Awhile back I did a post regarding People's Brewing and the one time owner Theodore Mack, the first African American owned brewery in the United States and still (to my knowledge and research) the only ever since the closing of the brewery. I decided back in December that I would (if plausible) attempt to find and recreate what I believed to be these national treasures of brewing. The toughest part by fa was locating someone (anyone) who worked at the brewery who had any knowledge of recipes or the process in which these beers were developed, formulated and packaged. With luck and many emails I did find someone in Wisconsin (Madison) who knew of family members who could assist in my crazy research project that consumed my email and weeknights. With her help I was able to obtain two recipes that are from the brewery along with a test recipe that unfortunately was never produced due to the closing of the brewery. Below is the first recipe I attempted "Old Derby Ale".
Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (G): 5.0
Total Grain (lb): 13.500
Total Hops (oz): 1.50
Original Gravity (OG): 1.067 (°P): 16.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.017 (°P): 4.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.58 %
Colour (SRM): 4.2 (EBC): 8.3
Bitterness (IBU): 26.7 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60
Grain Bill
----------------
10.500 lb American 6-Row (77.78%)
3.000 lb Flaked Corn (22.22%)
Hop Bill
----------------
1.00 oz Cluster Pellet (5.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)
0.50 oz Cluster Pellet (5.7% Alpha) @ 20 Minutes (Boil) (0.1 oz/Gal)
Misc Bill
----------------
Single step Infusion at 153°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 64°F with Danstar Nottingham
Though I do not have anyway of obtaining he original beers I would like to think this is a well representation of what Theodore Mack was producing during the height of People's Brewing. A light golden ale with easy characteristics on the tongue that would go well after a long day of work or enjoyed during the city nights with family!
