Saturday 27 January 2018

Let's Brew -1940 Shepherd Neame AK

AK, I know what that is: a Light Bitter. So this definitely is a Pale Ale, albeit a fairly watery one.

Appearing around 1850, AK was once brewed by dozens, if not hundreds of breweries. It was a great innovation, being one of the first Running Pale Ales. In the first half of the 19th century, Pale Ales were always brewed as Stock Ales, being matured for many months before sale. AK was lighter, both in body and strength and was sold no more than a couple of weeks after it was brewed.

Remember me mentioning that it was odd that BB, supposedly a Pale Ale, contained sugar? Well, not always. This AK was parti-gyled with BB, but the recipe contains no sugar. It’s all very confusing.

What’s the difference between the AK and LDA, other than half a gravity point? There’s a pretty obvious one. LDA was bottled, while AK was draught. And the AK, not having No. 3 invert, is a good bit paler.


1940 Shepherd Neame AK
pale malt 7.00 lb 99.01%
malt extract 0.07 lb 0.99%
Fuggles 120 mins 0.50 oz
Goldings 60 mins 0.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins 0.25 oz
OG 1030.5
FG 1005
ABV 3.37
Apparent attenuation 83.61%
IBU 19
SRM 3
Mash at 151º F
Sparge at 170º F
Boil time 120 minutes
pitching temp 62º F
Yeast a Southern English Ale yeast

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