Let's Brew Wednesday - 1939 Adnams Double Stout

Despite the popularity of national brands like Guinness and Mackeson, the vast majority of UK brewers continued to make their own Stout. Even relatively small and rural ones, such as Adnams.

Though, in contrast to London brewers, such regional Stouts were available exclusively in bottled form. Draught Stouts was, in most parts of the country, just a memory by the start of the war.

As with most of Adnams other beers, their Double Stout was on the weak side. It’s about 5º lower in gravity than the bottom-level Stouts from London brewers, such as Whitbread and Barclay Perkins. 1042º is about as weak as English Stout got before WW II.

The grist is different from the classic London pale, brown, black malt combination. Here it consists of mild, crystal, amber and chocolate malt. Plus, of course, some invert sugar and caramel for extra colour and flavour.

That the hops were English is about all I can tell you about them. The brewing record has no record of their type or year of harvest.

1939 Adnams Double Stout
mild malt	7.00 lb	73.68%
crystal malt 80 L	0.50 lb	5.26%
amber malt	0.50 lb	5.26%
chocolate malt	0.50 lb	5.26%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.75 lb	7.89%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.25 lb	2.63%
Fuggles 120 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.50 oz
OG	1042
FG	1013
ABV	3.84
Apparent attenuation	69.05%
IBU	26
SRM	39
Mash at	147.5º F
After underlet	156º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	59.5º F
Yeast	WLP025 Southwold