Let's Brew Wednesday - 1928 Barclay Perkins IPA

What a treatarooney kiddywinks. A traditional IPA. Not one of those stupid strong things. A proper, low-gravity IPA. You know the type. The ones that were actually most typical of the style.

Yes, time for beer number two in mine and Kristen's 1920's Barclay Perkins recipe series. I'm really pleased he's chosen this beer. For two reasons. I've got an image of the appropriate label. (If you make the beer and bottle it, why not use the real label?) And it gives me a chance to bang on about traditional IPA a bit.

Brewers in London and the Southeast often made beers called IPA. As a rule, these beers were weaker than the brewery's PA. Many of the IPA's were, like this one, specifically bottled beers. I can only think of one that still survives: Harvey's IPA. Where was I? Ah yes, IPA weaker than PA. Barclay Perkins PA had an OG of 1053º. A good bit higher than the 1046º of this baby.

The origins of these IPAs was the end of the 19th century. Whitbread introduced theirs in 1899. It was 1051º to their PA's 1058º. By the 1920's, that had dropped to 1036º and 1046º. As I'm sure you've noticed, Whitbread's versions were a good bit weaker than Barclay Perkins.

This is a very early version of Barclay Perkins IPA. It first appeared in 1927, replacing XLK (bottling). That was a bottled version of their Ordinary Bitter.At only 1038º, it was a pretty puny beer.

IPA was not a strong beer. Have I said that recently? It still bears repeating: IPA was not a strong beer. Do you think people will listen if I say it often enough?



On that happy note, it's over to Kristen . . . . .

Barclay Perkins - 1928 - IPA - Bottling
General info: Great little traditional IPA recipe. OG and BU are about equal. Lots of fresh hops of three different varieties. You'll notice the No3 Invert which is highly unusual for an IPA. A note in the log responds to this, "No2 saccharin not delivered in time. No3 used instead." They added a bit of caramel for a fine tuning of the color but it’s not worth it here. This beer tastes very much like Fullers London Pride. A little more bitter but very similar.
Beer Specifics			Recipe by percentages
Gravity (OG)	1.046		57.4% English Pale malt			0%
Gravity (FG)	1.010		17.6% American 6-row			0%
ABV	4.80%		13.2% Flaked Maize
Apparent attenuation	78.27%		11.8% Invert No3
Real attenuation	64.11%		0%
IBU	41.2		Mash	90min@152°F		0.8qt/lb
SRM	10			90min@66.7°C		1.68L/kg
EBC	20.0
			Boil	2.25 hours
	Homebrew @ 70%				Craft @ 80%
Grist	5gal		19L		10bbl		10hl
English Pale malt	5.06	lb	2.304	kg	274.49	lb	106.05	kg
American 6-row	1.56	lb	0.709	kg	84.46	lb	32.63	kg
Flaked Maize	1.17	lb	0.532	kg	63.34	lb	24.47	kg
Invert No3	1.04	lb	0.473	kg	56.31	lb	21.75	kg
Hops
Cluster 7% 120min	0.31	oz	8.8	g	19.31	oz	0.466	kg
Fuggle 5.5% 60min	1.04	oz	29.4	g	64.35	oz	1.555	kg
Fuggle 5.5% 30min	0.55	oz	15.5	g	33.93	oz	0.820	kg
Goldings 4.5% dry hop	0.21	oz	6.1	g	13.30	oz	0.321	kg
Fermentation	63°F /17.2°C
Yeast	Nottingham ale
	1968 London ESB Ale Yeast  - WLP002 English Ale Yeast
Tasting Notes: Deep golden colour with a pillowy head. Herbal, spice and citrus notes. Ladyfingers and biscuits. Crips, clean, minerally, dry hoppy finish. Bloody spot on pint.

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