Let's Brew Wednesday - 1913 William Younger No. 3

Sorry for the interruption in Let's Brew instalments. A variety of factors, too dull to mention here, were responsible. But I can guarantee you that there will be at least two Wednesdays in a row with recipes. Even better than that, with William Younger recipes.

No. 3 is a funny beast. I can remember it being described as a dark Bitter in the 1970's. I suppose that's no worse than mistaking its 19th-century incarnation for a Pale Ale, which some have. Burton, however odd that sounds for a beer brewed in Scotland, seems the best way to describe it. It shares many features with London KK and, when sold in London, filled the same slot on the bar. Of course, you could just call it a Scotch Ale, however confusing that phrase might be. Though, as you can see in the image to the right, that was what Younger themselves described it as.

Then there's the character of the beer itself. I wish I could tell you what colour the finished version of this beer had. I suspect several different ones, based on my experiences with other Scottish brewers. My guess would be that it was coloured up with caramel several ways to meet the expectations of different markets. But, until I track down a document with colouring details, that's just speculation.

Sometime between 1898 and 1912 there were radical changes made to No. 3's character. The gravity was knocked down a bit, from 1076º to 1067º, but that wasn't the biggest change. That was in the hopping, which dropped from 3 pounds per barrel to just over 1 pound. That's such a drastic change that I wish I had logs for some of the intervening years. I can't believe the drop happened all in one go. It would have been too drastic a change.

New versions of No. 3 also appeared in the same period. The enigmatic No. 3a, which retained a gravity of over 1070º. No. 3 Sc (presumably meaning Scotch or Scottish) which appears to be exactly the same as the standard version. Finally No. 3 btg, the bottling version, which was a touch higher in gravity, 1070º, and the most heavily hopped at 1.75 lbs per barrel.

Weirdly, in the 1930's the hopping rate went up again, even though the gravity had fallen a good bit more. Anyone who drank No. 3 over 30 years would have experienced some very different beers in his glass.






That's me done for now, and here comes Kristen with the recipe . . . . . . .









Kristen’s Version:

So we are moving a bit more forward in time. Up to the turn of the century. Both of these next logs were included in the 1909 book. Each is slightly different as I learn more I make sure and update calculations and such. They are only a bit off though. The big thing you’ll notice about both of these is the amount of adjuncts.

They used grits, which I would personally use instead of flaked maize as the character is quite different. However you’ll have to cook them up first to use them. Its not that much effort really. Just treat them as you would when you are cooking up polenta (www.lmgtfy.com). Then add them to your mash. Take into account the temperature they bring over being hot or cold. The second bit is the use of caramel. Use it as you wish.

The hops were pretty much 100% Cluster however feel free to play around with these as you see fit. Goldings always do a great job. Bullion work pretty nicely as did Challenger. This ferments pretty cool so take note and make sure the yeast doesn’t drop out.