Let's Brew - 1958 William Younger Brown Ale

What could be more fun that a lovely watery 1950s Brown Ale? A watery Brown Ale from William Younger, that's what.

It’s no surprise that William Younger brewed a Brown Ale in its own right. That’s how they made everything.

Though the recipe is eerily similar to their other beers: pale malt, flaked maize and sugar. Though something is obviously missing: something to colour the beer. BeerSmith tells me that this is 2.5 SRM, based on the recipe. But I know from a Whitbread Gravity Book analysis from 1956 that it was 17.5 SRM.

I don't know what I'd do without the Whitbread Gravity Book. It certainly helps with the colour of finished beer. Especially in Scotland, where all sorts of stuff went on post-fermentation. Also handy for Milk Stouts. I wouldn't have been able to write an accurate Mackeson recipe with just the brewing record, as that makes no mention of lactose.

Caramel is the answer. Presumably added at the end of primary fermentation. A quarter pound of 1000 SRM caramel will get you to the correct colour. 1950s brewing is such fun. Not at all what I’d expected. That’s what’s so satisfying about primary research: discovering the unexpected.

1958 William Younger Brown Ale
pale malt	3.75 lb	57.69%
flaked maize	2.00 lb	30.77%
cane sugar	0.75 lb	11.54%
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.25 oz
OG	1031
FG	1005
ABV	3.44
Apparent attenuation	83.87%
IBU	16
SRM	17.5
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale