Bass Pale Ale Original?

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Slim M

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Many consider Bass to be the first mass produced pale ale. I’ve read many famous folks of the past were fans like Mark Twain. I enjoy Bass myself but am certain things have changed a lot since the old days. Do we have any indication of what the old style recipe was? I see modern versions with corn included and I do not believe the Brits did that until they saw the Americans do it but maybe I’m wrong.
 
Breweries change their recipes through time. So, it all depends on what you consider 'this time period'.

Generally, during the 19th century you're looking at predominantly 100% pale malt especially for a brewery's upper tier. As you shift into the 20th century, gravities drop and adjuncts become widespread. Most breweries adopting flaked maize (corn). Crystal, you don't find until post-WW2. So, again, it's all up to which time period you're taking about.

1899:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2010/11/bass-brewer-speaks.html?m=1
 
Recipes are per imperial gallon.

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If you're looking to emulate the style then you'd probably want to try to source some heritage malt such as Crisp Chevallier.
 
I thought I liked Bass Ale until I had one recently. Same with Harp. I got a 6 pack of each maybe a year ago after not drinking it regularly in 20 years. Either the beer has changed or my taste buds have. I used to drink Bass Ale fishing for Smallmouth bass in NH. Awesome.
 
I thought I liked Bass Ale until I had one recently. Same with Harp. I got a 6 pack of each maybe a year ago after not drinking it regularly in 20 years. Either the beer has changed or my taste buds have. I used to drink Bass Ale fishing for Smallmouth bass in NH. Awesome.

The beers have changed. Almost all of them change over time. The brewery needs a very specific and dedicated system to maintain flavor consistency over time, and most don't even try.
 
The beers have changed. Almost all of them change over time. The brewery needs a very specific and dedicated system to maintain flavor consistency over time, and most don't even try.
I can believe that. One of my favorite ales growing up was Long Trail ale, and I love to continue to support them, but I've grown away from most of their beer. I still respect the heck out of what they're doing, and visit whenever I'm in VT, but it's not even close to my go to anymore.
 
Yikes is that an Starting gravity of 1.090? Is this ratio of grain per imperial gallon?
No wonder that our ancestors were permanently inebriated! Yes the brew-length of each recipe is 1 imperial gallon. Multiply by 1.2 to get to US gallons.

The recipes were sourced from Old British beers and how to make them. I bought the paperback but there's a cheaper downloadable edition that would work out better shipping-wise if you're in the states.
 
Yikes is that an Starting gravity of 1.090? Is this ratio of grain per imperial gallon?

Like I said above. It all depends on your definition of 'old days'.

At that time and that gravity, it'd be a stock ale. Brewed with the intent of aging it for 6+ months in a vat with brett.

Here's a recipe from Truman, a brewery similar to Bass. This is their bottled No 1 pale ale, similar to Bass No 1. Note the adjunct, the sugar. 1939, before the war would knock the power out of it.

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2019/02/lets-brew-wednesday-1939-truman-pale-1b.html?m=1
 
I have a real soft spot for Bass from the 90's, my first brew day was Bass ale in 94. Floating a Guinness on top of a Bass with a spoon is a treat for me. Please keep us informed of your recipe progress.
 
Breweries change their recipes through time. So, it all depends on what you consider 'this time period'.

Generally, during the 19th century you're looking at predominantly 100% pale malt especially for a brewery's upper tier. As you shift into the 20th century, gravities drop and adjuncts become widespread. Most breweries adopting flaked maize (corn). Crystal, you don't find until post-WW2. So, again, it's all up to which time period you're taking about.

1899:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2010/11/bass-brewer-speaks.html?m=1

Just a little caveat, crystal did start to find it's way in to London Porters and some stock/KK/KKK by the late 1800's, and you can find pale ales and bitters with a dash of crystal from the early 1900's and interwar periods. However the Bitter as we know it today with Crystal as a standard ingredient became a thing during and after ww2.
If you want a beer resembling a late 1800's/early 1900's AK or Bitter Beer I would guess something like TT's Landlord or St Austell Tribute is closest to a lower gravity pale of the old days.
 
Just a little caveat, crystal did start to find it's way in to London Porters and some stock/KK/KKK by the late 1800's, and you can find pale ales and bitters with a dash of crystal from the early 1900's and interwar periods. However the Bitter as we know it today with Crystal as a standard ingredient became a thing during and after ww2.
If you want a beer resembling a late 1800's/early 1900's AK or Bitter Beer I would guess something like TT's Landlord or St Austell Tribute is closest to a lower gravity pale of the old days.

True. I'm still deciding which of Fuller's XXKs will be my 2023 brett brew, 1887 or 1897. '87 has a couple percentage points of crystal, '97 has a few points of brown. Neither are usually found in classy Burton ales. Where there are rules there are exceptions, eh?
 
I guess so, however a dash of amber or brown seem to have been relatively common in the KK and KKK ales.
I plan on soon brewing a KK with lots of sugar and a few % of Amber. Generously hopped with EKG and First Gold. It will be a rarher modern beer but still firmly footed in the old traditional stock ale of yore.
 
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