Sunday 31 October 2010

Courage Strong Ale 1920 - 1923

Details. That's what we need. More details. Here's a start. Courage Strong Ale just after WW I,


Courage Strong Ale 1920 - 1923
Date
Year
Beer
Style
OG
FG
ABV
App. Attenuation
lbs hops/ qtr
hops lb/brl
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
boil time (hours)
Pitch temp
dry hops (oz / barrel)
pale malt
black malt
crystal malt
no. 3 sugar
caramel
flaked maize
primings
total
15th Jan
1920
SA
Strong Ale
1054.57
1016.90
4.98
69.04%
6.29
1.37
1.75
1.75
1
60º
8.55
84.56%
2.21%

12.75%
0.49%


100.00%
5th Feb
1920
SA
Strong Ale
1054.57
1015.51
5.17
71.57%
6.66
1.45
1.75
1.75
1
61º
6.76
83.59%
2.34%

13.54%
0.52%


100.00%
20th Jul
1920
SA
Strong Ale
1053.46
1017.73
4.73
66.84%
7.96
1.87
1.5
1.5
1
59º
0.00
69.53%

18.50%
9.72%
1.31%

0.93%
100.00%
1st Jul
1920
SA
Strong Ale
1053.46
1016.34
4.91
69.43%
8.01
8.68
1.5
1.5
1
59º
0.00
66.06%

17.89%
9.17%

6.19%
0.69%
100.00%
31st Dec
1920
SA
Strong Ale
1053.46
1013.85
5.24
74.09%
6.39
1.49
1.5
1.5
1
63º
3.33
65.30%

17.68%
8.84%

5.89%
2.29%
100.00%
14th Oct
1920
SA
Strong Ale
1053.46
1015.79
4.98
70.47%
6.63
1.38
1.5
1.5
1
62º
3.99
65.02%

17.68%
8.75%

5.70%
2.85%
100.00%
16th Feb
1921
SA
Strong Ale
1053.46
1014.40
5.17
73.06%
5.25
1.21
1.5
1.5
1
62º
5.03
64.73%

17.40%
8.35%

6.26%
3.25%
100.00%
2nd Mar
1921
SA
Strong Ale
1053.46
1014.68
5.13
72.54%
5.77
1.33
1.5
1.5
1
63º
5.17
64.38%

17.60%
8.87%

6.44%
2.72%
100.00%
17th Nov
1922
KKK
Strong Ale
1073.41
1024.93
6.41
66.04%
11.02
3.39
2
2
1.5
58º
7.65
84.18%
1.90%

13.92%



100.00%
24th Jan
1923
KKK
Strong Ale
1073.41
1022.71
6.71
69.06%
11.00
3.35
2.5
2.5
2.5
58º
7.79
84.74%
2.14%

13.12%



100.00%
8th Nov
1922
XXX
Strong Ale
1053.46
1014.68
5.13
72.54%
5.42
1.25
1.5
1.5
1
62º
4.94
64.33%

17.72%
8.75%

5.91%
3.28%
100.00%
23rd Nov
1922
XXX
Strong Ale
1054.29
1014.40
5.28
73.47%
5.43
1.30
1.5
1.5
1
62º
4.87
64.45%

17.65%
8.18%

6.14%
3.58%
100.00%
15th Nov
1922
XXX
Strong Ale
1053.46
1012.19
5.46
77.20%
5.42
1.26
1.5
1.5
1
63º
4.84
68.37%

18.84%
9.30%


3.49%
100.00%
Source:
ACC/2305/08/251 and ACC/2305/08/253


You'll probably recall that Courage discontinued their KK in 1917. They didn't brew a Strong Ale again until 1920, when they introduced SA. It was parti-gyled with X Ale. KK had been its own specific brew, with a different grist to the X, the pricipal difference being the presence of crystal in the latter.

In 1922, the name of SA was changed to XXX, but the beer itself remained unchanged. At the same time a new beer, KKK, appeared. In terms of grist and gravity, this was essentially the same as the KK of 1917. Fascinating, eh? The recipe was pertty simple: loads of pale malt, quite a lot of No.3 invert sugar and a smidgen of black malt. Another difference was that KKK, unlike X and XXX, wasn't primed.

Seeing the two strands of Strong Ales intertwining at one brewery is compelling stuff. XXX was basically just a souped up Mild, while KKK resembled an Edwardian Burton.