Let's Brew Wednesday - 1939 Fullers PA

PA, Fullers strongest Pale Ale, had been around for a while – at least 50 years. Though there had been a name change in the early 1900s, when the India was stripped off the front. The beer itself remained the same, however.

With a gravity over 1050º, PA was a typical 8d Bitter, a style reasonably common in London. This was a about as strong as standard draught beer got between the wars. Surprisingly, PA seems to have been Fullers biggest selling Pale Ale, edging out XK, their Ordinary Bitter.

The grist is pretty standard for an interwar Bitter: pale malt, flaked maize and sugar. Why make things too complicated? Though the percentage of sugar is pretty tiny, not quite 3% of the total.

The hops in the recipe are a guess. All I know for certain is that they were English and from the 1938 harvest. Fuggles and Goldings seem a reasonable enough guess.

Fullers PA didn’t fare too badly in WW I, with its OG in the 1920s being the same as in 1910. The second war wouldn’t be so kind to it, as you’ll see in a while.

1939 Fullers PA
pale malt	9.50 lb	82.47%
flaked maize	1.75 lb	15.19%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.125 lb	1.09%
glucose	0.125 lb	1.09%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.02 lb	0.17%
Fuggles 90 min	1.75 oz
Goldings 30 min	1.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.50 oz
OG	1051
FG	1012.5
ABV	5.09
Apparent attenuation	75.49%
IBU	43
SRM	6
Mash at	146º F
After underlet	149º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale