Old Peculier

Classification: strong ale, old ale, Old Peculier, extract

Source: Mike Fertsch (FERTSCH@adcl.RAY.COM) Issue #225, 8/11/89

This recipe is for one of my favorite old ales---Old Peculier. It comes from Dave Line's book Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy.

Ingredients:

4 pounds, dark malt extract
1/2 pound, roast barley
1/2 pound, crystal malt
2 pounds, dark brown sugar
2 ounces, Fuggles hops
5 saccharin tablets
yeast

Procedure:

This recipe uses saccharin, but I will not use this in my beer; instead I may add brewer's licorice or lactose for sweetness. The amount of fermentables also seems low; I would add a pound or two of light extract to increase the gravity to the mid-fifties. The recipe also calls for priming with 3 ounces of black treacle, which is molasses. This seems low, and it also seems that different brands would contain different amounts of fermentable sugar.