Let’s brew - 1942 Barclay Perkins X

We’re only one year further into WW II, yet there have been some significant changes to Barclay Perkins X Ale.

Most obviously, the gravity has been dropped around 4 points to 1027.5º. Personally, I’m pretty dubious of anything with an OG under 1030º. Though the primings added at racking time did raise that to 1029.5º. But at less than 3% ABV, you’d need to be very determined to get very tipsy.

Flaked maize was a very popular adjunct before WW II. From what I’ve seen, at least 75%, if not more, of brewers used it. With imports of maize drying up or being used for other purposes, brewers had no option but to drop it.

However, a couple of years into the war UK barley production was soaring. So the government decided to compel brewers to use flaked barley as an adjunct. Skipping the malting stage saved on energy. Brewers seem to have used flaked barley in much the same way as they had flaked maize. This beer also has another adjunct, torrefied barley. Not sure why that might have been. Possibly just because it was available.

This is an even stranger wartime recipe. Looks like they were just using whatever ingredients they had. Surprisingly, the adjuncts weren’t really any cheaper than malt. As I can see since the brewing record lists the prices:

grain	price per quarter (shillings)
Torrefied barley	215
amber malt	280
crystal malt	235
MA malt	190
MA malt	225
lager malt	125
flaked barley	205

It looks like the lager malt, given its low price, was something that had been bought before the start of the war. And doubtless that’s why it was included here: they were just using it up.

The hops, as you would expect, remain all English. Three types of Mid-Kent Fuggles.

The colour is given as 12 SRM in the brewing record, but I know that, while there had been semi-dark and dark versions of both X and XX before the war, the semi-dark X and dark XX had been dropped early in the war. Meaning you’ll need to colour this up to 20 SRM with caramel.

1942 Barclay Perkins X
mild malt	3.75 lb	60.98%
amber malt	0.50 lb	8.13%
crystal malt 60 L	0.33 lb	5.37%
lager malt	0.25 lb	4.07%
flaked barley	0.50 lb	8.13%
torrefied barley	0.25 lb	4.07%
no. 3 sugar	0.50 lb	8.13%
caramel	0.07 lb	1.14%
Fuggles 105 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.25 oz
OG	1027.5
FG	1006
ABV	2.84
Apparent attenuation	78.18%
IBU	18
SRM	12
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	61º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale