A Shot of Beer History #11: Smithwick's East India Pale Ale

It could be argued that the history of the Smithwick family's St. Francis Abbey brewery in Kilkenny bring out a love/hate duality of feelings in certain beer writers. For sure there is a grá for all that true 19th and 20th century brewing history that is relatively accessible and incredibly interesting, but there is also a fair degree of animus and disappointment in how that past has been twisted, muzzled and muted. Years of marketing mischief means that verifiable history and factual reporting have instead been replaced with myths and mistruths, to a point where a once-great brewery has been diminished to a few brands with extremely dubious provenance and a dead-brewery building reborn as an over-branded, souvenir-filled, tourist-driven entity driven by fakelore, online ratings, and ruddy-tinged images on social media. It's such a shame, in every meaning of the word.

You've heard all of that before, but that real history of brewing in the St. Francis Abbey brewery is at times a wonderful thing to come across by chance, and such is the case with this article from an 1896 whiskey trade review regarding Smithwick's East India Pale Ale. At this point Smithwicks had been brewing in Kilkenny for 70 years or so and had established themselves as one of the most well-known and prominent breweries in the country and were supplying their ales and porters throughout much of the country as well as abroad. It's hardly surprising they would warrant a piece like this.

MESSRS. E. SMITHWICK AND SON’S EAST INDIA PALE ALE.

THE BREWERY, KILKENNY.

KILKENNY, in point of quality of its ale brewing, is most assuredly the Burton of Ireland. May its brews be as well known as they deserve to be, and its brewing industry prosper under the initial guidance of Messrs. E. Smithwick & Son, the enterprising brewers of that town. This firm’s East India Pale Ale on draught is on sale at several of the most important refreshment bars in Dublin. It was at the best frequented bar in Dame Street that we tasted this ale last week, although we had met it before at the Brewers and Distillers’ Exhibition in 1892, since which time we had pleasant recollections of it. A finer glass of ale is not made, and anyone who is fond of ale does not want anything better. As compared with the Burton-on-Trent beers, it will hold its own against any of them. It possesses the sharpness of the best of them, and the well-known good draught qualities of the second largest brewery at Burton, the English brewery town. We do not know who the brewer is at Messrs. Smithwick’s, but, judging from the great likeness existing between this and the English ale, he has a very cute knowledge “of how they do it at Burton.” We questioned the barman as to how the public liked “Smithwick’s,” to which he replied they never had a complaint, and that customers who had tried it would never have any other. The colour is the usual Burton tint, it is perfectly clarified, and always possesses a nice head. It is choicely “hopped,” and it must be a capital tonic. The proprietor of the restaurant to which we have referred has expressed himself thus:- “If the quality of Smithwick’s ale keeps up, as it has done, I shall sell none other.” We learn that its keeping qualities are most satisfactory, and that there is a depot in Dublin at the “Lot[t]s,” to the rear of Bachelor's Walk, where a large quantity of ale is properly stored. Messrs. Smithwick’s own carts deliver to all parts of the city, and we are pleased to know that the trade is increasing, and that traders are proud to admit that a finer glass of ale, either in England or Ireland, was never tasted. The Dublin agent is Mr. Wm. Jarratt, whose office is at 8, Cope Street, Dublin.

Newspaper advertisements for this decade show the Smithwick's brewery were supplying Strong Ale, Pale Butt and three different variants of stout as well as a Dinner Ale, but it was their East India Pale Ale that they championed at this point and which their advertisements maintained was their 'Speciality.' As we read above, their pale ale was also the beer they showed at that 1892 exhibition for which (along with other breweries) they were awarded a gold medal and a Diploma of Merit, which they naughtily claimed was a 'First Prize' by the 1950s and is sometimes incorrectly attached to the modern 1960s born Smithwick's Ale to which it bears no real relation. It also seems that asking for a "Smithwick's" in Dublin - at least in the establishment mentioned - would get you a pale ale of Burton quality and something that would compare favourably with Bass's version, which was extremely popular in Ireland at this time. 

A cynic might suggest that the above article is just an advertisement of sorts and we shouldn't take much heed to the lyrical waxings of the writer but there must be a strong element of truth to this probable piece of advertising prose even if that seems a little hypocritical to say given the comments regarding marketing content mentioned above. It's certainly nice to read how Kilkenny was seen as the Burton of Ireland - as farfetched as that might be in reality given how it contained only two breweries at this time - and the rest rings true without being able to verify the quotes of course.

Of note is the fact that Diageo - owners of the Smithwick's brand via Guinness - relaunched a pale ale in 2011 which was a journey full circle back to where they were decades ago with their IPA and then their No. 1 ale, albeit with a different recipe and brewing regime, and this was the same time they started marketing their red ale as such.

I doubt it received a write-up like their East India Pale Ale, and any comparisons between the city of Kilkenny and the 19th century town of Burton would have been a difficult sell, even by clever marketing.

Liam K

Please note, 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 sources, and a link back to this post. Newspaper research was thanks to The British Newspaper Archive, who have kindly let me share the above images from The Whiskey Trade Review 3rd March 1896. DO NOT STEAL THIS CONTENT!

Irish Brewing People of the Past - #2 Eliza Alley

The history of Irish brewing is no stranger to women. There is much talk and commentary regarding the brew wives of the far past, and some mention of those who brew in the present - although it could be argued not enough - but there are scant mentions of those who brewed in the two centuries previous to our current one, and specifically in the 19th, where as we shall see, some women had the business of brewing thrust upon them. Dr. Christina Wade in her book Filthy Queens is hugely focussed on the role of women in brewing, and the book certainly champions their cause repeatedly - and rightly. And those who may feel there has been too much commentary on women in brewing would do well to remember that to get a well-worn gate that has seen too much on-way traffic to hang straight you need to sprain the hinges the opposite way, almost to breaking point, in order to get it to sit evenly in the middle of its post.

One of the women featured in the good doctor’s book is a lady called Eliza Alley, who I have written about previously - and that piece was nicely referenced in one chapter. I had come across Eliza’s name while researching who brewed Ireland’s first ‘IPA’ - or more correctly who was the first to advertise such a style of beer by that name or similar. At that time I focused on the beer itself, a little on the brewery and some of its history but always felt there was more to commit to history about Eliza herself. So here we go …

-o-

Eliza Humphreys was born in 1796 or 1797, the 5th daughter of William Humphreys - sadly I can’t be sure of her mother’s name. Her father was a prominent wool merchant in the city of Dublin and shortly after her birth bought Ballyhaise estate in county Cavan, and appears to have divided his time between Dublin and Ballyhaise House. His business was situated at 17 Merchant’s Quay in the city and he also had property on Gardiner’s Row/Place. The family were Church of Ireland (protestant) and, interestingly, it appears that his son William (Eliza's brother) was Grand Master of the Orange Order in Cavan in the 1850s, so the family would seem to have been quite involved in the organisation - probably not an unusual thing for the merchant and land-owning class at this time.

Eliza married William Alley in 1821 in the wonderfully grand St. George's Church in the north-east of Dublin city. William was the son of Alderman, High Sheriff and Mayor John Alley - another merchant and prominent individual in the city of Dublin, who was also a brewer. They had at least ten children over 14 years - John, William, Letitia, Catherine, Henry, Eliza, Matilda, Robert, Caroline, and another Caroline (presumably the first having died as a baby) although not all survived to adulthood. They lived in Clontarf and at one time owned Ivy House, a six-bedroom house with pleasure grounds and a walled garden, as well as a coach house and some farm buildings.

In 1823, William Alley succeeded his father in the brewery in Townsend Street following the latter’s death, and at this time he was brewing ‘Strong Ale, Porter and Table Beer’. Brewing was a family business for the Alleys, as William's brother John refitted a brewery belonging to the wonderfully named Mr. Wigglesworth in Ardee Street in 1824, it having also been occupied by a Mr. Richard Pim (a surname of importance in Irish brewing) and an advertisement mentions that his father had been brewing in the city for 30 years, so it appears the brewery on Townsend Street could date from at least the late 18th century and was certainly owned by John Alley in by the very first years of the 19th century. John junior was bankrupt by 1827, so his venture didn't last too long. Interestingly he wasn't brewing porter, just ale and table beer which may explain its failure, given how porter was the dominant drink in this period.

But tragedy struck on the 18th of June 1836 when William died at the age of only 39, leaving Eliza with a large young family to raise. Undeterred, she embraced the ownership of the brewery, and mere days after William’s burial she took out advertisements letting friends and customers know that the brewery would continue, and trusting that their patronage would continue. A year later she was thanking those who 'encouraged her to persevere in the arduous undertaking in which she engaged for the advancement of her numerous family’ and goes on to assure them that the 'malt drink manufactured at her establishment is of the very best quality.' Mysteriously, in a separate advertisement below this she cautions 'her friends and the public against the misrepresentations of a clerk who was lately in her employment and whom she was obliged to discharge, for conduct that it would not be to his credit to explain, but which she is ready to do if called upon. This person is now in another establishment and is, she is informed, endeavouring, by gross misstatements, to induce her customers to withdraw their support but she feels happy in the conviction that all his efforts to do so will prove futile, and only tend to expose his own character.' Whatever occurred in the brewery it appears that Eliza was aggrieved by the episode, and it certainly shows and edge to her strength of character and resolve. 

By early November of 1837 she was looking for a brewer to brew ‘fine ales, beer, and porter’ and by the end of the month she had taken on a Mr. Harrower 'a brewer of great experience and well-known ability’ as head brewer. It is worth noting of course that Eliza would not have been brewing any beer herself, and nor would many of the names we associate with Irish breweries, as almost all would have employed talented brewers to produce their beers, regardless of their gender by the way. These entities were for the most past business people who employed others to execute their wishes and needs, as with any similar business.

Although it appears that neither her or William’s family were short of money it was important that the business continue and succeed in order to have a constant revenue for both herself and her large family and a sense of that can be obtained from the announcement of her employment of Mr. Harrower where she thanks those who have supported the business and ‘have marked their approbation of her exertions, and encouraged her to persevere in the arduous undertaking’ of running the brewery. She assures her customers and friends that ‘her unceasing efforts shall be directed, and her best attention given, to merit a continuance of that patronage which she with pride and gratitude acknowledges.’ Eliza’s character again shows through here, as well as her driven nature, and she appears to have been quite hands on with the running of the business.

Eliza remarried another respected merchant, Henry Cochran of Merchant's Quay, in 1838 back in her father’s home of Ballyhaise in Cavan. (Curiously, Henry dealt in Wool like Eliza’s father and he even operated from the same premises – so there was clearly an existing family or business connection here.) The brewery was trading under the name of Eliza Alley, Sons & Co. and although Eliza was still actively involved in the business, Mr. Cochran also seems to have been involved in the management of the enterprise to some extent. Her oldest sons, John and William would have been 16 and 15 at this time, so were unlikely to have been very much involved in the business, although it’s clear from the brewery’s name that they were to be very much included in the business in the future – although obviously not her daughters!

A curious incident occurred in late 1838 when a man was charged with firing a pistol into the brewery from a nearby building. This was the second time with weeks that this had occurred and intimidating letters had also been sent to Eliza, although it is not clear if there was a connection between the events. Reports of the events indicate the possibly weren't linked, but it does seem that Eliza had her enemies and detractors given this episode and the earlier issue.

But what makes Eliza and her brewery stand out in Irish brewing history is that newspaper mention in 1842 of having ‘East India Beer’ for sale. This was said to be ‘of superior quality and will be found to be very similar to that justly celebrated article “Hodgson’s pale ale”'. This is clearly what we would now term an India Pale Ale or IPA, and seems to be the first mention (at least) of the style being brewed in Ireland, and it occurred during the stewardship of a woman owner, which is also of note. Whether this new brewing was her choice, driven my market forces (this style of beer was certainly being imported into the country by this time), the possible involvement or her two youngish sons in seeing new trends, or a decision by the resident brewer at that time, we will never know but it certainly started a trend in pale well-hopped ales that lasted in Ireland until the early 1960s or so, and returned to us in the latter part of the last century.

In September of 1847 Eliza was once again a widow, as her second husband Henry died of fever that month. But the brewery itself appears to have been doing relatively well and by 1850 they were exporting to England and had acquired a royal warrant, claiming in their advertisements to be ‘sole brewers in Ireland to her most gracious majesty.’ They were brewing ‘Strong XX Ale, Plain Ale, Bitter Ale, Strong XX Porter, Plain Porter and Table Beer’ at that time. Advertisements listed the business as E. Alley, Sons, & Co., and whether the abbreviated first name is an attempt to hide the fact that it was owned by a woman is certainly possible if not provable, and at this point it is highly likely that her sons John and William were involved in the brewery business.

But, like the majority of breweries in Ireland, it wasn't to last, as the brewing equipment was for sale in 1853 and near the end of 1855 the brewery property was in chancery and being sold along with houses at number 55, 56, and 57 Townsend Street, where an advertisement states that the entire property takes in 141 feet of Townsend Street, 213 feet on Prince's Street, 123 feet on South Gloucester Street. This, along with the large number of utensils and equipment for sale, gives us a nice footprint for the substantial size of the business. Eliza Cochran, as she was then known, appears to have been still at the helm and still active in the business at this time.

But perhaps everything finally took its toll, as Eliza died relatively young at the age of 59 on the 30th of June 1856 at Redmondstown House, Clomel, Co. Tipperary, the home of her daughter Eliza and son-in-law, William P. Worrall. Her burial - like that of her first husband - took place in Clontarf, Dublin.

But Eliza and Williams’s legacy in brewing continued, just much further afield. Their sons John and William both left Dublin for America and were involved - separately - in breweries in Boston. John Robinson Alley in particular fronted a number of breweries in the area and the name Alley was once again hung over a brewery business.

But what of the property where Ireland’s first 'IPA' was brewed? By the 1870s at least some of the property was being used by Wheeler & Shanks - later J. Shanks & Co - who were operating from 54 to 56 Townsend Street in 1882 selling alcohol free beverages such as the wonderfully sounding 'Export' Ginger Ale. They were still there in 1898 advertising mineral waters of all types and by 1901 no. 56 Townsend Street was home to an agency for the Deli Brewery in Amsterdam's 'Pilsner and Lager' beers.

No trace of the brewery now exists, as a relatively new development sits on the site of this once important Irish enterprise.

-o-

It’s a pity that the names of brewery owners, both male and female, seem to have been lost to us. Over the years consolidation and rebranding means that just one handful of Irish brewer’s name remain and are remembered by most Irish beer drinkers. Eliza and William, and his father John, deserve to be recorded and name-checked in the long list of Dublin brewers that have risen and fallen through the years and centuries. Ironically, it’s probably their son John Robinson Alley who is best remembered and written about in brewing circles, albeit and the other side of the Atlantic.

But perhaps, just perhaps, we should raise a toast in memory of Eliza the next time we pour an Irish IPA.

Liam

Please note, 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. Research was via The British Newspaper Archive and Irish Genealogy, both online. Some content was used and adapted from my earlier mentioned post on who brewed Ireland's first IPA. All sources are available on request. DO NOT STEAL THIS CONTENT!

Beer History: An Irish Brewed 'American IPA' in 1882

As I (too) often point out, the standard beer styles we think of as 'new' to Irish brewing are rarely so. IPAs, Milds, Imperial Stouts and Amber ales have all already done their journey through the breweries of Ireland and into the hands and mouths of its beer drinkers, and although many would contend that using American hops in beers in this country is a new phenomena it is something that has been done for a couple of centuries at least.

Take the above advert from May 1882 from the Clonmel Chronicle showing where Keily's in Waterford were using Californian hops in an IPA in the late 19th century - with Perry's malt as you can see  - so 'American IPAs' are certainly not a new thing in this country, it was more of a case that we had forgotten that we brewed with them. Okay, style-wise Keily's IPA is hardly going to be 'West Coast' or 'East Coast' or whatever but is there still a fair justification for calling this an American IPA as it used Californian hops?

Yes, perhaps I am stretching style terminology a little, but even still it is certainly nice to see the early use of American hops in print - and in a beer - and it might help burst another brewing myth in our beer history.

The availability of American hops is not a new or unusual phenomenon here, the aforementioned Perry's of Rathdowney were using them in the early part of the 20th century - as well as Californian malt I might add - and certainly the bigger breweries were using them too. Indeed back as far as 1795 American hops were being sold via Irish newspapers and touted as being 'remarkable [sic] strong', presumably compared to English hops. The very early years of the 19th century show up more American hops for sale and in 1818 a Dublin newspaper carried an advertisement stating that a batch of hops being offered were 'nearly one half stronger than British or Flemish [hops], and free from any unpleasant flavor[sic]', which would lead us to believe that even back then American hops were noted for their stronger aroma.

So next time someone asks who brewed Ireland's first American IPA you will be able to start a long and unwinnable argument by quoting this advertisement ...

Good luck!

Liam

(I've posted about Keily's previously here.)

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. References to quoted newspapers are available via email or DM to me.

Newspaper image is © 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 this image on this site .

Another Historic Irish IPA and Mild Ale Sighting - Nugent's Brewery, Drogheda, Co. Louth

I've become somewhat obsessed with historic Irish ales in recent times, and although the world and the marketeers in the larger breweries - plus some smaller ones - seem to be focused on the quasi-legendary 'Irish Red Ale', my focus is on something paler and certainly less well-known. Those who follow me on Twitter have been afflicted by my tweets on the subject from time to time but when I spotted an advertisement for yet another historic Irish IPA (I've found many at this point.), with a Mild thrown in for luck, in The Drogheda Conservative in 1866 it seemed liked something I should commit to a blog post.

Back in the day - early to mid 19th century to be precise - Drogheda Ale was well known and lauded by many, including William Makepeace Thackeray who wrote in 1842 that it was both a ubiquitous and 'praiseworthy' ale. A voice closer to home a decade later, John Francis Maguire, even goes as far as to say that Drogheda Ale, along with Cork Porter and Dublin Stout, was 'well known and highly appreciated outside Ireland.'

Indeed in May 1866 the following article appears in a Drogheda newspaper...

Our ancient town is justly famous for many things in the manufacturing line, but in no branch has it obtained so wide celebrity as in the brewing of ale. No ale made in any establishment throughout the united kingdom bears a higher character, or is more deservedly prized, than that produced in Drogheda. Hundreds of thousands of casks are exported annually the sister kingdoms, to America, India, and the continental countries ; and the high estimation in which the beverage is held is sufficiently indicated in the fact that demand far exceeds the supply. But Drogheda, until few years back, confined exclusively the brewing of sweet ale, which established a solid reputation for strength and purity wherever they obtained a footing.

It's nice to see in writing that an Irish Ale - not a Stout or Porter - is so widely exported and held in such high esteem, even if we do take writeups like these warily given they were written 'in house', so to speak, by locals.

I suspect that most of that ale was brewed by Cairne's Brewery on the south bank of the river Boyne, the site of which is now - depressingly - a shopping centre, and probably some from Casey's on West Street and Stockwell lane in the centre of town too - perhaps some of the beer from Castlebellingham up the road was also included under the general term 'Drogheda Ale'. (I'm not sure about this, as their ales were normally flagged as 'Castlebellingham Ales'.)

But back to my latest find, and the first mention I have of this establishment, known as Mell Brewery, is when it was in the ownership of Symes & Co, who were advertising strong and mild ales from 1861. The brewery was situated on the north bank of the river Boyne at the western end of Trinity Street in Lower Mell on the outskirts of the town of Drogheda. They went into liquidation in 1863 although some retailers were still advertising ales and table beers under the Symes & Co name up to 1865...

By 1865 the brewery was under new ownership with Messrs. Nugent & Co at the reins and there cunning plan was to brew something different to their competitors - India Pale Ale. In 1866 the following advertisement appears in a local newspaper.

As we can see they are brewing an India Pale Ale and a Mild Ale and here we have our old friend Charles Cameron popping up yet again to give us his opinion on them, with the IPA being 'brilliant, sparkling and of a most agreeable flavour' and 'equal to the best specimens of Burton-on-Trent Ales...' If we take it at face value then it is high praise indeed but the mention of Mild Ale is in one way much more interesting as it once again highlights that Ireland did brew Milds. Cameron's remarks it being 'free from nauseous sweetness' and that it includes a high percentage of alcohol, the former statement giving us an insight perhaps into what Drogheda ales et al were like at this time and the latter reinforcing that Milds aren't always low in alcohol. (By the way, other ale types were being brewed in Drogheda before this time, as Casey's were brewing sweet, bitter and table ales in the 1850s.)

There are more newspaper write-ups around this time with one mentioning that pale ales were a new venture for Drogheda and that the local brew, up until this point at least, was quite sweet - so perhaps the famous Drogheda ale was a sweet, strong and maybe darkish? Maybe amber? Maybe even ... red?

Anyhow, the articles go on to wish the company well in the future and hope that Drogheda Pale Ale becomes as famous as its older darker, sweeter sibling.

(If you want to dig a little deeper into the attributes of Drogheda Ale, specifically Cairne's version, Ron Pattinson has an analysis of a talk about it given in 1862 here.)

Incidentally Mell Brewery and Messrs. Nugent also appear to have brewed a stout, which I'm assuming was a stout porter, which was also available in 1866 when they looked for a brewery agent in Falmouth in England to sell both it and their ales, plus they had agents in Dublin and Belfast. They also mention 'Sweet Ales' as being available and that they 'will bear favourable comparison with any in the market.', which smacks of hedging you bets if you ask me ...

Unfortunately the venture appears to have been short-lived as by 1868 the various Nugents are selling off all of the loose brewing equipment as they are 'retiring from the business'. This seems quite odd as they were only in business such a short time so either something major happened to said Nugents or the business wasn't the success they hoped it would be, and the retiring comment was just to save face. For whatever reason the hope of Drogheda IPA emulating the gravitas of its counterparts across the Irish Sea was not to be and sadly both it, their Mild Ale and the rest of their production faded from the brewing history of Drogheda and Ireland.

The building and site don't appear to have been used as a brewery again as by 1869 it was being used as a cavalry barracks and was up for sale on a number of occasions until 1884 when the actual brewing equipment itself was put up for sale. By at least 1885 it was owned by Patrick Casey Connolly, the then owner of Casey's Brewery in the town, who had turned it into a maltings by 1890.

(I have read a few sources that claim Casey's were brewing on the site and one that says that Casey's moved all of their brewing to here. All I can say is that I can see no record of this and Casey's were brewing in town up to the early 1900s, having refurbished the premises there between 1888 and 1890 . They could have course used it as an auxiliary brewery at some point but I have not come across anything that proves they were.)

Here's an OSI map published around 1870 which still shows the brewery buildings and the site, the hexagonal structure is a 130ft chimney. The presumably repurposed brewery structure beside it is likely to be an 1834  flax mill owned by Thomas Ennis - the original occupier of the site as far as I can make out - and it was 4 storeys high according to a description when it was auctioned in 1858.

In 1926 the long vacant site was reopened as a clothing factory, which means it may have almost turned full circle from its beginnings in the flax trade.

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  - where most of the information I've complied was sourced.)

Map County Louth : Drogheda : sheet 7 is by OSI via UCD and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Who Brewed Ireland's First IPA?

So who brewed Ireland's first India Pale Ale? I'm sure that's a question you have always asked yourselves? Well perhaps not, but it was certainly a question that was itching the back of my mind. So a little digging through some newspaper adverts comes up with the most likely source being a brewery in Dublin that traded under the name Eliza Alley, Sons & Co., in Townsend Street, Dublin, and the beer was ready for sale by at least 12th August 1842 according to this advertisement:

Okay, I'm taking some small liberties with the word 'ale' vs 'beer' but I think that can be allowed. There were pale ales being brewed before this of course, including a 'strong' one by a Burton brewer who set up in Dublin in the previous century, but this seems to be the first brewery to have advertised a copycat version of Hodgson's pale ale and even including a comparison to that famous ale in its advertisement, plus we can also see the quite common reference that 'IPAs' are good for stomach complaints.

The following March, Castlebellingham Brewery were advertising a version for sale and many more appeared from lots of breweries here over the following years and decades. We in Ireland were brewing this style of beer for a longer period than most people think, right up into the 1960s, but then our much battered, twisted and bruised beer history got forgotten and we reached a point where many people still think that the new wave of microbrewers were the first to brew an IPA on these shores, but as you can see from this and many of my previous postings and tweets this is not the case.

Anyhow, back to the Alley's and their brewery...

William Alley had succeeded his father - Alderman, High Sheriff and Mayor of Dublin John Alley - in the brewery in Townsend street and moved there, possibly from his own brewery premises(?), in 1823. He brewed Strong Ale, Porter and Table Beer at this time according to advertisements. (It may have been a public house and not a brewery he owned prior to this - or both - as he was letting a large public house in 1825.)

It is also worth noting that William's brother John refitted a brewery belonging to the wonderfully named Mr. Wigglesworth in Ardee Street in 1824, and an advertisement mentions that his father had been brewing in the city for 30 years, so it appears the brewery on Townsend Street could date from at least the late 18th century. John was bankrupt by 1827, so this venture didn't last too long. Interestingly he wasn't brewing porter, just ale and table beer which may explain its failure. (I wonder how close this premises was to Watkins' brewery on the same street?)

Eliza Alley took over the ownership of the brewery following the death of her husband William in 1836 and she even took out an advertisement in Dublin Newspapers in early November of 1837 thanking those who 'encouraged her to persevere in the arduous undertaking in which she engaged for the advancement of her numerous family.' She goes on to assure them that the 'Malt Drink manufactured at her Establishment is of the very best quality.' In a separate advertisement she cautions 'her friends and the public against the misrepresentations of a clerk who was lately in her employment and whom she was obliged to discharge, for conduct that it would not be to his credit to explain, but which she is ready to do if called upon. This person is now in another establishment and is, she is informed, endeavouring, by gross misstatements, to induce her customers to withdraw their support but she feels happy in the conviction that all his efforts to do so will prove futile, and only tend to expose his own character.' I am not sure what this is reference to and I haven't found out any more information but she was clearly aggrieved by the episode.

By the end of that November she had employed a Mr. Harrower 'a brewer of great experience and well known ability.' to brew the beers, and she remarried a Henry Cochran of Merchant's Quay in 1838. He appears to have taken an active part in the running of the brewery and by 1850 it had acquired a royal warrant and they were brewing Strong XX Ale, Plain Ale, Bitter Ale, Strong XX Porter, Plain Porter and Table Beer.

But like the majority of breweries in Ireland it wasn't to last, as the brewing equipment was for sale in 1853 and near the end of 1855 Eliza was once again a widow, with the brewery property in chancery and being sold along with houses at number 55, 56, and 57 Townsend Street, where an advertisement states that the entire property takes in 141 feet of Townsend Street, 213 feet on Prince's Street, 123 feet on South Gloucester Street. This gives us a nice footprint for the size of the business.

John Robinson her son was declared insolvent by 1856 - see Martyn Cornell's comment about John  below - and this was also the year of Eliza's death. (John himself died in 1898 aged 76 in Jamaica Plain, Boston, where he was president of Alley Brewing Co. in Roxbury according to the American Brewers' Review 1898.)

More brewing equipment was up for sale in 1857 and according to Guinness's Brewery in the Irish Economy by Lynch & Vaisey, Jamieson, Pim & Co. 'acquired the business' of 'Ally[sic] & Co.' although no date is given. This could be taken to mean the bought the premises and equipment, but also to my mind could mean they acquired all of the accounts that Alley's had and began supplying them with beer from their own brewery. (It occurs to me that this quote could also be a reference to John Alley's brewery mentioned above? This might make sense given the mergers and takeovers that occured in the 19th century - more digging required perhaps...)

By the 1870s at least some of the property was being used by Wheeler & Shanks - later J. Shanks & Co - who were operating from 54 to 56 Townsend Street in 1882 selling alcohol free beverages such as wonderful sounding 'Export' Ginger Ale. They were still there in 1898 advertising mineral waters of all types and by 1901 no 56 Townsend Street was home to an agency for Deli Brewery in Amsterdam's 'Pilsner and Lager' beers.

No trace of the brewery remains from what I can see, as a relatively new development sits on the site.

Still, unless there are any earlier versions I've missed - which is quite possible - it appears that Ireland's first 'IPA' was produced in a brewery with a woman's name attached to it, which is nice to report, plus she was certainly bucking the trend back in the male dominated brewing world of 19th century Dublin.

So cheers Eliza - I think you deserve a beer named after you...

(Revised and expanded 2nd June 2021)

Liam

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

(Advert from Freeman's Journal - Friday 12 August 1842)

Newspaper images © The British Library Board - all rights reserved. With thanks to The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) where I did most of my research. References for the above information are available on request, where I can supply dates and names of newspaper sources. 

History: IPA in Carlow in the 1840s - Approved by the Surgeon General!

When we last met Henry Birkett in 1842 he was having a bit of a to-do with Guinness regarding the quality of their porter, and as I trawl through old editions of The Carlow Sentinel in my local library looking for more information on the breweries that dotted the town up to the mid 1800s, his later advertisements catch my eye on occasion. They seem to have put aside their disagreement, as he is continuing to sell Guinness's product in 1844 along with a few other beers, plus a perry and a cider, as the below advertisement shows.

This version is similar to the one I posted before regarding the Guinness dispute and that I flagged on Twitter as the first mention of 'East India Pale Ale' for sale in the town (1842) but what was interesting this time were the prices...

Perry 7s per dozen

Devonshire Cider 6s per dozen

Cairnes' Drogheda Ale 4s per dozen

Guinness's XX Porter 3s 6d per dozen

East India Pale Ale 3s per dozen

The pale ale was the cheapest. 

Admittedly the perry and cider were imported, but this surprised me as I thought  the East India Pale Ale would be offered as a new, premium product at a premium price, even if it was brewed - I suspect - in Dublin as an earlier advert from 1842 (below) seems to show that Pim's offering was the bitter beer of choice in the town, and available across Market Cross in another grocery establishment. This advert sang its praises as a medical fix-all - endorsed by the 'Surgeon General' noless - so why was it now priced cheaper than all other beverages? Had it dropped since it was first seen 2 years previously in the town?

Sorry, that's an actual question ... I don't know the answer.

But perhaps the answer lies in the fact that this was just the price of IPA...

Another find - you can see here - shows by 1846 Birkett now stocked Bass Ale, adds weight to my argument that their East India Pale Ale from 1842 was indeed supplied by Pim's ... and had to drop his Guinness price back to a 1844 level, for bulk purchases at least!

A discussion an 'Imperial Perry' and 'Captain Pidding's Celebrated Teas' will be left for another day!

Interesting stuff ... to me anyhow.

Liam

[With thanks once again to the local history room in Carlow library]