.02 1.77 1.06 0.79 18.55 9. Truman, Hanbury and Co. The Peacock, Gray's Inn Road 1.5d 1013.16 4.02 5.12 0.24 1051.53 1.9 1.03 1.01 21.27 10. Ditto Sugar Loaf, Fetter Lane 2d 1013.56 3.95 4.68 0.18 1049.33 1.82 1.04 0.94 15.96 11 Meux and Co. The Horse Shoe, Tottenham Court Road 2d 1011.4 5 4.63 0.19 1057.96 2.14 1.27 0.93 16.81 12. Courage and Co. White Horse, Fetter Lane 2d 1011.82 4.57 4.96 0.21 1055.16 2.04 1.19 1 18.59 13. Whitbread's Dicussion Hall, Shoe Lane 1.5d 1014.04 4.28 5.15 0.18 1054.11 2 1.09 1.03 15.97 14. Ditto Blackwall Railway Tavern, Fenchurch Street 2d 1016.21 3.61 5.85 0.24 1051.31 1.9 0.92 1.19 21.34 15. Barclay's Red Hart, Fetter Lane 2d 1017.08 4.49 5.84 0.19 1058.5 2.16 1.15 1.18 16.89 16. Lightfoot's Gentrleman and Porter, New St. 2d 1015.15 4.72 5.78 0.19 1060.12 2.22 1.2 1.17 16.88 17. Hoare's Red Lion Tavern, Fenchurch Street 1.5d 1012.99 4.18 5.04 0.18 1052.42 1.94 1.06 1.03 15.95 18. The Lion Brewery's The Hatchet. Little Trinity Lane 2d 1016.3 3.75 5.87 0.18 1052.26 1.93 0.96 1.19 16 STOUT 19. Hoare's Red Lion Brewery, East Smithfield 1025.94 6.63 10.31 0.23 1090.85 3.36 1.64 2.12 20.54 20. Ditto Ditto 1014 5.57 6 0.2 1068.04 2.52 1.46 1.2 17.95 21. Ditto Red Lion Tavern, Fenchurch Street 3.5d 1014.5 6.25 7.21 0.22 1078.37 2.9 1.6 1.46 19.53 22. City of London Brewery The King's Head, Stew Lane 4d 1015.43 5.68 6.43 0.26 1071.12 2.63 1.45 1.3 23.1 23. Whitbread's Chiswell Street Brewery 1030 6.05 10.34 0.3 1089.7 3.32 1.57 2.13 27.04 24. Thorne's Nine Elms Brewery 1027.15 5.38 9.17 0.28 1080.15 2.97 1.39 1.9 25.17 25. Meux's Horseshoe Brewery 1035.6 5.09 11.37 0.24 1086.76 3.21 1.32 2.35 21.75 26. Barclay and Perkins Railway Store, Fenchurch Street 4d 1029.31 5.24 9.66 0.28 1081.21 3 1.36 1.99 25.22 27. Lightfoot's Red Lion, Princes Street, Westminster 4d 1025.87 4.84 8.88 0.2 1074.03 2.74 1.25 1.82 17.95 28. Truman's Porkman Tavern, Fish Street Hill 3d 1020.14 5.78 7.63 0.21 1076.57 2.83 1.43 1.55 18.74 29 Guinness's No.1 Guinness and Co.
1015.51 6.81 6.17 0.24 1078.06 2.88 1.74 1.25 21.32 30. Ditto No. 2 Ditto 1019.56 6.2 7.11 0.2 1078.01 2.88 1.59 1.45 17.84 31. Ditto No. 3 Ditto 1015.97 5.09 5.89 0.26 1064.49 2.38 1.3 1.19 23.11 "British Medical Journal 1879, vol. 1" June 25th 1870, page 658.
This is an intriguing statement about Porter and Stout: " there is no special difference between them and other kinds of malt liquor". So other than the colour from a bit of roasted malt, they were basically the same as Pale Ale, Mild or Old."Whence can this difference between the beer furnished by the brewer, and that retailed by the publican, arise? We shall not be at a loss to answer this question, when we find that so many retailers of porter have been prosecuted and convicted for mixing table beer with their strong beer;"
By 1870 Table Beer, and the tax system that supported its misuse, had disappeared. It seems the method of cheating the public had changed. Rather than tinkering with the beer itself, pubs just served short measures. Annoying, true, but far preferable to having god knows what mixed in with your beer.