Beer Style Discovery: Small Beer

Beer Style: Small Beer

About a week ago I was sitting in a pub and I noticed, chalked on the wall, “Anchor Small Beer, 3.3%”.

Having exhausted most other options of said wall chalking, I thought to myself, why not? Lets try this strange sounding and low ABV brew.

You are probably thinking, that’s just a small glass of beer! That was on my mind too as I placed my order with the barkeeper. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I received a regular half-pint glass filled with a pleasantly coloured brew. But then what does “small” mean in this context?

No, not that kind of small beer (Source: Bike Bus Beer)

This thought was forgotten as the night progressed, and emerged again the next day after I recovered from a mild hangover. Still curious, I set out to do some research.

What is a small beer, beside the size reference?

The term was first mentioned in 1568, and it stated that small beer was either a weak or inferior beer, or something of small importance. Not a very promising start, but lets go on...

Centuries ago, whilst brewing, the first runnings from mash would usually become the strongest and most expensive beer a brewer created, the second running of this mash would create the average regular beer, the third running of the same mash would result in “small” beer (in some cases the small beer was the result of the second running of mash) This beer was then drunk as a supplement instead of water (due to poor sanitation or when water wasn’t available) by servants, workers and even children (cheeky bastards).

Therefore, small beer was a low alchohol left over style brew which was consumed as a beverage akin to water. There are even refrences of physical labour workers drinking over 10 pints of the stuff during a workday, try doing that with a regular brew and still be able to function.

What is interesting to note is that some historical figures have been known to consume, or even brew, small beer! Benjamin Franklin apparently sometimes had it with breakfast and George Washington even had a recipe for it:

George and his beer recipe (Source: Gawker)

or if the above writing is a bit too hard to read:

"Take a large Sifter full of Bran Hops to your Taste -- Boil these 3 hours. Then strain out 30 Gall. into a Cooler put in 3 Gallons Molasses while the Beer is scalding hot or rather drain the molasses into the Cooler. Strain the Beer on it while boiling hot let this stand til it is little more than Blood warm. Then put in a quart of Yeast if the weather is very cold cover it over with a Blanket. Let it work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask. Leave the Bung open til it is almost done working -- Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed." – George Washington, 1757

Enjoying a Anchor Small Beer

So, all you (home) brewers out there, give that one a try!

The small beer I tried, Anchor Small Beer, was first released in 1997. It is made from the second mash running’s of Anchor’s famed Old Foghorn Barleywine Style ale , a great brew in its own right.  This is to date also the only small beer which I have encountered and had the privilege of drinking.

So there you have it, a big story behind a small beer!

Cheers!