Let's Brew - 1914 Fullers AK

Following on from my bit about low-gravity Pale Ales in the late 19th century, here's an AK recipe.

The name AK has been much discussed. Pretty much all of the speculation as to its origin is bollocks. The truth is incredibly simple.

Each of the letters in the name tells us something. A indicates the strength. When the relative Mild Ales was indicated by a number of X's, some breweries had a class of beer weaker than X. This was often called A, standing for Ale. The K - for Keeping - is there to tell you that it's not a Mild Ale, but a Pale Ale.

As we saw earlier in the week with Fuller's beers, there were also Pale Ales called XK. Where the X indicates that the srength was about the same as X Ale and the K tells you that it was a Pale Ale. It's really not complicated at all.

Going into the war, Fullers AK had a classic gravity in the mid-1040ºs. Though, obviously, that wasn’t going to last.

The grist is very similar to that of PA, only there’s a bit more flaked maize and a bit less sugar. Not really that significant of a difference. The pale malt was made from English, Chilean and Oregon barley.

The hops are Mid-Kent (1913), Poperinge (1913), Cobbs (1913, 1914), Oregon (1913). Though as the quantities of Poperinge and Oregon were pretty small (20 lbs of each out of a total of 270 lbs) I’ve combined them as Cluster.

The real mashing scheme was mash of an hour with an initial heat of 143º F, raised to 149º F after 25 minutes by an underlet. Left to stand for a further hour and 35 minutes.

1914 Fullers AK
pale malt	8.00 lb	84.06%
flaked maize	0.50 lb	5.25%
No. 2 invert sugar	0.50 lb	5.25%
glucose	0.50 lb	5.25%
caramel 500 SRM	0.02 lb	0.18%
Cluster 90 mins	0.375 oz
Fuggles 90 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 60 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings 30 mins	0.75 oz
Goldings dry hops	0.25 oz
OG	1044
FG	1009
ABV	4.63
Apparent attenuation	79.55%
IBU	33
SRM	6
Mash at	149º F
Sparge at	168º F
Boil time	90 minutes
pitching temp	60.5º F
Yeast	Wyeast 1968 London ESB

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1923 Fuller's XK

Why have we broken from the series of Eldridge Pope recipes? There's a good reason. In a way we haven't. Because this record comes not from the Fuller's brewery but from the Eldridge Pope archives.

In the old days it was common for the sons of brewing families to serve an apprenticeship in someone else's brewery. That's why I've seen some records from the Evershed Brewery in Burton. One of the Younger family worked there and his personal brewing book is in the Scottish Brewing Archive with the William Younger records.

That's what happened here. One of the Popes worked at Fullers and kept his own personal brewing book. It's bizarre, because they're in exactly the same format as the official Fullers records. I suspect that they're incorrectly identified as Eldridge Pope records in the archive where they reside.

XK was the middle of three Pale Ales Fullers brewed, coming between AK and PA. XK was a fairly common beer name in the 19th century. Analysing its name has given me a reasonable amount of confidence about my interpretation of the name AK. The K signifies that it's a Pale Ale, the X indicates the strength. That is, the same gravity as an X Ale. In the 1890's century that meant 1050-1055º. By the 1920's, it was around 1040º

When I started writing this, I thought: "Let's put together a little table of them." When I did, I was struck by something. A crazy coincidence. Here's the 1925 table:

Fuller's Pale Ales in 1925
Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl
1925	AK	Pale Ale	1032.2	1006.9	3.35	78.52%	10.46	1.20
1925	XK	Pale Ale	1040.5	1010.8	3.93	73.34%	10.46	1.51
1925	PA	Pale Ale	1054.3	1015.0	5.21	72.46%	10.46	2.03
Source:
Fuller's brewing records

Those gravities reminded me of something - the current range of three Fullers Pale Ales:

Fuller's Pale Ales in 2004
Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation
2004	Chiswick Bitter	Pale Ale	1034.5	1007.6	3.5	77.97%
2004	London Pride	Pale Ale	1040.5	1009	4.1	77.78%
2004	ESB	Pale Ale	1054	1011.8	5.5	78.15%
Source:
Good Beer guide 2005

The beers from 1925 are spookily similar to the modern ones. I think I'm going to start calling Chiswick AK

AK and XK were both victims of the downward pressure on gravities in WW II. They disappeared in late 1941 when the gravity of PA was dropped to 1036º.






Take it away Kristen . . . .

Kristen’s Version:

Malt: Look at this baby. The vast majority of the malt came from the US. It’s no where near as loverly as the UK stuff but is pretty damn nice. Has more hush and graininess but a very solid malt. Pick something you can get your hands on that’s close. Note, this is not 6-row malt but the standard pale 2-row. There are lots of ‘pale ale’ blends out there. Give those a shot. You can always use a Maris or Golden Promise,  you’ll just have a much more rich character in your beer. The recipe called for glucose but I replaced it with cane sugar. It will do nearly exactly the same job and at under 2%, you won’t notice the difference. The invert 2, even at 2% will make a bit of difference for sure so do it up right.

Mash: Please do note the mash temp is not incorrect. The beers are separated into basically 3 classes. X/Burton types; PA types and the stout/porter types. These Pale ale types were much higher hopped with a much higher mash temp.

Hops: Again, more US ingredients! Tons of cluster hops used here, simply for a good amount of bitterness. EKG are the ones you want for the rest, as long as they are nice. Dry hop with another nice EKG-like hop. Its most important to use the highest quality hops here than exact type of hop.

Yeast: Sexy Fullers yeast or if you are feeling bit more different and If you want to have a bit of fun, the Courage yeast works wonderfully here.

Ind Coope AKK

This has all been inspired by a label that I found. You can it there to the right. Ind Coope AKK Ale.

It's beer names like this that have left me doubting Martyn Cornell's explanation of AK standing for Ankel Koyt. If it did, then what does the extra K stand for in AKK? To me names like this confirm my explanation of AK. That the AK and the K both stand for something.

Though I'll be honest that the usual meaning of K - Keeping - on the face of it makes little sense for the type of Light Bitter that was called AK. It being one of the classic types of 19th-century Running Beers. Let me think a bit more about that one.

I've a few examples of AKK from old brewery price lists. Always alongside an AK. Interesting that. There are plenty of examples of AK without AKK, but not the other way around. I think that makes clear which came first: AK. AKK is usually one step up in price and strength from AK.

Sometimes, like at Fuller's, the strength slot one up from AK is filled by XK. Which works with my explanation of AK. A being an indication of strength, just like X. In the late 19th-century, X implies a gravity of about 1055º, A 1050º. K specifying that it's a Pale Ale rather than a Mild Ale.

Tables. I don't like to leave you without one or two. Some examples from price lists would seem appropriate.

First Ind Coope themselves:

Brewery	Place	year	beer	price per barrel (shillings)	price per gallon (pence)
Ind Coope & Co	Romford	1865	AKK	44	14.6667
Ind Coope & Co	Romford	1865	AK	46	15.3333
Source:
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette - Friday 03 November 1865, page 8

This one shows where AK and AKK fitted into a range of Pale Ales:

Brewery	Place	year	beer	price per barrel (shillings)	price per gallon (pence)
Rogers' Ales	Bristol	1900	AK Bitter Ale	36	12
Rogers' Ales	Bristol	1900	AKK Bitter Ale	42	14
Rogers' Ales	Bristol	1900	PA Pale Ale	48	16
Rogers' Ales	Bristol	1900	IPA India Pale Ale	54	18
Source:
Western Daily Press - Saturday 15 December 1900, page 3

And so does this one, except I've included the brewery's whole set of beers:

Brewery	Place	year	beer	price per barrel (shillings)	price per gallon (pence)
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	X Mild Ale	30	10d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	XX Mild Ale	36	1s
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	XXXX Mild Ale	48	1s 4d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	XXX Old Ale	48	1s 4d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	IPA India Pale Ale	54	1s 6d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	AK Light Dinner Ale	36	1s
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	AKK Bitter Ale	42	1s 2d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	AB Pale Ale	48	1s 4d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	A1 Strong Ale	54	1s 6d
Godsell & Sons	Stroud, Gloucs	1909	XXX Extra Stout	48	1s 4d

You may have spotted something odd. And illogical. Ind Coope's AKK was weaker than its AK. Don't ask me why. It makes absolutely no sense. The more letters, the stronger the beer is the usual rule.

Fullers Pale Ales 1914 - 1920

Time for part two of my series on Fuller's beers during WW I. And yes, it is their Pale Ales. All three of them.

Funnily enough, Fullers started the war with only two, PA and one of my favourite obsessions, AK. As you can see, there was quite a gap in gravity between the two, with PA at 1054º and AK at 1044º. In the late 19th century they had made four Pale Ales. In descending order of strength IPA, XK, AK and KA. Sometime between 1902 and 1910 IPA was renamed PA and XK and KA were phased out.

At the outbreak of war, AK was the lowest-gravity beer Fullers brewed, 5 points lower than X Ale and 1 lower than Porter. As with X Ale a few points were knocked off the gravity in the early war years, but the biggest changes were in April 1917 and April 1918. First reducing the gravity to around 1036º and then to 1026º. After April 1917, its gravity was pretty much identical to X Ale, even though before the war it had been lower. By 1920 both X Ale and AK were around 1030.

In a similar way to the introduction of XX Ale, in 1919 a slightly stronger Pale Ale called XK was introduced. And while AK remained around 1030º, XK had risen to the dizzying height of 1037º by 1920. AK limped along through the 1920's and 1930's, being brewed in quantities so small that you wonder why they bothered. Sometimes it was as little as two barrels. Too small for any of the normal fermenters as it was fermented in puncheons. It disappeared for good early in WW II (unless I can persuade Fullers to brew it as a Past Masters beer).

PA came through the war almost unscathed. It was over 1050º right up until April 1918. No mean feat, that. What it looks as if they did was to drive down the gravity of AK as far as possible so that they could keep up the strength of PA. In 1918 the average gravity of all beer produced in a brewery had to average no more than 1030º. To be able to brew PA in the high 1030's there had to be a considerable amount of beer with a gravity well below 1030º. Even in early 1919, it was still around 1039º - a very respectable strength for that time. And by the end of the year it was back up to its pre-war strength.

Now let's look at the recipe. I won't say recipes, because all of the Pale Ales were parti-gyled together. The flaked maize disappeared, too. The pre-war recipe was pretty typical: pale malt, sugar and flaked maize. If you've been paying attention you'll remember that crystal malt was rarely found in a Pale Ale before WW I. Fullers first used it in theirs some time between 1962 and 1968.

As with X Ale, there was a big change in the recipe in 1917, presumably as a result of difficulties in obtaining ingredients. For a while they were all malt, except for the primings. In 1920, the same main ingredients were being used as pre-war, but in different proportions. Pale malt remained at 78% to 80%, but the amount of flaked maize had more than doubled at the expense of No. 2 invert sugar and glucose.

Fullers were big fans of glucose. Between the wars all their beers except Porter and Stout contained it. Of course, that includes OBE. Which is how come I got to taste glucose. They'd bought some in for the Past Masters brew of OBE. It's a very different beast to invert sugar. While No. 2 and No. 3 invert have lots of dark fruit flavours glucose is just, well, sugary. Straight sweetness without much anything else.

Fuller's AK 1914 - 1920
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	pale malt	no. 2 sugar	glucose	intense sugar	flaked maize	primings
20th Nov	1914	AK	Pale Ale	1044.3	1009.1	4.65	79.38%	7.33	1.34	1.5	1.75	60.5º	78.89%	5.84%	5.84%	0.17%	5.84%	3.40%
8th Dec	1914	AK	Pale Ale	1044.1	1009.4	4.58	78.63%	7.35	1.36	1.5	1.75	58.5º	81.38%		5.56%	5.56%	6.26%	1.23%
2nd Jul	1915	AK	Pale Ale	1044.5	1009.7	4.61	78.22%	7.84	1.42	1.5	1.75	59.5º	78.96%	6.68%	6.68%		6.27%	1.40%
1st Jun	1916	AK	Pale Ale	1043.9	1009.7	4.53	77.93%	8.20	1.54	1.5	1.75	60º	79.27%	6.61%	6.61%		4.95%	2.56%
3rd Aug	1916	AK	Pale Ale	1042.7	1008.9	4.47	79.23%	8.13	1.46	1.5	1.75	60º	82.40%	4.85%	4.85%		4.85%	3.06%
26th Oct	1916	AK	Pale Ale	1041.0	1006.6	4.54	83.78%	8.44	1.43	1.5	1.75	59.5º	80.05%	6.47%	8.09%		4.85%	0.55%
3rd Nov	1916	AK	Pale Ale	1041.7	1005.8	4.74	86.04%	8.18	1.46	1.5	1.75	60º	80.16%	5.73%	5.73%		5.73%	2.67%
12th Jan	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1041.8	1007.8	4.50	81.44%	8.17	1.40	1.5	1.75	59º	80.82%	5.26%	5.26%		5.91%	2.76%
19th Jan	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1040.7	1007.5	4.40	81.63%	8.48	1.44	1.5	1.75	59º	82.98%	5.40%	5.40%		6.07%	0.16%
13th Apr	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1041.5	1008.3	4.39	79.99%	8.49	1.41	1.5	1.75	59.5º	83.03%	5.40%	5.40%		6.08%	0.10%
20th Jun	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1038.6	1006.4	4.27	83.51%	8.53	1.45	1.5	1.75	60º	86.64%	3.85%	5.78%			3.74%
8th Aug	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1035.4	1006.4	3.84	82.00%	9.67	1.43	1.5	1.75	60º	97.77%					2.23%
1st Nov	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1035.9	1007.8	3.73	78.41%	9.64	1.47	2		60º	92.36%			0.17%	5.23%	2.25%
14th Nov	1917	AK	Pale Ale	1036.1	1008.3	3.68	76.98%	9.66	1.43	1.5	1.75	60º	92.38%			0.23%	5.31%	2.09%
2nd Jan	1918	AK	Pale Ale	1035.5	1007.5	3.70	78.92%	9.72	2.24	1.5	1.75	60º	92.13%	5.94%		0.13%		1.80%
16th Jan	1918	AK	Pale Ale	1036.1	1011.1	3.32	69.35%	8.70	1.28	1.5	1.75	60º	91.58%	3.05%	3.05%	0.16%		2.15%
11th Apr	1918	AK	Pale Ale	1026.1	1005.5	2.73	78.81%	9.99	1.10	1.5	1.75	60.5º	74.94%	12.49%	12.49%	0.08%
20th Jun	1918	AK	Pale Ale	1026.2	1005.5	2.73	78.84%	9.68	1.11	1.5	1.75	60º	74.65%	19.14%	3.83%	0.09%		2.29%
7th Nov	1918	AK	Pale Ale	1025.7	1005.0	2.74	80.60%	9.45	1.09	1.75		60º	77.55%	18.35%		0.18%		3.92%
16th Jan	1919	AK	Pale Ale	1026.1	1006.1	2.64	76.62%	9.25	1.10	1.75		60.5º	78.14%	8.14%	8.14%	0.17%		5.41%
15th Apr	1919	AK	Pale Ale	1026.0	1004.4	2.86	82.98%	9.04	1.08	1.75		61.5º	74.21%	6.06%	8.08%	0.26%	4.54%	6.85%
19th Jun	1919	AK	Pale Ale	1028.2	1004.7	3.10	83.28%	9.72	1.14	1.5	1.5	62º	77.72%	6.76%	6.76%	0.14%	6.76%	1.86%
25th Jun	1919	AK	Pale Ale	1028.0	1005.3	3.01	81.21%	9.72	1.16	1.75		61.5º	78.01%	8.00%	6.00%	0.27%	6.00%	1.72%
27th Aug	1919	AK	Pale Ale	1030.5	1006.9	3.12	77.31%	9.96	1.28	1.5	1.5	60º	74.03%	8.80%	8.80%	0.16%	8.06%	0.16%
11th Feb	1920	AK	Pale Ale	1030.6	1007.5	3.06	75.59%	9.80	1.21	1.5	1.5	62º	78.81%	3.23%	3.23%	0.17%	13.34%	1.22%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.

 

Fuller's PA 1914 - 1920
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	pale malt	no. 2 sugar	caramel	glucose	intense sugar	flaked maize	primings
17th Nov	1914	PA	Pale Ale	1054.2	1012.2	5.56	77.52%	8.14	1.98	1.75	1.75	59.5º	77.19%	6.64%	0.11%	6.64%		2.49%	6.93%
1st Jan	1915	PA	Pale Ale	1053.7	1012.2	5.49	77.28%	8.89	1.97	1.5	1.75	60º	85.82%			4.09%	6.13%	3.07%	0.89%
6th Jul	1915	PA	Pale Ale	1053.6	1010.5	5.69	80.35%	8.59	1.96	1.5	1.75	60º	80.08%	7.21%		7.21%		2.16%	3.33%
30th May	1916	PA	Pale Ale	1053.5	1011.4	5.57	78.77%	8.71	2.00	1.5	1.75	59.5º	78.75%	7.29%		7.29%		4.38%	2.29%
13th Jun	1916	PA	Pale Ale	1052.9	1011.9	5.42	77.48%	8.95	2.00	1.5	1.75	60º	80.29%	7.43%		7.43%		4.46%	0.38%
30th Jul	1916	PA	Pale Ale	1052.3	1011.1	5.45	78.80%	8.88	1.95	1.5	1.75	60º	82.74%	4.50%		6.75%		5.07%	0.93%
7th Aug	1916	PA	Pale Ale	1051.9	1010.8	5.44	79.19%	8.56	1.95			59.5º	77.52%	6.89%		6.89%		5.17%	3.53%
31st Oct	1916	PA	Pale Ale	1051.8	1009.7	5.57	81.29%	8.61	1.99	1.5	1.75	60º	80.91%	4.40%		6.61%		4.95%	3.13%
16th Jan	1917	PA	Pale Ale	1052.9	1010.5	5.61	80.12%	8.64	1.96	1.5	1.75	60º	81.13%	6.62%		4.42%		4.97%	2.87%
20th Jun	1917	PA	Pale Ale	1050.6	1011.1	5.23	78.09%	8.53	1.90	1.5	1.75	60º	86.64%	3.85%		5.78%			3.74%
8th Aug	1917	PA	Pale Ale	1050.5	1008.3	5.58	83.53%	9.67	2.03	1.5	1.75	60º	97.77%						2.23%
14th Nov	1917	PA	Pale Ale	1051.2	1014.1	4.91	72.43%	9.66	2.04	1.5	1.75	60.5º	92.38%				0.23%	5.31%	2.09%
2nd Jan	1918	PA	Pale Ale	1051.1	1013.3	4.99	73.96%	9.72	6.54	1.5	1.75	60º	92.13%	5.94%			0.13%		1.80%
16th Jan	1918	PA	Pale Ale	1051.2	1013.9	4.95	72.97%	8.70	1.82	1.5	1.75	60º	91.58%	3.05%		3.05%	0.16%		2.15%
11th Apr	1918	PA	Pale Ale	1039.5	1012.2	3.61	69.12%	9.99	1.66	1.5	1.75	61.5º	74.94%	12.49%		12.49%	0.08%
20th Jun	1918	PA	Pale Ale	1039.3	1009.4	3.96	76.06%	9.68	1.67	1.5	1.75	64º	74.65%	19.14%		3.83%	0.09%		2.29%
7th Nov	1918	PA	Pale Ale	1038.8	1009.4	3.89	75.73%	9.45	1.64	1.75		61º	77.55%	18.35%		0.00%	0.18%		3.92%
16th Jan	1919	PA	Pale Ale	1038.5	1008.9	3.92	76.98%	9.25	1.62	1.75		61.5º	78.14%	8.14%		8.14%	0.17%		5.41%
16th Apr	1919	PA	Pale Ale	1041.6	1009.7	4.21	76.67%	9.99	2.50	1.75		61.5º	81.48%	6.24%		7.49%	0.10%	4.68%
19th Jun	1919	PA	Pale Ale	1050.6	1012.2	5.09	75.93%	9.72	2.05	1.5	1.5	62º	77.72%	6.76%		6.76%	0.14%	6.76%	1.86%
26th Jun	1919	PA	Pale Ale	1050.5	1008.9	5.51	82.45%	9.68	2.05	1.5	1.5	62º	77.51%	6.74%		6.74%	0.08%	6.74%	2.19%
20th Aug	1919	PA	Pale Ale	1054.8	1013.9	5.42	74.73%	10.13	2.42	1.5	1.5	60.5º	72.07%	8.96%		9.77%	0.08%	8.55%	0.56%
27th Aug	1919	PA	Pale Ale	1054.2	1013.3	5.41	75.47%	9.96	2.28	1.5	1.5	61º	74.03%	8.80%		8.80%	0.16%	8.06%	0.16%
11th Feb	1920	PA	Pale Ale	1055.0	1015.2	5.26	72.31%	9.80	2.17	1.5	1.5	58.5º	78.81%	3.23%		3.23%	0.17%	13.34%	1.22%
12th Feb	1920	PA	Pale Ale	1054.8	1015.8	5.17	71.21%	9.80	2.28	1.5	1.5	59º	78.00%	3.06%			3.90%	13.76%	1.28%
16th Jun	1920	PA	Pale Ale	1054.8	1011.6	5.72	78.79%	8.82	1.93	1.5	1.75	60º	81.40%	1.52%		1.52%	0.11%	14.23%	1.22%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.

Fuller's XK 1919 - 1920
Date	Year	Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	boil time (hours)	boil time (hours)	Pitch temp	pale malt	no. 2 sugar	glucose	other sugar	flaked maize	primings
15th Apr	1919	XK	Pale Ale	1028.3	1005.5	3.00	80.39%	9.04	1.17	1.75		60º	74.21%	6.06%	8.08%	0.26%	4.54%	6.85%
19th Jun	1919	XK	Pale Ale	1030.2	1005.5	3.27	81.67%	9.72	1.22	1.5	1.5	62º	77.72%	6.76%	6.76%	0.14%	6.76%	1.86%
25th Jun	1919	XK	Pale Ale	1030.2	1006.1	3.19	79.84%	9.72	1.25	1.75		61.5º	78.01%	8.00%	6.00%	0.27%	6.00%	1.72%
27th Aug	1919	XK	Pale Ale	1033.8	1010.2	3.11	69.67%	9.96	1.42	1.5	1.5	61º	74.03%	8.80%	8.80%	0.16%	8.06%	0.16%
11th Feb	1920	XK	Pale Ale	1034.0	1008.6	3.36	74.74%	9.80	1.34	1.5	1.5	64º	78.81%	3.23%	3.23%	0.17%	13.34%	1.22%
16th Jun	1920	XK	Pale Ale	1036.8	1006.6	3.98	81.91%	8.82	1.29	1.5	1.75	62.5º	81.40%	1.52%	1.52%	0.11%	14.23%	1.22%
Source:
Fuller's brewing records.

That's it for this time. Next it definitely is Porter and Stout.