Let's Brew Wednesday - 1919 Barclay Perkins X

Sorry for the slight delay with this one. I needed to check some stuff.

Ah. WW I. What fun it was. I remember the dates for the war sometimes being 1914-1919 on some war memorials. Counting the armistice as a ceasefire, not the final end of hostilities. That makes this a sort of WW I beer.

It definitely is in some respects. Wartime restrictions on gravity had been relaxed, but not removed. Hang on . . . I've got them somewhere.

There you go:

Price control 1917-1921
Price	Oct 1917	Apr 1918	Feb 1919	Jul 1919	Apr 1920
2d				<1019
3d			<1022	1020-1026	<1019
4d	<1036	<1030	1023-1028	1027-1032	1020-1026
5d	1036-1042	1030-1034	1029-1034	1033-1038	1027-1032
6d			1035-1041	1039-1045	1033-1038
7d			1042-1049	1045-1053	1039-1045
8d			>1050	>1054	1045-1053
9d					>1054
Sources: The Brewers' Almanack 1928 pages 100 - 101. "The British Brewing Industry 1830-1980"

The beer below was brewed 26th May 1919, so the middle column applies. At 1036.5, it was at the lower end of the 6d gravity range. It was party-gyled with Ale 4d. That had a gravity of 1029.4  . . . . just over the maximum for a 4d beer. Naughty Barclay Perkins.

Onto the details of this beer. It's a transitional one. A year later, the OG of Barclay Perkins X was 1043. Where it would stay for quite a while. Ironically - given the claims that the demise of Porter was caused by dark malts being restricted in WW I - this beer contains pale, brown and amber malt. Before the war, it had been just pale and amber. After the war, pale, amber and crystal.

Crystal malt. I should say something about that. I've not seen much of it used until after WW I.




Now it's Kristen time . . . . . . .

Barclay Perkins - 1919 - X
General info:  The older X recipes usually feature all amber, black and brown malt. The ‘later’ old ones feature a lot of sugars. This one, is a cross between the old and the newer. Amber and brown malt and a good deal of dark invert. Nearly half of the color comes from the addition of the caramel colorant. This beer was absolutely a beer for the masses. This single batch of beer was nearly 36,000 gallons alone!
Beer Specifics			Recipe by percentages
Gravity (OG)	1.037		31.9% English pale malt 1			3.8% Brown malt
Gravity (FG)	1.014		32.6% English pale malt 2			13.4% Invert No3
ABV	3.07%		8.2% Amber malt			0.6% Caramel colorant
Apparent attenuation	62.85%		9.4% Flaked maize			0%
Real attenuation	51.49%
IBU	12.9		Mash	120min@154°F		0.92qt/lb
SRM	20			120min@68°C		1.92L/kg
EBC	39.5
			Boil	1.25 hours
	Homebrew @ 70%				Craft @ 80%
Grist	5gal		19L		10bbl		10hl
English pale malt 1	2.26	lb	1.029	kg	122.67	lb	47.40	kg
English pale malt 2	2.31	lb	1.053	kg	125.49	lb	48.48	kg
Amber malt	0.58	lb	0.266	kg	31.66	lb	12.23	kg
Flaked maize	0.67	lb	0.304	kg	36.20	lb	13.99	kg
Brown malt	0.27	lb	0.123	kg	14.71	lb	5.68	kg
Invert No3	0.95	lb	0.432	kg	51.48	lb	19.89	kg
Caramel colorant	0.64	oz	18.2	g	2.15	lb	0.83	kg
					384.36
Hops
Goldings 4.5% 90min	0.47	oz	13.2	g	28.91	oz	0.699	kg
Goldings 4.5% 30min	0.23	oz	6.5	g	14.20	oz	0.343	kg
Fermentation	67°F /19.4°C
Yeast	Nottingham ale yeast
	1028 London Ale Yeast  - WLP013 London Ale Yeast
Tasting Notes: Lady fingers, toasted wheat bread and caramel. A good dose of stone fruits with a crisp tannic dryness on the end. Very smooth and easy to drink. Much more character than the gravity would suggest.

xxxx