At 1048º, it must have been one of the strongest Milds in the country. Few versions, even of Best Mild, got much above 1040º. It started off even stronger than that. As, in that weird Truman way, it was brewed at 1053.7º then blended with 30 barrels of XX to bring the effective gravity down to 1048.2º.
Just twigged what this beer is, after glancing at various analyses of Truman’s beers from the 1930s. It was the draught Burton Ale in their London pubs. The gravities match. And it explains why it’s over-strength for a Mild.
Parti-gyling Mild and Burton wasn’t unusual. Both Fullers and Courage brewed that way.
The recipe is very similar to that of the dark versions of X and XX. The main difference being a little less crystal malt and a little more flaked maize. That and there being no caramel.
XXX always seems to have been brewed in a three-way parti-gyle with XX and No. 7. Not sure why, exactly. Though given the way XXX was always blended down to a lower OG after fermentation, there needed to be at least one other beer brewed alongside it.
Once again the hops were all English from the 1937 and 1938 harvests.
| 1939 Truman XXX | ||
| pale malt | 6.50 lb | 60.47% |
| high dried malt | 2.25 lb | 20.93% |
| crystal malt 60 L | 0.50 lb | 4.65% |
| flaked maize | 0.75 lb | 6.98% |
| No. 3 invert sugar | 0.75 lb | 6.98% |
| Fuggles 90 mins | 0.75 oz | |
| Fuggles 60 mins | 0.75 oz | |
| Goldings 30 mins | 0.50 oz | |
| OG | 1048 | |
| FG | 1007.5 | |
| ABV | 5.36 | |
| Apparent attenuation | 84.38% | |
| IBU | 25 | |
| SRM | 11 | |
| Mash at | 149º F | |
| Sparge at | 160º F | |
| Boil time | 90 minutes | |
| pitching temp | 59.5º F | |
| Yeast | Wyeast 1028 London Ale (Worthington White Shield) | |
This recipe is from my recently-released Blitzkrieg!, the definitive book on brewing during WW II.
The second volume contains the recipes. But not just that. There are also overviews of some of the breweries covered, showing their beers at the start and the end of the conflict.
Buy one now and be the envy of your friends!
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5 comments:
The Burton/mild crossover is interesting - particularly as I've just read a reference, in a book published in 1943, to a character buying a pint of "Burton and Mild" (Donald Henderson, Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper*).
*A slightly deceptive title. On page 1 Mr B thinks to himself "I'll never kill a woman again! Not on your life!". (The Burton and Mild is on page 2.)
Not as bitter as Perry’s xx mild ale.
Oscar
What would be a reasonable substitute for high dried malt? I use chevaliers for older recipes and golden promise for this time frame.
Bob Campbell,
Crisp imperial malt.
Maybe Simpsons and not Crisp?
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