Let's Brew Wednesday - 1959 Adnams XXXX

There’s a tradition in the South of England of having draught Old Ale as a winter special. But a specific type of Old Ale. One that’s really a type of strong Mild.

The recipe for XXXX is certainly very similar to that of XXX. The only real differences are that XXXX has all mild malt as base and has 1 cwt. of something called Hydrol. No idea what that is, so I’ve just bumped up the amount of No. 3 invert.

The recipe has changed a little since 1949. The amber malt has been dropped and the gravity is 7 points lower.

The hops were all English from the 1957 and 1958 crops.

Adnams still brew an Old Ale which is very similar to this beer. I had a few pints of it in the Lord Nelson on my only visit to Southwold. Lovely stuff, when on form.

1959 Adnams XXXX
mild malt	6.75 lb	69.23%
crystal malt 80L	1.75 lb	17.95%
No. 3 invert sugar	1.25 lb	12.82%
Fuggles 125 mins	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	1.00 oz
OG	1046
FG	1014.5
ABV	4.17
Apparent attenuation	68.48%
IBU	27
SRM	18
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	125 minutes
pitching temp	60º F
Yeast	WLP025 Southwold

This is one of literally hundreds of recipes in my book on UK brewing in the aftermath of WW II, Austerity!

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/austerity/23181344