Let's Brew Wednesday - 1936 Barclay Perkins IBS

It's a return to an old favourite here. A beer that I not only drank in the past, but which I continue to drink. I still have at least 40 bottles of 1992 and 1993 Russian Stout.

One of the effects of WW I was the splitting of Barclay’s Imperial Russian Stout into two versions. One, called IBS Export, was brewed to pre-war strength. The other, simply called IBS, was little more than half as strong.

You have to wonder what makes something under 6% ABV an Imperial Stout. But I guess drinkers got used to it. As they got used to cuts in strength of most beers. Funnily enough, at a certain point in the 1950s the weaker version was dropped and only the full-strength version produced.

It’s a real kitchen sink of a recipe, with a total of seven grains. I know, there are only six in the recipe below. That’s because I’ve combined the SA malt with the mild malt. Even combined, they’re barely 50% of the total. The tiny amount of oats is presumably there so some could legally be sold as oatmeal Stout.

There are no fewer than four sugars: No. 2 and No. 3 invert, caramel and something called BS. I’ve substituted No. 4 invert for the latter. No idea how close that is, but I’m pretty sure it’s something dark. I’ve added and extra half pound of No. 3 invert to account for the primings added at racking time.

The hops were Mid-Kent Fuggles (1936), Mid-Kent Fuggles (1935) and Mid-Kent Goldings (1934), the latter two having been kept in cold store.

1936 Barclay Perkins IBS
mild malt	7.00 lb	51.23%
brown malt	0.75 lb	5.49%
amber malt	1.50 lb	10.98%
roast barley	1.50 lb	10.98%
flaked maize	0.75 lb	5.49%
malted oats	0.04 lb	0.29%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.25 lb	1.83%
No. 3 invert sugar	1.00 lb	7.32%
No. 4 invert sugar	0.75 lb	5.49%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.13 lb	0.91%
Fuggles 150 mins	1.50 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.50 oz
OG	1063.5
FG	1020
ABV	5.75
Apparent attenuation	68.50%
IBU	53
SRM	44
Mash at	143º F
After underlet	153º F
Sparge at	162º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale