Let's Brew - 1961 Thomas Usher GSA

Usher’s records from this period are some of the dullest I’ve come across. I can only find two beers: their 70/- and this Strong Ale. Or was it a Scotch Ale? One of the two. It was certainly strong and brewed in Scotland.

Which is a bit odd, as I’ve seen labels for Export, Amber Ale, Sweet Stout, Brown Ale and Pale Ale labels from this period. Were all of those beers really just P 1/4? I suppose if they blended GSA with it they could make a stronger Export-style beer. But how would you make the Stout?

There’s only one sugar in this, DAS. Could that be Dark Amber Syrup? Maybe. I’ve gone for No. 3 invert, in any case. The colour is close to the one in the brewing record so it can’t be that far off. The final colour was almost certainly quite a bit darker, around 20-25 SRM. Probably achieved through a caramel addition at racking time.

I know from the weekly totals on materials that Usher used considerable amounts of caramel. But it doesn’t appear in the brewing records of the individual beers. It must have been added at a later stage in the brewing process.

1961 Thomas Usher GSA
pale malt	15.25 lb	86.35%
flaked maize	1.75 lb	9.91%
malt extract	0.33 lb	1.87%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.33 lb	1.87%
Fuggles 120 mins	2.25 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1077
FG	1025
ABV	6.88
Apparent attenuation	67.53%
IBU	43
SRM	8
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	157º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	57.5º F
Yeast	WLP013 London Ale (Worthington White Shield)