Let's Brew - 1921 Barclay Perkins X Ale

Here's an oddity: an old Mild recipe that isn't watery. Or bland.

X Ale was one of the mainstays of Barclay Perkins range. By 1921 it had attained the form it would have for the remainder of the decade. As XX Ale after 1931, it lasted much like this until WW II.

Barclay Perkins were unusual in having Mild Ales with fairly complex malt. In addition to pale and crystal malt, there was also amber malt. Amber malt had been in the recipe since 1909, but the crystal malt was only added in late 1916, around six months before X Ale was discontinued.

This beer was made in the small brew house as a “Special brew with Australian malt”. Which explains why there’s no SA malt as part of the base, but all pale malt.

The hops were mostly pretty new: Mid Kent 1920 and Pacific 1920, both kept in a cold store. There were also some Alsace hops from 1917. Which means they were grown when the region was still part of Germany.

Unusually for a Barclay Perkins Mild, it doesn’t appear to have been primed.

1921 Barclay Perkins X Ale
pale malt	5.75 lb	64.25%
amber malt	1.00 lb	11.17%
crystal malt 60 L	0.50 lb	5.59%
flaked maize	1.00 lb	11.17%
No. 3 invert sugar	0.67 lb	7.49%
caramel 500 SRM	0.03 lb	0.34%
Alsace 90 mins	0.25 oz
Cluster 60 mins	1.00 oz
Fuggles 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1041.5
FG	1010
ABV	4.17
Apparent attenuation	75.90%
IBU	31
SRM	11
Mash at	151º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale