Let's Brew Wednesday - 1996 Youngs Best Malt Ale (2)

Brewed just nine days later than the previous Best Malt Ale was this very different version. Higher in gravity and with a very different grist.

Interestingly, despite the higher gravity, a lower degree of attenuation leaves it barely stronger in ABV terms.

Brewed single-gyle, this iteration has basically the same grist as Winter Warmer. Except that there’s no torrefied barley. And looks more like versions from the late 1970s. As with most Dark Milds, there’s no malt darker than crystal. With much of the colour coming from sugar.

They were obviously playing around with the recipe as the hopping rate is much higher than the version brewed a few days earlier. Almost double, in fact. So much so, that I didn’t need to adjust the quantities of hops for once. A much longer boil also boosted the bitterness level.

The hops themselves were two English types, with no vintage indicated.

1996 Youngs Best Malt Ale (2)
pale malt	5.50 lb	76.07%
crystal malt 150 L	0.67 lb	9.27%
glucose	0.75 lb	10.37%
molasses	0.25 lb	3.46%
caramel 2000 SRM	0.06 lb	0.83%
Fuggles 125 min	1.75 oz
OG	1034
FG	1011
ABV	3.04
Apparent attenuation	67.65%
IBU	27
SRM	15
Mash at	153º F
Sparge at	165º F
Boil time	125 minutes
pitching temp	64º F
Yeast	WLP002 English Ale

 

Listen to brewer John Hatch explain how they brewed at Youngs in the 1990s.