My Beer 101 column for September takes a look at three fairly well known styles and contemplates what they might have tasted like in the time of their origin. You can read the colmun here. The impetus for the article was my experience in the spring brewing up an historical stout with Neil at Alley Kat for the beer history tour (read about that here – and a reminder there is a second installment of the tour coming up this weekend with another historical beer). I found the process of researching historic stout recipes to be quite illuminating and it got my brain whirring about what longstanding styles might have tasted like originally. Of course we can never really be sure since none of us were there, but it is a fun game to contemplate the possibilities.

For the examination I chose Porter, Stout and Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy), as I stumbled across all three in my spring research. I find there are two elements to understanding what they might have tasted like. First is what processes were they using at the time? How was the kettle heated? What were they fermented in? Second, what ingredients did they use? How did they malt their grain (brewers historically made their own malt)? What varieties of hops? How bitter, strong or malty was the beer?

Some of the answers are hard to find. Hops, for example, is nearly impossible. Brewers’ records don’t offer much detail. They didn’t know about alpha acids, so we can’t calculate IBUs. Often they wouldn’t even identify the variety and just say “hops”. We know more about grain and process, however, so if we make a few assumptions, we can come up with a pretty good guess.

As I discuss in the column, porters were likely lighter in body with fewer of the features we come to recognize them today. They also would have a noted sour tang that would develop over time. Stouts would be less rounded and complex as they are today, given the much simpler malt bill in the 1800s. Wee Heavy would be even bigger and sweeter and, I suspect, have a more pronounced smoky, peat-y character.

At the time I wrote it I intended the column to be a one-off, but I have become somewhat enamoured with the game. Thus I think I will do one or two others and make it a series. Stay tuned.