Shut up about Barclay Perkins - Let's Brew - 1933 Whitbread DB
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When Whitbread introduced a Brown Ale in 1932, it wasn’t much like the modern idea of an English Brown Ale. Especially not one brewed in the South.
Unlike after WW II, interwar Brown Ale wasn’t necessarily just a bottled version of Dark Mild. The larger London brewers, in particular, produced beers in quite a different style. Stronger and brewed from their own specific recipe.
Whitbread Double Brown is a great example of this style. There was also Doctor Brown from Barclay Perkins, which was along similar lines. The grist is different to that of Whitbread’s X Ale, which contained pale malt, crystal malt and No. 3 invert. DB has no crystal malt, but does include chocolate malt. While more than half of the base malt is PA malt, the most expensive type of pale malt.
The sugar is mostly something simply described as “Albion”. I’m assuming that it’s No.3 invert sugar, which some other DB brewing records to specifically mention. There’s a small quantity of something called “S.I.” which I’m guessing is some type of caramel. There certainly needs to be something adding more colour. The brewing record lists the equivalent of 27 SRM.
The hops were a combination of Whitbread Mid-Kent from the 1930 harvest, Mid-Kent from 1931, East Kent from 1931 and East Kent from 1932. All had been kept in a cold store. As many of the hops were quire old, I’ve reduced the hopping rate by around 20%.
It’s a real shame no-one makes beers of this type any more. I’d certainly drink it.
| 1933 Whitbread DB |
| pale malt |
8.50 lb |
76.78% |
| chocolate malt |
0.25 lb |
2.26% |
| No. 3 invert sugar |
2.25 lb |
20.33% |
| caramel 1000 SRM |
0.07 lb |
0.63% |
| Fuggles 75 mins |
2.00 oz |
|
| Goldings 30 mins |
2.00 oz |
|
| OG |
1055 |
|
| FG |
1014.5 |
|
| ABV |
5.36 |
|
| Apparent attenuation |
73.64% |
|
| IBU |
44 |
|
| SRM |
23 |
|
| Mash at |
150º F |
|
| Sparge at |
170º F |
|
| Boil time |
75 minutes |
|
| pitching temp |
62º F |
|
| Yeast |
Wyeast 1099 Whitbread Ale |
|
This is one of the dozens of recipes in my book Mild! plus. Which is avaiable in both paperback:
and hardback formats:
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