Wednesday 21 April 2021

Perry's of Rathdowney's N.D. Pale Ale - Clear Innovation

In 1900 Robert Perry & Son Brewery in Rathdowney in Co. Laois - then Queen's County - were advertising an ale that contained none of the usual sediment associated with bottle conditioned beers. It is claimed that they were the first brewery in Britain or Ireland to do so, but I have no proof apart from a comment behind a paywall - and seemingly there was another in 1899 (I can't confirm when Perry's started production.) according to this Zythophile article here.

It was a pale ale and served in clear glass, screw stoppered bottles if illustrations I've come across of said bottle are to be believed. Were these force carbonated in some way? I'm not sure but Sierra Nevada bottle/can-condition their Pale Ale and there is virtually no sediment from what I remember - perhaps they use a similar process?

Anyhow, certainly something of interest and definitely a first for this country - and once again the ubiquitous Charles Cameron gives is opinion ... 

Liam

(All written content and the research involved in publishing it here is my own unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission, full credit to its source and a link back to this post.)

Newspaper image © The British Library Board - All rights reserved. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk from whom I have received permission to display here). 

Tuesday 13 April 2021

Greenmount's XXXX Strong Mild Ale

A short one ...

I've mentioned this before on Twitter, but here is a nice advertisement showing Greenmount Brewery in Dublin brewing a XXXX Strong Mild Ale in 1870, and below is a nice facsimile of their Pale Ale label that I found in the Perry's Brewery of Rathdowney files in the local history section of Portlaoise Library.

(I do have more information on the brewery including a write-up and description from 1867, which I'll get around to transcribing at some point!)

Liam

(All written content and the research involved in publishing it here is my own unless otherwise stated and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without permission, full credit to its source and a link back to this post.)

Newspaper image © The British Library Board - All rights reserved. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk from whom I have received permission to display here).