Let's Brew - 1940 Fullers AK

A style that mostly occurred in the South, AK had come under pressure in WW I. As a relatively low-ABV Pale Ale, it was particularly vulnerable to a general drop in gravities.

This is the last hurray of Fullers version. Literally stricken form history. A slightly later brewing record has AK crossed out, as Fullers drastically overhauled their range of Pale Ales. It started the war with such a low gravity and brewed in such small quantities that it was never going to last the duration.

AK as a type was driven to near extermination by two world wars. Its mistake being to start off pretty weak. In the late 19th century, dozens of breweries produced a beer called AK. After WW II, there were no more than a handful left.

This example was parti-gyled, as usual, with PA and XK.

Turning to the recipe, the flaked maize has been dropped in favour of flaked rice. As you would expect. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of change.

There were four types of English hops, one from the 1939 harvest, the rest from 1938. 

1940 Fullers AK
pale malt	5.75 lb	87.44%
flaked rice	0.75 lb	11.41%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.033 lb	0.50%
glucose	0.033 lb	0.50%
caramel 1000 SRM	0.01 lb	0.15%
Fuggles 90 min	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	1.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1029
FG	1008.5
ABV	2.71
Apparent attenuation	70.69%
IBU	29
SRM	4
Mash at	151º F
After underlet	153º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	62º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale