Shut up about Barclay Perkins - Let's Brew Wednesday - 1890 Barclay Perkins X Ale
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A chance today to look at another late 19th-century London Mild and see how dark it was. I won't keep you in suspense. It was properly dark. What else could it be with all that brown malt?
What a difference a few years make. In 1886, Barclay’s X Ale was a simple affair, brewed from just pale and brown malt.
Now three new ingredients have been added and six points shaved off the gravity. On top of that, the boil time has been reduced by 30 minutes and the pitching temperature raised by 3º F. And here was me thinking that nothing ever changed very quickly in the 19th century. At least when no wars were raging.
New arrivals in the grist are crystal malt, flaked rice and some type of sugar. Not sure what it was. Probably some sort of invert. I’ve gone for No. 2, just to hedge my bets. No. 3 would leave it 22 SRM, No. 1 at 19 SRM. Take your pick. Whatever the choice, it comes out quite dark, about a typical colour for a modern Dark Mild.
To make way for the new ingredients, both the pale and brown malt percentages have been reduced.
The hopping rate is a little higher, despite the fall in gravity. Hops coming in the form of Mid-Kents from the 1888 and 1889 seasons, and American from 1889. The result is 62 IBU, way off the scale for a Mild today.
| 1890 Barclay Perkins X Ale |
| pale malt |
6.25 lb |
48.54% |
| brown malt |
3.50 lb |
27.18% |
| crystal malt |
0.125 lb |
0.97% |
| flaked rice |
1.50 lb |
11.65% |
| No. 2 invert sugar |
1.50 lb |
11.65% |
| Cluster 90 mins |
1.00 oz |
|
| Fuggles 90 mins |
0.50 oz |
|
| Fuggles 60 mins |
1.50 oz |
|
| Fuggles 30 mins |
1.50 oz |
|
| OG |
1058 |
|
| FG |
1017 |
|
| ABV |
5.42 |
|
| Apparent attenuation |
70.69% |
|
| IBU |
62 |
|
| SRM |
20 |
|
| Mash at |
154º F |
|
| Sparge at |
165º F |
|
| Boil time |
90 minutes |
|
| pitching temp |
63º F |
|
| Yeast |
Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale |
|
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