Let's Brew Wednesday - 1909 Maclay Strong Ale

Top of the tree at Maclay was their Strong Ale. A beer which, if it were sold in England, would probably have been called Scotch Ale.

In a glimpse of what would happen after WW I, this was parti-gyled with a Pale Ale. 54/- PI, to be precise. Between the wars, everything was parti-gyled together at Maclay. 6d, 7d and 8d Pale Ale and Strong Ale were brewed together in every possible combination.

This was a slightly unusual parti-gyle, in that the hopping is different for the two beers. Implying that the Strong Ale was all first wort. Which, given this beer’s strength, shouldn’t really be a surprise. I wonder if the 54/- PI got any first wort?

Unsurprisingly, the recipe is the same as for the Pale Ales. Pale and amber malt, along with grits and sugar.

This wouldn’t be Maclay if there weren’t loads of hops. Hallertau from the 1907 and 1908 harvests, Californian from 1907 and two English types, both from 1908. 

1909 Maclay Strong Ale
pale malt	13.00 lb	64.20%
amber malt	0.50 lb	2.47%
grits	4.25 lb	20.99%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.50 lb	12.35%
Cluster 120 min	2.00 oz
Hallertau 60 min	2.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	4.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.50 oz
OG	1096
FG	1031
ABV	8.60
Apparent attenuation	67.71%
IBU	79
SRM	12
Mash at	146º F
after underlet	154º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1903 Binnie 140/- Ale

Strongest of Binnie’s beers was 140/-. Which, although it’s a good bit weaker than William Younger 140/-, I suppose still counts as a Strong/Scotch Ale.

They brewed a surprising amount of 140/-. About as much as they did of any beer.

There’s nothing fancy about the grist. Just base malt. And quite a lot of it. As there’s nothing else to provide fermentable material. And nothing else much to talk about.

Three types of hops of unknown vintage: Kent, American and Bavarian.

Was this aged? Very difficult to say. Maybe. For six months or so. That might explain the high FG.

1903 Binnie 140/- Ale
pale malt	19.25 lb	100.00%
Cluster 90 min	1.50 oz
Hallertau 60 min	1.50 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1083
FG	1038
ABV	5.95
Apparent attenuation	54.22%
IBU	51
SRM	6.5
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Let's Brew - 1885 William Younger No. 1

Strongest of the numbered Ales was, logically enough, No. 1. Though it wasn’t the strongest beer Younger produced. That honour lay with 160/-.

No. 1 is roughly equivalent to 140/- in terms of strength. And the grist is quite similar. So what was the difference between the two? The hopping rate. 120/- was hopped at 8.5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt, No. 1 at 12.5 lbs. To me, that’s an indication that No. 1 was intended to be aged longer.

The grist is much like that of No. 2. Base malt and dextro-maltose. Though with only two types of malt. There may have been some caramel added to darken the colour.

Rather more complicated hopping: Kent from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, American from 1884 and 1885, and Californian from 1884. Quite a lot of hops, too. Leaving it with over 100 IBU (calculated).

Long ageing for this big boy. Between 18 and 24 months, is my guess. 

1885 William Younger No. 1
pale malt	21.00 lb	90.32%
No. 2 invert	2.25 lb	9.68%
Cluster 120 min	4.50 oz
Fuggles 60 min	4.50 oz
Fuggles 30 min	4.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	2.00 oz
OG	1108
FG	1035
ABV	9.66
Apparent attenuation	67.59%
IBU	133
SRM	12
Mash at	155º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	56.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1885 William Younger No. 2

A much rarer beast was No. 2. This is the only example I have from the 1885-1886 Abbey Brewery brewing book. I think it was discontinued soon after.

No surprises in the grist. It’s just base malt and dextro-maltose. Not sure if that’s available at all. I’ve substituted No. 2 invert. The dextro-maltose implies that this was a beer intended for ageing.

As usual with Younger, there were quite a few different hops. American from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, along with Kent from 1884 and Württemberg from 1885. 

Getting back to ageing, I reckon a minimum of twelve months. More likely 18 months plus. Which would have lowered the FG considerably. Raising the ABV to nigh on 10%.

1885 William Younger No. 2
pale malt	17.75 lb	89.87%
No. 2 invert	2.00 lb	10.13%
Cluster 120 min	3.00 oz
Hallertau 60 min	4.00 oz
Fuggles 30 min	3.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.50 oz
OG	1092
FG	1027
ABV	8.60
Apparent attenuation	70.65%
IBU	108
SRM	11
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	57º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

 

Let's Brew - 1885 William Younger No. 3 Pale

Another recipe for a beer I'm sort of obsessed by. Younger's No. 3. One of the first beers I brewed with my brother was a supposed clone of it. And I drank quite a bit of it in Burley road Liberal Club whilst playing snooker very badly. 

Younger wasn’t content with making No. 3. They made two of them: No. 3 and No. 3 Pale. The difference, I assume, being the colour.

Though if you look at the recipes, they come out about exactly the same shade. No sugar in this version, just 100% base malt. It’s not a complicated beer. Though there were three types of pale malt, made of barley from various countries.

What complication there is, comes in the hopping. Where there are four copper hops: Kent from the 1884 and 1885 harvests, plus Württemberg and American, both from 1884.  Then there are four dry hops: Württemberg and American from the 1885 season, with American and East Kent, both from 1884. 

Was this aged? I would think so. Probably around a year. With Brettanomyces, of course. Which would drop down that FG quite a bit. Leaving the apparent attenuation 75%-80% and pushing 8% ABV. 

1885 William Younger No. 3 Pale
pale malt	18.00 lb	100.00%
Cluster 150 min	2.00 oz
Hallertau 60 min	2.00 oz
Fuggles 30 min	2.00 oz
Hallertau dry hops	1.00 oz
Cluster dry hops	0.67 oz
Hallertau dry hops	0.33 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.33 oz
OG	1077
FG	1024
ABV	7.01
Apparent attenuation	68.83%
IBU	73
SRM	6
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	55.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1884 William Younger No. 3

In addition to the strong Shilling Ales, William Younger also had a range of numbered Strong/Scotch Ales. Which seem to be inspired by the numbered Burton Ales of breweries like Bass and Truman. Originally, they ran from No. 1 to No. 4. But by the 1880s, only Nos. 1 to 3 remained.

No. 3 was by far the longest-lived, limping its way into the 21st century. What was the difference between No. 3 and 100/-? Not very much. The hopping rate is the same. And the only difference in the grist is the presence of a small amount of dextro-maltose. For which I’ve substituted No. 2 invert.

This was probably darkened with caramel. There’s nothing in the brewing record. But, it definitely was a little later. And there’s a No. 3 Pale, implying that this version must have been darker. A shade of 15 to 20 SRM would be my guess.

The presence of dextro-maltose, which would provide food for a slow secondary fermentation, implies to me that this was a Stock Ale. Probably aged for at least twelve months.

There were four types of hops: Kent, California, Württemberg, American, all from the 1883 harvest. 

1884 William Younger No. 3
pale malt	15.75 lb	92.65%
No. 2 invert	1.25 lb	7.35%
Cluster 150 min	3.00 oz
Hallertau 60 min	2.00 oz
Fuggles 30 min	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.25 oz
OG	1077
FG	1027
ABV	6.61
Apparent attenuation	64.94%
IBU	85
SRM	9
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	163º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	57º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

 

Beers I miss (part three a) Younger's No. 3

I should really have done this beer as part three, shouldn't I? Missed a trick there.

My relationship with No. 3 goes back a long way. To even before I could llegally drink. Which is more than 50 years ago.

Back in the early 1970s, a recipe for a clone of No. 3, which at the time was unavailable. Me and my brother brewed it up and it turned out pretty well. For an extract beerm, that is. Which is a sign that we made it very early in our homebrewing career, before we switched to all malt.

No. 3 was a bit of an oddity. A Scotch Ale which was much weaker than most examples of the style. And was quite often sold on draught, unlike the stronger versions. Let's take a look into its history a little.

In the first half of the 19th century, William Younger brewed an array of Strong Scotch Ales. Which, as was Scottish tradition, were given shilling designations. This referred to the wholesale price of the beer per hogshead. Their gravities ranged from 1076 for 60 Shilling to 1141 for 140 Shilling.

For some inexplicable reason, Younger introduced a new range of Strong Ales, numbers from No. 1 to No. 4, ranging in gravity from 1077 to 1099. Perhaps they were trying to emulate the Strong Ales of some Burton brewers, such as Bass. Oddly, they continued to brew a rnage to strong Shilling Ales. Over the years, the range of numbered Ales was whittled down, until only No. 1 and No. 3 remained.

Scottish & Newcastle revived No. 3. at the end of the 1970s. Which is how I came to encounter in the wild. In the early 1980s, I was living on Burley Road in Leeds. Me and some of my mates became members of the Burley Road Liberal Club, Basically, just so we could play snooker. The club was tied to Scottish & Newcastle and had a couple of their bbeers on handpump: Younger's IPA and No. 3.

Being a Mild drinker, I naturally plumped for the No. 3. Which was sort of like a strong Mild. Dark and not too hoppy. A rathher pleasant drink to go with a few frames of snooker.

A couple of years later, when I was working in the centre of London, me and my colleagues used to hang out at an S & N pub around the corner from the office. Usually, at least twice at lunchtime and twice after work each work. Just like Burley Road Liberal Club, it had Younger's IPA and No. 3 on cask. I'm sure you can guess which I usually drank. And which worked wonders for my darts game.

When did I last drink Younger's No. 3? It's a long time. It could possiblly be as long ago as when I last worked in London. Which was October 1985. I might have had the odd pint after that. But they haven't registered in my memory.

Of course, S & N discontinued No. 3 again. I'm not sure exactly when. I think in the 1990s. Looking back on it - and having seen earlier brewing records - I suspect that No. 3 was IPA with caramel added. At least in its final incarnation.
 

Strong Ale 1971 - 1972

I’ve lumped together Scotch Ale with English Strong Ales because I have so few examples of the two types. They are generally similar and, in Scotland, Scotch Ales were usually simply called Strong Ale.

The commonest type of Scotch Ale was a dark beer of 7% to 8% ABV. These were usually parti-gyled with the Pale Ales and then coloured with caramel at racking time. Lightly-hopped, as were all Scottish Pale Ales, and poorly-attenuated, they came across as sweet to very sweet.

In England, Strong Ale was a catchall for anything of above normal strength and which didn’t fall into either the Old Ale or Barley Wine category. Although there was a lot of overlap with those two types.

There’s quite a range of gravities there, 24º. Just like all their other beers, Boddington’s Strong Ale was very highly attenuated. Leaving it the strongest, despite only having the third-highest gravity. The other three beers are all much less well attenuated, none managing to reach 70%.

The three strongest are all over 6% ABV. Pretty strong compared to the vast majority of beer being consumed, which was under 4% ABV.

Far more consistency is shown in the hopping rate per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. All are around 5 lbs. Which is a reasonable enough rate, for the period. Resulting in a fair amount of bitterness. Though, remember, these are calculated values.

Consistency is notably lacking in the colours, ranging from pale amber to dark brown. With a couple inbetween just for good measure. 

Strong Ale 1971 - 1972
Year	Brewer	Beer	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	colour	IBU
1971	Maclay	Strong Ale	1077	1029	6.35	66.67%	4.95	1.60	76	41
1971	Boddington	Strong Ale	1063.5	1011.0	6.95	82.68%	5.14	1.56	103*	36
1977	Adnams	Broadside	1068.0	1022.0	6.09	67.65%	5.36	1.91	32	43
1972	Shepherd Neame	Bishop's Finger	1052.6	1019.5	4.38	62.95%	5.45	1.22	56	30
	Average		1065.3	1020.4	5.94	69.99%	5.22	1.57	66.8	37.5
Sources:
Maclay brewing record held at the Scottish Brewing Archive, document number M/6/1/1/46.
Boddington brewing record held at Manchester Central Library, document number M693/405/134.
Adnams brewing record held at the brewery.
Shepherd Neame Brewing book held at the brewery, document number 1971 H-5O5.
Note:
Colour values marked with * were taken from brewery sources rather than calculated.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1945 Drybrough Burns Ale

Yes, even the strong Burns Ale managed to make it through until the end of the war. Well done Drybrough.

Not that they brewed very much of it. But it’s the thought that counts. At least some strong beer did still exist all through the war. However few people got to drink it. As a large amount of strong Scotch Ale was exported, to Belgium, the West Indies and Asia, it is a bit of a surprise that brewers persisted with it when foreign markets disappeared.

There remains one slight difference with Drybrough’s Pale Ale recipes: there’s rather more chocolate malt. I assume because, unlike the Pale Ales which came in a variety of colours, Burns Ale was always dark. Even darker than indicated in the recipe below. Based on analyses, around 25 SRM.
 

1945 Drybrough Burns Ale
pale malt	12.75 lb	75.56%
enzymic malt	0.50 lb	2.96%
chocolate malt	0.125 lb	0.74%
flaked barley	1.75 lb	10.37%
malt extract	0.25 lb	1.48%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.50 lb	8.89%
Fuggles 135 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1076
FG	1031.5
ABV	5.89
Apparent attenuation	58.55%
IBU	28
SRM	12.5
Mash at	147º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

This recipe is from 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!

Both volumes are also available on Kindle:

Volume I

Volume 2

 

 

 

A pint of Best Scotch

There were some odd regional kinks when it came to beer styles. Best Scotch is a good illustration.

Scotch and Best Scotch were used in the Northeast of England to refer to certain classes of Pale Ales. Essentially, draught Bitter. These names weren't used either in Scotland, or in the rest of the UK, for such beers.

They were sometimes brewed in Scotland, but also in the Northeast of England. For example Vaux in Sunderland and Newcastle Breweries in, well, Newcastle.

It seems customers weren't always getting exactly what they expected.

PINT OF BEST (?) SCOTCH
WHEN a customer asks for a pint of Best Scotch at his local does he know what he is getting? 

Analysis a number of brands beer sold in Northumberland has disclosed that although Best Scotch’ marketed by various companies is the same price there is variation in strength. In fact, some firms’ ‘Best Scotch’ is WEAKER than other brewers’ ordinary beer. 

A Northumberland County Council General Purposes Committee REPORT says that a representative of one firm whose Best Scotch was particularly low in original gravity, explained that his company could not produce beer as cheaply as the larger concerns. His firm marketed lower gravity beer at the same price as the higher gravity beer sold by other companies. Money was saved on materials and less duty was payable. 

The report explains that there no legal standard of compositional quality for beer.
Shields Daily News - Saturday 01 November 1952, page 1.

If you look in the table, you'll see that Scotch was around the same strength as draught Mild or Boys Bitter. While Best Scotch, averaging out at about 1037º, looks very much like Ordinary Bitter. In Scottish terms, Scotch was 60/- and Best Scotch 70/-.

I'm guessing that the small brewery was selling something around the strength of Scotch as Best Scotch. Naughty, but, in the days before the stre4ngth of beer was made public, who was to know? There was no legal definition of either term and brewers could sell anything they liked under those names.

Scotch and Best Scotch 1964 - 1967
Year	Brewer	Beer	Price	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	colour
1964	Newcastle Breweries	Sotch Ale	15	1032.3	1005.4	3.36	83.28%	30
1967	McEwans	Scotch	19	1031.8	1009.5	2.79	70.13%	35
	Average		17	1032.1	1007.5	3.08	76.70%	32.5
1964	McEwans	Best Scotch	17	1038.1	1007.1	3.87	81.36%	30
1965	McEwans	Best Scotch	18	1037.9	1008.2	3.71	78.36%	25
1967	McEwans	Best Scotch	21	1037.4	1005.9	3.94	84.22%	31
1964	Vaux	Best Scotch	17	1036.3	1006.6	3.71	81.82%	30
1965	Vaux Lorimer	Best Scotch	18	1036.4	1006.3	3.76	82.69%	26
1967	Younger, Wm.	Best Scotch	21	1036.7	1007.6	3.78	79.29%	31
	Average		18.7	1037.1	1007.0	3.80	81.29%	28.8
Source:
Whitbread Gravity book held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number LMA/4453/D/02/002.

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1940 Drybrough Burns Ale

Today we've a preview recipe from my soon to be published book on brewing in WW II. I really should get my finger out because, other than one small section, the book is complete. Or rather, books, as it's too big to fit into a single volume.

One of my biggest disappointments, beer-wise, at least, was discovering how deathly dull Scottish brewing was. Learning how everything was just a parti-gyle of the same basic brew. And that often the vast majority – up to 85% – of a brewery’s output could be a single, low-gravity Pale Ale. Drybrough is a prime example.

The only relief in the tedium of page after page of the same beer is occasionally tripping over the one interesting arrow in a Scottish brewery’s quiver: a Strong Ale. Or Scotch Ale. Whichever you prefer, as the names were used interchangeably. With an OG over 1080º, strong is certainly an appropriate description.

There is one interesting feature of Drybrough’s Strong Ale: it was a named beer. Something which wasn’t that common until recently. Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet, seems an appropriate choice. He did like a beer himself, by all accounts.

The grist has the same elements as pre-war: mostly pale malt, with tiny amounts of malt extract, enzymic malt and black malt. Not very exciting. Plus a cocktail of sugars: Fison,  Avona and invert, which I’ve lumped together and replaced by No. 2 invert.

The hops were all English and from the 1939 harvest. Pretty fresh, then, as this example was brewed in January 1940. 

1940 Drybrough Burns Ale
pale malt	16.50 lb	89.19%
enzymic malt	0.25 lb	1.35%
black malt	0.125 lb	0.68%
malt extract	0.125 lb	0.68%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.50 lb	8.11%
Fuggles 135 mins	1.50 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1083
FG	1026
ABV	7.54
Apparent attenuation	68.67%
IBU	42
SRM	13
Mash at	152º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	135 minutes
pitching temp	59.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Let's Brew - 1945 William Younger No 3

It's a time for celebration. I've finished the last of the 531 recipes in my upcoming book "Blitzkrieg!"

I'm so glad it's all over. I've spent a big chunk of the last two years researching and writing these fuckers. How do I feel now? Relieved.

A very late war beer here. War in Europe, at least. This No.3 was brewed exactly a month before Hitler topped himself. Meaning lucky drinkers could have toasted that happy event with this very beer.

Had the plotters blown Adolf to bits a year earlier, drinkers could have toasted the evil dictator’s demise with exactly the same beer. Just about. The balance of base malt to flaked barley had tipped slightly in the favour of the latter. So slightly, that even the best taster would have been unlikely to notice the change.

Not much excitement with the hopping, where there was a single type of Kent hops from the 1943 harvest. 

1945 William Younger No. 3
pale malt	7.75 lb	72.94%
flaked barley	2.75 lb	25.88%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.125 lb	1.18%
Fuggles 75 min	0.75 oz
Fuggles 30 min	0.50 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1044
FG	1013
ABV	4.10
Apparent attenuation	70.45%
IBU	15
SRM	19
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	160º F
Boil time	75 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale