Let's Brew Wednesday - 1881 Whitbread SSS

Fluttering proudly at the top of the Whitbread Black Beer flagpole was SSS. Probably known as Treble Stout. That’s the way it usually goes: Single, Double, Treble and, at the very top, Imperial Stout.

Not much to say, recipe-wise, this being parti-gyled with SS. Hence an identical recipe, just more of everything. Instead, I’ll give you the gyling details. Three worts of different gravities, blended to hit the required gravities for SS and SSS:

SS
barrels	gravity	gravity
63	41.4	1114.7
87	25.5	1070.6
67	23	1063.7
217	29.4	1081.4

SSS
barrels	gravity	gravity
148	41.4	1114.7
99	25.5	1070.6
26	23	1063.7
273	33.9	1093.9

As you would expect, SSS received a greater proportion of the strongest wort – more than half of its total volume. While in SS it’s less than a third.

Surprisingly, Whitbread brewed more SSS than SS: 14,366 barrels in 1881. Only 9,143 barrels of SS were made during the same year.

SSS was discontinued in 1917, along with SS. I would have expected that to be the end of it. Except, with wonderfully poor timing, it was revived in 1939. And, inevitably, disappeared forever early in 1940.
 

1881 Whitbread SSS
pale malt	14.50 lb	69.05%
brown malt	3.50 lb	16.67%
black malt	1.00 lb	4.76%
No. 3 invert sugar	2.00 lb	9.52%
Goldings 90 mins	2.50 oz
Hallertau 90 mins	1.50 oz
Goldings 60 mins	4.00 oz
Goldings 30 mins	4.00 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1094
FG	1024
ABV	9.26
Apparent attenuation	74.47%
IBU	102
SRM	42
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	57º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale