Let's Brew - 1886 Barclay Perkins KKK

Hi kids. More relief from WW II. In the form of another of my obsessions: Barclay Perkins. And another recipe I've thrown together for my book after "Blitzkrieg!". Probably be a good few years before it appears in print, given how long my current book is taking to get finished.

Back before WW II, scarily-strong draught beers weren’t unusual. Especially in London, where they like their beers with a bit of oomph.

London brewers had trimmed down their range of ales from the heady days of the 1830s, when they’d have Mild Ales running from X to XXXX and Stock Ales from KK to KKKK. By the end of the contort the two strongest Mild were long gone. The same wasn’t the case with Stock Ales, where KKK was still alive and kicking.

The FG listed below is the gravity at the end of primary fermentation. After probably at least ten months of secondary conditioning with Brettanomyces, the real final gravity would have been at least 10º lower. Leaving KKK not far short of 10% ABV.

The grist is very similar to that of PA. Except there’s less rice and more sugar. And that sugar is No. 2 invert rather than No. 1.

Notably, all the hops were very fresh. This beer was brewed in December and the hops were all from 1886. Three types: Hallertau, East Kant and Mid-Kent. And an awful lot of them. Around the same level as for an India-bound IPA.

1886 Barclay Perkins KKK
pale malt	13.75 lb	74.32%
flaked rice	1.75 lb	9.46%
No. 2 invert sugar	3.00 lb	16.22%
Fuggles 150 mins	4.75 oz
Hallertau 60 mins	4.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	4.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	2.00 oz
OG	1088
FG	1025
ABV	8.33
Apparent attenuation	71.59%
IBU	143
SRM	12
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	150 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale