Saturday 17 October 2020

Let's Brew - 1943 William Younger XXPS

I have a weird affection for some of William Younger's beers Probably because I drank a few of the ones I come across in their brewing records. No. 3, obviously, that most enigmatic of Scotch Ales, the one not like any of the other ones. And XXPS and IPA.

 They had a couple of cask beers in my youth. They were sold under varying names. 80/- was usually called IPA in England. Its weaker sibling XXPS, went by the name of 70/- North of the border and Scotch in the land of the Sassenachs. When I was supping it in one of the few free houses in the Newark area where I grew up, I was clueless as to its history. Complicated, messy and too much to go into here. I'll just say that its early years, without the S suffix, were as a full-strength IPA.

Being 1943, the flaked oats are no surprise. In fact, you’d expect more. When this was brewed in October, 15% was the norm. Not sure why there is so little.

The hops are dead fun: Kent and experimental. Both from the 1942 harvest. Pretty recent, then. Just bigger all of them. 


1943 William Younger XXPS
pale malt 7.25 lb 80.56%
flaked barley 1.25 lb 13.89%
flaked oats 0.50 lb 5.56%
Fuggles 75 min 0.50 oz
Fuggles 30 min 0.50 oz
OG 1038
FG 1012
ABV 3.44
Apparent attenuation 68.42%
IBU 12
SRM 3.5
Mash at 153º F
Sparge at 160º F
Boil time 75 minutes
pitching temp 61º F
Yeast WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any sense what the experimental hops were? I don't see any obvious candidates in this article, but I realize the experiment could be something mundane like improving mildew resistence rather than creating a new flavor.


http://zythophile.co.uk/2008/01/24/mr-goldings-descendants/

Anonymous said...

Northern Brewer, perhaps?

Bred in 1934, released in 1944.

According to Peter Darby (Wye Hops):
"Northern Brewer was developed by Prof Salmon at Wye College in 1944 and was championed by Scottish and Newcastle, particularly through their Fountains Brewery in Edinburgh (hence the name)."
https://www.ratebeer.com/forums/hop-notes_86709.htm

Younger's were merged with McEwans Fountain brewery.

Daryle said...

Brewed up this one, hit an OG of 1.040 and finished at 1.012 for a respectable 3.7% . This really, really tastes like many of the American pre-prohibition era Cream Ales I have brewed in the past. Couple of my Brit friends here in Germany loved it. May make this a regular rotation beer on the Keezer, especially in the summer. in the US we would call this "Lawnmower Beer"