Wednesday 12 December 2018

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1939 Fullers PA

PA, Fullers strongest Pale Ale, had been around for a while – at least 50 years. Though there had been a name change in the early 1900s, when the India was stripped off the front. The beer itself remained the same, however.

With a gravity over 1050º, PA was a typical 8d Bitter, a style reasonably common in London. This was a about as strong as standard draught beer got between the wars. Surprisingly, PA seems to have been Fullers biggest selling Pale Ale, edging out XK, their Ordinary Bitter.

The grist is pretty standard for an interwar Bitter: pale malt, flaked maize and sugar. Why make things too complicated? Though the percentage of sugar is pretty tiny, not quite 3% of the total.

The hops in the recipe are a guess. All I know for certain is that they were English and from the 1938 harvest. Fuggles and Goldings seem a reasonable enough guess.

Fullers PA didn’t fare too badly in WW I, with its OG in the 1920s being the same as in 1910. The second war wouldn’t be so kind to it, as you’ll see in a while.


1939 Fullers PA
pale malt 9.50 lb 82.47%
flaked maize 1.75 lb 15.19%
No. 2 invert sugar 0.125 lb 1.09%
glucose 0.125 lb 1.09%
caramel 1000 SRM 0.02 lb 0.17%
Fuggles 90 min 1.75 oz
Goldings 30 min 1.75 oz
Goldings dry hops 0.50 oz
OG 1051
FG 1012.5
ABV 5.09
Apparent attenuation 75.49%
IBU 43
SRM 6
Mash at 146º F
After underlet 149º F
Sparge at 168º F
Boil time 90 minutes
pitching temp 62º F
Yeast WLP002 English Ale

5 comments:

Mike Hoover said...

Would a pinch of black malt (500L) be an adequate substitute for the caramel 1000 SRM?

Anonymous said...

I don't know if you have the records, but it would be interesting to see a tracing of the history over the past 4-5 decades of the current Fullers offerings (London Pride, etc.).

Robp said...

It's only about colour. I'm guessing but I'd say it's so they could standardise from batch to batch. If you don't like to use caramel just leave it out, though a tiny amount of roast malt wouldn't hurt.

James said...

Agreed with Robert, but if you decide to add malt for color, consider using one of the Weyermann CARAFA malts, which are dehusked so that they provide far less bitterness than husked malt of equivalent darkness.

Unknown said...

This one looks a nice supping pint.