Vintage Beer From 1869 Discovered

[caleb]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/153...since-1869.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechn...t-old-beer.html

I know the article is a bit old, but if you havn't seen this, it's definitely worth a read.

Beers up to 140 years old have been discovered, opened, tasted, and declared to be pretty good.

:icon_cheers:

 

[peas_and_corn]

I love the flavour description:

"At the tasting, wine expert Oz Clarke called the Ratcliff Ale "astonishing" and waxed lyrical about the taste of beef tea, reduced fish bouillon, jams, smoky charcoal and old leather wrapped in liquorice"

 

[brendo]

I love the flavour description:

"At the tasting, wine expert Oz Clarke called the Ratcliff Ale "astonishing" and waxed lyrical about the taste of beef tea, reduced fish bouillon, jams, smoky charcoal and old leather wrapped in liquorice"

what a wank....

 

[Adamt]

What a wank. I bet it was practically cardboard and sherry.

Edit: OH SNAP.

 

[Effect]

liquorice wrapped in leather... :huh:

not to be confused with liquorice with a nose of leather binding

 

[caleb]

Well... he is a "wine expert"... what do you expect?

 

[peas_and_corn]

liquorice wrapped in leather... :huh:

not to be confused with liquorice with a nose of leather binding

Wrong way around, silly billy!

 

[kevo]

Oh man....

The bottles were sealed with corks and wax and stored in even, cool temperatures, in the dark and placed on their side to stop the corks drying out.

This could open a can of worms....

 

[boingk]

Pretty interesting. But what the hell does

They were also strong - around 10 per cent proof

Mean? 10% of 100 proof? 10% clean proof, as in 50%, thereby being 5%? Or are we talking obscure British proof, which is different again? In which case, the British proof is what, 57%? So 10% would be 5.7%?

What a terminology balls-up. As far as I'm concerned, anyway.

On a more enlightened note, I'd be interested at their 'vintage beer' project and if if returns some interesting (by which I mean tasty) results.

- boingk

 

[caleb]

...10% of 100 proof? 10% clean proof, as in 50%, thereby being 5%? Or are we talking obscure British proof, which is different again? In which case, the British proof is what, 57%? So 10% would be 5.7%?

I noticed it to. I'm pretty sure he MEANT 10% ABV. A lot of people nowdays say "this is xx% proof" when they really mean "this is xx% alcohol".

Regardless... where can I sign up to "test" a bottle?

PS - Kevo, why does the bottle being corked and sealed 'open a can of worms'...

Wouldn't this be far superior to a metal crown seal which would have rusted away by that time?

 

[reviled]

Corks slowly over time allow for oxygen to get through, so the beer would be oxidised chronically!

 

[caleb]

Corks slowly over time allow for oxygen to get through, so the beer would be oxidised chronically!

Yes, but the corks were then covered with wax. Wouldn't this help quite a lot?

 

[boingk]

I think it would, caleb. It was the traditional method for quite some time, or so I've been able to find out, and allowed storage of beer in what we would now call sub-optimal conditions.

- boingk

PS: Anyone have some good info on this? All I know is that it was sufficient to allow the beer to not become dramatically oxidised whilst en route to consumers or being stored for consumption without refridgeration.

 

[scott_penno]

Slightly off topic - Oliver and Geoff's Millennium Ale Project - http://homebrewandbeer.com/millenniumale.html.

sap.

 

[caleb]

Slightly off topic - Oliver and Geoff's Millennium Ale Project - http://homebrewandbeer.com/millenniumale.html.

sap.

Cool. Makes me want to do the same thing. I do note they have started to have problems with the metal caps rusting already. "Cork and wax, boys, cork and wax".

 

[alowen474]

Why not crown seal and wax a la a whisky ale we brought back from the UK. strong ale matured in whisky barrels, crown seal and dipped in wax.
Very nice late night sipper.
Believe it was the Bridge of Allan Brewery near the William Wallace memorial tower.

 

[warrenlw63]

This one was bottled in 2000 (or thereabouts as I didn't keep notes). Original gravity was around 1.120. Opened one up last Sunday for evaluation. The caps have rusted to buggery. Beer itself is nothing special and probably to me getting past it's best. Very low carb and tastes like an alcoholic christmas cake.

Warren -

 

[caleb]

This one was bottled in 2000...The caps have rusted to buggery.

Right. So for our AHB 2150 celebration ale we definitely need something other than a plain crown seal cap... Would wax help or would the caps rust from the inside?

I'm thinking those plastic champagne "corks" might be the go... No rust, no rotten air sucking real cork, no metal (other than the wire, which could be replaced if necessary without opening the brew).

 

[warrenlw63]

What about those plastic shrink wraps you see on wine bottles? Most HBS sell them. Not sure how they'd shrink down onto a beer bottle though.

Warren -

 

[raven19]

Maybe bottle the beer in champagne bottles so the caps will fit?

2c.