Let's Brew - 1897 Hancock SBA

Now here’s a confusing beer. I’m assuming SBA stands for “Special Bitter Ale”. So, you would expect it to be stronger than BA. But it isn’t. Instead, it’s exactly the same OG.

What makes it “special”, then? Well, there is one big difference with BA: SBA is all malt. Just like BA, it’s a combination of Chilean and Ouchak. But there’s no No. 1 invert sugar. As the invert sugar only cost 15s a quarter and the malt was 30s and 33s 6d per quarter, SBA was more expensive to brew. BA cost 14s 6d per barrel, while SBA was 15s 9d per barrel.

There was also extra cost in the hops. Both beers used all 1896 East Kents. But BA had two types, one at 56s and the other at 88s. SBA opted for 100% of the latter.

All in all, the difference between SBA and BA is the use of classier ingredients. The same quantities and the same gravity. I dearly wish I’d been able to find a Hancock’s pricelist so I could see how much more was charged for SBA.

1897 Hancock SBA
pale malt	12.26 lb	100.00%
Goldings 120 mins	2.25 oz
Goldings 30 mins	2.25 oz
Goldings dry hops	1.00 oz
OG	1053
FG	1012
ABV	5.42
Apparent attenuation	77.36%
IBU	57
SRM	5
Mash at	154º F
Sparge at	175º F
Boil time	120 minutes
pitching temp	58º F
Yeast	White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity