‘Chance discovery’ leads to Lewes brewery bringing 136-year-old Victorian beer back to life
Harvey’s Brewery in Lewes has announced it has recreated a ‘long-lost’ beer recipe from 1890.
The award-winning brewery recently unveiled ‘Lost Brew No.156’, a 7.7 per cent ABV Victorian Strong Ale.
Harvey’s said it had brought the 136-year-old beverage back to life after ‘a chance discovery in the East Sussex archives’.
Peter Yarlett, 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 described working from the original 1890 brewing notes as ‘fascinating’, adding: “The extended fermentation has given us something quite different from our usual beers.”
Harvey’s said the project began after brewing historian Ron Pattinson ‘stumbled upon’ a journal in 2019 in the archives of the former Beard’s Brewery in Lewes. The pages had the name ‘Harvey & Son, Bridge Wharf Brewery’ on them and the journal is believed to have belonged to Henry John Barrett, son of Henry Titlow Barrett, Harvey’s third Head Brewer.
So Ron contacted Harvey’s brewing team and started the process of bringing the beer back.
Harvey’s said its marketing team visited The Keep in Brighton in April, the home of the East Sussex archives, where the journal was scanned in its entirety.
Peter Yarlett and his team then recreated Brew No.156 in the same Grade II listed tower brewery where it was first produced.
Peter said: “There are another five recipes recorded in Henry John Barrett’s journal, which we hope to recreate as part of our Lost Brews series. It’s an exciting opportunity to explore more of our brewing history and share these forgotten beers with a new generation.”