Saturday 21 April 2018

Let's Brew - 1956 Tennant's No. 1

It wasn’t just the long list of ingredients in their grists that made Tennant unusual. They also brewed two Barley Wines over 1100º.

There were only a handful of beers of that strength in the UK at the time. Why did Tennant brew two? I’ve absolutely no idea. Though it looks as if Gold Label might have been a derivative of No. 1 Barley Wine. At one time both of them were called No. 1. My guess is that they decided to try a paler Barley Wine and it was a hit. This darker No. 1 was eventually dropped.

Unsurprisingly given the difference in colour, the grists of the two beers were quite different. The darker beer had No. 2 rather than No. 1 invert and contained two coloured malts, crystal and black.

The big difference in the hopping, is that the darker beer has three times the quantity of dry hops. Which is a sign to me that it,  too, just like Gold Label, was matured for a long period before sale. It also says on the label "Specially brewed and long matured". Sort of a hint.


1956 Tennant's No. 1
pale malt 16.75 lb 75.28%
crystal malt 60 L 0.50 lb 2.25%
black malt 0.50 lb 2.25%
enzymic malt 0.25 lb 1.12%
flaked maize 1.50 lb 6.74%
No. 2 invert sugar 2.75 lb 12.36%
Goldings 240 mins 3.00 oz
Goldings 120 mins 1.75 oz
Goldings 60 mins 1.75 oz
Hallertau dry hops 0.75 oz
OG 1101
FG 1023.5
ABV 10.25
Apparent attenuation 76.73%
IBU 78
SRM 25
Mash at 149º F
Sparge at 165º F
Boil time 240 minutes
pitching temp 57º F
Yeast Wyeast 1099 Whitbread ale

3 comments:

Kevin said...

Very tasty looking beer... This looks right up my alley; if you're speaking talking barleywine, you're speaking my language!

Might we hold our breath hoping for the paler barleywine (Gold Label) recipe too?!?

With the way you are treating us to these recipes Ron, I am plotting out a way to serve the entire 1956 Tenant's line! :)

Leif said...

That loks absolutely beautiful. The Hallertau dry hopping is pretty unusual for an English beer, isn't it?

Unknown said...

Hi Leif ,
Not that unusual , Magee Marshall were using Bavarian hops ( Saaz , Hallertau and Spalt in the period before the Great War to dry hop , and late hop their better quality beers , as were quite a few other breweries were using Bavarian hops in the racking , such as the brewery of Henry Bentley & Co , Eshaldwell Brewery , Woodlesford Nr Leeds (1892-6) ,
Regards
Edd