Spotted the theme of these recipes yet? It's not that difficult to discern.
Once again I'm bundling up several of my obsessions in one rucksack: Barclay Perkins, British Lager, the 1920's and lots more. My catalogue of obsessions is getting as long as Santa's christmas card list. Not all of them even beer-related.
As I've told you many times before, Barclay Perkins dove conficently into the Lager pool just after the end of WW I. To show how serious they were they built a brand new Lager brewhouse and brought in a Danish brewer to run it.
Initially they brewed two beers, a Dark Lager loosely based on the Munich style with a gravity of 1058º and a pale Lager called Export which was a bit weaker. Unlike post-WW II British Lagers, these were unashamedly branded as London Lager. Perhaps lingering anti-German sentiment was the reason.
It's another very simple recipe - pilsner malt, grits, Saaz and Goldings hops. Obviously not very Reinheitsgebot. The grits and cereal mash remind me more of a North American recipe. Though the Saaz - Goldings combination is, er, unusual. And one I'd love to try.
I'm not sure how it compares to a German Export. The gravity is a bit lower than I'd expect, but there's decent level of bitterness.
| 1928 Barclay Perkins Export | ||
| pilsner malt 2 row | 9.00 lb | 78.26% |
| corn grits | 2.50 lb | 21.74% |
| Saaz 60 min | 2.00 oz | |
| Goldings 30 min | 1.00 oz | |
| OG | 1051 | |
| FG | 1014 | |
| ABV | 4.89 | |
| Apparent attenuation | 72.55% | |
| IBU | 36 | |
| SRM | 3.4 | |
| Mash at | 158º F | |
| Sparge at | 175º F | |
| Boil time | 90 minutes | |
| pitching temp | 48º F | |
| Yeast | Wyeast 2042 Danish lager | |
I've simplified the mash to a single infusion and sparge. Should you wishing gooing the whole decoction hog, this is the original mashing scheme, kicking off with a cereal mash for the grist:
Just about, but not quite finished, with this particular recipe crop.
"My catalogue of obsessions is getting as long as Santa's christmas card list."
ReplyDeleteBut, on the bright side, at least you're not a monomaniac.
It's interesting that Saaz was used as the main bittering charge and EKG was added later. This is opposite of what you'd expect considering Saaz is very low-alpha, usually more expensive and reknowned for its flavor and aroma. Maybe they got a really good deal on them because of the economic troubles in the former German empire.
ReplyDeleteStott,
ReplyDeleteBohemia wasn't part of the German Empire.
If you're taking requests, the Dark Lager sounds interesting -- I'd enjoy hearing more about it or even seeing a stab at a recipe.
ReplyDeleteI have paired Saaz and Goldings quite a few times in brewing both tripels and North American pilsners. It's a very nice combination - the flavors mesh together well.
ReplyDelete