Let's Brew Wednesday - 1936 Barclay Perkins Doctor Brown

An old-fashioned Broan Ale recipe this time. Yum.

My first sighting of this beauty in the brewing records is April 1928. Which is about when I would guess the beer made its initial bow.

The second half of the 1920s, when the dust of WW I was finally being shaken off, was when many London brewers launched their version of this new style. Interpretations were diverse, but Barclay Perkins, in common with their local rival Whitbread, went for a relatively strong variant. And one brewed single-gyle, with its own specific grist.

The recipe had similarities with that of the Mild parti-gyle, including crystal malt and No. 3 invert sugar. Though it lacked the amber malt and contained rather less flaked maize.

Being honest, the grist isn’t a million miles away from Barclay’s Mild Ales. It was hopped at a similar level, too: 7.5 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. It was, however, higher in gravity than any of the Milds. Because of what happened at racking.

The hops themselves were Worcester from the 1935 harvest, Mid-Kent from 1935 and Mid-Kent Goldings from 1934. All had been kept in a cold store.

The quantity of primings: 5 quarts per barrel, compared to just 2 quarts for the X Ale preceding it in the brewing book. Their addition boosted the effective OG from 1040.8º.

1936 Barclay Perkins DB
pale malt	6.00 lb	59.52%
crystal malt 60 L	1.00 lb	9.92%
flaked maize	1.25 lb	12.40%
No. 3 invert sugar	1.25 lb	12.40%
brown sugar	0.50 lb	4.96%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.08 lb	0.79%
Fuggles 150 mins	0.75 oz
Fuggles 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
OG	1046.5
FG	1016
ABV	4.03
Apparent attenuation	65.59%
IBU	30
SRM	21
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale