Let's Brew Wednesday - 1954 Lees Golden Brew

Yes, the 1950's are still alive and kicking. At least here.

I hope you're enjoying these solo recipes. I know Kristen throws in more brewing notes. But these are better than nothing. Which is what the alternative is.

I must admit that I've an ulterior motive in starting this series of 1950's recipes. Two ulterior motives, really. Not sure I'm ready to tell you them both yet. That's just the secretive sort of twat I am. I've started to accumulate so much stuff from the 1950's that I feel a book coming along. It seems ages since my last.

Not totally worked out all the details yet. I'll probably cover 1945 to 1960. It's a fairly interesting period. It's when the beers I drank as a young man coalesced into the form I recognise. The working title is "Victory!". Though that may change.

Right, on with Golden Brew. It ties in quite nicely with some of the stuff I've written about the Strong beers of the 1950's. It seems to have appeared at the classic time for post-war strong beers: the 1953 Coronation. The colour, too, as it belongs to the new breed of pale Strong Ales or Barley Wines. Though just checking back on Gold Label, that only seems to have become pale in 1955.

This is a dead, dead simple recipe. Pale malt and sugar and that's it. This is going to be quick. The sugars are a combination of invert and proprietary sugars. I've simplified it down to No. 2 invert. Once again, I've no idea of the hop varieties. Anything English you fancy, really.

Er, that's it.




Over to Ronald . . . .





 

1954 Lees Golden Brew
pale malt	13.25 lb	82.81%
No. 2 invert	2.75 lb	17.19%
Northern Brewer 90 min	2.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	1.00 oz
OG	1078
FG	1020
ABV	7.67
Apparent attenuation	74.36%
IBU	41
SRM	11
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1318 London ale III

Wyeast have a weird idea of British geography. London ale III is Boddington's yeast. By no stretch of the imagination in the London area.