Let's Brew Wednesday - 1928 Thomas Usher PA 70/-

Continuing with a little series of Scottish beers, here’s an interwar 70/-. It’s a great example because the gravity of 1048º is typical for a 7d per pint beer.

The names 60/-, 70/- and 80/- clearly derive from the prices and gravities of the last set of WW I price controls. Some brewers simply called their beers 6d, 7d and 8d PA. Maclay, for example. While Thomas Usher went for 60/-, 70/- and 80/-.

Unlike with 60/- and 80/-, 70/- hadn’t really existed before WW I. In the older type of Scottish beer, what I call Shilling Ales, the beers went 40/-, 50/-, 60/- then jumped to 80/-/ I’ve no idea why that was, but it seems pretty consistent across breweries.

There’s not a huge deal to the recipe. Base malt, flaked maize and sugar. The latter being split between something simply described as “invert” and dextro-laevulose, a type of partially fermentable fructose syrup. I’ve substitutes No. 2 invert for both.

There’s no description of any kind of the hops. I’ve guessed Goldings. I could be wrong. Th hopping rate is a lower than in London: 7 lbs per quarter (3365 lbs) of malt compared to 10 lbs. 

1928 Thomas Usher PA 70/-
pale malt	8.00 lb	78.05%
flaked maize	1.25 lb	12.20%
No. 2 invert sugar	1.00 lb	9.76%
Goldings 105 min	1.00 oz
Goldings 60 min	1.00 oz
Goldings 30 min	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1048
FG	1014.5
ABV	4.43
Apparent attenuation	69.79%
IBU	37
SRM	7
Mash at	150º F
Sparge at	170º F
Boil time	105 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

Here's a short video about the Seventy Shilling style: