Pennsylvania Swankey - Brew Your Own

I always thought “swanky” was a word that meant to be dressed with style, to have suave class, or a personality with a smooth strut when you walk. A top hat and a fancy walking cane is what I imagined.

However, my perception of the word changed after my boss at Lindgren Craft Brewery brought to my attention an old, almost forgotten beer style, called Pennsylvania swankey. Being located in Pennsylvania, we felt obligated to research and try to resurrect the style to historical accuracy. In this journey of discovery into the world of swankey, we reached out to several historical societies, genealogy groups, Pennsylvanian beer historians, and visited libraries with historic literature to get the scoop.

The first thing we noticed was that there were actually three swanky beer styles: Cornish swanky, Australian swanky, and Pennsylvania swankey. All are similar but have minor variations. Seeing that our focus was Pennsylvania swankey, let’s start with that one first.

Pennsylvania Swankey (with an “E”)

Pennsylvania swankey is a unique style that was made by German immigrant farmers in western Pennsylvania and was just about obsolete by the end of the 1800s. This mild table beer was brewed by farmers, usually by the gallon (4 L), and, as far as we can tell, was not brewed commercially for distribution. It was a true, historic homebrew beer style. The recipes varied based on what was available on the farm during the time of brewing. Since the style was not being commercially brewed, there is limited information on recipes, however the sources we did find shared many similarities that give us a good idea of what the style was like.

Before 1770 there was a small German population in Pennsylvania, but after the Revolutionary War we start to see a migration of Germans to mainly the western parts of Pennsylvania, as well as Ohio and Indiana. Many of these Germans came from the Hesse or Frankfurt area of Germany, and many from the Alsace-Lorraine area that ran between France and Germany. The German immigrants really started to populate Pennsylvania from the 1780s–1790s in search of land rights for farming. Farming, we found, was the sole reason to make swankey.

As these German immigrants farmed their land they were in need of a refreshing beverage to enjoy during their lunch break. After working in the hot summer sun, they would have wanted this beverage to be low in alcohol (3–4% ABV), highly carbonated or effervescent, and to be made from ingredients they already had available on the farm. While the men worked the fields, household brewing duties were considered a cooking task done by the women using many of the same ingredients of other kitchen duties like making bread. This beer is meant to be drank young, and usually ready for consumption within four days of brewing. The recipes share some similarities to root beer or soda making, which the Germans were also known to produce.

According to Robert Wahl and Max Henius, in their classic 1901 publication, American Handy Book of Brewing, Malting and Auxiliary Trades, swankey was a “temperance beverage” and its name is a corrupted derivation from the German word Schwenke, an old high-German word for “water” used for washing or rinsing.

Water

The water used in those times would be the drinking water that they had on the farm, which was usually well water located near the Pennsylvania Allegheny Mountains. The bedrock of the Allegheny region is mostly sandstone and quartzite, and the water is generally hard to very hard. Having lived in several mountain hollers across Appalachia, I can confidently say that water profiles from farm to farm, holler to holler, and mountain to mountain will all be impressively different from each other. In the spirit of this style, when brewing a Pennsylvania swankey you can just use what you have available.

Malt & Malting

In the time from 1700–1900 the word “malt” meant malted barley, and 6-row barley would have been the barley of choice. Six-row barley is the native barley of North America and it was more beneficial for farmers than the European-introduced 2-row due to the higher protein content ranging 12–13.5% vs. 11–13% protein found in 2-row. The higher protein percentage was sought after for nutritional reasons in other household food production. Modern 6-row barley also has a higher diastatic power, which makes the conversion of starches to fermentable sugars easier. With this in mind, historians agree 6-row barley would have been what was grown in this region in the 1800s.

In the 1902 American Handy Book Of The Brewing, Malting, & Auxiliary Trades by Wahl & Henius, it states: “1901 Crop returns from the records of the New York Produce Exchange show that Pennsylvania was (in the) the top 10 producers among states in wheat and oats, but a minor role in
barley production.”

The malting of 6-row barley was not a huge operation. In fact, malting on the farm was often as simple as grabbing a few handfuls of barley kernels, wetting them, allowing the kernel to sprout, heating in the kitchen oven, and then using immediately. Hearths and wood-burning stoves were common heating and cooking sources for homes in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. Due to the primitive malting and kilning practices, the color of the beer would vary from straw yellow to brown.

Other Fermentables

Wheat bran: There was an abundance of wheat bran due to farming wheat for bread production, and because of this wheat bran made up a large portion of the fermentable source in swankey. We came across no mention of unmalted or malted wheat, rather the same wheat bran that they would use for cooking. Seeing that the wheat bran was not malted, this would be another indicator to the use of 6-row barley vs 2-row barley. Most recipes we came across call for about 4.5 cups of wheat bran per gallon (4 L).

A wheat kernel is made up of three parts: The bran, endosperm, and germ. The bran is the hard outer layer of the wheat kernel, which is jam-packed with various nutrients and fiber. During the milling process, the bran is stripped away from the wheat kernel and then becomes a byproduct, making it a cheap source of starch in a brew. Wheat bran has a sweet, nutty flavor. It can be used to add texture and a full-bodied taste to make bread, muffins, and other baked goods. When using wheat bran in brewing, even though it is the outer part of the grain, you should use extra rice hulls to prevent a stuck mash.

Molasses (or brown sugar): To make the body of the beer thinner these brewers used light molasses or even brown sugar to add simple fermentable sugars that would also add a little flavor. Again, light molasses or brown sugar was used for baking purposes and would be readily available in the kitchen.

Ratios of Fermentables

With a long list of chores to do, brewing tasks were done as quickly and easily as possible. For the most part, the majority of recipes called for thirds— 1⁄3 malted 6-row barley, 1⁄3 wheat bran, and 1⁄3 molasses.

Mashing

Mashing a Pennsylvania swankey requires a 2-step process. The first mash is similar to a cereal mash. This is done by adding boiling water to the wheat bran to hydrate and gelatinize the starches without boiling the mash as you would in a common cereal mash. This will allow access to the starches by the amylase enzymes for conversion of starches to fermentable sugars. This altered cereal mash is let to rest for about 20–30 minutes depending on what else is going on in the farmhouse kitchen. By this time all the starches will be gelatinized.

Next, enough water and malted 6-row is added to reach roughly 150 °F (66 °C). Amylase temperatures are in the range of 147–156 °F (64–69 °C). Due to the crude brewing practices without tools such as thermometers and hydrometers to monitor the amylase enzyme activation, general “to touch” temperature ranges would be a major factor in poor mash efficiency, and would also be a good reason to add simple sugars. With the addition of simple sugars, the mash temperature would benefit from a higher temperature of around 150 °F (66 °C) as it will create fermentable sugars as well as some complex unfermentable dextrins like you might find in today’s crystal or cara malts. This would help add some body to a very thin beer.

There is no mention of using rice hulls in the production of any swankey ale, but I would highly recommend it to help in lautering. In classic swankey measurements, use a handful or two for a 5-gallon (19-L) batch.

Hops

Hops that were used were more likely than not those that were naturally growing in the nearby woods and easily foraged or cultivated. This American native hop is a landrace (naturally grown with no help of humans) variety called Cluster. Cluster accounted for close to 99% of harvested hop varieties in the 19th century due to easy access and abundance when foraging. It was mentioned in some old local texts that the hops would be picked off the bine when the hop cone started to feel papery, before they turned brown. Measurements were not really recorded, instead we often found one handful of hops per gallon (whole cone hops, of course). This roughly comes out to around 10–15 IBUs.

In the German brewing magazine Brauwelt (1995) Hahn and Shellhammer state that “German breweries implemented first wort hopping 100 years before (first wort hop tests) and some experimented with mash hopping. The facts are that this didn’t occur only in Germany, but also in England and Belgium.”¹

Due to the ease of adding hops to the kettle from the start and the fact that German and English brewers were already practicing first wort hopping techniques in producing classic beer styles, it would make sense that this technique was likely applied to swankey beer production too. Since brewing was just one of a handful of tasks being completed in a day’s work, first wort hopping would be beneficial to time management.

Spices

Star anise: In addition to using hops, German brewers used star anise to give a unique licorice flavor. The cooling mouthfeel effect in the aftertaste was desirable as the purpose of this beverage was to be a refreshing thirst quencher in the heat. As mentioned earlier, Germans were known for their root beer production and star anise would be a common spice found in a German farmer’s kitchen for making root beer. Dosing rates would depend on the brewer and how much they enjoy the licorice flavor. With the Germans making root beer using star anise, we can assume that they might go a little heavy on the spice, possibly to a point that may be overpowering to some. When we brewed our own version of this style, we found that a dosing rate to give a light classic licorice character that complements the rest of the beer without being overpowering is one star per 5 gallons (19 L).

Alehoof/creeping Charlie: When star anise was not available, the farmers went out in the fields and foraged a common ground ivy by the name of alehoof as a substitute as it shares some flavor similarities to star anise. Alehoof, also known as creeping Charlie or creeping Jenny, grows in abundance all across Pennsylvania and much of North America. One recipe called for a dosing rate of 1 quart
(1 L) of freshly picked and washed alehoof per gallon (4 L) added with the hops, then add another quart (1 L) before adding molasses. Slightly different than the use of star anise.

Boil Additions, Knockout

Boil length varies between brewers and, seemingly, what else was going on in the kitchen. We found that the boil times ranged anywhere from 60 minutes up to 120 minutes. The longer the boil time the darker the wort becomes. I feel it is safe to assume that the mash efficiency of the manor in which the farmers brewed in this time period was not very high (which is why simple sugars were added), and collecting a larger pre-boil volume and extending the boil to condense the minimal sugar content into something useable would have been a reason for extended boils.

As mentioned, about 10-15 IBUs worth of whole cone Cluster hops were added, most likely as first wort hops. Crushed star anise would be added at 30 minutes left of boil, and the molasses added at flameout or right before flameout to make sure it properly dissolved in the wort. We chose to add our star anise at flameout because we wanted to minimalize the licorice flavors, but still wanted its presence. Cooling the wort was as simple as taking the kettle off the fire and letting it naturally cool to yeast-pitching temperature while other kitchen tasks were performed. Traditional methods call for a natural cooling over time, so for homebrewing you can either do just that, or you can whirlpool for 15 to 30 minutes and then chill to fermenting temperatures.

Yeast

The German brewing heritage has been known for their excellent production of lagers. If these Pennsylvania German immigrants used a lager strain that might have been brought with them when they migrated to America, then the yeast would have produced plenty of sulfur by-products that would have required considerable time and cold temperatures to remove. There is no mention of sulfur in any records we came across, which, along with the quick turnover time, would rule out the use of lager yeast as a fermentation option.

The more likely option is that the farmers used what was readily available to them, a flaked dry yeast called “barm.” This variety of yeast would likely be the same yeast used for baking bread and other cooking needs. The yeast is added to the wort when the wort is at “blood temperature” (which is 98.6 °F/37 °C) where bread yeast is able to thrive.

At high kräusen the top layer of yeast is collected, dried in the sun, flaked, then stored away for later use.

English ale strains are another yeast option as there are many similarities between Pennsylvania swankey and (English) Cornish swanky. Both styles are similar to that of an English mild ale, so it might be a possibility that these Pennsylvania German farm brewers had a separate supply of brewers ale yeast for beer making as well as another Pennsylvania favorite, hard cider. This was the route that we decided to go at the brewery. I have had past experience fermenting with bread yeast, and we felt that a neutral English yeast strain would be more palatable to consumers than bread yeast, and to keep with tradition . . . it’s what we had available at the brewery on the Lindgren
family farm.

Fermentation & Packaging

Wort would be placed into 1-gallon (4-L) jugs along with the yeast and allowed to ferment at summertime room temperatures of 65–80+ °F (18–27+ °C) depending on the weather. Traditionally the beer was fermented in a jar/fermenter bunged with a cork, and when the cork popped they tied down the cork with a string and considered it ready to drink. Because these homebrewers were not commonly using hydrometers or thermometers, the gravity of the beer when sealing the cork was not documented and likely varied. The gravity will be several points above terminal gravity, leaving enough sugars behind to bottle condition the beer. This creates a very high carbonation level, which is classic to this style, and also similar to that of root beers and other sodas.

Swankey was often made in small batches that where drank quickly, so long-term storage or bottles exploding due to overcarbontaion were not of much concern. If the beer needed to be stored for a short time then the jug with the tied down cork bung would be moved to the family root cellar to chill so the yeast would go dormant (a similar technique was also used in their production of root beer). When serving, strain the beer into another jug or glass, leaving the trub (which they called “eminence”) behind.

Average beer styles are carbonated around 2.65 CO₂ volume and sodas are higher around 3.00 CO₂ volumes. At our brewery we allowed the beer to fully attenuate then carbonated to 2.80 CO₂ volumes by bottle conditioning with brown sugar. This helped us with consistency and to hit our carbonation target.

Cornish & Australian Swanky Beer

As mentioned, there is mention of other beer styles called “swanky” (without the “e”). Legend claims that swanky beer originated in Cornwall, which forms a peninsula on England’s southwestern tip. The problem is that throughout the ceremonial county of Cornwall there are no historical records of swanky to be found — no mention of swanky in its culture, brewing records, family recipes passed down through generations, or even in the language.

Oswald Pryor’s popular 1962 book Australia’s Little Cornwall is probably the best known reference to swanky. When Pryor was 81 years old he recalled his life in migrant Cornish communities in South Australia. He said “Swanky was a brew of sugar, hops, ginger wheat, malt, and yeast. It had to be allowed to work for three days in bottles before the corks we tied down with a string.”²

When talking with Pennsylvania beer historian Rich Wagner about these styles we agreed that the Cornish swanky shares many similarities to the Pennsylvania swankey with the main exception being that the Cornish used ginger instead of star anise as their spice choice.

There are only a few mentions of swanky in Australia. Australia was a British colony, and on the Copper Coast in Southern Australia they host a bi-annual Cornish heritage festival called Kernewek Lowender. Coopers Brewery brews a swanky for the festival, but it is listed as a sparkling ale, and it does not seem to have a re-
semblance to the other swanky ales.

Clearly there is still a lot of mystery around swankey, and swanky, which made the project of researching and attempting to recreate the style that much more fun. As a homebrewer it’s hard to resist the allure of mystery around beer. Even if the resulting beers aren’t exactly as they would have been on the farms more than a hundred years ago, we feel like it’s a good reflection of a historic, defunct beer style.

References
¹ www.appellationbeer.com “We Might Have Been Wrong About First Wort Hopping.” Stan Hieronymus. August 9, 2017

² Beer Advocate “Swankey Beer: The Strange History and Surprising Diaspora Of A Lost Style” by Jessica Boak & Ray Baily. June 2015 Issue #101

Recipes

Lindgren Craft Brewery’s Clarks Ferry Swankey clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.030 FG = 1.004
IBU = 15 SRM = 10–15 ABV = 3.5%

Ingredients
1.8 lbs. (0.82 kg) 6-row malted barley
1.8 lbs. (0.82 kg) wheat bran
1.7 lbs. (0.77 kg) light molasses (10 min.)
3.6 AAU Cluster whole-leaf hops (first wort hop) (0.66 oz./19 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
1 star anise, crushed (5 min.)
Lallemand Nottingham, or SafAle S-04, or Wyeast 1098 (British Ale), or White Labs WLP007 (English Dry Ale) yeast
6.85 oz. (195 g) brown sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Boil roughly 1.25 gallons (5 L) of water and dough in the mash tun with the wheat bran. Rest 15–20 minutes then measure the temperature. Add roughly 1.25 gallons (5 L) of room temperature water a little at a time to bring the temperature to around 156 °F (69 °C). This extra water will allow you to break up the bran easier while mixing to thin out the mash and ensure that there are no dough balls.

Add 6-row malted barley to reach a target mash temperature of about 150 °F (66 °C), then rest for 60 minutes. Sparge with 172 °F (78 °C) water (mash tun will rise to 168 °F/76 °C), and lauter to 6.5 gallons (25 L) in the kettle along with the hops.

Total boil time is 90 minutes, adding molasses at 10 minutes until flameout. Stir well to mix the molasses into solution. At 5 minutes until flameout add the crushed star anise. At flameout, whirlpool for 15 minutes, then knock to
65 °F (18 °C). Transfer to the fermenter, pitch yeast, and ferment at that temperature. No aeration is needed or a yeast starter if using a liquid yeast strain.

Once fermentation is complete, transfer the beer over to a bottling bucket or keg for packaging.

Bottle or keg condition to 2.8 volumes of CO₂ using brown sugar. You must accurately measure the volume of beer needing to be primed to hit your target. Dose the brown sugar at a rate of 1.37 oz. per gallon (10.26 g/L) and let rest at room or ambient temperature for about three days to condition.

Historic Foraged Pennsylvania Swankey

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.030 FG = 1.004
IBU = 15 SRM = 10–15 ABV = 3.5%

Ingredients
1.8 lbs. (0.82 kg) 6-row malted barley
1.8 lbs. (0.82 kg) wheat bran
1.7 lbs. (0.77 kg) light molasses (10 min.)
3.6 AAU Cluster whole-leaf hops (first wort hop) (0.66 oz./19 g at 5.5% alpha acids)
10-qts. (10-L) fresh-picked alehoof
Fleischmann’s Active Dry or similar bread yeast
6.85 oz. (195 g) brown sugar (if priming)

Total boil time is 90 minutes, adding molasses at 10 minutes until flameout. Stir well to mix the molasses into solution and then add remainder of alehoof. When the boil is complete, allow the wort in the kettle to naturally cool to about 98 °F (37 °C). Then transfer to the fermenter and pitch yeast.