Let's Brew - 1864 Lovibond X

Lovibond was a smaller London brewery. Which may explain why their X Ale looks shockingly weak for a Mild from the capital. In the 1860s, the X Ale from large London breweries was around 1060º.

It’s a very simple recipe: 9 quarters of pale malt, 1 quarter of while malt, American and Kent hops. But that’s typical for the middle of the 19th century. There’s really not a great deal else I can say about the recipe.

There’s one obvious big difference with the other London brewers’ records I’ve looked at: Lovibond don’t seem to have underlet during mashing. In England – but especially in London – it was usual to start with an infusion mash, then add a smaller amount of hotter water via the underlet after 60 to 90 minutes. This raised the temperature of the goods, effectively forming a step mash. Lovibond seem to have gone with a single infusion and then a sparge.

The other defining feature of Lovibond X is it’s very low gravity – just 1041º. This is exceptionally weak for an X Ale in the 1860s, especially one brewed in London. But on closer inspection, I noticed that Lovibond brewed very little X Ale. Usually, you would expect it to be one of their most popular beers. But it isn’t. They brewed more XX than any other X Ale. And XX was in the 1060º’s.

The hops were a combination of American yearlings – in this case, as this beer was brewed in October, than would mean from the 1867 harvest – Kent yearlings and new Kent hops.

1864 Lovibond X
mild malt	9.25 lb	100.00%
Cluster 120 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 90 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1041
FG	1014.5
ABV	3.51
Apparent attenuation	64.63%
IBU	37
SRM	5
Mash at	146º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale

This is one of the dozens of recipes in my book Mild! plus. Which is avaiable in both paperback:

and hardback formats: