Sunday 12 March 2017

Let's Brew Wednesday - 1984 Maclay PA 6d

I forgot to post a recipe yesterday as usual. I’ve just been so busy with that Scottish book thingy.

No, this recipe isn’t in the book. That only goes as far as 1970. I’m trying not to post stuff from the book. Then you bastards have more incentive to buy it.

PA 6d, or 60/- as it was known in the pub, was a long-running beer of Maclay’s, being brewed from at least 1938 right up until they closed. In the 1930’s, it was their mid-strength Pale Ale at 1038º, slotting in between PA 5d and PA 7d, at 1032º and 1042º, respectively. After WW II, it was their bottom=level beer.

It’s a beer I was very fond of, when I could find it. A very pleasant Dark Mild. Oh yes, you’ll need to ass a shit load of caramel to get the right colour. It’s way, way paler as brewed, more like 4-5 SRM.

The malt percentage increased in the early 1980’s when Maclay dropped flaked maize. The recipe otherwise – No. 1 invert, a sugar called DCS and a bit of malt extract – remained exactly the same. I’ve substituted No. 3 invert for DCS.

The hops were a mix of British Columbian and English. As usual, varieties are my guess. You can swap them around, should you so be inclined.

The two mashing temperatures are for the initial infusion and after adding more hot water via the underlet after about 30 minutes. A sort of step mash, in effect.


1984 Maclay PA 6d
pale malt 6.00 lb 90.57%
malt extract 0.17 lb 2.57%
No. 1 invert 0.33 lb 4.98%
No. 3 invert 0.125 lb 1.89%
Cluster 90 min 0.50 oz
Fuggles 60 min 0.50 oz
Goldings 30 min 0.25 oz
Goldings dry hops 0.25 oz
OG 1030
FG 1007
ABV 3.04
Apparent attenuation 76.67%
IBU 22
SRM 25
Mash at 148/157º F
Sparge at 165º F
Boil time 90 minutes
pitching temp 61º F
Yeast WLP028 Edinburgh Ale

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