Beers I miss (part three a) Younger's No. 3

I should really have done this beer as part three, shouldn't I? Missed a trick there.

My relationship with No. 3 goes back a long way. To even before I could llegally drink. Which is more than 50 years ago.

Back in the early 1970s, a recipe for a clone of No. 3, which at the time was unavailable. Me and my brother brewed it up and it turned out pretty well. For an extract beerm, that is. Which is a sign that we made it very early in our homebrewing career, before we switched to all malt.

No. 3 was a bit of an oddity. A Scotch Ale which was much weaker than most examples of the style. And was quite often sold on draught, unlike the stronger versions. Let's take a look into its history a little.

In the first half of the 19th century, William Younger brewed an array of Strong Scotch Ales. Which, as was Scottish tradition, were given shilling designations. This referred to the wholesale price of the beer per hogshead. Their gravities ranged from 1076 for 60 Shilling to 1141 for 140 Shilling.

For some inexplicable reason, Younger introduced a new range of Strong Ales, numbers from No. 1 to No. 4, ranging in gravity from 1077 to 1099. Perhaps they were trying to emulate the Strong Ales of some Burton brewers, such as Bass. Oddly, they continued to brew a rnage to strong Shilling Ales. Over the years, the range of numbered Ales was whittled down, until only No. 1 and No. 3 remained.

Scottish & Newcastle revived No. 3. at the end of the 1970s. Which is how I came to encounter in the wild. In the early 1980s, I was living on Burley Road in Leeds. Me and some of my mates became members of the Burley Road Liberal Club, Basically, just so we could play snooker. The club was tied to Scottish & Newcastle and had a couple of their bbeers on handpump: Younger's IPA and No. 3.

Being a Mild drinker, I naturally plumped for the No. 3. Which was sort of like a strong Mild. Dark and not too hoppy. A rathher pleasant drink to go with a few frames of snooker.

A couple of years later, when I was working in the centre of London, me and my colleagues used to hang out at an S & N pub around the corner from the office. Usually, at least twice at lunchtime and twice after work each work. Just like Burley Road Liberal Club, it had Younger's IPA and No. 3 on cask. I'm sure you can guess which I usually drank. And which worked wonders for my darts game.

When did I last drink Younger's No. 3? It's a long time. It could possiblly be as long ago as when I last worked in London. Which was October 1985. I might have had the odd pint after that. But they haven't registered in my memory.

Of course, S & N discontinued No. 3 again. I'm not sure exactly when. I think in the 1990s. Looking back on it - and having seen earlier brewing records - I suspect that No. 3 was IPA with caramel added. At least in its final incarnation.