2012 01 20BrewingExtremeBeers
2012 01 20BrewingExtremeBeers
at Stone Brewing Co.
Mitch Steele
Stone Brewing Co.
Outline of discussion
Introduction and definitions
Brewhouse considerations
Fermentation Considerations
Some interesting tidbits
Review of brewing practices 1700‐1900
Some historical extreme styles
Researching historical beers
INTRODUCTION
Approximately 85% of what Stone Brewing Co. brews
is over 16°P OG (1.064)
10% is over 20°P (1.080)
Over the past 6 years:
Our brand mix has changed considerably
Special release volume has grown
We have brought in more yeast strains and more strange
ingredients.
This has resulted in having to change the way we think
about managing our processes!
Brewhouse/Recipe formulation
Sweet and Extreme don’t blend for most beer types
Sugars can mask hop flavors and fermentation esters
Drier beers show the true nature of the ingredients better
Drier beers age better
Over the past 6 years we’ve dropped the terminal gravity on
our Barley Wine and Imperial Stout from 5‐6°P to 3.5‐5°P.
Any booziness goes away after 2‐3 months
The beers then age substantially better‐cleaner flavors, fewer
oxidative notes, better hop flavor retention.
Drier beers less susceptible to unwanted microbial activity.
Brewhouse/Recipe formulation
Crystal malts don’t play well in extreme beers that are
meant for aging
Crystal malts develop into intense dried fruit flavors as
they age. This masks esters and hops
Crystal malts result in a sweeter beer (refer back to item
1)
Realize that alcohol carries a ton of flavor. Do you really
need crystal malts in an extreme beer?
Crystal malts were originally developed as a substitute
for aging‐used in 1800s “running beers” in England. So if
the intent is to age the beer, crystal malts are not
needed!
Brewhouse/Recipe formulation
Hopping‐look critically: FACTORS AFFECTING HOP UTILIZATION IN
KETTLE BOIL
Does mash hopping cones in 12 P wort, 90 minute boil
really do anything? Typical hop utilization,
impact on Bitterness
How about first wort Change
Hop cones, 12 P
Obtained
LONDON IPA DATA
Hop Rate
oz/gallon
Date Brewery Location OG (SG) (lbs/bbl)
1832 Truman London 20°P (1.080) 2.2 (5.1)
Trumans
XXK March
1832 Beer London 22.25°P (1.089) 2.25 (5.1)
Barclay
1834 Perkins London 16°P (1.064) 2.7 (6.1)
1838 Reid London 14.5°P (1.058) 2.6 (5.85)
1864 Whitbread London 17.5°P (1.070) 3.1 (7.0)
1868 Amsinck London 16.25°P (1.065) 3.2 (7.2)
1876 Fremlins Kent 18.75°P (1.065) 2.1 (4.7)
1878 Simonds Reading 18.25°P (1.073) 2.25 (5.1)
Fun Stuff about Extreme Beers
Early 1700's Beer data
Beer type OG FG %ABV %ADF
29.63 °P 13.75°P
Amber Ale (1.1185 SG) (1055 SG) 7.93 53.57
31.9°P 14.5°P
Pale Ale (1.1275 SG) (1058 SG) 8.69 54.51
October 28.5°P
Strong beer (1.1141 SG) 1065 9.5 53.91
Note how sweet these beers are! Taken from Shut Up about
Barclay Perkins blog and London& Country Brewer, 1736, pg 42
Definitions
Keeping Beer= A beer that was stored for several
months or years prior to consuming.
Stock Beer=Keeping Beer, often used for blending with
fresher beers.
Stale= Old and Mature. Used until 1800s. Comes from
the word “Stall” which meant “held”
Mild=beer that was served fresh. Usually lower
hopped, but could also be quite hoppy and strong.
Double, Triple, Extra, Stout= All terms used to
describe stronger versions of beer.
Definitions
Mashing=process of mixing grain and water.
Rest=the conversion step
Double Beer (Doble Doble)=Beer made from sending
the 1st wort back into the mash and mashing again.
Resulted in extraordinarily high gravities.
Gyle=The wort produced from a mash
Parti‐Gyle‐Separating the worts from a sparged mash,
and blending in the fermenting vessels to produce
different beers. Still practiced by Fullers.
Entire=Blending all the gyles to make 1 beer.
Definitions
“K” = keeping Ale
“AK” =Single Beer. KK, KKK = increasing strength.
“X” = fresh, or mild ale
Brewing procedures, prior to mid
1800s
3‐4 mashes made from same batch of malt.
Doble or Strong Ale‐50% of available extract. 1.100+ SG
Stock, March or October Beer/Ale‐1.080 SG
Table Beer‐ 1.050 SG
Small Beer‐ 1.030 SG
Entire Beer=blend all worts together
After hopping became common practice:
1st 2 mashes = ale, rest are beers
Brewing procedures
Sparging:
Invented by Scottish brewers
First noted in literature in 1747
Not widely used by other brewers until the mid‐late
1800s.
Brewing procedures
Malt:
Until 1700’s, malt was kilned over wood or other fuel.
Temperature control difficult, resulting color Amber or Brown
Occasional smokey flavors (though not desired)
Coke fuel resulted in ability to make Pale Malt
Resulted in development of:
Many new beer styles
Reformulating traditional styles
Other starch sources:
Sugars, beans, oats, and wheat
Hops
Use not widespread in England until 1600’s, 1700’s.
Could be recycled in the brewing process
Michael Combrune in the 1760's ( a brewer) wrote that
hops should be used at 1 lb per quarter for every month
beer was to keep. If the beer was kept for 18 months, it
would be 6 lbs per barrel
Dry‐hopping standard practice for barrels or casks.
Hops often boiled 1st.
Some Historical Extreme Styles
Baltic 13th Century
Mum
Stock ale
October/March ale
Burton ale
Scotch Ale
Majority Ale
Imperial Russian Stout/ Barley Wine
Mild Ale
Allsopp’s Arctic ale
East India Porter
Unhopped ales
Other styles
Baltic 13th Century Ale
Wind blown malt = very first pale malt
Highly hopped
High alcohol
Mum (Mumm, Mumme)
Originated in Germany.
Popular in London in the 1600’s
Strong Ale brewed with wheat, not barley
Could also be brewed with some oats and beans
No hops. Spiced with a variety of herbs including fir
and birch, marjoram, thyme, cardamom, elderberry
flowers during fermentation.
Casked with 10 uncracked eggs.
Aged for 1‐2 years, or on a ship voyage (thought to
improve flavor)
Stock Ale
1.070‐1.080
Popular in the USA also‐average 1.065‐1.075 SG, 5.5‐
6.5% abv
Similar to today’s Old Ales
Often used for blending with fresh beer, at the pub or
tavern.
Fuller’s still blends some of their special releases.
Green King’s Strong Suffolk, Thomas Hardy’s
October and March Ales
1.100‐1.140 plus gravities
Brewed with one malt and one hop
22 bushels malt for 2 hogsheads and 6.5 pounds hops per 8 bushels = OG 1.120‐1.20 (28‐
30°P), about 5.5‐6 lbs hops per barrel
October Ale kept better than March Ale (because of winter?) kept for a year before
drinking, and used for family celebrations. Some kept 10 years or longer. During aging,
new hops would be added to the hogshead. After racking to a cask, it would sit until
spring, the bung removed as temp warmed up, and ferment would start again.
1st wort recycled through the mash to increase strength
March Ale OG slight higher but lower hopping? Or higher? Contradictory citings.
Aged 2 years. One year in barrels, then another in bottles.
Secondary fermentation.
J.W. Lees Harvest Ale is today’s best example:
100% low color Maris Otter Malt and EKG hops
3.5 hr boil
28 °P (1.120 SG), 11.5% abv
Burton Ale
Burton’s beer, 1740’s until 1820’s
Shipped to Russia and the Baltics.
Political situations, taxes resulted in demise
Strong and Sweet, amber to brown
6‐8 lbs hops/quarter malt
Sugars, honey, dark malts used added?
Strength: 30‐40 lbs/bbl = SG 1.083‐1.111
Ballantine Burton Ale‐per M.J. “a very hoppy barley wine”.
10‐11% abv.
Theakstons Old Peculiar, Young’s Winter Warmer, Fuller’s
1845
Scotch Ale
“Edinburgh Ale”, Scotch Burgundy
1.100(25 °P).
Most shipped to France, the Baltics, or the USA
Strong, sweet and dark.
Similar to Burton Ale
Majority Ale
Scottish Beer‐ Youngers
Brewed extra strong upon birth of a noble heir and
kept in a barrel for 21 years, opened on the birthday.
Starting gravity=1.140
Final gravity= 1.040
A Supreme Barley Wine
Most likely double brewed, or extra long boil
Imperial Stout and Barley Wine
Imperial Stout:
Courage Imperial Stout‐the original. Discontinued in
1993.
Additions of herbs and other flavors?
Barley Wine
Bass No. 1
Mild
As high as 1.100 OG, and highly hopped at several
pounds per barrel
FRESH!
Allsopp’s Arctic Ale
“Life Sustaining Ale” originally commissioned by Queen Victoria
for Sir Edward Belcher’s trip in 1852 to the Arctic to search for
lost expedition led by John Franklin in 1845.
Brewed to high abv (>11%) and sugar content (final gravity
1.040+) to prevent freezing and provide nourishment.
Wort was so thick it could not be lautered.
Described as “still, similar to a port or Madeira, as mellow as an
old burgundy and as hearty as a beefsteak”.
1852 Sir Edward Belcher
1857 Sir Francis Leopold McClintock
1875 Sir George Strong Nares
Ind Coope merger in 1934: AAA Barley Wine
Christopher Bowen: Arctic Alchemy
East India Porter
Aka “Government Porter”
Heavily hopped Porter
Hopped at 4‐6 lbs/bbl (2.5‐3 oz per gallon)
1.050‐1.060 OG (same as domestic version)
4‐6% abv
American Stock Ale/Imperial Pale
Ale
19°P, 1.076 SG
Hopped 2‐3 lbs/bbl
Sugars often used to increase gravity
Aged for several months
Other big ales
Huff Cap
High alcohol ale from the 1500’s
Also called mad‐dog, dragon’s milk and angels’ food
Inducing people to set their caps in bold or huffing style
Groaning Ale
High gravity ale made for expectant mothers to consume during
childbirth
Hock
Hock = harvest. Strong ale made from fresh ingredients and aged in
the “Hock Cellar”.
Hogen Mogen
Strong spiced ale from the 1600’s
Windsor Ale, Welsh Ale:
Strong (7‐8% abv) hopped and spiced ales from late 1700’s.
Researching Historical Beers
Internet:
Shut Up About Barclay Perkins by Ron Pattinson
Zythophile by Martyn Cornell
All sorts of beer blogs and homebrewing websites.
Google Books‐lots of historical beer books.
“Google Search” is your friend!
Some of the best books
Historical
The Town and Country Brewery Book, Every Man His Own
Brewer, by W. Brande
The Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland, by Alfred
Barnard 1889
The Theory and Practice of Brewing by W.L. Tizard 1846
The Scottish Ale Brewer and Practical Maltster by W.H.
Roberts 1837‐1846
The Complete Practical Brewer –or‐ Plain, Accurate and
Thorough Instructions in the Art of Brewing Ale, Beer and
Porter, ML Byrn, M.D. 1852
Practical Brewings by George Amsinck 1868
Some of the best books
Recent Books and publications:
Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher
The Story of the Pint, and Amber, Gold and Black by Martyn
Cornell
Old British Beers and How To Make Them, by Dr. John Harrison
and The Durden Park Beer Circle
The Brewing Industry in England 1700‐1830 by Peter Mathias 1959
The British Brewing Industry 1830‐1980 by T.R. Gourvish and R.G.
Wilson 1994
The Journal of The Brewery History Society
The Brewing Industry: A Guide to Historical Records, by Lesley
Richmond and Alison Turton 1990
Ron Pattinson’s books
Country House Brewing by Pamela Sanbrook 1996
Archives
National BreweryCentre/Bass Archives‐ Burton‐On‐
Trent
Scottish Brewing Archive‐Glasgow
National Brewing Library‐Oxford Brookes University,
Oxford.
Brewing History Society Archive‐Birmingham
London Metropolitan Archives
The British National Archives‐website
The British Library‐newspapers from 1800 on…
Museums
Challenges to research
Archives destroyed or lost
Language barriers
Terminology barriers
Handwriting barriers
Differences in knowledge levels
Understanding the process
Brewers’ Codes
Translating Old Recipes
Malt amounts often listed in Quarters or Bushels
1 quarter of malt = 336 pounds
1 quarter of malt = 8 bushels
1 bushel = ~42 pounds malt
1 barrel water = 36 gallons (UK barrel)= 360 pounds
2 bushels malt yield 1 bbl beer at 1.056 gravity
Hops often added on a “per quarter malt” basis
Wort gravity listed as
Brewers Pounds=weight of 1 bbl wort vs. one bbl water
Specific gravity =last 2 digits of convention SG
1.060 SG would be referred to as “60”
Translating Old Recipes
Constants:
85 Brewers Pounds from each quarter of malt
3‐4 bbls beer/qtr malt
~4 bbls at std og of 1.056
Or….2 bushels malt = 1 bbl beer
Conversions:
SG = BP/0.36
Ex: 85/0.36 = 236/4= 59, ‐or‐ 1.059
Examples:
1: Brew is made with 55 quarters of malt and the OG is
1.065. How many bbls of wort were produced?
1.065 OG: 65 x0.36 brewers pounds/SG= 23.4 brewers
pounds
85 bp/qtr x 55 qtr x 1 bbl/23.4 bp = 200 bbls.
2: A brew is made with 30 qtrs of malt and the brew
length is 70 bbls. What is the theoretical OG of this
brew?
30 qtrs x 85 bp/qtr / 70 bbls = 36.4 bp/bbl
36.4 brewers pounds / .36 = 101, or SG 1.101
QUESTIONS????