Sussex brewery recreates beer from 1890 Victorian recipe

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 13:44 · Archive

Harvey's Brewery in Lewes has recreated a 136-year-old beer using a recipe discovered in a Victorian-era journal.

Harvey's Brewery in Lewes has recreated a beer from a recipe dating back to 1890, more than a century after it was last brewed. The recipe was discovered in the journal of Henry John Barrett, whose father Henry Titlow Barrett was Harvey's third head brewer. Henry John Barrett had learned to brew from his father before moving to Beard's, another Lewes brewery that closed in 1984, taking his notes with him. The recipe was rediscovered by historian Ron Pattinson in 2019 within the Beard's Brewery archives.

The new ale, named Lost Brew No.156, has a strength of 7.7% ABV. Peter Yarlett, the current head brewer at Harvey's, said: 'It's not every day you get the chance to brew a beer from a recipe that's been lost for over a century, particularly in the very brewery where it was first created.' He added that working from the original brewing notes was 'fascinating' and that 'the extended fermentation has given us something quite different from our usual beers'.

The brewery has identified five other recipes in Barrett's journal that it also hopes to recreate. The journal has been digitized and preserved at The Keep in Falmer.

How it is being reported

• ‘Chance discovery’ leads to Lewes brewery bringing 136-year-old Victorian beer back to lifeHarvey’s Brewery in Lewes has announced it has recreated a ‘long-lost’ beer recipe from 1890.Chichester Observer · 27 Oct, 13:28
• Beer dating back to 1890 revived after journal findHarvey's Brewery in Lewes has launched the beer based on an Victorian recipe unearthed in 2019.BBC Sussex · 27 Oct, 11:25

In this story: Harvey's Brewery · Lewes · Henry John Barrett · Henry Titlow Barrett · Peter Yarlett · Ron Pattinson · Beard's Brewery

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