Sunday 12 July 2015

Dry Irish Stout

I stumbled across a recent article in All About beer called "The Evolution of Dry Stout" by K. Florian Klemp.

I've seen worse articles on the history of Stout. But it pepetuates a particularly annoying myth. That at the start of the 20th century English Stout all went sweet. Sorry, two annoying myths. Also that Guinness has been highly attenuated and dry since the 1800's.

Here's what the article says:

"This is where the Dublin and London stouts diverged over the next few decades, according to some observers. Dublin stout, using the Guinness template, came to mean a marginally drier version, made only with pale and patent malt. The attenuation was largely due to the exclusion of less fermentable amber and brown malts. London stout, truer to precursors, used pale and brown malts, but often a bit of the newly minted patent malt and perhaps amber and crystal malt. Some brewers eschewed the patent malt altogether, relying on the traditional brown malt. Irish brewers often “gyled” theirs with a dose of lively, fermenting beer for conditioning. These ubiquitous, high-quality Irish and English porters and stouts became dominant beers of the 19th century."
http://allaboutbeer.com/article/evolution-dry-stout/

And this:

"By the early 20th century, porter had essentially run its course in England and was replaced by stout as the dark beer of choice. Along the way, stout had also lost its meaning as a strong beer, but simply a black beer chiefly brewed in England and Ireland. The dry stouts contrasted greatly with sweet milk stouts favored at the turn of century. Sweet stouts became England’s preferred roasty beer, leaving Ireland chief domain of the dry version."
http://allaboutbeer.com/article/evolution-dry-stout/

Pretty clear restating of those myths.

I was going to write a complicated article, comparing Guinness of various periods with English Stouts. Then I thought "bugger that". I'll just let the numbers speak for themselves. Here they are:

Stout in 1921
Brewer Beer Price size package OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation
Barclay Perkins Stout pint bottled 1061 1016.8 5.74 72.46%
Bass Export Stout (purchased in France) pint bottled 1079.5 1025.2 7.06 68.30%
Bass Export Stout (purchased in Brussels) pint bottled 1093.5 1036 7.45 61.50%
Brown (Coldstream Brewery) Stout pint bottled 1050.8 1016 4.51 68.50%
Cannon Brewery Stout 8d pint draught 1047.7 1014.7 4.27 69.18%
Cannon Brewery Stout 8d pint draught 1048 1014 4.41 70.83%
Cannon Brewery Stout 12d pint draught 1066 1024 5.43 63.64%
Cannon Brewery Stout 8d pint draught 1035.5 1009.7 3.34 72.68%
Cannon Brewery Stout 12d pint draught 1066.8 1026.7 5.18 60.03%
Charrington Anchor Stout 15d quart bottled 1039.4 1011.6 3.60 70.56%
Charrington Anchor Stout 15d pint bottled 1039.3 1011 3.67 72.01%
Charrington Stout 9d pint draught 1052.2 1017.3 4.52 66.86%
City of London Stout 8d pint draught 1046.5 1017 3.81 63.44%
City of London Stout 8d pint draught 1045.1 1013.7 4.07 69.62%
Courage Stout 8d pint draught 1047.7 1013.8 4.40 71.07%
Courage Stout 1043.8 1009.97 4.47 77.22%
Fremlin Oatmeal Stout 8.5d pint bottled 1044 1005.8 4.99 86.82%
Fremlin Light Dinner Stout 7d pint bottled 1031 1004.5 3.45 85.48%
Fremlin Light Dinner Stout 13d quart bottled 1030.3 1005.2 3.26 82.84%
Fremlin Light Oatmeal Stout 15d quart bottled 1035.7 1005.4 3.94 84.87%
Guinness Extra Stout 9d pint draught 1054.8 1015.8 5.06 71.17%
Guinness Extra Stout pint bottled 1059 1020 5.05 66.10%
Hammerton Oatmeal Stout 17d quart bottled 1046.5 1014.1 4.20 69.68%
Hammerton V.C.Stout 13d quart bottled 1034.1 1003.3 4.02 90.32%
Hammerton Oatmeal Stout 9d pint bottled 1046.8 1011.5 4.59 75.43%
Hammerton Stout 8d pint draught 1045.3 1013.8 4.08 69.54%
Hoare Stout 9d pint draught 1054 1023.2 3.97 57.04%
Huggins Stout 9d pint draught 1056.5 1017.3 5.08 69.38%
Ind Coope Nourishing Stout 11d pint bottled 1048.6 1009.1 5.15 81.28%
Isleworth Stout 15d quart bottled 1039.9 1012.8 3.51 67.92%
Isleworth Stout 8d pint bottled 1039.9 1003.5 4.75 91.23%
Lion Brewery Stout 8d pint draught 1047.2 1013 4.44 72.46%
Mann Crossman London Stout 17d quart bottled 1040.4 1009.8 3.97 75.74%
Mann Crossman Oatmeal Stout 11d pint bottled 1053.8 1009.5 5.78 82.34%
Mann Crossman London Stout 9d pint bottled 1041 1009 4.16 78.05%
Mann Crossman Oatmeal Stout bottled 1053.6 1008.7 5.86 83.77%
Mann Crossman Stout 9d pint draught 1053.8 1009.6 5.77 82.16%
Mann Crossman Stout 9d pint draught 1055.7 1015.2 5.26 72.71%
Meux Original London Stout 8.5d half pint bottled 1066.1 1014.3 6.76 78.37%
Meux Brown London Stout 17d quart bottled 1042.5 1010.3 4.18 75.76%
Noakes Stout 7d pint draught 1039.4 1018.1 2.74 54.06%
Peter Walker Double Stout 13d pint bottled 1047.1 1008.9 4.98 81.10%
Raggett Nourishing Stout 13d pint bottled 1055.1 1016.5 5.01 70.05%
Simonds Milk Stout 13d pint bottled 1064.8 1019.3 5.91 70.22%
Smith Garrett Oatmeal Stout 13d quart bottled 1038.5 1010.4 3.64 72.99%
Smith Garrett Brown Stout 13d quart bottled 1038.4 1008.8 3.84 77.08%
Smith Garrett Oatmeal Stout 7.5d pint bottled 1038.3 1009 3.80 76.50%
Smith Garrett Brown Stout 13d quart bottled 1038.4 1009.2 3.79 76.04%
Style & Winch Oatmeal Stout 13d quart bottled 1032.9 1009.3 3.06 71.73%
Taylor Walker Nourishing Stout 15d quart bottled 1038.8 1010.8 3.63 72.16%
Taylor Walker Nourishing Stout 8d pint bottled 1039.9 1013.8 3.37 65.41%
Taylor Walker Stout 9d pint draught 1059.3 1021.8 4.85 63.24%
Taylor Walker Stout 9d pint draught 1059 1023.2 4.62 60.68%
Tollemache Tolly Stout 11d pint bottled 1061.1 1011.8 6.44 80.69%
Tollemache Double Stout 8d pint bottled 1039.6 1009 3.97 77.27%
Truman Family Stout 19d pint bottled 1048.4 1014.2 4.43 70.66%
Truman Stout 8d pint draught 1046.5 1013.1 4.33 71.83%
Truman Stout 8d pint draught 1045.8 1016.6 3.77 63.76%
Watney Reids Family Stout 9d pint bottled 1045 1010.7 4.46 76.22%
Watney Family Stout 17d quart bottled 1046.3 1012.5 4.39 73.00%
Watney Special Stout 13d pint bottled 1059 1016.2 5.56 72.54%
Watney Reids Oatmeal Stout 9d pint bottled 1045.5 1009.7 4.66 78.68%
Watney Stout 9d pint draught 1053.4 1014.8 5.01 72.28%
Watney Stout 9d pint draught 1054.5 1014.4 5.21 73.58%
Watney Stout 9d pint draught 1045.7 1009.8 4.67 78.56%
Whitbread Stout 9d pint draught 1056.4 1020.4 4.65 63.83%
Whitbread Stout 9d pint draught 1056.4 1015.6 5.30 72.34%
Average 1048.9 1013.6 4.59 72.91%
Sources:
Courage brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives document number ACC/2305/08/251
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/001.
Thomas Usher Gravity Book document TU/6/11

Tha apparent attenuation of the two samples of Guinness Extra Stout are 71.17% and 66.10%. Less than average of 72.91%. Of the 65 English Stouts, only 26 have a lower degree of attentuation than the most highly attenuated Guinness. 12 English Stouts have attenutaion greater than 80%., 2 more than 90%.

Draw you own conclusions. I'm off to drink a Guinness Special Export.

2 comments:

J. Karanka said...

Tolly Stout anytime! What a bargain.

BryanB said...

The use of the weasel words "according to some observers" should be enough of a tip-off. It translates as "The historians will say I'm wrong, but I'm sure I could find someone who agrees with me - Fred at the Parrot & Perch perhaps - if I could be bothered to try."