Idea's for a special brew ?

[PD]

I enjoy delving into my family history and the other day I was browsing on Amazon when I came across a second hand book for sale. Old photographs of country life from 1844. What got me interested though was the front cover picture of a fine old gentleman in top hat. It’s a face I know well as it happens to be my GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT Grandad Robert “ Old Bob “ Morvinson 1780 -1858. It was a strange feeling seeing the old chap looking back at me so I had to buy the book didn’t I.



Well its arrived today along with volume 2 ....2 books for a fiver, second hand but in a1 condition.
Old Bob was born when the Americas were still a colony, Australia had just been “ found “ and Bonnie Prince Charlie was still alive. I think William Pitt the Younger was Prime Minister. So its a bit far back into English History.
He was a boot and shoemaker and also a carrier...the lorry driver of his day all be it was no doubt by horse and cart. He also got banged up in Lincoln Prison for 6 months in 1854 for Larceny at the ripe old age of 73 yrs, he died at 75 yrs,no doubt the prison term had some effect on that in those days.
Anyway seeing as he was born in November and at the moment I’m looking at a beer to make for my next brew I thought I’d honour the old boy and brew him a beer.... Bob 1780 it will be called and I’m looking at some kind of Porter in recognition of his trade as a carrier. So any suggestions will be welcomed.
I look forward to toasting the old rogue’s health around Christmas/New Year.

 

[PD]

Nobody got any ideas !

Oh well looks like I might go for a bottled version of my Dark Island brew. Strong and dark.

 

[chrig]

My wife finds researching her family tree fascinating but I havn't seen the appeal yet myself, this chap apparently crops up in mine (acording to my grandparents... but they are slightly nuts)

i like your idea of brewing something like he may have enjoyed!

 

[foxy]

Have a look on Barclay Perkins for a 19 century porter or stout, I sure I have seen something on there.

 

[Good Ed]

PD I trust you have inherited Old Bob's good looks.

A Durden Park recipe would be ideal, but you have to use diastatic brown malt to recreate the recipe properly. I understand you can do this yourself by roasting uncrushed pale malt then crushing it yourself. There are some places that sell diastatic amber but I don't know about brown malt. I've got the recipe book and can always PM you a recipe or two.

 

[PD]

Of course I did ! with the benefit of being born in Yorkshire as opposed to Lincolnshire....

I'd be obliged to receive a couple of recipes, diastatic amber malt I can get but I might be struggling for the brown.

 

[PD]

thanks for the recipes received.
I'm in a quandry now. I like the idea of trying to recreate an old fashioned Porter as somekind of memorial to the man.
However they are all high gravities and will take sometime to condition, as well as taking time to gather the unusual ( for me ) ingredients together.

I think I am tempted to do him an ordinary stout type for the time being, and when the pressures of the festive period have passed do him justice with his own special brew...I would be rushing it now.

Sorry Bob .....

 

[PD]

Well I've decided....
I'm going to leave it till the New Year and then try and replicate an old style Porter, got a few recipes in mind just need to source some ingredients out after the holidays. I dont really fancy roasting a few kilo's of brown malt over a Hazelwood fire !

Thanks for the input, I'll return to this post later in the New Year

 

[Papa G]

Great idea, let us know how it turns out PD. :drink:

 

[Dr Mike]

Old Bob would have seen quite an evolution in Porter over his life (other styles too)

In the 1700s, Porter was usually made from 100% Diastatic Brown malt (sometimes called "Blown" malt because it popped like Popcorn).

In the early 1800s, Black malt was invented and Porter switched to mostly Pale malt with the colour coming from the black malt. Couple of reasons they might have done this. Pale malt gave better extract, and the process of making Brown malt carried a fire risk. I think I read somewhere that Malsters had problems with insurance.

Some drinkers didn't like the new style Porters. If this had been in the media age there probably would have been a Campaign for real Porter. Some brewers then started putting some brown malt back in the blend. The Whitbread 1850 Porter recipe in the Durden Park website is a good example of this.

What I'm not sure on is whether the Brown Malt at this point was the old "Blown" stuff or more like modern roasted brown malt.

The other thing about Porter is that, by the 1800s, what the drinker got in the pub was a blend of old and fresh beer. To recreate that you'd need to brew the recipe, stick it in a Barrel, probably with some Brett, for 12 months or more, then brew it again in 11months, then try blends of the two beers.

Lots to experiment with!

 

[Good Ed]

I'm glad you came along Dr M :thumb: . I'd pm'd the 1850 Whitbread recipe to PD, but I wouldn't know what to substitute or add if you just had the ordinary brown malt. The recipe has 15.5% brown malt, so maybe you could reduce this and add some diastatic amber?

 

[PD]

great info, thank you very much... I think brewing it twice 12 months apart is a bit much for the likes of Old Bob and me.
Looking at his picture I get a feeling a tot o rum would be to his liking as well.
He might be lucky and get some kind of Imperial Stout made for him.....after all others have to drink it.....

 

[Dr Mike]

I'm glad you came along Dr M :thumb: . I'd pm'd the 1850 Whitbread recipe to PD, but I wouldn't know what to substitute or add if you just had the ordinary brown malt. The recipe has 15.5% brown malt, so maybe you could reduce this and add some diastatic amber?

The 1850s Porter is on my "to brew" list and I was planning of just using the Fawcett's Brown Malt that TMM sells for the full amount. Don't have a grain mill so home roasting isn't an option.

For the 1850s version, I'm not really sure whether diastatic brown is the right stuff or not. I remember reading (not sure whether it was on Barclayperkins or Martyn Cornell's blog) that at some point in the 1800s traditionalists were complaining that drum-roasted brown malt (which I think the modern stuff is) wasn't as good as 'proper' brown malt so perhaps by 1850, they'd already moved on to the modern type of Brown.