Let's Brew - 1956 Tennant's No. 1

It wasn’t just the long list of ingredients in their grists that made Tennant unusual. They also brewed two Barley Wines over 1100º.

There were only a handful of beers of that strength in the UK at the time. Why did Tennant brew two? I’ve absolutely no idea. Though it looks as if Gold Label might have been a derivative of No. 1 Barley Wine. At one time both of them were called No. 1. My guess is that they decided to try a paler Barley Wine and it was a hit. This darker No. 1 was eventually dropped.

Unsurprisingly given the difference in colour, the grists of the two beers were quite different. The darker beer had No. 2 rather than No. 1 invert and contained two coloured malts, crystal and black.

The big difference in the hopping, is that the darker beer has three times the quantity of dry hops. Which is a sign to me that it,  too, just like Gold Label, was matured for a long period before sale. It also says on the label "Specially brewed and long matured". Sort of a hint.

1956 Tennant's No. 1
pale malt	16.75 lb	75.28%
crystal malt 60 L	0.50 lb	2.25%
black malt	0.50 lb	2.25%
enzymic malt	0.25 lb	1.12%
flaked maize	1.50 lb	6.74%
No. 2 invert sugar	2.75 lb	12.36%
Goldings 240 mins	3.00 oz
Goldings 120 mins	1.75 oz
Goldings 60 mins	1.75 oz
Hallertau dry hops	0.75 oz
OG	1101
FG	1023.5
ABV	10.25
Apparent attenuation	76.73%
IBU	78
SRM	25
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	240 minutes
pitching temp	57º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale