So for all those interested, here's is the recipe and all the assumptions I made in translating it across to a modern, homebrew scale. We’re getting ready to present this beer, along with a few others, at an session about experimental archaeology at this year’s Australian Archaeological Association conference. Being such an old recipe it’s pretty difficult to get an accurate idea of exactly what yeasts and hops would have been used, so we have to look at the evidence for other areas such as trade and where imports were coming from. So on that basis here are the assumptions I made in brewing this recipe.
You can find the original article here:
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page461
Yeasts:
So we’re flying pretty blind here as far as specific strains. Given that beer, pale ales, porters and strong ales were being imported in barrelled form from the UK and that the article discusses using ex-porter barrels for a FV, it is not unreasonable to assume that the yeasts in the grain of the wood would have started the first fermentation. Yeast could then be collected for subsequent batches. Because yeasts were not isolated until the 1880s by Claussen, and given that porters especially were known for their ‘old’ character, I assumed that there would have been numerous strains of yeast including Brettanomyces. The yeasts I used were a blend of Windsor, Nottingham, Fermentis S-04 and Wyeast 5151-PC Brettanomyces claussenii.
Hops:
Hops were also a difficult one to deal with. 1835 is too early for many hop varieties. Kent Goldings, American Cluster and European varieties were likely kicking around. However, given that the Swan River Colony (Around Perth, Western Australia) was a British colony, I made the assumption the hops being used were likely from Kent, which were seen to be a high quality hop. I used East Kent Goldings.
It is virtually impossible to know what the original alpha acid content of the hops was. However, hops are propagated through asexual reproduction, rhizomes are divided and new plants are genetically identical to one another (as would be the hop cones). For this reason I assumed that the AA% was fairly similar to current levels of today’s Kent Goldings.
Consideration too needs to be made about the storage of the hops and the time that it would’ve taken from them to reach the colony. In 1835 there was no cold-storage. Instead hops were compressed and baled, likely wrapped in a hemp or linen cloth. The hops would’ve deteriorated over time and this would affect both the flavour and alpha acid content. Consideration too needs to be taken to account for other factors such as seed and stem content and palletisation. Pellets had to be used in this recipe as Australia’s biosecurity laws do not allow for whole hop cones to be imported from the UK. Based on some reading done and using another author’s the hop content of the recipe was reduced by 50% (20% for seeds and stems, 10% for palletisation, 10% improper storage, 10% age).
Malt:
Malts are also a difficult one. In 1835, no malt was being locally produced. I’m not sure if sizeable and exportable quantities of malt were being produced in the Eastern States (around Sydney or Melbourne) or New Zealand at this time. Regardless, I’ve assumed that the malt being used would have been floor malted and kilned using British processes. Current potential extract for Weyermann’s floor malted pilsener is 36 ppg. Given that this is in a modern production, it is likely a more consistent product than those malts produced 180 years ago. I could not find any information on the extract potential for grain in the early 19th century. Therefore I assumed that the extract potential would have been a little lower and went for 32 ppg. I then used this to calculate how much modern malt would be needed. While I realise that there are other factors to consider (such as colour) but these are pretty hard to work out based on a simple recipe.
It’s also worth noting that prior to the 1880s British brewers calculated the amounts of malt used in volumetric measurement rather than weight. Obviously the weight of malt would change from year to year and maltster to maltster depending on the moisture content and kilning techniques. One Quarter (Qr.) made eight Bushels, one Bushel made four Pecks and one Peck equated to two UK Gallons (4.54 litres). Therefore, at the LHBS I weighed a gallon of malt and used that to help formulate the recipe. One UK Gallon of malt weighed almost exactly 2.5 kg. Because there was no indication of the exact malt used, I went for a good-quality pale British malt, Marris Otter.
Water:
Another difficult consideration is the water used. The water I get supplied to my house comes from Mt Eliza in Kings Park nearby. Some of the city’s first breweries were located around this hill and the water would have likely been drawn from wells in the hill. I used unfiltered water from mains water supply. The recipe made no reference to brewing salts, so none were added.
Chilling the Wort and Fermentation Temperature:
Chilling the wort was where I diverged from the recipe slightly. After flameout I allowed the wort to cool for about 15 minutes and then chilled it to 35 C using a immersion chiller. I would assume that transferring from the mash kettle to a porter barrel would have likely taken a fair bit of heat out of the wort, and that it would have chilled over the next few hours. Given that the article discusses taking the wort off the trub and hop matter, I assumed that after dropping below about 75 C the isomerisation of the alpha acids would cease. Ultimately, my decision to chill the wort was based on ensuring that I ended up with a sound, drinkable product.
I’ve got to admit, pitching at blood temperature freaked me out a bit. Even so, Australia has a warm climate and Perth has fairly mild winters, usually around 15-20 C daytime temperatures. I made the assumption that my beer was brewed at around 18C in a warm, draft-free spot in the house with a fairly stable temperature. I brew beer fairly regularly and used my temperature controlled fermentation chamber. I could’ve used ambient temperatures, but ultimately, it was a bit of an investment for the beer and wanted to ensure that I had a decent drinkable product. I still pitched warm at around 35 C.
Recipe:
This is my interpretation of the recipe on a homebrew scale.
Title: 1835 WA Recipe Modern
Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: British Strong Ale
Boil Time: 20 min
Batch Size: 19 liters (ending kettle volume)
Boil Size: 23.53 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.058
Efficiency: 68% (ending kettle)
No Chill: 15 minute extended hop boil time
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.072
Final Gravity: 1.012
ABV (standard): 7.88%
IBU (tinseth): 71.11
SRM (daniels): 10.48
FERMENTABLES:
6.32 kg - United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale (100%)
HOPS:
150 g - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.6, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 71.11
MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 66.3 C, Time: 90 min, Amount: 18.1 L
2) Sparge, Temp: 75 C, Time: 10 min, Amount: 18.1 L
Starting Mash Thickness: 3.1 L/kg
YEAST:
5g each of Windsor, Nottingham and Safale S-04. One pouch wyeast 5151-PC.
Starter: Yes (just for the B. claussenii)
Form: Dry and liquid. Dry yeast rehydrated.
Attenuation (custom): 82% (this is the highest attenuation of all yeasts used)
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 12.22 - 25 C
Fermentation Temp: 18 C (pitched at 30-37 C)
Pitch Rate: 1.25 (M cells / ml / deg P)
Additional Yeast: B. claussenii
NOTES:
Made assumption of absorption based on recipe assumes 17g from 20g or 1.6 L/kg. Assumed 2.5 bushels equates to approx 50kg (2.5 kg to a imp gallon, 2 g to a peck, 4 pecks to a bushel) (pre-1880). Gallons in recipe are Imperial Gallons 1 g = 4.54 L. Grain modification expected low at 32 ppg (Weyermann floor malted pils is 36 ppg).
