Let's Brew Wednesday - 1933 Barclay Perkins KKKK

It's the last Let's Brew of the year and, amazingly, this is Wedenesday. At least I've ended the year well.

Which series are we doing? Barclay Perkins between the wars, wasn't it. Or something like that. Today it's a very special beer. KKKK. Something Barclay Perkins brewed for the winter. A strong Old Ale, that was served on draught. Their adverts imply that it was sold from a pin standing on the bar. A common practice, at one time, and a tradition that still survives in some pubs.

Do I need to explain what the K's mean? Again. Alright, the K is derived from "Keeping", or beer that was matured before sale. In the middle of the 19th century, Barclay Perkins brewed two sets of Ales:X Ales that were sold mild and K Ales that were sold matured. X, XX, XXX and XXXX. Then KK, KKK, KKKK. The equivalent beers (XX and KK, XXX and KKK) were exactly the same gravity, but the K Ales had about 50% more hops.

Want some proof of that. Oh, all right then. Here's a nice, neat table:

Barclay Perkins K and X Ales 1869 - 1870
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenu-ation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	pale malt
13th Dec	1869	X	Mild	1060.1	1011.1	6.48	81.53%	6.73	1.94	1.5	2.5	3	61º	100%
13th Dec	1869	XX	Mild	1079.2	1013.9	8.64	82.45%	10.46	4.00	1.5	2.5	3	60º	100%
15th Dec	1869	XXX	Mild	1092.8	1015.6	10.21	83.19%	12.38	4.98	1.5	1.75	3	60º	100%
5th Feb	1870	KK	Stock Ale	1079.2	1012.5	8.83	84.22%	18.27	7.24	2	2	2.5	56º	100%
1st Feb	1870	KKK	Stock Ale	1093.1	1016.5	10.13	82.27%	18.45	7.99	1.5	1.75	2	56º	100%
5th Feb	1870	KKKK	Stock Ale	1106.1	1017.0	11.79	83.98%	18.89	9.11	2	2	2.5	56º	100%
Source: Barclay Perkins brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives

Over the years the ranges were whittled down and the K Ales became known as Strong rather than Stock Ales. For many years Barclay Perkins only brewed one X Ale, er X. And two K Ales, KK and KKK. KK was their Burton, one of the standard draught beers in a London pub for the first half of the 20th century. In the 1930's KKKK, the beer we'll be looking at in more detail later, was revived as a seasonal strong draught beer.

Obviously the gravity of all the X's and K's declined between 1870 and 1933. You'll note that 1930's KKKK was just slightly weaker than the KK of 1870. You'll also note that both X and K Ales had changed colour, from pale in 1870 to dark in 1933.




That's me done. Time for Kristen to do his thing . . . .

Barclay Perkins - 1933 - KKKK
General info: A  happy 'little' Christmas or New Years brew for everyone. Something big with a ton of hops to last a good aging and maybe even unveiling for next year. 4 "K's". When people argue IPA's I point them to these babies. Big and huge. Finishing pretty high in gravity with a butt load of hops to really dry out the end. Something to be put in Nip bottles...not bloody 22oz bombers. Mouth-clearingly awesome!
Beer Specifics			Recipe by percentages
Gravity (OG)	1.076		53.2% English Pale malt			0.7% Caramel
Gravity (FG)	1.023		29.9% American 6-row			0%
ABV	7.07%		5.6% Crystal 75L			0%
Apparent attenuation	69.75%		10.6% Invert No2			0%
Real attenuation	57.14%
IBU	75.2		Mash	90min@154°F		0.81qt/lb
SRM	36			90min@67.6°C		1.69L/kg
EBC	70.4
			Boil	2.5 hours
	Homebrew @ 70%				Craft @ 80%
Grist	5gal		19L		10bbl		10hl
English Pale malt	7.84	lb	3.568	kg	425.14	lb	164.26	kg
American 6-row	4.41	lb	2.007	kg	239.14	lb	92.40	kg
Crystal 75L	0.82	lb	0.374	kg	44.54	lb	17.21	kg
Invert No2	1.57	lb	0.714	kg	85.03	lb	32.85	kg
Caramel	0.10	lb	0.046	kg	5.44	lb	2.10	kg
					799.29
Hops
Goldings 4.5% 150min	2.39	oz	67.9	g	148.46	oz	3.587	kg
Goldings 4.5% 120min	1.20	oz	33.9	g	74.23	oz	1.793	kg
Goldings 4.5% 60min	1.20	oz	33.9	g	74.23	oz	1.793	kg
Goldings 4.5% dry hop	0.41	oz	11.7	g	25.64	oz	0.620	kg
Fermentation	65°F /18.3°C
Yeast	Nottingham ale yeast
	1028 London Ale Yeast  - WLP013 London Ale Yeast
Tasting Notes: Orangina, spice and sweet sugar plums. Dark cherries with a burnt caramel. Biscuits covered in tar resin and marmalade. Bitter cherry stones and green jasmine tea. A finish that is clean but massively long. Hop burps. Sweeeeet…