Let's Brew Wednesday - Lees 1952 Stout

It seems like ages since the last Let's Brew. Probably because it has been ages. I should have published this last week. But somehow managed to forget.

Lees Stout this time. For a long time, Lees didn't brew a Stout at all. When they did start making one again, it was a very different beer. The pre-war Stout had an OG of over 1050, you'll see this one is notably weaker. And a good bit more sugary.

English Stouts changed considerably during the 20th century. They became, weaker, less hoppy and sweeter. By the 1950's, Stout was also becoming pretty much exclusively a bottled beer. In 1956, Lees changed their Stout, upping the sugar content to over 40%. About a third of the sugar was in the form of lactose, which boosted the FG to 1024 and reduced the ABV to 2.25%. Many breweries did something similar, though some did still continue to brew drier, more attenuated Stouts. Ironically, around the same time Guinness did the exact opposite, increasing the attenation to make their Stout even drier.


That's me done, so over to Kristen . . . .

JW Lees - 1952 - Stout
General info: Stout! Really? Not really that stouty of a stout? Looks very much to me like a Guinness-y type stout with much less hop. Maybe more like a Murphys. Oats instead of flaked barley. No roasted barley!? Now how can it be a stout? 20% sugar? Ok, now this is looking more and more like a dark mild to me. Seems actually quite close to their mild. Where do we draw the line? More importantly, does it really matter?
Beer Specifics			Recipe by percentages
Gravity (OG)	1.038		52.6% English 2 Row			4.8% Oats
Gravity (FG)	1.011		5.7% Crystal 75L			20% Invert No1
ABV	3.59%		5.5% Chocolate malt
Apparent attenuation	70.85%		5.7% Brown malt
Real attenuation	58.04%		5.5% Black malt
IBU	17.5		Mash	90min@147°F		1.08qt/lb
SRM	51			90min@63.9°C		2.26L/kg
EBC	100.5
			Boil	1.75 hours
	Homebrew @ 70%				Craft @ 80%
Grist	5gal		19L		10bbl		10hl
English 2 Row	3.81	lb	1.732	kg	206.43	lb	79.76	kg
Crystal 75L	0.41	lb	0.189	kg	22.47	lb	8.68	kg
Chocolate malt	0.40	lb	0.183	kg	21.77	lb	8.41	kg
Brown malt	0.41	lb	0.189	kg	22.47	lb	8.68	kg
Black malt	0.40	lb	0.183	kg	21.77	lb	8.41	kg
Oats	0.35	lb	0.159	kg	18.96	lb	7.32	kg
Invert No1	1.45	lb	0.660	kg	78.64	lb	30.38	kg
Hops
Fuggle 5.5% 90min	0.41	oz	11.7	g	25.53	oz	0.617	kg
Fuggle 5.5% 30min	0.41	oz	11.7	g	25.53	oz	0.617	kg
Fermentation	63°F /17.2°C
Yeast	Manchester ale
	1318 London Ale Yeast III   -
Tasting Notes: Dark. Check that. Pretty damned dark. Big rich dark malt. Espresso, mocha, hints of cocoa and toasted bread crumbs. Touches of raisins and figs. Not thin but crisp. Quite mouth filling for being such a light beer. Side-by-side, it’s good from a bottle, really great from a cask. Simply, a delicious, elbowy little 'stout'.