Has anybody tried brewing the 1886 Barclay Perkins HSD from The Home Brewer's Guide to Vintage Beer? It stands out as the porter with most speciality malts in the book. Not posting the recipe, but 36% of malts are pale and everything else is brown, crystal, black and amber malts, plus invert sugar. I checked the attenuation and it's 74%. Just seems to break every brewing 'rule' around. I assume that the amber malt was still somewhat diastatic so that might help.
1886 Barclay Perkins HSD
- Thread starter JKaranka
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My guess is that most of those malts really wouldn't need conversion, and that the brown and amber malts may have been slightly diastatic, but enough that the three (including the pale malt) would be able to self-convert, and you just might get crappy extraction from the crystal and black malt. Sounds like it would be an intense beer nonetheless.
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JKaranka
Well-Known Member
Yeah, apparently the brown malt wouldn't been diastatic but the amber could have had something left in it as the malt varied from brewery to brewery. I might try to make this in a one gallon batch at some point... worse that can happen is that I waste a few pounds of malts...
Ramitt
Well-Known Member
Has the recipie been reworked to account for modern Malts? i understand that Brown Malt of that period is rather different from what we have now.
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JKaranka
Well-Known Member
I think that by 1880 the brown malts were a lot more like the modern ones. They used to be more Smokey a hundred years before and like popcorn earlier on in the century. Plus they were not diastatic either.
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This reply is way late to the game but I can't let some of the comments about brown malt stand just in case others stumble across this thread and think what is said is true.
Brown malt was used 100% until the early to mid 1800's. Brown malt was fully diastatic.
Brown malt was not smokey. People get confused on that point due to the fact that hornbeam wood or even straw were sometimes used when malting. The reason hornbeam was used is precisely because it gives off very little smoke when burned.
The reason these fuels were used was because they burned hot. The secret to malting grains to the desired brown stage without killing the enzymes was to heat them fast before that happened.
What ended brown malt was the introduction and widespread use of the hydrometer. Pale malt was more expensive than brown malt but when brewers discovered they converted better than brown malt they realized it was more cost effective to use the pale malts.
I have searched for brown malt as it existed in the early 1800's but have found none made commercially. There are however people who have made their own at home. Search Google and you should find some blogs and forum posts explaining the process.
Brown malt was used 100% until the early to mid 1800's. Brown malt was fully diastatic.
Brown malt was not smokey. People get confused on that point due to the fact that hornbeam wood or even straw were sometimes used when malting. The reason hornbeam was used is precisely because it gives off very little smoke when burned.
The reason these fuels were used was because they burned hot. The secret to malting grains to the desired brown stage without killing the enzymes was to heat them fast before that happened.
What ended brown malt was the introduction and widespread use of the hydrometer. Pale malt was more expensive than brown malt but when brewers discovered they converted better than brown malt they realized it was more cost effective to use the pale malts.
I have searched for brown malt as it existed in the early 1800's but have found none made commercially. There are however people who have made their own at home. Search Google and you should find some blogs and forum posts explaining the process.
deere322
Former Sloper
Contact these guys, I guess they brewed one and can give you input on how it turned out.....
http://www.foggynogginbrewing.com/contact-us.html
http://www.foggynogginbrewing.com/contact-us.html
deere322
Former Sloper
I got feedback from these guys.......
This beer was incredible and wonderful. Big bold flavors, lots of rich dark malty tones and plenty of roasty finish to battle the potential sweetness from the crystal malts. Well worth brewing and sure you will enjoy.
