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An extensive collection of beer-related books, the Alan Eames Historical library consists of more than 1,000 volumes in 18 languages dating as far back as 1620 A.D. This library also includes 11 file cabinets of documents and clippings related to United States breweries dating to 1950. Rare illustrations, postcards, posters, and prints that are not available elsewhere are part of this enviable collection of beer ephemera.
See INDIA PALE ALE.
See COLOR and EUROPEAN BREWERY CONVENTION.
The greatest surviving work on ancient Egyptian medicine. It contains more than 600 prescriptions, many of which rely on beer as a major component. For example, sweet, beer-soaked dates were prescribed to relieve constipation, and powdered olives and beer to cure indigestion.
A highly nutritious beer. A recipe for egg ale calls for the gravy of 8 pounds of beer, 12 eggs, a pound of raisins, oranges, and spices to be placed in a linen bag and left in a 12-gallon barrel of ale until the ale has ceased fermenting. Then 2 quarts of Malaga sack were added. After 3 weeks in the cask, the ale was bottled with a little sugar for priming.
Beer was so important to the ancient Egyptians that the hieroglyphic symbol for food was a pitcher of beer and a loaf of bread. They enjoyed a bewildering variety of beers, including brown beer; iron beer; sweet beer (lagered with dates); neter, or strong, beer; white, black, and red beers; and Nubian styles. Among the top-shelf beers that appear to have been brewed for religious purposes were “friend’s” beer; beer of the protector; hermes, or old, beer; beer of truth; beer of the goddess Maat; and setoherit, a narcotic beer used as a sleeping agent.
This statue of Neter-Her-Plah is thought to be related to the brewing of beer in ancient times.
The basis of all Egyptian beers was barley bread. The ancient chemist Zosimus described the brewing process as follows:
“Take fine, clean barley and moisten it for one day; draw it off and lay it up on a windless place until morning; again wet it and dry it (until shredded) and rub it until it falls apart. Next, grind it and make it into two loaves just like bread and cook it rather raw, and when the loaves rise, dissolve in sweet water and strain through a sieve.”
These half-baked loaves were mashed and crumbled over a large fermenting vessel, then forced through the bottom of a woven reed basket, falling into the clay vessel below. Clay fermenting jars, many larger than an average man, were covered with pitch on the outside to make them airtight. When filled with beer, the jar was stoppered with a plug of Nile mud, and lagering began.
Every household, rich or poor, brewed beer. There were also huge commercial breweries throughout the country. Toward the end of the pharaonic period, the Paison and Senthous brewery paid a fortune in excise taxes on the thousands of gallons of beer it brewed.
For the average family, the brewery was located in the kitchen. Most often, women were responsible for brewing and selling beer, both in the home and in Egypt’s thousands of beer shops. The palace of the pharaoh provided the royal household with regal brews, with the chief beer inspector being responsible for quality control. Pharaohs also received thousands of jars of beer each year in the form of taxes and tributes from cities, provinces, and territories. Beer was money, and the minimum wage was two pitchers, each several gallons in size, for a day’s work.
Pictograms from pharaonic Egypt illustrate the brewing of beer.
Hops were unknown to the ancient Egyptians, although bitter herbs such as lupine and skirret often were added to the brew or served as an appetizer with the beer itself.
Peasantry and farmers in the Egypt of the pharaohs were paid with a daily ration of four loaves of bread and two jugs of beer, and it was customary for mothers to bring beer to school for their sons.
In religious life, beer was attributed to Isis, the goddess of nature. Ramses III (1300 B.C.) had a temple inscription to show that he had consecrated 466,303 jugs of beer to the pantheon of gods.
Each year a 47-day feast was held in Thebes, during which the people took out the mummies of their pharaoh-gods for parades and celebrations. During the feast, sacramental beer was liberally dispensed, free, to celebrants.
The tomb-makers in the Valley of the Kings worked solely for rations of beer and grain brought from Thebes across the river Nile. The surpluses were used to hire servants and to pay for services rendered.
The Egyptian art of brewing remained hidden in the tomb paintings of the Egyptians and the clay tablets of the Babylonians, until discovered by archeologists, enabling historians to date the beginnings of beer back 8,000 years.
An Egyptian granary and male grain carrier are shown in this ancient drawing.
A type of beer in which the alcohol has been concentrated by freezing the beer and removing the ice. Such beer is much stronger and usually more flavorful than regular beer. The Reichelbräu Brewery in Kulmbach, Bavaria, Germany, has registered the name Eisbock for its seasonal doppelbock, brewed annually in August and September for consumption at the town’s Eisbock Festival at the end of March. Reichelbräu Eisbock Bayrisch G’frorns (Bavarian Frozen) can be called a doppelbock as defined by Bavarian law in that its original gravity is over 18/1.074. According to London beer writer Michael Jackson, Eisbock is very dark (50 SRM), of barley-wine strength (10 percent alcohol by volume), with an original gravity of 24/1.098 and a bitterness of 27 IBU. Jackson says that Eisbock has a “hint of a whisky-and-coffee liquor in its warming.”
This type of beer may not be made legally in the United States, but a number of brewers have accidentally produced an ice bock. One Canadian brewer (Niagara Falls Brewing) has made an Eisbock since 1989, using the technique to concentrate its flavors rather than simply brew a strong beer. This beer starts at 15.3/1.061 OG and 6 percent alcohol by volume, then is frozen at 30°F (-1°C) for 2 weeks, resulting in a beer that is 8 percent alcohol by volume and has a theoretical original gravity of 24/1.084.
| ORIGINAL GRAVITY | FINAL GRAVITY | ALCOHOL BY VOLUME | IBU | SRM |
 |
||||
| Reichelbräu Eisbock Bayrisch G’frorns (Germany) 1992 | ||||
| 24/1.098 | 6 | 10% | 27 | 50 |
See DOPPELBOCK and ICE BEER.
A brewery founded in 1837 by Charles Eldridge, a tavern keeper and spirits merchant. In the early days, it was called the Dragon Brewery. When Charles died in 1846, the brewery passed on to his wife Sarah. An ambitious businesswoman, she built a network of tied houses, and expanded the brewery’s business, with an eye towards the newly laid railroad networks then reaching Dorchester. Unfortunately, the Eldridges’ only son died at age 16 after breaking a toe in the brewery and contracting lockjaw. After her son’s death, Sarah took on a partner named Alfred Mason, a “brewer’s clerk” who took a one-third share of the business. In 1852, her daughter Emily married a lawyer named John Tizard, who also took an interest in the business. When Sarah died in 1856, Tizard and Mason became partners in the expanding brewery. The two men rapidly acquired tied house properties in Dorchester and in the burgeoning port of Southampton.
Thomas Hardy’s Ale is unique, and perhaps Hardy’s description of Dorset ale, excerpted above, should stand in for more pedestrian prose. If one word were used to describe Hardy’s it would be complex. The ale is bottle-conditioned, which means that a bit of live yeast is placed in the bottle before sealing, where it contributes to an in-bottle secondary fermentation. This gives the beer long life (up to 25 years in a sealed bottle, according to the brewery) and makes every year’s bottling a unique ale in its own right. As a result, all bottlings of Thomas Hardy’s Ale are vintage dated and numbered, and consumers are encouraged to cellar it for a few years before drinking. A young vintage of Thomas Hardy’s can be a bit raw and harsh, but as it ages, it deepens in flavor and complexity, becoming something akin to a fine sherry.
When Mason retired in 1870, two young brothers, Edwin and Alfred Pope, bought his one-third stake in the company, then comprised of two breweries and seven malt houses. In 1873, Tizard died an untimely death, and the Popes were able to buy his two-thirds share.
The beers of Dorchester had been known throughout the world since the 17th century, but it was Thomas Hardy, a good friend of Alfred Pope, who immortalized them in prose. In his detailed description of the fine ale poured at a Dorset wedding feast in the Trumpet Major, Hardy wrote: “It was of the most beautiful colour that the eye of an artist in beer could desire; full in body, yet brisk as a volcano; piquant, yet without a twang; luminous as an autumn sunset; free from streakiness of taste; but finally, rather heady. The masses worshiped it, the minor gentry loved it more than wine, and by the most illustrious county families it was not despised.”
It is said that Pope had a hand in editing Hardy’s description of the beer, and the passage might be considered one of the earliest testimonial advertisments.
Under the Pope family, which controls the brewery to this day, Eldridge Pope, Ltd. became a prosperous regional brewery, with current capacity of 150,000 barrels. Its beers have become well-known in the United States due to the efforts of a firm called Phoenix Imports, of Ellicott City, Maryland, which makes the company’s Thomas Hardy’s Ale available to consumers in the United States.
The company also brews Thomas Hardy Country Bitter, Royal Oak, Dorchester Bitter, and Goldie Barley Wine.
See BITTER.
See BROWN ALE.
See BROWN ALE.
See ENGLISH STRONG ALE.
See BITTER.
See BITTER.
Strong ales have always been popular with the British, who have a long history of brewing strong old ales.
In general, the original gravity of English strong ales, also known as old ales, is similar to that of the German starkbier (strong beer): an original gravity of 15–18/1.062–1.073. This is a very loosely defined style, however, and gravities both over and under this range are common. Some reach barley wine strength — that is, above 18/1.074. The style goes by many names, including celebration ale and strong country ale.
Old ales are often stronger or special versions of a brewer’s regular product. They are bottom-conditioned, laying-away (hence the name “old”) beers and benefit from aging. Most are fairly dark (12 to 25 SRM), and the alcohol content may be high (6.5 to 8.5 percent alcohol by volume). Old ales are assertively to aggressively hopped (30 to 50 IBU, or even higher), with the hops, alcohol intensity, and fermentation esters all contributing to a well-rounded, malty taste.
A Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) beer style seminar held in London in August 1994 settled on three categories of English Old Ales, each with three strengths (low gravity — 10.8–14.1/1.043–1.058; medium gravity — 10.8–12.3/1.043–1.049; and strong gravity — above 17/1.070. The categories are Mild Old (low and medium strengths only); Bitter Old; and Stock, or Blended, Old. A few English old ales are found in export versions in the United States.
American stock ales are similar to English old ales, but they are rarely bottle-conditioned, and they are rarely suitable for laying away.
Modern American brewers are more likely to brew a barleywine-style ale, which has taken the place of stock ale in the United States.
The Great American Beer Festival guidelines for English Old/Strong Ale are 15–19/1.060–1.075 OG, 6.5–8.5 percent alcohol by volume, 30–40 IBU, and 10–16 SRM. They call for “full-bodied malty sweetness” and “fruity-estery flavors.”
| ORIGINAL GRAVITY | FINAL GRAVITY | ALCOHOL BY VOLUME | IBU | SRM |
|
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| George Gale Prize Old Ale (England) 1994 (Stock Old) | ||||
| 22.9/1.094 | 6.2 | 9.5% | 47 | 36 |
| Theakston’s Old Peculier (England) 1994 (Bitter Old) | ||||
| 14.1/1.058 | 3.7 | 5.6% | 29 | 36 |
| Rogue Olde Crustacean (Oregon) 1993 (barleywine-style) | ||||
| 24/1.098 | 4.5 | 10.4% | 80 | ≈22 |
| Samuel Adams Boston Stock Ale (Massachusetts) 1990 (modern stock) | ||||
| 13.9/1.057 | 3.9 | 5.3% | 33 | 17 |
| Strong Burton Ale 1805 | ||||
| 26.2/1.110 | 3.2 | 13.1% | ≈83 | Unknown |
See BELGIAN STRONG ALE, GERMAN BEER STRENGTHS, INDIA PALE ALE (IPA), KULMINATOR (EKU KULMINATOR) AND THE WORLD’S STRONGEST BEERS, and SCOTCH ALE.
The original English name for porter. Also called Entire Butt. This brew was called Entire because the beer was a blend of several ales. To be properly conditioned, the beer required long maturing times — much longer than alehouse brewers could afford. Entire was directly responsible for the establishment and growth of large commercial brewers who could afford to wait for their stocks of Entire to mature. Large commercial brewers also could ensure consistency, something that alehouse brewers could not guarantee. As a result, the latter soon went out of business, and the commercial brewers filled the void.
See PORTER.
Proteins produced by plants and animals that act as catalysts for biochemical actions. In brewing, enzymes are responsible for the conversion of complex carbohydrates in grains to fermentable sugars. These enzymes are referred to collectively as diastase, a group of enzymes including alpha amylase, beta amylase, dextrinase, and beta glucanase.
Some of the enzymes used in brewing or potentially related to brewing include those shown in the following table. An important point that many brewers miss is that enzyme actions affect most steps of the brewing process, not just the mash or the malting process. Beta-glucanase used to speed filtration and papain used to chill-proof a beer are examples of enzyme action outside the mash tun.
The most widely known enzymes in brewing are the diastatic enzymes alpha and beta amylase. Alpha amylase occurs naturally in malted barley; it is responsible for hydrolyzing the starches in malt (and any adjunct grains that may be added to the grist) to form the fermentable sugars glucose and maltose. Beta amylase produces only maltose.
Glucoamylase is used to speed fermentation, especially in the production of diet (light) beers and malt liquors. Dextrins are usually unfermentable, but by adding glucoamylase, the dextrins break down and become fermentable, yielding higher alcohol content and minimizing body (attributes that are desired in malt liquors). Glucoamylase also is used to produce diet beers that have a low alcohol content. Normal fermentation is allowed to proceed, then heat is applied to drive off the alcohol, glucoamylase is added, and fermentation is resumed.
Beta glucanase breaks down beta glucan, a gummy substance derived from the husk walls that causes poor mash efficiency and slow sparges.
Malt starches and enzyme action.
1. Straight-chain starch (amylose).
2. Branched starch (amylopectin).
3. Beta glucans (looks like amylose but contains both 1-3 and 1-4 links).
4. Amylopectin under attack by dextrinase.
5. Amylose being attacked by beta amylase.
6. Amylopectin attacked by beta amylase.
7. Amylose attacked by alpha amylase.
8. Amylopectin attacked by alpha amylase.
Brewing Enzymes
| ENZYME | ACTIONS | |||
|
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| Alpha amylase | Liquifies starches in grain, converting them to sugars, providing sugars for yeast. Primary enzyme in mashing process. | |||
| Amyloglucosidase | Converts thinned starches to glucose. Used in the production of diet beers. | |||
| Beta amylase | Provides sugars for yeast; attenuates wort. | |||
| Beta glucanase | Degums mash; speeds filtration; affects ethanol production in fermenter. | |||
| Cellulase | Supplements amylase action; increases beer body. | |||
| Cytase | Makes starches available to amylases. | |||
| Diastase | Alpha amylase and beta amylase combined. | |||
| Glucoamylase | Attenuates wort for producing dry beers. | |||
| Hemicellulase | Facilitates mashing. | |||
| Papain | Chillproofs beer, maintaining clarity at low temperature; enhances diastatic activity. | |||
| Pectinase (polygalacturonase) | Prevents gel formation in fruits (useful in the production of fruit beers). | |||
| Phytase/phytin | Lowers pH. | |||
| Protease | Provides nitrogen for yeast. | |||
| Pullalanase | Attenuates wort. | |||
|
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Proteinase enzymes assist in the modification of barley to malt and are critical to fermentation because they provide nitrogen for yeast growth. Proteinase also is added to commercial beers to eliminate haze. Naturally occurring proteinase is not an option for haze prevention because any proteinase in the wort is eliminated by the high temperatures of the boil. Therefore, papain is often added.
See ALPHA AMYLASE, BETA AMYLASE, and HAZE.
See BAVARIAN BEER.
Organic compounds comprising an alcohol and an acid that tend to have strong, often fruity aromas. The predominant ester found in beer is ethyl acetate, which smells like a solvent; it is the product of ethanol reacting with acetic acid. Excessive esters are undesirable in any beer, but certain types of esters at certain levels can enhance beer. Ales typically have a fruitier aroma than lagers. This is a result of the ale yeast strain and the fact that fermentation is done at higher temperatures for ales than for lagers. Certain strains of ale yeast are highly prized for the ester levels they normally produce.
Most of the esters found in beer are produced during the growth phase of the yeast, so an inadequate pitching rate can cause elevated levels of esters. If there is inadequate oxygen or the fermentation takes place at too high a temperature, ester levels also will rise. For example, with high-gravity beer, less oxygen dissolves into the wort, so a higher pitching rate is required to prevent excessive esters. Finally, some yeast strains tend to generate more esters than others.
Secretariat General
2380 BB Zoeterwoude
P.O. Box 510
Netherlands
011-31-71-456047
The European Brewery Convention (EBC) was founded in 1946 and is dedicated to the promotion of scientific cooperation within the malting and brewing industries.
See COLOR.
The European Union (EU), to which most Western European countries belong, is an organization based in Brussels that works to increase competition by removing inter-European barriers to trade and competition. Based on the 1987 mandates of the EU, Germany was forced to admit beers for sale in Germany that did not conform to the Reinheitsgebot, the German law of purity.
The establishment of the EU is causing the European brewing industry to undergo dramatic changes. The United Kingdom’s tied-house system, in which breweries are allowed to own pubs and restaurants that serve only their products, is being looked at with an eye toward abolishing the practice. Some argue that large breweries with more cash to spend can control the outlets to the detriment of small brewers. After all, a brewer needs to sell the product to pubs, but if the vast majority of pubs are owned by the mega–brewers, how easily can the small brewer sell the beer? On the other hand, some small brewers and consumer organizations, such as CAMRA, feel the abolition of the tied estate will bring the ruination of small brewers because the large brewers will simply cut their prices to the point where small brewers will no longer be able to compete, because they have higher costs per unit.
The recent social revolution in Europe and the subsequent fall of communism has opened many doors to renewed commercial efforts in which the brewing industry has been quick to respond. One of the first items western Germany sent to her rejoined land to the east was beer. In the West, breweries quickly formed links with ones in the newly freed parts of Europe or laid plans to establish new breweries in those depressed lands. The countries of Eastern Europe are seen as fertile grounds for renewed investments by brewing companies.
As modern Western equipment is installed in these breweries, the standards of the beers they produce will continue to improve.
There have been some serious discussions within the EU of establishing a two-level tax structure to help brewpubs and microbreweries remain competitive with the larger breweries.
Even pubs are slowly coming under the regulating influence of the European Community. Regulations concerning method of dispense, the measure, sanitation and other ways of pub life are coming under scrutiny. There even was a move to replace the venerable pint with metric standards of measure.
Europe, taken in totality, is the biggest beer producing continent. It is just ahead of the Americas, producing 445,687,000 hl per year versus American production of 437,453,000 hl.
A former G. Heileman brewery, Evansville Brewing Co. in Indiana is now employee owned and operated. It has a large plant with a capacity of 1,000,000 barrels, and the company still produces a substantial volume of popularly priced midwestern brands with famous regional brewery names like Weidemann, Cook’s, Falls City, and Lemp. Other brands include Drummond Brothers, Gerst Amber, and the peripatetic Harley Davidson beer.
Any beer that is produced with the intent of being exported to another country. At various times certain United States brewers have produced special beers for this purpose, calling them “export” style beers. In Canada, for example, brewers such as Molson and Labatt have one version of their beer for consumption in Canada, and another version for sale and consumption in the United States.
A measure of the amount of sugar dissolved in water. Extract is usually expressed as wort density per pound of sugar source material per gallon of water. For example, 1 pound of pale ale malt will yield an extract of approximately 1.028 per pound per gallon.
Hancocks, a leading Welsh brewery, produced this export ale.
