Saturday 11 April 2020

Let's Brew - 1942 Fullers BO

Barclay Perkins wasn't the only brewery in London making a Burton Ale in 1942. The much smaller Fullers had their own version: BO. Standing for "Burton Old".

Wartime didn’t removed the need for London pubs to have something a bit stronger and darker. Especially in the dark winter months. Ones which were even darker with the blackout.

Burton was the beer. One whose name confused the hell out of me for a long time. Weirdly, I have an East German book from the 1970’s which correctly describes Burton Ale. Radical.

Fuller’s Burton remains the sort of souped-up Mild I wish I had available in my youth. You jammy London bastards.  I was going to say that you’d cruelly dropped then before my time in the capital. Then I recall Winter Warmer. The last London Burton Ale.

Were they brewing loads of BO? No, obviously. But a reasonable amount. This parti-gyle was split, in barrels, 82, 58 and 241 between BO, XX and X, respectively.

Not far away from 5% ABV – happy days, if you can find BO.


1942 Fullers BO
pale malt 8.50 lb 81.93%
flaked barley 1.50 lb 14.46%
glucose 0.25 lb 2.41%
caramel 1000 SRM 0.125 lb 1.20%
Fuggles 90 min 1.00 oz
Fuggles 30 min 0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops 0.50 oz
OG 1044.5
FG 1008
ABV 4.83
Apparent attenuation 82.02%
IBU 23
SRM 12.5
Mash at 148º F
After underlet 152º F
Sparge at 168º F
Boil time 90 minutes
pitching temp 61.5º F
Yeast WLP002 English Ale

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