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You know what's been missing here recently? Ridiculous levels of ridiculously specific details. Time to put that right. If I'm not careful, I might get some new readers.

The Thomas Usher Gravity Book. You know those books for keeping kids quiet on their holidays? The Bumper Book of Fun or some such. That's what the Usher Gravity Book is for me. Something to slip into my hands on a rainy Mablethorpe Tuesday. Assuming the Mermaid isn't open yet. The beautiful weather this summer has provided plenty of opportunities to immerse myself in its funerificness.

I'm mostly there for the beer details, natch. But I can't help myself being drawn by the hypnotic gaze of other numbers. I'm such a tart. I like these ones so much, I've put them into a table. This table:


Analysis of malts from Hugh Baird, 8th March 1938
Name of malt extract per 336 lbs (lbs) moisture C.W.E. D.P. colour
Own Scotch 99.8 1.5% 18.6% 35º 5º L
??'s Scotch 98.2 1.7% 19.0% 36º 6.5º L
Gaza 83.6 1.4% 14.7% 27º 4º L
Chilean 91 1.8% 17.0% 34º 6º L
Aust. Corfu 86.4 1.4% 15.5% 28º 4º L
Calif 88.1 2.4% 15.6% 29º 4.5º L
???? 92.3 1.2% 17.0% 34º 6º L
Egyptian 83.9 1.0% 16.5% 31º 5º L
Source:
Document TU/6/11 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.

I was surprised to see that the Scotch malt gave the best extract. And had the greatest diastatic power.

I'd wondered what C.W.E. stood for. Then an idea , rather like a carelessly thrown mackerel, struck me. Why not look at the malt analyses in Lloyd Hind. They might include a similar column. And it's a good excuse to include a second table. This one:

2 row Malts in the 1930's
Pale Ale malts Mild Ale malts malt from foreign 2-row barley
Spratt-Archer Plumage-Archer Plumage-Archer Spratt-Archer Yorkshire plumage Moravian Chilean Chevalier Bohemian Hanna
moisture % 1.5 1.8 1.7 2.1 2 1.8 1.6 2.5
Extract, lb. 336 lb 100.5 100.6 100.6 99 99.4 98.9 99.9 99.8
colour, 1 inch cell 4.5 4 6.5 6 7 6.5 6.5 4
cold water extract % 18 18.7 19.1 18.7 17.7 17.1 18.7 20.2
diastatic activity Lº 36 37 32 35 32 37 38 35
extract on dry malt 102 102.4 102.3 101.1 101.4 100.7 101.5 102.3
total nitrogen % on dry malt 1.342 1.314 1.322 1.4 1.469 1.518 1.48 1.52
PSN % 0.51 0.509 0.488 0.541 0.469 0.562 0.618 0.6
PSN % on total nitrogen 38 38.7 36.9 38.6 33.3 36.9 41.8 39.5
PSN % on total wort solids 0.67 0.67 0.64 0.72 0.65 0.75 0.82 0.79
Source:
"Brewing Science & Practice" H. Lloyd Hind, 1943, p. 254, 256 & 258
Notes:
PSN = permanently Soluble Nitrogen

Cold Water Extract. That's what C.W.E. stands for. Doesn't make me much the wiser.

I was going to do the old compare and contrast bit. But there's precious little contrast. The two sets of numbers are pretty damn similar. Only the extract seems a bit low in the case of some of Usher's samples. Bit disappointing that. leaves me a bit . . . . er . . . . . speechless.


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