1914 Boddington B

I used to think that low-gravity Milds didn’t exist until WW I. But I’ve now realised that wasn’t true.

My perceptions were distorted by only having looked at large London breweries, whose Milds were untypically strong. Outside London there were sub-1040º Milds well before the war. Boddington B being a good example.

This was Boddington’s weakest Mild. Looking at it just the recipe, I’d struggle to identify which period it was brewed in. It looks very much like a 1930’s Mild in terms of strength. It could even be 1950’s Mild at the strong end of the spectrum.

It must have been a bit of a shock for provincial Mild drinkers if they visited London. An X Ale in the capital was usually over 5% ABV and there was no weaker alternative, if you wanted to drink Mild. X Ale was the only Mild they brewed.

There’s not a great deal to the grist, just pale malt, flaked maize and sugar. As the type of sugar isn’t specified, I’ve hedged my bets and plumped for No. 2 invert. It really could be anything. Though, as it appears they used the same sugar in all their beers, I doubt it was anything very dark.

Most of Boddington’s beers at this time contained Californian hops, but, for some reason, this has Bohemian hops instead. Which I’ve interpreted as Saaz. Some of the dry hops were Californian, but all the rest were English. I’ve guessed Fuggles, but some or all Goldings would be fine, too.

1914 Boddington B
pale malt	6.50 lb	78.79%
flaked maize	1.25 lb	15.15%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.50 lb	6.06%
Fuggles 140 mins	0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.25 oz
Saaz 30 mins	0.25 oz
Cluster dry hops	0.13 oz
Fuggles dry hops	0.13 oz
OG	1037
FG	1010
ABV	3.57
Apparent attenuation	72.97%
IBU	13
SRM	5
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	140 minutes
pitching temp	63º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons)