Saturday 8 July 2023

Let's Brew - 1941 Lees Bitter

If you like WW II recipes you're going to be in for a treat over the coming weeks. As I've got my book, Blitzkrieg!, on the topic to push. Come on you bastards. I deserve some reward for the five years of work I put into it.

Just like with Mild, there had been a gravity reduction in Lees Bitter. Though compared to post-war standards, it’s still a decently strong beer.

Again, there haven’t been any changes to the elements of the grist, but the relative proportions have shifted. There’s been an even bigger reduction in the percentage of sugar, from around 15% to 5%. Surely simply because sugar was being diverted for other food uses.

The hops were all relatively fresh, from the 1939 and 1940 harvests. All were English, obviously. 

1941 Lees Bitter
pale malt 9.25 lb 95.21%
black malt 0.01 lb 0.10%
glucose 0.13 lb 1.29%
No. 2 invert sugar 0.33 lb 3.40%
Fuggles 90 mins 1.25 oz
Fuggles 30 mins 1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops 0.25 oz
OG 1043
FG 1009
ABV 4.50
Apparent attenuation 79.07%
IBU 29
SRM 5
Mash at 149º F
After underlet 151º F
Sparge at 165º F
Boil time 90 minutes
pitching temp 60º F
Yeast Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons)

This recipe is one of 553 in my recently-released BlitzKrieg!, the definitive book on brewing during WW II.

Get your copy now!

The second volume contains the recipes. But not just that. There are also overviews of some of the breweries covered, showing their beers at the start and the end of the conflict.

Buy one now and be the envy of your friends!

 


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's pretty wild how the gravity was higher than every entry in the table in the previous day's post despite the fact that the UK was under attack and isolated by U Boats in 1941, but had trade access to so much of the world in 1971.

Anonymous said...

That's an excellent point

Anonymous said...

Could easily be a modern best bitter.
Oscar