Saturday 2 May 2020

Let's Brew - 1943 Fullers BO

Yet another in my series of wartime Burton Ales.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have realised that 1942 was when UK beer gravities achieved a temporary equilibrium. From here on in, there weren’t going to be any gravity cuts. At least not while the war continued.

Fullers had been adjunct users for several decades. They didn’t jump right in when first allowed in 1880, waiting until around 1900 to adopt flaked maize. But once they had, they were enthusiastic users, remaining loyal, other than in the difficult years towards the end of WW I, when it was unavailable.

The new war also interrupted the supply of maize, forcing brewers to use other adjuncts. 1943 was a strange year. With oats being forced upon brewers by a government keen to dump an unexpected surplus. That didn’t mean that it was the only adjunct in use that year. Flaked barley remained in use. As the grist here demonstrates, oats and barley were sometimes used in combination.

I wonder how often a beer as strong as this was actually available in pubs. Pubs struggled to supply demand and with drinkers having cash, but little to spend it on, I can imagine many would be tempted to trade up in a period of falling beer strengths.


1943 Fullers BO
pale malt 8.50 lb 81.93%
flaked barley 0.75 lb 7.23%
flaked oats 0.75 lb 7.23%
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 1010
ABV 4.56
Apparent attenuation 77.53%
IBU 23
SRM 12.5
Mash at 149º F
After underlet 152º F
Sparge at 168º F
Boil time 90 minutes
pitching temp 61º F
Yeast WLP002 English Ale

1 comment:

Fuggled Mind said...

Would this have been a dark beer when sold in the pubs?