Sunday 4 November 2012

Maclay PA 6d 1939 - 1992

More Maclay stuff, this time focusing on PA 6d. A beer that was, for a long time in the 1930's and 1940's Maclay's bread and butter beer. But it hides a strange secret behind its name.

I twigged what that secret was when I got to about 1951 in my log trawl. It's made me do some rethinking about Scottish beer. Particularly about the nature of 60/-, 70/- and 80/-. But before we get onto such philosophical questions, let's take a look at the beer itself:


Maclay PA 6d 1939 - 1992
Date Year OG FG ABV App. Atten-uation lbs hops/ qtr hops lb/brl Pitch temp max. fermen-tation temp length of fermen-tation (days) pale malt crystal malt no. 1 sugar no. 2 sugar caramel DCS sugar oats flaked maize flaked rice wheat malt flaked barley malted oats torrefied wheat malt extract
21st Feb 1939 1038 1017 2.78 55.26% 4.00 0.65 60º 67.5º 8 78.57% 14.29% 7.14%
15th Aug 1939 1038 1011 3.57 71.05% 6.00 1.00 59º 68º 9 75.00% 16.67% 8.33%
6th Feb 1940 1036 1014 2.91 61.11% 5.00 0.78 60º 66º 8 85.71% 14.29%
29th Jun 1943 1032 1014 2.38 56.25% 4.00 0.56 60º 67.5º 7 76.98% 9.06% 0.38% 4.53% 9.06%
6th Jul 1943 1032 1011 2.78 65.63% 4.00 0.55 60º 65º 8 76.34% 8.14% 0.25% 6.11% 9.16%
6th Jul 1943 1032 1011 2.78 65.63% 4.00 0.55 60º 65º 8 76.34% 8.14% 0.25% 6.11% 9.16%
4th Aug 1943 1032 1014 2.38 56.25% 4.00 0.55 60º 67º 6 76.98% 9.06% 0.38% 4.53% 9.06%
10th Mar 1944 1032 1011 2.78 65.63% 3.53 0.48 60º 67º 8 79.39% 8.14% 0.25% 6.11% 6.11%
13th Jun 1944 1032 1014 2.38 56.25% 4.00 0.57 60º 68º 7 79.39% 8.14% 0.25% 12.21%
21st Jun 1951 1030 1013 2.25 56.67% 5.26 0.70 61.5º 66º 7 94.12% 5.88% 0.00%
25th Jul 1951 1030 1010 2.65 66.67% 5.25 0.65 61º 68º 8 87.26% 5.13% 0.76% 1.71% 5.13%
20th May 1952 1030 1012 2.38 60.00% 5.33 0.67 61º 68º 8 86.80% 5.79% 0.18% 2.89% 4.34%
24th Jul 1952 1030 1009 2.78 70.00% 5.33 0.68 61º 69º 8 86.80% 5.79% 0.18% 2.89% 4.34%
5th Sep 1956 1030 1010 2.65 66.67% 6.00 0.77 62º 70.5º 8 74.82% 7.67% 0.24% 3.84% 11.51% 1.92%
10th May 1957 1030 1013 2.25 56.67% 5.62 0.69 62.5º 68º 7 74.82% 7.67% 0.24% 3.84% 11.51% 1.92%
29th Jul 1957 1030 1009 2.78 70.00% 6.32 0.81 62º 72º 8 73.24% 9.39% 0.47% 3.76% 11.27% 1.88%
1st Sep 1965 1030 1012 2.38 60.00% 6.05 0.75 61.5º 69.5º 7 74.82% 7.67% 0.24% 3.84% 11.51% 1.92%
9th Mar 1966 1030 1012 2.38 60.00% 6.05 0.74 61.5º 69º 7 74.91% 7.68% 0.12% 3.84% 11.52% 1.92%
7th Jan 1971 1030 1008 2.91 73.33% 5.08 0.64 62º 71º 7 79.18% 5.66% 0.08% 1.89% 11.31% 1.89%
27th Jun 1971 1030 1011 2.51 63.33% 4.86 0.61 61.5º 69.5º 7 79.06% 3.76% 0.24% 3.76% 11.29% 1.88%
19th Apr 1972 1030 1009 2.78 70.00% 5.19 0.64 62.5º 72º 7 79.15% 5.65% 0.12% 1.88% 11.31% 1.88%
2nd Apr 1975 1030 1008 2.91 73.33% 5.30 0.67 61.5º 70º 7 79.15% 5.65% 0.12% 1.88% 11.31% 1.88%
6th Mar 1980 1030 1008 2.91 73.33% 5.30 0.65 61º 69º 7 79.06% 5.65% 0.24% 1.88% 11.29% 1.88%
18th Mar 1984 1030 1007 3.04 76.67% 5.30 0.65 61º 66º 8 90.35% 5.65% 0.24% 1.88% 1.88%
8th Jul 1992 1034 1011 3.04 67.65% 4.17 0.62 º 70º 7 87.18% 5.13% 2.56% 5.13% 0.00%
Sources:
Maclay brewing records, document numbers M/6/1/1/3, M/6/1/1/4, M/6/1/1/13, M/6/1/1/28, M/6/1/1/35, M/6/1/1/44, M/6/1/1/46, M/6/1/1/49, M/6/1/1/56, M/6/1/1/61, M/6/1/1/64 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.

The first thing that strikes me is how little this beer changed between 1951 and 1984. The OG was rock solid at 1030, though the FG did decline a point or two. I don't think I've come across a beer whose specs were so stable for so long.

The stability doesn't end there. The hopping rate stayed at around 0.65 lbs per barrel for the whole period. As did the fermentation temperature, with pitching at 61º F, rising to 69º F. Fermentation took 7 or 8 days.

I'm shocked at how little the recipe changed as well. 75-80% pale malt, 5-7% No. 2 invert, 3% DCS sugar, 11% flaked maize, 2% malt extract and a touch of caramel. Between 1956 and 1980 the recipe is basically identical. That's very unusual.

That's quite odd, but not as odd as what comes next.

Matching up brewhouse names with product names can be a nightmare. Especially when you don't have a price list. That's not a problem with Maclay. At least not from the 1970's onwards, because I can remember their beers and they're listed in the Good Beer Guide.

This is the entry for Maclay in the 1982 Good Beer Guide:



I can match these up nae probs with the beers in the brewing records. There's only one thing 60/- could possibly be: PA 6d. Which causes me quite a degree of consternation.

Because I always considered 60/-, and Maclay 60/- in particular, to be Dark Mild. Not only was it called a Pale Ale in the brewery, it was brewed to exactly the same recipe as the 70/- (SPA in the brewhouse) and 80/- (Export). Presumably it was primed with caramel at racking time to get the dark colour.

This in itself isn't that unusual. There were plenty of breweries who made Mild by adding caramel to their Bitter. It still goes on today. What makes me feel weird is this: in way, the BJCP are right in their description of 60/-, 70/- and 80/-. They say that they are different strength versions of the same thing. Which in the case of Maclay is certainly true. Where the BJCP falls down is in not recognising that they are the Scottish versions of Pale Ale rather than mythical "Scottish Ales". And all that bollocks about cool fermentation temperatures, roast barley for colouring, etc.


There's one question unanswered: when did Maclay PA 6d get darker and turn into a pretend Mild?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fascinating. What you want, if it's available, is the purchasing ledger, which would show when they started purchasing quantities of caramel. Another possibility for clues: when did they start making a brown ale, and what was the recipe for that? I wouldn't be totally surprised to discover that, too, was the PA coloured up ...

Ron Pattinson said...

Anonymous, don't know when they started brewing Brown Ale, but I've seen labels for it that I think were from the 1950's. Yes, I'm sure it was the PA 6d coloured up.

Unfortunately, caramel was one of the standard ingredients in Maclay's Pale Ales. So when they started buying it would be no help.

Mike Austin said...

If caramel does nothing but colour the beer, as some home brewing writers maintain, why did no-one notice That they all taste the same? The CAMRA description would suggest otherwise.
My experience is that caramel does make beer taste different. You can regard it as shoddy btewing practice - you can dislike the taste - but it does have that effect, and a lot of people remember beers like that with some affection.

Ron Pattinson said...

Mike Austin, I didn't say that caramel colouring didn't have an effect on flavour. I think it does, having had beers + caramel.

I also didn't say that there was anything shoddy about brewing that way. I wouldn't have, because I don't think that.

Mike Austin said...

Ron,
I didn't mean you! I avoided naming a well known writer on home brewing as I wanted to avoid some of the heated exchanges on the subject.
I have been full mash brewing since 1976, and some of the best beers I have made have been with the advantage of your research in the last few years.
I meant that people are free to disapprove of beer made this way, but plenty (You and I included, it would seem) don't.
Again, Not you!

Thanks

John Clarke said...

Ron

Given that it's well known that Scottish brewers were in the habit of colouring up their beer to suit different customers (at racking stage?) perhaps they had always been doing this to some extent.

Ron Pattinson said...

John, that's true. But, from what I remember of Maclay's beers the 60/- was a lot darker than the 70/- and 80/-. When did they start colouring it that much? Did the at one point have both pale and dark versions of it?

I suppose I should look in the archive to see if there's a colour standard document.